A Problem with Paternalism
Sometimes the government passes laws that restrict people for what it claims to be their own good, such as laws that ban drugs that are supposed to be bad for your health. Laws like this are called “paternalistic.”
Can We Trust Generic Drugs? The Ranbaxy Whistleblower Narrates the Pharma Scandal of the Century
Part 1: The Economic Legacy of the American Revolution
1. Changes in Foreign Trade
After peace came in 1783, the new republic faced a two-fold economic adjustment: to peacetime from the artificial production and trade patterns during the war, and to a far different trading picture than had existed before the war. The largest change between the two eras of peace was the shift in trading patterns resulting from independence.
2. The Depression of the 1780s and the Banking Struggle
It has been alleged—from that day to this—that the depression which hit the United States, especially the commercial cities, was caused by “excessive” imports by Americans beginning in 1783. But this kind of pseudo-explanation merely betrays ignorance of economics: a boom in imports reflects voluntary choices and economic improvement by consumers, and this expression of choice can scarcely be the cause of general depression. In short, an improved standard of living for the bulk of consumers reflects improvement and not depression.
Which Branch of Government Is the Worst? A Ranked List
The US federal government is divided up into a variety of institutions, with the three main “branches” of government designed to compete against each other. Theoretically, these three branches were initially thought to place checks on the other branches of government, thus minimizing abuses of power by the federal government overall.
The Deep State: The Headless Fourth Branch of Government
School children learn that there are three branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial. In actual practice, however, there are four branches of government.
The fourth is what for decades now has been called a “headless fourth branch of government,” the administrative state.
Austrian Economics Looks East
[This article contains excerpts from a presentation given at the 70th anniversary of the publication of Human Action, in Vienna, at the Palais Coburg, November 23, 2019.
The Civilian Government Doesn’t Owe Deference to Military Officers
On Tuesday, Congressional impeachment hearings exposed an interesting facet of the current battle between Donald Trump and the so-called deep state: namely, that many government bureaucrats now fancy themselves as superior to the elected civilian government.
In an exchange between Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Alexander Vindman, a US Army Lt. Colonel, Vindman insisted that Nunes address him by his rank.
