After Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made a fool of herself by defining habeas corpus as "a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country," Justin Amash, the libertarian former congressman, posted an apt quotation...
Justice
TGIF: Maestro Trump and Drug Prices
by Sheldon Richman | May 23, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
When encountering a public problem, people tend to fall into one of two camps: one camp, the larger one, says, "There oughta be a law." The other one asks, "How has the government created or aggravated the situation?" We know which camp Maestro Trump belongs to. Take...
TGIF: Individuals, Not America, First
by Sheldon Richman | May 16, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Let's hear no more about America First! It's a fraud, a cover for collectivist nationalism, and a distraction from what matters. (It also looks like camouflage for Trump Family First, but let's take it at face value for now.) On foreign policy, America First does not...
The Public-School Chickens Come Home Again
by Sheldon Richman | Apr 23, 2025 | Blog, Justice, Libertarianism
In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether parents of children in government schools have a constitutional right to opt out of programs that "expose" their kids to LGBTQ materials. Once again, the chickens have come home to roost. By that, I mean...
TGIF: “Liberalism and Capitalism”
by Sheldon Richman | Mar 28, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Ludwig von Mises's 1927 path-breaking work in political theory speaks to the current generations. In section 5 of his introduction to Liberalism: The Classical Tradition, Mises sounds impeccably relevant in describing how the opponents of liberalism and the market...
TGIF: The Income Stagnation Myth
by Sheldon Richman | Mar 21, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Many people, including some free-market advocates, think Americans are materially worse off today than they were in the 1970s. Some subscribers to that view blame globalization, that is, free trade in goods, which means in labor services. By any reasonable measure,...
TGIF: Say No to a Sovereign Wealth Fund
by Sheldon Richman | Mar 14, 2025 | Economics, Featured, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Donald Trump wants to create a sovereign wealth fund (SWF). It's a bad idea if your standard is freedom, free enterprise, and free markets. That's not Trump's standard, but we already knew that. A sovereign wealth fund is a government-run investment program. Where...
TGIF: A New Washington Post?
by Sheldon Richman | Mar 7, 2025 | Economics, Featured, Justice, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
If Jeff Bezos is as good as his word, the advocates of full liberty will owe him a standing ovation. As everyone knows by now, Amazon.com founder Bezos, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time—a man whose profit-making activities have benefitted mankind...