OpenMarket: Property Rights

John Stossel discusses the history of eminent domain—the legal power that allows local governments to seize property from owners for supposedly public purposes—and how it was famously applied in real life to take the home of New London, Connecticut nurse Susette Kelo in the early 2000s. Kelo’s legal fight to keep her home in turn inspired screenwriter and director Courtney Balaker to create the film starring Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich, Capote) and Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love, Criminal Minds) that is...

It is enormously gratifying that this year’s winner of the Julian Simon Award is Hernando de Soto, whose work around the world to define, allocate, and defend property rights has lifted millions out of poverty. Human flourishing is almost impossible without property rights and the rule of law, and so before millions of poor people around the world are able to realize Julian Simon’s optimistic vision, they need de Soto to defend their rights. 

Blockchain is a software architecture that seems very likely to unleash profound global forces if it crosses over into the mainstream.

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After thirty years of mostly disappointments and defeats, 2017 has been a banner year for advancing free market policies across the board on energy, climate, and environmental issues. We at CEI are proud to have played an important role in promoting many of these decisions...

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It’s that special time of year when people think of family, friends, faith—and tax avoidance. Donations made to qualified charitable organizations during calendar year 2017 entitle you to a deduction against your income tax if you itemize in your 2017 tax filing. You can donate to CEI by going to the “Donate” link on CEI’s homepage.

The IRS has...

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If news reports are accurate, the review of National Monument designations submitted by Interior Secretary Zinke does not begin to fulfill...

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Yesterday, a U.S. District Court in San Francisco ordered Bitcoin service provider Coinbase to comply with a dramatically scaled-back Internal Revenue Service summons for user information. CEI participated in the case by filing an amicus brief urging the court to recognize the property-based...

Thanksgiving is a welcome time to gather with our families and reflect on the blessings in each of our lives. The history behind the holiday, however, can also teach us lessons about how we can and should live together with our fellow Americans.

John Stossel, is a new video for Reason TV, looks back to the practice of communal property that defined the earliest days of the Plymouth colony and offers us an important reminder about the economic concept of the “tragedy of the commons.” In short, when everyone has an equal share of...

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Today CEI is releasing my new study, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Still Endanger the U.S. Economy.” In it, I discuss two issues that, on first appearance, seem to be in conflict, but in reality, can both be resolved according to free market principles.

These issues...

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Fat cat class-action attorneys and their apologists are getting desperate. The Senate is poised this week to follow the House in blocking a new regulation that would effectively force consumers into class action lawsuits. As anyone who has received a miniscule check or near-worthless coupon in the mail as an unwitting part of a class action settlement knows, consumers aren’t usually the winners in a class...