Commentators worry that the United States might lose its dominance in innovation to Asian countries like China and Singapore. Many policymakers are intimidated by the R&D budgets of Asian countries and by their superior performance on international academic assessments. However, these concerns are misguided because the United States still dominates innovation.
We’ve seen this before; when they (referring to the State, central planners, bankers working in concert with government) pass some of the most significant pieces of legislation while everyone else is distracted with the holiday season. On December 23, 1913 The Federal Reserve Act became law. And while that may have been one of the most destructive pieces of legislation to ever have been passed, it did not mark the last time this Christmas legislation tactic was to be used.
After the 2008 financial crisis, calls rang out across establishment publications and the executive offices of Wall Street that we were witnessing the death of globalization. The calls grew louder and more numerous after Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, the pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yet the data appears to dispute this narrative.
What We Owe the Future
by William MacAskill
Basic Books, 2022; 333 pp.
While “private policing” is in many people’s minds a feature of dystopian science fiction or the fantasies of libertarian economists, the reality is that private security is far more common than most think. Indeed, as Georgetown professor John Hasnas points out, it is all around us. Unfortunately, the impetus for much of the growth in the private security industry has been the inadequacies of state-provided protection.
In the midterm election, Greater Idaho ballot referendums passed in 2 Oregon counties. Voters have passed ballot referendums in 11 of the 16 Oregon counties that would join Idaho under the current Phase 1 plan.
In May, Greater Idaho ballot referendums narrowly failed in 2 other counties. Greater Idaho would have expanded to the Pacific coast under the previous Phase 1 plan.
These are the times that try men’s souls.
That phrase is a stark truth from the American Revolution, yet most people can’t tell you who said it and where. It’s not as if it didn’t deserve better.
Even if you believe the Revolution was a bad idea, given the inflation that funded it and the Hamiltonian government that emerged from it, it would be hard to find words more influential in determining our history.
The famous quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” is usually attributed to Albert Einstein. While intended as a parable for quantum insanity, such a quote could equally be a parable for inflation policy.
During the 1980s, millions of American children pored over the Toys ‘R’ Us catalog, daydreaming about what toys we hoped to receive in a few weeks on Christmas morning. After all, by the mid twentieth century, Christmas—for countless middle-class households with children— had become more or less synonymous with an enormous number of gifts for children in the form of toys and games.
I first became aware of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) after moving to Montana and was immediately intrigued by their work. The more I dug into PERC’s research, the more I realized they aligned with my worldview of free market conservation. The CEO of PERC, Brian Yablonski, graciously met with me to discuss PERC’s initiatives. Even after two hours, we had barely touched the surface of PERC’s free-market, conservation initiatives.
