The Public “Flogging” of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
MARKETS
Intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom; political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom; a free mind and a free market are corollaries. – AYN RAND
Hands Off Amazon.com and Sell Off the Post Office
President Trump should focus on getting government out of business by deregulating—and privatizing the United States Postal Service.
The Unintended Consequences of The Minimum Wage
But behind all of these negative and usually unintended consequences arising from the imposing of a government-enforced hourly minimum wage remains the fundamental ethical issue: who shall have the right to decide under what terms and conditions people enter into gainful employment?
The Trump Tariff is Really a Gigantic Tax on American Consumers
A tariff is essentially a tax that will be paid by domestic consumers.
Trump’s Protectionist Tariffs Threaten a Trade War
The illogical trade policies of President Trump not only threaten to make Americans poorer, but could start a global trade war that could lead to decreasing standards of living for hundreds of millions of people around the globe.
Trump Plays with Fire on Trade
With his announcement last week of broad tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, President Trump launched what could be the first salvo of an all-out global trade war. Seemingly itching for a fight, he gleefully tweeted that “Trade wars are good, and easy to win.” It...
Capitalism and “Public Goods” Like National Defense
The competitive market economy is a powerful institutional mechanism for bringing human ingenuity, energy and creativity to bear to improve both the material and cultural circumstances of multitudes of people around the world. Wherever relatively free market...
The Debt Ceiling Hysteria and Profligate Government
The Crisis is Not Debt Default, But Too Much Government Spending
Larry Fink vs. T.J. Rodgers: The Moral Purpose of Business
The proper, moral role of companies in society is to produce and trade material values
Amazon should keep its second headquarters away from Canada
Should Amazon locate its second headquarters in Toronto or elsewhere in Canada, it would be sacrificing profits due to government intervention.
Raising Rates Reflect Bigger Debt Not Faster Growth
While investors are justifiably focused on what may be the opening crescendo of a long overdue sell-off in stocks, there is not, as of yet, as feverish a discussion of the parallel sell-offs in bonds and the U.S. dollar, which have been underway for at least a year...
Reject CEO Pay Caps and Minimum Wages
CEO pay caps and minimum wages are immoral because both curtail individual freedom by government force—yet, freedom is the fundamental requirement of human flourishing and prosperity.
Capitalism and Free-Market Competition
According to the critics of capitalism, competition is a cruel process feeding unnecessary wants, that evolves into anti-competitive monopolies acting contrary to the “public interest.”
Capitalism and Monopolies
Harmful monopolies are always created by government.
A “Right Side” to History? The Failure of Marx’s Predictions About Capitalism, Part 2
Those who speak about being on the “right side of history” have, knowingly or not, adopted a central element in Karl Marx’s analysis of capitalism
A “Right Side” to History? The Failure of Marx’s Predictions About Capitalism, Part 1
One of the most common phrases to be heard from those on “the left” is the assertion that someone or some public policy is or is not on “the right side of history.”
Fake Tax Reform
After supposedly chomping on the bit for years to pass meaningful tax reform, Republicans are now set to blow an historic opportunity. Whatever version of the Bill that emerges from the House and Senate Conference Committee (which will be signed by President Trump...
Wealth Creation is Not a Zero Sum Game
Those producing and trading goods and services for profit are not taking anything away from others—the producers and traders are creating material values that would not exist without their productivity.
Books: The Moral Case for Finance
The essential moral case for finance that Brook and Watkins present is that finance is good by the standard of human flourishing.
The Impact of Monetary and Regulatory Policy on Main Street Banking
John A. Allison is an Executive in Residence at the Wake Forest School of Business. He has served as president and CEO of the Cato Institute, and chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation. This article is based on his remarks at Cato’s 34th Annual Monetary Conference,...
Right-To-Work is an Inalienable Right
While individuals have a right to organize, they do not have the right to violate other people’s rights, forcing them to join their organization.
Calm Before The Storm
In light of the 30-year anniversary of the Black Monday Crash in 1987 (when the Dow lost more than 20% in “one day”, we should be reminded that investor anxiety usually increases when markets get to extremes. If stock prices fall steeply, people fret about...
Every Job is a Thinking Job
Thinking on the job, and in every other aspect of life, is a virtue necessary for human flourishing.
When Government is Anti-Business—and What To Do About It
As Ayn Rand explains, the only proper role of government is to protect citizens against the initiation of physical force and fraud, through the police, the armed services, and the courts.
Government Intervention: The Great Job Killer
Government cannot create jobs because it does not produce anything.
Dealing With Bullies At Work
So how to deal with a workplace bully? The only effective way to do so is to apply appropriate moral principles: rationality, integrity and justice.
Objective Moral Principles Make Decisions Easier
Thanks to Ayn Rand and the objective moral principles she identified, we can make moral decisions more easily—and achieve our values in the long term.
Should the Nanny State Dictate Training for Uber Drivers?
Should government be an all-knowing, benevolent nanny who tells us how we must live, for our own good?
A New Challenge to the Dollar
In a move that was little noticed outside of the financial world, China announced the creation of an oil futures contract (open to international traders) that will be denominated in Yuan and convertible into gold. This move provides the first official linkage of oil...
Blowing Off The Roof
Of all the absurd Washington pantomimes none has been as reliably entertaining and maddening as the annual debates to raise the debt ceiling. Although the outcome was always a foregone conclusion (the ceiling would be raised), the excitement came when fiscal...
Video: John Allison on Principled Leadership
On July 21, 2011, Wake Forest University Schools of Business Distinguished Professor of Practice John Allison address the Master of Arts in Management Class of 2012. The retired chairman and CEO of BB&T discussed Principled Leadership with the incoming class of business students.
The Swamp Strikes Back
On August 21st many Americans witnessed the moon cast a historic but short-lived shadow across the United States. One day later, President Trump reversed his previously stated position on the 16 year old Afghan War, thereby eclipsing the possibility that the United...
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