One of the best arguments in support of free market capitalism is how much capitalism has reduced extreme poverty. Between 1820 and 2015, extreme poverty plummeted from 90% to 10% globally in that span. This statistic is one of the greatest accomplishments of mankind...
Economics
TGIF: Extend Tolerance to Commerce
by Sheldon Richman | Oct 20, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Perhaps you've noticed that we live in intolerant times. Many people claim to be endangered by the mere spoken or written expression of views on a range of issues. This has led to direct action to disrupt speakers on college campuses and elsewhere and to indirect...
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...
TGIF: Why Is Government Stuff Called “Public”?
by Sheldon Richman | Oct 13, 2023 | Criminal Justice, Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Government facilities and services -- which are actually disservices overall -- are called "public" while services that are efficiently responsive to the public are dubbed "private." Why is that? That way of framing the distinction could be intended to subtly...
The Fed Is Steering Us Towards Bankruptcy
by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Oct 11, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
For all that the corporate press does to paint the Federal Reserve as adroitly steering the monetary ship of state, one has only to look at the Fed’s actual words to know that however much they may be steering the ship, they have no idea where they are going. As...
TGIF: A Market for Law?
by Sheldon Richman | Oct 6, 2023 | Criminal Justice, Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Great part of that order which reigns among mankind is not the effect of government. It has its origin in the principles of society and the natural constitution of man. It existed prior to government, and would exist if the formality of government was abolished....
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...
A Short ‘Continuing Resolution’ Will Not Fix Big Problems
by Ron Paul | Oct 4, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Politics
Federal spending is so out of control that it only took three months for the federal debt to increase by one trillion dollars to over 33 trillion dollars. In contrast, it took almost 200 years for the federal debt to reach one trillion dollars. So the federal...