When government expands its powers beyond its legitimate purpose of protecting individual rights, unintended consequences are unleashed. When various levels of government use those powers for different goals, the individual is invariably caught in the crossfire. Government’s response to the pandemic is one example. Early in the pandemic, states and localities across the nation ordered…
Housing activists frequently proclaim that a household earning the minimum wage cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment. This is the elephant in the room that housing activists refuse to address. As an example, the executive director of the Capital Area Housing Partnership in Michigan writes, The fair market rent for a modest two-bedroom apartment in the…
Tomorrow, April 21, Texans will celebrate San Jacinto Day to commemorate the battle that culminated the Texas Revolution. While that victory secured Texas’s independence from Mexico, the revolution’s animating principle was protecting the individual’s independence from the State. The Texas Revolution liberated the individual. When Texas delegates adopted a Declaration of Independence in early March…
It is increasingly common to hear someone state that the rights of individuals are in conflict. The use of phrases such as “tenants’ rights” or “housing is a right” are two examples. The confusion about the nature of rights gives rise to the view that rights conflict. Rights pertain to freedom of action. Rights protect…
Defending the free market often puts one in the position of explaining how a particular product or service would be provided by private companies. It is understandable that others want concrete examples, and sometimes this is easy. For example, we can use UPS, FedEx, and similar companies as examples of what might occur if we…
Knowledge is not a series of random, isolated ideas. Knowledge is, as Leonard Peikoff puts it, “an organization or integration of interconnected elements, each relevant to the others.” That integration is the context, and context matters. If we fail to consider all of the relevant facts we are guilty of dropping context. Important information does…
Other people do not always act the way that we would prefer. Rational people accept that fact and resort to persuasion in an attempt to change the offending behavior. Sadly, a growing number of people are rejecting persuasion and embracing the coercive “solution.” The essence of the coercive “solution” is: Do as I say, or…
When politicians announce a new program or policy, they tell us of all the great benefits that will result. We are told that “green” energy mandates will generate jobs. They tell us that raising the minimum wage will benefit low-skilled workers. We are told that expanding the housing voucher program will allow tens of thousands…
Many conservatives oppose vaccine mandates, regardless of its source. They see no difference between a government mandate and a mandate issued by a private employer. The failure to discriminate—to recognize the differences between two or more things—isn’t surprising. Many conservatives do the same when they claim Big Tech is engaged in censorship. Certainly, mandates issued…
In 1850, the French economist, Claude Frédéric Bastiat, wrote an essay titled “That Which is Seen and That Which is not Seen.” The essay is timeless, and it is particularly enlightening at a time when government spending has reached new levels of profligacy. The introduction to the essay lays out its central point: In the…
This is a guest post by JP Miller In late January we witnessed a brazen low point in the history of the United States. President Joseph Biden announced the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer from the Supreme Court. He would be examining candidates with the best minds, the highest moral character and best records of…
In an executive order last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott prohibited private businesses from requiring a “vaccine passport” for employees and customers. President Joe Biden wants to force businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccines. Despite these different approaches to vaccine mandates, Abbott and Biden are in agreement on the fundamental issue. When…