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How to Articulate a Free-Market Vision for the Future
The Competitive Enterprise Institute views most market failure rationales for government intervention as wrong, overstated, or unproven (or all of the above). The Competitive Enterprise Institute…
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Remembering Aaron Wildavsky
Aaron Wildavsky, born on this day in 1930, died tragically and all too young in 1993, but left behind an incredible legacy in the public policy…
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Response to Mercatus Center’s Dan Griswold on Trade Policy
Fred Smith and Marc Scribner respond to the Mercatus Center's Dan Griswold on the free market approach to trade policy.
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Companies Make a Play for Hearts and Minds with Super Bowl Ads
Corporations are in trouble – people see more bad than good in corporate America, even though they may like and enjoy their products.
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Some Advice for Trump Appointees
Your role in the new administration is to propose ways of restoring limited government – by privatization, deregulation, extending property rights, and taking on the…
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Free Market Opportunities for the Trump Administration
This election has given us one more demonstration that knowledge is dispersed and “trusting the experts” to know the future is foolish. The unexpected success…
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Happy Birthday to Economist Bruce Yandle
Bruce Yandle – a great economic scholar at Clemson University for many years and recipient of the 2016 Julian Simon Award – reaches his 83rd…
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Religious and Economic Liberty Are Intertwined
The massacre in Orlando was a tragic reminder that we’re at war—against hate, against extremism, and against intolerance. Although there are many contributing factors…
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Trade Is Good, Using Trade to Weaken Foreign Investment Is Not
Free traders have long promoted an expansion of the rights of the citizens of one nation to buy and sell to one another. The old…
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Thanksgiving: Massachusetts Discovers Property Rights
Thanksgiving is a day layered in tradition and myth. The standard story makes much of the creative efforts of our ancestors, the assistance provided by…
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“Losing Our Minds” over Green Energy
Eco-theocracy has swept America and Europe, resulting in governments devoting vast sums to build their Green Temples where “renewable energy” and “recycled materials” can be…
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Reasons for Global Warming Skepticism
Democrats have developed a cottage industry in ridiculing and condemning Republicans as Luddites. How can any “reasonable” person deny that increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the…
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Protecting the Earth Isn’t Just Government Work
This April will mark the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Since 1970, countless people around the world have used the day to celebrate the beauty…
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Yes, and Water Can Run Uphill!
A recent Washington Post story by Joby Warrick says much about the credulity of the media. The story extols the great gains in wind…
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There Are No “Neutral Taxes” in Politics
Those favoring larger government are finding it harder to finance them by raising taxes. Proponents have sought to reduce opposition by claiming that they’re not…
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The Empire Strikes Back!
Right-of-center groups have for some time become a bit complacent. Sure the left had the universities, the media, and pop culture—but we had the think…
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Premature Capitulation?
Over the decades I’ve spent in this Heart of Darkness (a.k.a., the bowels of American politics), I’ve learned two lessons that have encouraged the steady…
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Political vs. Market Regulation: Uber Edition
Earlier this week The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell suggested that new entrants in the transportation market, like Uber, should face greater government regulation—despite having fueled much of…
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The Future and the Regulated
Lawrence Summers, the enfant terrible of the economics profession, has written a thoughtful column on “Our Loss of Faith in the Future,” noting that…
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How Will the Future View the “Temples” of Eco-Theocrats?
While vacationing in Germany recently, I noted many beautiful and now largely untenanted churches. Elegant, majestic against the sky, they are potent symbols of a…
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The Not-So-Free Market at Work
In the mail, I recently received a brochure from a firm called Solar Solution LLC, claiming to be the District of Columbia’s #1 solar installer. Included…
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The “Cooperative” Enterprise Institute?
In a sense, companies compete with each other to be the better cooperator.
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Jeffrey Sachs: Macro-Keynsianism Is “Outdated And Outmoded”… So, We Need Micro-Keynsianism!
Jeffrey Sachs, the harbinger of bad policy, has written his first post-election column in the Financial Times, “Obama has four years to transform America’s…
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Remembering Elinor Ostrom
Among the individuals with whom I wish I could have greater opportunities to exchange ideas is Elinor Ostrom. She passed away today, and now I…
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Bailouts Wanted — All Taxpayers Solicited!
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Why Are Statists So Inconsistent?
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Legacy Risks
European and American political and private institutions have made many non-sustainable retirement promises over the last 50 years. These promises cannot be kept and that…
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European Lessons for America
George Will warns that America’s system of competitive federalism is threatened by our own “Greeces.” (“In Illinois the bills are coming due,” April 27). Europe…
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FDR on FDIC
Robert Samuelson’s column (April 8, 2012) discussing President Franklin Roosevelt’s reservations about the longer term implications of Social Security should not be surprising. In…
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CSR: Business’s Shampoo?
To the Editor, Financial Times: Gillian Tett notes the vogue among CEOs for “corporate social responsibility” (When Making Shampoo Becomes a Service to Society).
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How Worrisome is the Race to the Bottom Argument?
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The Demographics of Politics
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Elites of the World, Unite! You Have Nothing to Lose!
And they are — but we have much to lose. See Iain Murray’s latest piece on the EU crisis. The intellectual temptation — the…
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In Memoriam: William Niskanen
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Pull Out of Basel III: The Moral Hazard of Government Ratings
Recently and for different reasons, two high-profile players from different parts of the financial sector -- JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon and respected banking analyst…
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The Constitution May Not Be Perfect — But it is Much Better than What We Have Now!
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Not Easy to Disentangle the Legal and Value Aspects of Marriage — But it is Important!
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The Establishment Turns Against Democracy!
The Financial Times‘ lead editorial today, “Democracy’s Slow Cure for the Euro,” illustrates a growing willingness of “experts” to argue that people are too…
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Infrastructure Pork versus Infrastructure Investment: In Washington, There is No Difference
The labor theory of value still survives -- at least in politics. Both Democrats and Republicans still believe that "government must create jobs," and if…
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Congress Shall Make No Law…
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Bloomberg on Energy
Mayor Bloomberg, America’s chief nanny regulator, is moving on to bigger things -- energy! During the recent heat spell he urged New Yorkers to turn down…
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Why Behavioral Economists Are So Often Mystified
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Dilbert on Green Technology!
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March Madness
In the closing days of March, not only are sports fans a bit crazy, so also are the electorate. Consider the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg,…
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Geo-Engineering?
Seismologists have long feared that “BIG” earthquakes might trigger other “BIG” earthquakes (a view that warms the cockles of catastrophist’s hearts who immediately connected global…
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Confusion about “Conflict of Interest”
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Anti-Terrorism: A Political Auto-Immune Disease?
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The Problem With Public-Private Partnerships
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Sex in the Board Room!
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Fraudulent Claims in Louisiana – I’m Shocked, Shocked!
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Can Businessmen (and Women) Make Good Politicians
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Triumph of Pigou
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CEI’s FTC Complaint Against GM: A Response to Walter Olson
Over at Cato@Liberty, Walter Olson criticizes CEI’s filing of an FTC complaint against General Motors regarding a recent television advertisement by the…
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Politics is Conflict
In Massachusetts vs. EPA, the Supreme Court sided with a group of Green States seeking to impose draconian energy rationing schemes on America. A few…
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Michael Specter and The danger of market denial
Michael Specter, a journalist who’s also an excellent speaker, appeared at the last TED conference. Specter is technologically optimistic but has accepted many…
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Foreign Aid is Wasteful: Recent World Bank Move Could Easily Make it Moreso
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Even Cranky Liberals Are Coming to Understand the Air Travel Sector!
Brett Snyder, editor of the web site, crankyflier.com, wrote a revealing column this weekend, “Don’t let bag fees make you nostalgic. Airlines’…
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The End of Anti-Discrimination Discrimination?
Affirmative action proponents face a battle this Monday when the Supreme Court hears Christian Legal Society vs. Martinez. The challenger argues that a…
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Last Bastion of Progressive Optimism
Progressives once believed in bureaucracy. A wise, enlightened civil service kept immune from the corrupting influence of politics would create Heaven on Earth. …
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For Profit, Not-for-Profit and Government – The Metric Problem
Americans tend to forget the value of institutional specialization. A private for-profit firm has a straightforward metric – maximizing shareholder profit-a complex goal, requiring managers…
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Do we really want to be like Europe?
With the passage of ObamaCare, we’ve taken another giant step towards Europeanizing America. Tragically, our history shows a steady trend in that direction, with government…
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The Rich are Society’s White Mice
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Ensuring Freedom and Responsibility on the Paths to the Future
Bailouts can be fatal for innovation as the creativity of the market is held down to “bureaucracy speed.” Is this wise?…
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Thoughts on David Frum’s AEI Exit
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Congratulations Sam Dealey
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Better than Nothing or another Feint?
Seeking to recast himself as a fiscal conservative, Obama is projected to propose a freeze on discretionary spending – NPR, NEA, “green” jobs, “disaster” relief,…
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Thinking outside the box on security
The Washington Post editorial, “In the wake of Flight 253, the TSA must get more anti-terrorist tools” makes a short-sighted argument for increasing resources for…
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“Obama Warns on Dangers of US Debt”
This morning I read with interest – and amazement – the above headline. Does our president live in the same world that I inhabit? He’s…
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“I Can’t See the Objection”
The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind are seeking a preliminary injunction in federal court to stop…
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Gun Control Laws Empower Pirates and Terrorists!
As John Lott has so effectively demonstrated time and time again, widespread citizen gun possession is an effective way of increasing public safety.
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Poor Ford – They Thought They Were Operating in the Market
The Washington Times, “Greedy Autoworkers,” editorializes the overwhelming rejection of the UAW’s proposed labor agreement. Unlike GM and Chrysler, Ford elected to reject the…
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Ludwig von Mises Gets Respect
“The Man Who Predicted the Depression,” in Saturday’s WSJ explains von Mises’s interpretation of the business cycle. To Mises, volatility was inevitable with a…
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Buffet Displays Hope in America’s Energy Future
Warren Buffet, one of the most respected investors in America, recently purchased Burlington Northern, one of the nation’s largest railroads with some 32,000 miles of…
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Twenty Years have Passed: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came crashing down. Today marks the twentieth anniversary of that great day – one of the greatest in…
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Three Cheers for the Nobel Economic Prizes!
After the weird “future” award to President Obama of the Nobel Peace Prize, another Nobel committee has made a brilliant choice – awarding the Economics…
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Milton and Rose Friedman, Partners in Liberty
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Robert Novak (1931-2009)
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The Challenge of Network Industries
“Network” industries such as electricity, air transport, telecommunication, freight rail, and internet services face a challenge with their competing flow and grid components. Flows are…
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In Defense of Average Cost Pricing
Many industries in the modern economy are ridiculed for the financing strategies they employ. Only marginal cost pricing is defended as a legitimate practice. Yet…
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Where’s the Reality in Legislation?
In “Why Obamacare Is Sinking,” Charles Krauthammer argues that President Obama’s reliance on rhetoric is finally beginning to fail because “you can’t fake it…
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Best Way to Curb Irrational Exurberance?
Zachary Goldfarb, a Washington Post staff writer, discusses (p. A10, “SEC Moves to Limit Short Sales of Stocks”) this SEC proposal – sympathetically. The article…
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RIP Jack Kemp
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The “Small Business” Exemption Distortion
Many of the federal regulatory and tax laws include a “small business exemption” – politicians displaying an aversion to crippling a…
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Between the Headlines:”Sustainability” Means Sustainably Poor
“Mars Sets Goal for Sustainable Cocoa Sources” Another Washington Post story suggests that “sustainability” –whatever it may mean — still can…
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Between the Headlines: “Russian Voting Tinged with Green”
“Russian Voting Tinged with Green” This Washington Post headline from earlier this month illustrates one of worrisome side-effects of authoritarian rule. …
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One Down, Six to Go!
Oh the Worries of Our Modern Malthusians! In Washington this week, the Anarctica and Arctic Councils met for…
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Rise of the Luddites
When it comes to things such as environmental policy, the Progressives have been rather successful at promoting their world view. They realized that it would…
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Championing Economic Liberty in a Time of Crisis
From CEI’s Agenda for Congress: Fred Smith, President and Founder of CEI on the economic crisis, the threat of bad policies, and the real change…
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Bad Economic Metaphors: Priming the Pump
President Obama faces the immediate challenge of getting funds again flowing through the financial system. And, apparently, his advisors are relying on “pump priming”—pouring…
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The Dishonesty of Poltical Adjectives
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Short-seller praised by Mass. Democrat at Madoff hearing
In the House Financial Services Committee hearing Monday on Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion alleged Ponzi scheme, some good points were raised by Congress members…
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From CEI’s President: Remembering Paul M. Weyrich
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Michael Crichton and CEI
Michael Crichton was a challenging individual. His books generally centered around some controversial policy issue: medical malpractice, airline safety, biotechnology, sexual discrimination, Japan’s economic dominance,…
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Liberals Against Libertarians
That liberals wish libertarians to go away is, perhaps, not surprising. But the issue is much more serious…
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Chimeras
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X Prize — another comment
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A Tragic Loss to Our Friends at NTU and to All of Us
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Long Live Plastics
The London Museum is planning a special exhibit to mark the centennial of a material that was long denigrated–plastics. It will cover the massive importance…
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Isn’t Poverty Even Filthier?
A massive ad campaign has been mounted in recent weeks within the Beltway to demonize coal. The ads show some rather unlikely models posing as…
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