Weekly Standard: U.S. Per Capita Debt Worse Than Greece


Joseph Svetlic: Gasoline Prices And Dollar Prices

The real price of gasoline is going down.    It's not that gasoline is more expensive; it's just that your dollars are worth less. But neither the media nor the political establishment wants you to realize the real reason Americans are experiencing pain at the pump. Surging gasoline prices are back in the news, and President Obama shows his concern for Americans   ... MORE

VIDEO: Milton Friedman - C-Span Questions

Nathan Lewis: The Crisis Of Capitalism

The crisis of capitalism is a lack of capitalism.     “The American economy increasingly serves only a narrow part of society, and America’s national politics has failed to put the country back on track through honest, open, and transparent problem solving. Too many of America’s elites-among the super-rich, the CEOs, and many of my colleagues in academia-  ... MORE

Huffington Post: Government's Condoms For Kids Program

Available in some California counties if you're 12. A new program supported by the California Department of Public Health will allow teenagers throughout various parts of the state to order condoms online for free. The initiative, launched on Tuesday and available through TeenSource.org, a website that provides information about safe sex for California teens ... MORE

VIDEO: What Is Regulatory Capture?


The inner workings of crony capitalism.

John Carney: Regulatory Capture - Federal Reserve Edition

Regulations are written by special interests. Simon Johnson calculates that Fed board members have met with opponents of financial reform—mostly, bankers—about 10 times more than they have met with advocates. It’s actually quite stunning just how many times representatives of big banks have met with Fed officials on the Volcker Rule. Just on the ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: What If Democracy Is Bunk?

Do Americans have a fundamental misunderstanding?  What if you are only allowed to vote because it doesn't make a difference? What if no matter how you vote, the elites get to have it their way? What if "one person, one vote" is just a fiction created by the government to induce your compliance? What if democracy is dangerous to personal freedom? ... MORE

Scott Morgan: 5 Reasons To Never Agree To A Police Search

Even if you have nothing to hide.     Do you know what your rights are when a police officer asks to search you? If you're like most people I've met in my eight years working to educate the public on this topic, then you probably don't. It's a subject that a lot of people think they understand, but too often our perception of police power is distorted by fictional TV  ... MORE

VIDEO: Andrew Napolitano - Drug War Update

David Harsanyi: Obama Gets His Way With Oil Prices

Aren't high gas prices what Democrats want?     Gas prices are spiking. That's great news, right? We have to wean ourselves off the stuff. At least that's what we've been hearing for years. Oil is dirty. We import it from nations that hate our guts (like Canada!). And moreover, we're running out. Oil is "finite." Finite much in the way water is finite. So why aren't ... MORE

Vancouver Sun: Drug War Is A Costly Failure

U.S. group warns Canada. A high-profile group of current and former U.S. law enforcement officials has sent a letter to the Harper government with a surprising message: Take it from us, the war on drugs has been a "costly failure." The officials are urging the Canadian government to reconsider mandatory minimum sentences for "minor" marijuana ... MORE

VIDEO: Is Harrisburg's Nightmare America's Future?

Jim DeMint: ObamaCare Versus Individual Freedom

The corrosive nature of government's takeover. President Obama’s new mandate requiring all employers to purchase insurance coverage for their employees that includes abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception is an outrage, of course. But what kind of outrage is it? Most of the public outcry has understandably centered around the mandate’s .... MORE

Robert Poole: Fixing America's Freeways

Reinventing our expressways, one lane at a time.   If you work anywhere in America outside of New York City, chances are you drive to work. That means you battle congestion twice every weekday. Rest assured that it’s not your imagination: traffic is much worse than it used to be.  The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), which has been measuring the cost ... MORE

Christopher Coyne: The Creeping Militarization of America

The state gains power as individual rights diminish.   Earlier this month, Congress passed House Resolution 658, the “Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act,” which President Obama is expected to sign. One of the over 1,000 sections of H.R. 658 authorizes domestic use of aerial spy drones  ... MORE

Christopher Santarelli: The Greatest Gun Salesman Of All

A bi-product of hope and change. Gun manufacturers would likely not be the first to come to mind when considering industries who have benefited the most during President Obama’s first term, but a study from Ammo.net finds that firearm sales and concealed handgun permit applications are at all-time highs since the 2008 election. Just to ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Pursuit Of Happiness

Gary Johnson: Time To Repeal The Patriot Act

The Patriot Act is not for patriots. Ten years ago, we learned that the fastest way to pass a bad law is to call it the ‘Patriot Act’ and force Congress to vote on it in the immediate wake of a horrible attack on the United States. The irony is that there is really very little about the Patriot Act that is patriotic. Instead, it has turned out to be yet another tool the    ... MORE

Ed Feulner: Onerous Effects Of Overrugulation

Small business wrapped in red tape.    We keep hearing that the economy is in a “jobless recovery.” What’s holding American companies back? Why aren’t they hiring more people? High taxes draw a lot of attention, and rightly so. They depress investment and discourage innovation. But escalating regulatory costs also undermine our  ... MORE

VIDEO: Smoking Bans - Banning Freedom

John Stossel: Politicians Fiddle While Fiscal Crisis Looms

Imagine this family budget: Last year, you earned $24,700. But you spent $37,900, incurring $13,300 in debt, and you were already $153,500 in debt. So you say, "I promise I'll spend $300 less this year!" Anyone can see that your cutback is pathetic and that you need to spend much less. Yet if you add eight zeroes, that's America's budget. The president says ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: Academic Hyprocrisy


Time for academics to start pointing the finger inward.    It is fascinating to see people accusing others of things that they themselves are doing, especially when their own sins are worse. Academics love to say that businesses are not paying enough to people who work for them. But where in business are there people who are paid absolutely nothing for   ... MORE

Arthur Caplan: Your Privacy For A Low Price


Your privacy is gone, and it’s never coming back.    A report that Target accidentally disclosed a teen girl’s pregnancy to her father shows the logical extreme to which retailers can take the search for more information about their customers. This is what happens when you hand the cashier at your local drug store or grocery store any of a zillion plastic reward  ... MORE

Ira Stoll: Why Capitalism Isn't Going Anywhere

Only system know to increase both growth and freedom. At the height of the financial crisis in late 2008 and early 2009, a wave of articles declared the end of capitalism. A half-dozen reporters writing about the issue called Allan Meltzer, who since 1957 has been teaching about capitalism at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.       ... MORE

VIDEO: Externalities - Market Failure or Political Failure?

Carol Williams: California Gun Owners Are Optimistic

Emerging strategy to restore lost gun rights. Chuck Michel's strategy for crime-fighting rests on the element of surprise: Keep the bad guys guessing who's armed and who's not. "If 5% of the ducks could shoot back, you're not going to go duck hunting," said the Long Beach lawyer representing many Californians denied concealed weapons permits and, in his view, their  ... MORE

Mark Steyn: Contraception Misdirection

Like handing out condoms on the Titanic. Have you seen the official White House version of what the New York Times headline writers call “A Responsible Budget”? My favorite bit is Chart 5-1 on page 58 of their 500-page appendix on “Analytical Perspectives.” This is entitled “Publicly Held Debt Under 2013 Budget Policy Projections.” It’s a straight through your  ... MORE

VIDEO: Brad Schiller - Who Are the 1%?

Mike Silva: PC Police Disarm Old Houston Uniform

Nauseating MLB political correctness at it again.    Yesterday I wrote at Sports Media Watchdog about the public overreaction to the ESPN “Chink in the Armor” story; today I came across a story about MLB messing with tradition in the name of political correctness. Last September, the League prevented the Mets from wearing hats honoring first       ... MORE

Walter E Williams: Math Mattters

Hard work and discipline pay dividends.   If one manages to graduate from high school without the rudiments of algebra, geometry and trigonometry, there are certain relatively high-paying careers probably off-limits for life -- such as careers in architecture, chemistry, medicine computer programming, engineering and certain technical fields.    ... MORE

The Economist: America Is Tangled Up In Green Tape

The chaotic state of overregulation.  Pity the engineers responsible for keeping America’s coal-fired power plants up to standard. Late last year a court halted the adoption of new regulations on interstate air pollution that would have affected lots of them—just two days before they were due to go into force. The suspended regulations, in turn, were themselves a   ... MORE

Rick Moran: Gas Hikes Will Plague Anti-Drilling President

Obama becomes vulnerable on energy issue. Nothing will focus the attention of voters on Obama's failed energy policies like the current rise in gas prices. The White House can spin it alll they want, but thwen voters start really feeling the pinch from high fuel costs, they are going to start asking questions. Fox News: Nationally, gas prices are $3.53 a gallon, up    ... MORE

VIDEO: Harry Browne - Why Government Doesn't Work


Central planners fail to understand that people will think for themselves.  

Jason L. Riley: Obama's War On School Vouchers

The president is not pro-choice on education.    In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama spoke about the importance of kids staying in school and even urged states to raise the dropout age to 18. So it's passing strange that his new $3.8 trillion budget provides no new money for a school voucher program in Washington, D.C., that is producing    ... MORE

AP: One Candidate Stands For Self-Ownership Principle

Ron Paul believes one's body is private property.    Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul decried the “war on drugs” Thursday night, telling supporters in Washington state that people should be able to make their own decisions on such matters. Voters in Washington are likely to decide this year whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.   ... MORE

VIDEO: Santorum Fights Liberty, Supports Earmarks

Peter Ferrara: The Decline & Fall Of America's Economy

The fruits of Obama's budget.    President Obama’s budget released Monday embodies his policies for economic growth and recovery.  The document, including the President’s accompanying budget message, makes those policies quite clear.  If you think the key to economic growth and prosperity is increased government spending, financed by increased ... MORE

Charles Krauthammer: ObamaCare Vs. The Constitution

Give him points for cleverness.     President Obama’s birth control “accommodation” was as politically successful as it was morally meaningless. It was nothing but an accounting trick that still forces Catholic (and other religious) institutions to provide medical insurance that guarantees free birth control, tubal ligation and morning-after abortifacients — all of which ... MORE