"The soft bigotry of low expectations." President George W. Bush once used this expression to chastise America's education establishment for the underperformance of minorities, specifically blacks and Latinos. Bush urged teachers and administrators to apply high...
Earlier this year big institutional investors were blithely telling themselves that Enron was just an exception. After all, it was a case of outright fraud. How often does that happen? And sure, every company cooks the books a little. But we expect it of them and make...
The recently passed amendment to the Senate's Sarbanes bill preventing corporations from making loans to their officers is just another step in the socialization of private property in America -- and must be fought on that basis. The concept of property inherently...
There's a game of "can you top this?" going on, with the Senate, the House, and the White House all trying to one-up each other to see who can talk the toughest tough-talk about corporate crooks. The media sits on the sidelines, egging on the politicians, lavishing...
As the stock market falls for the third straight year -- something that hasn't happened since 1941 -- I get asked three questions: 1. When will it end? 2. Why is it happening? 3. What should I do? The third question is by far the most important, and the answer is...
Politicians and economic analysts are shocked. They have told us for weeks that the stock market is crashing because of low "investor confidence" in response to a "crime wave" of corporate fraud--made possible by "a climate of lax regulation" and "the lure of heady...
As both Democratic and Republican proposals to provide prescription drug benefits for the elderly failed in the Senate, members of both parties vowed to try to reach a compromise and get a bill passed as early as next week. Any such bill, if approved, would be a...
There's an old maxim in moral philosophy that says, "the ends never justify the means." Of course, lots of utilitarians think that is so much moral posturing and nonsense. They proffer hypothetical arguments to debunk that maxim, such as: "If stealing a loaf of bread...
The American Civil Liberties Union recently released a white paper admitting that it is not particularly concerned with defending free speech. But not to worry, this does not make the ACLU purposeless: according to the paper, the leaders in the ACLU derive just as...
As of yesterday's close, the S&P 500 has lost 46.2% on a total return basis (including receipt of dividends) since the top in 2000. That exceeds the loss of 45.1% in the 1973-74 bear market -- but it's still shy of the 49.9% lost in the 1937-38 bear market. If the...
Opponents of school vouchers have grown desperate in the wake of the Supreme Court's refusal to outlaw vouchers as violations of the First Amendment. And desperation seldom produces clarity of thought. It was particularly painful to read an outburst by Cynthia Tucker...
Following the horrific events of September 11, President George W. Bush bravely asserted his administration's policy toward terrorism. The United States, from here out, was to hold not only terrorist organizations, but also state sponsors of terrorism, responsible for...
Did anyone ever call Franklin D. Roosevelt a "Dutch American" or Dwight Eisenhower a "German American"? It would have been resented, not only by them and their supporters, but by Americans in general. These men were Americans -- not hyphenated Americans or half...
Did you hear the one about the 87-year-old grandmother who had her knitting needles taken away by airport security? They were afraid she was going to knit an Afghan. That is just one of many jibes at the fraudulent airport security measures adopted since September 11....
As both an architect and architectural historian--that is, as someone who cares about buildings nearly as much as I care about my friends and family--I felt like I lost an old friend on September 11 when the towers of the World Trade Center crumbled to the ground....
George W. Bush gave a pretty good speech back in September, and also at the time of the State of the Union in January. In those speeches, he outlined a principled defense against terrorism. The question, of course, was always: Does he mean it? It's not looking good...
Most discussions of the problems of American education have an air of utter unreality because they avoid addressing the most fundamental and intractable problem of our public schools -- the low quality of our teachers. There is no point expecting teachers to teach...
If the Ninth Circuit has become a haven for rogue anti-patriotic judges, as many politicians claim, than the Seventh Circuit has become the refuge of the business-hating justices. Last month the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit found that companies could be found guilty...
On the 4th of July, an Egyptian immigrant to the United States who believes in wild conspiracy theories about Jews, is known for his great "hate for Israel," and has possible ties to al Qaeda, armed himself to the teeth and assaulted the Israeli airline counter at Los...
Congress has no problem shelling out $6.5 billion for mass-transit systems that fewer and fewer Americans use each year. It manages to fully fund Medicare, despite $23 billion in waste and fraud each year. It pays farmers -- mostly mega-corporations, actually -- $1.3...
We have no less than unadulterated idiots in charge of airport security. You say, "What is it this time, Williams?" Last month, while boarding a Midwest Express flight to Milwaukee, former Vice President Al Gore was pulled aside at the boarding gate. He was frisked...
It has been about seven months since the Marin County Taliban (John Walker Lindh) was apprehended in Mazar-i-Sharif, sporting an AKM rifle in support of the Taliban regime. Having made a plea bargain for a maximum of 20 years without parole, Walker avoided what would...
Death tax vs. estate tax -- preferred term: Estate tax. Republicans call the taxes assessed on an estate valued at a million dollars or more a "death tax," while Democrats generally call it an "estate tax." "Death tax" -- used by conservative outlets like Fox --...
A proper government defines and protects the individual rights of its citizens. Under such a government, the courts play a crucial role; it is through the courts that men are able to settle disputes peaceably according to predetermined legal rules. It is these legal...
Read by students, professors, and citizens, Capitalism Magazine provides over 9,000 free to read articles and essays from pro-reason, individual rights perspective.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.