Daily Articles

The Real Fiscal Cliff

by Laurence M. Vance November 28, 2012

The combination of expiring tax cuts and unemployment benefits, spending cuts, and tax increases — all scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2013 — has been termed the “fiscal cliff.” To make matters worse, the debt ceiling of $16.394 trillion — the maximum amount of money the government is legally allowed to borrow — may ...

Jumping off the Fiscal Cliff

by Tim Kelly November 28, 2012

The American people are once again being told of an impending financial catastrophe. Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin S. Bernanke has said that America will plunge off a “fiscal cliff” if Congress doesn’t do something by January 1, 2013. Former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin has also warned of the dire consequences of Congress not doing something. And the firm JP Morgan ...

Nullify the Drug War!

by Sheldon Richman November 27, 2012

Thomas Jefferson said a revolution every 20 years would be a good thing. Regardless of what one thinks of that, perhaps a little constitutional crisis every now and then would have its benefits. One such crisis may be brewing now. On election day, solid majorities of voters in Colorado and Washington voted to make marijuana a legal product, not just ...

Look for the Union Liable

by Wendy McElroy November 27, 2012

Unions are now more empowered and more desperate. They feel empowered because a radically pro-union president has been elected for a second term. An Investor’s Business Daily headline (Nov. 21) proclaimed, “With Obama Win, Big Labor Feels Its Oats.” The article explained, Unions are feeling their oats after the re-election of President Obama. It’s comparable to the perception ...

TGIF: The Virtues of Competition

by Sheldon Richman November 23, 2012

When I discussed reasons to esteem the free market last week, I conspicuously left out any reference to competition. That might have seemed strange, but I did it because the subject deserves its own treatment. Differing attitudes about market competition divide people needlessly. An appreciation of what competition makes possible could prepare the ground for a convergence ...

Reflections on the 2012 Elections

by Tim Kelly November 23, 2012

Every two years the parasitic political class must subject themselves to a vote of confidence from their hapless hosts, the American people. These elections — which H.L. Mencken called “an advance auction sale of stolen goods” — allegedly grant legitimacy to the system of legalized plunder we call politics. The quadrennial presidential elections have long since become meaningless ...

Thanksgiving, Socialism, and the Free Market (2008)

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 22, 2012

This article was originally published in November 2008. As Barack Obama prepares to assume the presidency, it would be appropriate today to remember that the original Thanksgiving celebrated the demise of the “spread-the-wealth” economic system that the colonists at Plymouth Rock initially established. The story ...

Why Are Brothels Illegal?

by Laurence M. Vance November 21, 2012

In contrast to the boring and predictable presidential candidates, there are some unusually colorful candidates who somehow manage to get into office each time there is an election. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was twice elected to the California governorship. Professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota. Singer Sony Bono was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives until his life was tragically cut ...

Petraeus Fell for the Wrong Reason

by Sheldon Richman November 20, 2012

David Petraeus has fallen — but not as he should have. Before being disgraced by an extramarital affair, the retired four-star general and ex-CIA director should have been shamed out of public life for his horrendous military record in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are we talking about the same David Petraeus who is said to have heroically saved Iraq with the ...

The Banality of Evil: How the U.S. Government Killed an Innocent Man

by Andy Worthington November 19, 2012

Now that the all-consuming and insanely expensive presidential election is over for another four years, Barack Obama’s in-tray still contains Guantánamo, where, of the 166 men still held, 86 were cleared for release by the Guantánamo Review Task Force. Consisting of officials from the relevant government departments and the intelligence agencies, the Task Force analyzed the cases ...

The War on Terrorism, the Constitution, & Civil Liberties: UC Boulder

by Future of Freedom Foundation November 19, 2012

From October 15-19, 2012 The Future of Freedom Foundation and the Young Americans for Liberty co-sponsored a College Civil Liberties Tour that brought a panel of three lawyers – a libertarian, a liberal, and a conservative – to five campuses on the West Coast. The three panelists, inluding Jacob G. Hornberger, Glenn Greenwald, Bruce Fein, and along with moderator ...

The Goal Is Freedom: Love the Market?

by Sheldon Richman November 16, 2012

Libertarians are sometimes accused of being “market fundamentalists,” and there’s a sense in which I will plead guilty to the charge (though I have multiple criticisms to offer of the Longview Institute’s “vulgar liberal” take on the subject). Libertarians certainly have great esteem for “the market” — but our esteem is rooted in reason and ...