POLITICS

The basic and crucial political issue of our age is: capitalism versus socialism, or freedom versus statism. For decades, this issue has been silenced, suppressed, evaded, and hidden under the foggy, undefined rubber-terms of “conservatism” and “liberalism” which had lost their original meaning and could be stretched to mean all things to all men. – AYN RAND

How To Make Medical Care Affordable

Rather than create more government subsidies, policymakers should eliminate supply-side regulations that reduce price competition and affordability.

The Hyena Press

The Hyena Press

While politicians were expressing their shock to the media over the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, the Iraqi terrorists gave us a bitter lesson in what real shock is all about, with the videotaped beheading of an American civilian who was in Iraq to try to help...

United Nations’ Law of the Sea Treaty

When former president Ronald Reagan declined to enter America into the United Nations' Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), it seemed the debate over regulating the world's oceans at the global level had ended, at least for the duration of his leadership. Under former...

It’s Still the Economy, But Are Voters Stupid?

It's been a miserable month in Iraq, but a wonderful month for the American economy. "The April employment report confirms unambiguously that the labor market is back," said Economy.com, the respected website, on Thursday. Some 288,000 net new jobs were created, and,...

Government Approved Relationships

Q: Dr. Hurd, on your article on gay associations, what reasons would you have if a person wanted to have an "association" with a parent, a sibling, a cousin or a minor? Where would you draw the line and what reasoning would you use to make this conclusion of yours? A:...

The Sage of Santa Fe: Laddered-Bond Funds

Five or six years ago, a friend I have known since high school -- let's call him R. -- rhapsodized about a money manager who lived in, of all places, Santa Fe, N.M. "Find Garrett Thornburg," said R. "This guy has the best financial mind in America, and who knows about...

Optimism: The Good News About Hard Reality

Q: I need the spirit of optimism in daily news analysis. Is there something wrong with me that I need to hear good things from other people? A: Not at all. A news commentary should tell you that there's hope, if there is hope. At the same time, a news commentary...

The Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage

The Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage

Ladies and gentlemen, it is understandable to want to help out poor families, and toward that end it has been suggested that Congress increase the minimum wage, from the current $5.15 an hour to $6.65 an hour. Well, I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news...

Why Nick Berg was Executed

Why Nick Berg was Executed

According to AOL News, a video posted Tuesday on an Islamic militant Web site showed the beheading of an American civilian in Iraq, and said the execution was carried out by an al-Qaida affiliated group to avenge the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers. To...

The Beheading of American Nick Berg in Iraq

The slaughtering of Nick Berg is one small step for terrorists and a major leap for the West's encounter with Jihadism. The videotape, posted on the Ansar website, is one of many horrifying acts perpetrated by the followers of Osama bin Laden. It has also become a...

The Iraqi Prison Scandal — Time for Some Perspective

The Iraqi Prison Scandal — Time for Some Perspective

Scandal! Shocking! Shame! A public relations setback for the war! The world no longer trusts America with her loss of the moral high ground! Yes, the pictures at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad show coalition American soldiers taunting, humiliating and apparently...

Half a Century After Brown v. Board of Education

Half a Century After Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954 -- half a century ago -- saw one of the most momentous decisions in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States. Some observers who were there said that one of the black-robed Justices sat on the great bench with tears in his eyes. The case was...

Federal Spending Creates Few Jobs, Less Value

During the recent debate on legislation to reauthorize the federal highway system, many supporters of the program claimed that it would create 2 million jobs. But as decades of research demonstrate, such claims are questionable given the mixed findings of the many...

Make Tax Cuts Permanent

The roar of good economic news is getting louder. Our economy expanded 4.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. That follows 4.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter, and 8.2 percent growth in the quarter before that. Over the last three months alone, our economy...

Random Thoughts for May 2004

Random Thoughts for May 2004

Random thoughts on the passing scene: Australian economist Wolfgang Kasper has figured out the day on which the average citizen has earned money enough to pay his taxes, so that he can then begin earning money for himself instead of for the government. For Singapore,...

Outsourcing: Threat or Menace?

Speech by Donald L. Luskin to the Corporate Finance Council of San Diego.Tonight I'm going to be talking about the controversy over "offshore outsourcing" in the context of a book I'm writing. My book is about the intersection of the science of economics, the power of...

Outsourcing: Threat or Menace?

Speech by Donald L. Luskin to the Corporate Finance Council of San Diego.Tonight I'm going to be talking about the controversy over "offshore outsourcing" in the context of a book I'm writing. My book is about the intersection of the science of economics, the power of...

No-Cost Decision-Making

No-Cost Decision-Making

Those who imagine that collective decision-making by government officials is better than individual decision-making in a market economy should have been present at a recent meeting of the Planning Commission for the city of San Mateo, California. A man who has been...

The Curious Lack of Curiosity About WMD

The Curious Lack of Curiosity About WMD

"Week after week after week after week," said Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., about President Bush's rationale for going to war with Iraq, "we were told lie after lie after lie after lie." Were we? Jordan recently seized 20 tons of chemicals trucked in by confessed al...

The Economics of the Military Draft

Last year, Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) introduced bills calling for reinstatement of the military draft. A far more descriptive term for the military draft is government confiscation of labor services, but keeping with the spirit of...

What’s Left to Go Up? No Doubts About the Dow

After a year in which every stock market in the world has risen handsomely, real estate has gone through the roof, and bonds and commodities have soared as well, the witty and bearish Jim Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, has titled his spring...

The “Cost” of Medical Care

The “Cost” of Medical Care

If you ask most people about the cost of medical care, they may tell you how much they have to pay per visit to their doctor's office or the monthly bill for their prescription drugs. But these are not the costs of medical care. These are the prices paid. The...

“Progressive” Education and Taping Kids to Dumpsters

In an op-ed back in March, syndicated columnist Walter Williams slammed public schools for their absurd policies. One of the examples he cited was of Metro Nashville Public School administrators' decision to stop posting honor rolls or displaying academic results on...

Faith-Based “Freedom”

Q: Why do you think President Bush is making Constitutional opposition to gay marriage such a priority? I'm much more concerned about lowering taxes further and cutting the role of government in our lives. What gives? A: I blame it all on religion and supernaturalism....

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