Connor O'Keeffe | The Libertarian Institute

What Would Happen If the U.S. Stopped Supporting Ukraine?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Dec 7, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Over the weekend, border-policy negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans fell apart. The talks were meant to firm up Republican support for the president’s massive $105 billion military support proposal ahead of Wednesday’s vote by including additional funds for border security in the spending package. Now, with no imminent approval of further aid to Ukraine, hawks in government and the media are trying to stoke panic about what will happen if Kiev is cut off from U.S. support. In a letter to Congress Monday, White House budget director Shalanda Young told Congress the funds...

Progressive Interventionism Is Ruining American Healthcare

by Connor O'Keeffe | Nov 30, 2023 | Featured Articles

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the problems with Joe Manchin’s argument that Congress needs to reject the “extremism” in its ranks if it’s ever going to solve the many problems facing Americans. I argued that the opposite is true. That Congress is almost entirely unified behind a specific pace of progressive interventionism where the predictable consequences of previous interventions are perpetually used to justify more intervention. In this cycle, the government grows, the economy sputters, and the politically connected grow rich. Then last week, as if to prove my point, Democratic senator...

The Problem with Joe Manchin’s Centrism

by Connor O'Keeffe | Nov 16, 2023 | Featured Articles, Politics

Last week, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he would not seek reelection in 2024. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Manchin explained his reasons for leaving. He starts with a relatively noncontroversial assessment of the problems facing America—rising costs, dangerous drugs crossing the border, a large national debt, unsafe communities, and foreign wars that threaten to pull the United States in. After some platitudes about these not being “Republican or Democratic challenges” but “American challenges,” Manchin concludes: There are enough votes in Congress to solve or at least make...

No, We Cannot Fund Yet Another War

by Connor O'Keeffe | Oct 19, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

In a 60 Minutes interview over the weekend, host Scott Pelley asked President Joe Biden, “Are the wars in Israel and Ukraine more than the United States can take on at the same time?” The president answered, “We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense. We have the capacity to do this, and we have an obligation to.” In a Sky News interview released Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gave a similar answer when asked whether the US could afford to fund another war at this time: “I think the answer is absolutely. America can certainly afford to...

Showdown in the U.S. House: What Really Happened?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Oct 5, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Politics

On Tuesday, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted as Speaker of the House. This came days after the former Speaker struck a forty-five-day spending deal with House Democrats to keep the government funded. The last-minute deal and successful motion to vacate are the latest acts in a weeks-long showdown between the former Speaker and Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL). The origin of this Gaetz-McCarthy showdown is a concession McCarthy and his allies made back in January to shore up the votes McCarthy needed to become House Speaker. According to CNN, the bloc agreed to “move 12...

The UAW Can’t Solve Autoworkers’ Very Real Problems

by Connor O'Keeffe | Sep 29, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles

On Friday, September 15, 12,700 members of the United Auto Workers union (UAW) walked off the job at plants owned by the “Big Three” automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (which owns Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram). The walkout marked the beginning of a series of long-expected targeted strikes aiming to give the UAW leverage as it renegotiates contracts with the three companies. The strike is grounded in frustrations over worker compensation. Union members and their supporters point to high profits and CEO pay at the Big Three and compare them to stagnant wages and rising costs of living...

Thanks to Government, Maui’s Lahaina Fire Became a Deadly Conflagration

by Connor O'Keeffe | Aug 17, 2023 | Featured Articles

The most destructive natural disasters are never 100 percent natural. Human choices, land use, and government policies play a big role in how harmful hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, flash floods, and wildfires are to the affected communities. And after catastrophes like the wildfire that destroyed much of the historic Hawaiian city of Lahaina last week, it’s worth taking stock of how much of the disaster was the result not of natural or accidental factors, but of policies and institutions that can be changed. Though details are still emerging, it’s becoming clear that government failure...

Did Unions Kill America’s Oldest Trucking Business?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Aug 7, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles

On July 30, Yellow, one of the oldest and largest trucking businesses in the United States, ceased operations and moved to declare bankruptcy. According to reports, the final nail in the coffin of the ninety-nine-year-old business was a labor dispute with the Teamsters Union. Yellow’s executives also deserve some blame, however. The trucking networks acquired in the 2000s and 2010s were poorly managed, delaying their integration. That said, when the company finally sought integration, the efforts were blocked by the union. The standoff sent Yellow into a dire financial situation which...