Of all the bad ideas that just won’t die, the proposition that it would be swell to force people to work at government jobs they wouldn’t choose for themselves is one of the more persistent. It’s a scheme that’s eternally most popular among those to whom it wouldn’t apply and championed by pundits convinced it […]
With the U.K.’s Conservative Party closing in on deciding who will inherit the mess left by Boris Johnson’s tenure as prime minister, that country’s governing apparatus will soon get back to the important business of intruding into people’s lives. At the top of the to-do list is the long-coming Online Safety Bill which, as has […]
When the FBI puts out a bulletin on symbols “used by Anti-Government or Anti-Authority Violent Extremists,” and it looks like a catalog of T-shirts half the country might want to wear, it’s a strong indication that the feds are way off-base. It gets even sillier when part of the bulletin resembles a brochure for a […]
Organized youth shooting is disappearing in California as a result of a new law sold as banning advertising guns to kids but also potentially penalizes any promotion of firearms to minors. Rightfully criticized as a totalitarian attack on gun-oriented speech, the law is also an example of desperation on the part of those opposed to […]
A good predictor that restrictive laws are on their way out is when large numbers of people honor them in the breach. Prohibition famously foundered on Americans’ desire to keep the party going. Marijuana legalization gained acceptance as a large and growing segment of the U.S. population enjoyed its use despite government-imposed restrictions. If this […]
Almost as common as recognition that America’s two dominant political parties represent complementary threats to the republic are bloodless appeals to the mushy middle as an alternative. Like clockwork, smart political figures propose tepid, middle-of-the-road policies that, for some reason, they think will appeal to an impassioned and divided electorate. The latest such effort is […]
Unlike President Biden’s frequent efforts to blame Vladimir Putin for inflation, Germany’s energy-driven economic woes really can be largely linked to Russia, which cut the flow of natural gas in retaliation for economic sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. Since Germany is the economic powerhouse of the continent, that’s bad news for the European […]
For a president of the United States, seeing policy initiatives thwarted by congressional resistance and divided opinion must be a lot of things, frustrating chief among them. But not getting your way because people won’t get with the program is not an emergency. Unfortunately, we live at a moment when many Americans have lost patience […]
After decades of increasing barriers to entry for people looking for jobs or hoping to start businesses, occupational licensing reform is gaining traction. Reforms ease licensing rules, extend recognition to licenses issues elsewhere, and sometimes (not often enough) eliminate the requirement that people seek government permission to work. Evidence suggests that such reforms build prosperity, […]
Is it possible to have buyers’ regret on two presidents in a row? Americans seem to suffer just that when it comes to President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump. Just as important, the Republican Party shows signs of moving on from its status in recent years as little more than Trump’s cult of […]
