Eastern Airlines and the Scourge of Unionism

The Free Market 7, no. 5 (May 1989)

 

Any business owner whose employees deliberately set out to harass and even endanger customers could do only one thing: fire the offenders, and maybe sue them for damages as well. Nothing else would be compatible with free-enterprise and private property. But thanks to a whole host of government interventions, unionized companies like Eastern Airlines cannot take the actions that morality and economics would dictate.

The Free Market vs. The Managerial Elite

The Free Market 7, no. 6 (June 1989)

 

The broadly held corporation was one of the most important developments of the 19th century. The capital of thou­sands and then millions of stockholders made possible the profitable development of large firms, which enriched not only their owners, but society as a whole.

The railroads were the first to develop this mass-based ownership. They were also the first to develop the unfortunate management-government collaboration that has done so much to harm customers and stockholders.

Michael R. Milken vs. the Power Elite

The Free Market 7, no. 6 (June 1989)

 

Quick: what do the following world-famous men have in common: John Kenneth Galbraith, Donald J. Trump, and David Rockefeller? What values could possibly be shared by the socialist economist who got rich by writing best-selling volumes denouncing affluence; the billionaire wheeler-dealer; and the fabulous head of the financially and politically powerful Rockefeller World Empire?

Conservation in Crisis: the Cause and the Solution

The Free Market 7, no. 7 (July 1989)

 

When Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency in 1980, many conservatives (myself among them) were euphoric. They expected a wholesale reform in American government; there was even talk of a “Reagan Revolution.” It seemed likely that there would be an early campaign to repeal the Great Society programs Reagan had always opposed, and, once that was accomplished, a repeal of the New Deal itself.

Artistic “Entitlements”

The Free Market 7, no. 9 (September 1989)

 

This summer was not the first time that public funds have been used to underwrite sacrilegious and pornographic art, but the outcry was significantly louder than before. Nevertheless, the House rejected attempts by California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to kill the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Texas Rep. Dick Armey to reduce the NEA’s budget by 10%. Instead, the House agreed to cut a token $45,000, the amount granted to the two exhibits that inflamed public anger against the NEA.

Myth of Over-Population

The Free Market 7, no. 10 (October 1989)

 

The belief in over-population is an ancient one. The leaders of the French Revolution were convinced that there were too many Frenchmen, and that an ideal France necessitated the elimination of many people. The myth of over-population did not originate with them. It is an ancient belief of statist man.

But ancient or modern, the myth has some basic premises.

The Federal Agriculture Swamp

The Free Market 7, no. 11 (November 1989)

 

American agricultural policy offers many instructive lessons on how to cripple a major sector of the economy. For 60 years, the U.S. government has waged a war against the market. And for 60 years, American taxpayers and consumers have been the biggest losers.

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