Economics for the Citizen, Part 1 by Walter E. Williams March 1, 2005 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 Last fall semester, I didn’t teach for the first time in 37 years. No, I haven’t retired. It was my semester-off reward ...
Are Illegal Immigrants Criminals? Not! by Ken Schoolland March 1, 2005 I hear it from some of the nicest people one would ever meet. Some dear friends of mine, whom I respect very much, say that all illegal immigrants are criminals because they broke the laws that control who may come into this country. And since these immigrants are criminals, we don’t want that kind of person here. Such accusations confuse ...
Congressional Sadists by Sheldon Richman February 25, 2005 Even though April 15 is more than a month and a half away, this is the time of year when people are thinking about and preparing their income-tax returns. So it’s a good time to contemplate this particular bit of oppression under which half the adult population labors. Many people act as ...
An Elective Despotism by Sheldon Richman February 21, 2005 Before American politicians lecture others on the virtues of representative government, perhaps some self-examination would be in order. The United States unquestionably has the trappings of representative government. Americans vote for officeholders on a regular basis, and these officeholders, in theory, vote on issues with their constituents’ interests in mind. From the outside it ...
The War on Pain Sufferers by Sheldon Richman February 14, 2005 A good deal of air is exhaled over the state of medical care in America. Open state worshipers want a complete government takeover, while a more subtle band of state worshipers, those who call themselves advocates of limited government, propose instead to use “market incentives” to accomplish their aims. What ...
An Anti-Democracy Foreign Policy: Guatemala by Jacob G. Hornberger February 11, 2005 Unfortunately, the CIA “success” in Iran, which produced the CIA’s ouster of Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, bred a CIA “success” in another part of the world, Latin America. One year after the 1953 coup in Iran, the CIA did it again, this time in Guatemala, where U.S. officials feared the communist threat even more than they ...
A More Powerful President Is the Last Thing We Need by Anthony Gregory February 9, 2005 Vice President Richard Cheney recently credited George W. Bush with restoring the presidency to its proper station of authority and power. According to Cheney, the American presidency declined in its prestige and status in recent years, especially during the Nixon, Ford, ...
The “Oil-for-Food” Smokescreen by Jacob G. Hornberger February 4, 2005 Are you familiar with the big “shock” that neoconservatives have experienced over the financial scandal arising out of the infamous “oil-for-food” government program, which was the subject of an investigative report issued Thursday by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker? The oil-for-food program was the socialist program established ...
Of Course, It All Began with Ayn Rand by Bart Frazier February 2, 2005 Like so many others, Ayn Rand has heavily influenced the paths that I have chosen in my life. And like most everyone else, it began with Atlas Shrugged. I was nineteen when someone gave me a worn, pocket-sized edition of Atlas Shrugged. Unlike so ...
On the Centenary of America’s Radical for Capitalism by Sheldon Richman February 2, 2005 February 2 is the centenary of the birth of Ayn Rand, the novelist who inspired tens of millions of readers with her philosophical action stories celebrating reason, individualism, and freedom under capitalism. Her death in 1982 did not stanch interest in her work either as an artist or as ...
Ayn Rand Introduced Me to Libertarianism by Jacob G. Hornberger February 2, 2005 My very first exposure to libertarianism was provided by Ayn Rand, whose 100th birthday is being celebrated today. One afternoon in the fall of 1974, I was sitting around watching television. At the time, I was temporarily working as a waiter in Dallas, having just completed three months of ...
The Bill of Rights: The Rights of the Accused by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 2005 Among the legitimate purposes of government is the punishment of those who violate the rights of others through the commission of violent or forceful acts, such as murder, rape, robbery, theft, burglary, or trespass. As the Framers understood, however, the matter does not end there because an important inquiry immediately arises: How do we ensure that people are not ...