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When “Rights” are Wrong, Part 1
Gresham’s Law holds that “bad” money drives out “good” money. For example, if legal tender laws declare that a one ounce brass coin and a one ounce gold coin are both worth $10, the more valuable gold coin will disappear from circulation. While Gresham’s law pertains to economics, the same principle applies to rights. When…
Giving Thanks to Big Pharma
This week, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, a body established by the World Health Organization, released a paper that argues that “global health has been ‘left hostage’ to Big Pharma.” Such a claim equates the actions of pharmaceutical companies with the actions of kidnappers. This is a grossly unjust accusation. A kidnapper…
Private vs. Public “Property” Rights
It is rare that an opinion piece provides me with three distinct issues to address in separate posts. A piece at Capegazette.com, which “covers Delaware’s Cape Region” does just that. The first post about this piece addressed “givings” vs. takings. The topic of this post is private vs. public property rights. The opinion piece claims…
Adjectives don’t Change the Essence of Socialism
Socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently attempted to distinguish democratic socialism from the socialism being practiced in Venezuela. During the recent debate in Houston, Sanders called Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro a “vicious tyrant.” He went on to call for “for free elections in Venezuela so that the people of that country can make, can create…
Short-term Rentals and Property Rights
In the 2017 legislative session, Texas lawmakers considered numerous bills aimed at limiting the ability of local governments to pass ordinances regulating private property. One of these bills addressed short-term rentals (STRs). According to the Texas Tribune, proponents of SB451 (the Senate bill addressing STRs), said that the bill “would protect homeowners from strict local…