At Lincoln Hall in Washington, D.C. on January 14, 1879, a remarkable Native American delivered a speech in which he implored, Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my...
Every year for more than a decade, various think tanks in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom produce a “bombshell” study where they state that the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the largest corporations earn many times the income of the average worker. For example, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) published...
On January 1st, 22 states and 38 cities and counties raised their minimum wages, sparking some celebration for 10 million workers who get a pay hike, and many doubts for the rest. While this is perhaps a well-intentioned policy, intentions don’t indicate a policy’s effectiveness. Many economists argue that this decision will disadvantage the people...
Editor’s Note: This column is co-authored by Dr. Timothy G. Nash, Kate Hessling, Dr. Tom Rastin, and George Lang. It originally appeared in Townhall. As we begin 2024, there are many reasons to celebrate being Americans. We live in the freest, safest, most resource rich and prosperous nation in the world. By many economic measurements,...
There’s a lot to like in Richard Jordan’s recent essay at Law & Liberty, “Romancing Creative Destruction.” But it’s also infected with a notable flaw, namely, Jordan’s claim, complete with added emphasis, “capitalism is soulless.” Read narrowly, this assertion is empty of useful meaning. Capitalism isn’t a sentient creature; it has neither consciousness nor a...
The Aesop Fable known as The Ant and the Grasshopper offers a profound commentary on life and work. Its moral is at once striking and compelling, regardless of the reader’s background. One version of the fable goes as follows: One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm...
Mars, the candy company, is facing criticism over its use of child labor. These criticisms are in light of a CBS News special report finding that many children, some as young as five, work in fields in Ghana that supply the candy company its cocoa. This is not the first time Mars, Inc. has faced...
For the last 2 1/2 years, price inflation has been eating away the paychecks and savings of the public. Consumer prices are up roughly 20% since 2020, according to consumer price index data, and recent polls show the public believes inflation is the single biggest problem facing the country. Unfortunately, many are so concerned about...
December 16th marked the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. The British cracked down on Bostonians as a punishment for this political demonstration, which in turn became the spark of the American Revolution. One of the main revolutionary demands, “No Taxation without Representation,” became a rallying cry of concerned subjects-who-would-be-citizens against government overreach and...
The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for online shopping. On Cyber Monday and Black Friday this year, Amazon sold more than one billion items, and Black Friday shopping sales totaled $9.8 billion. A typical Amazon Hub facility in Port Wentworth, Georgia processed more than 90,000 packages during the busy buying weekend,...
As the end of the year approaches, the IRS has announced its new late repayment penalty rate. The rate has climbed from around 3% two years ago to 8% today. Most workers in the US are W-2 employees and have taxes deducted from their paychecks each pay period. However, if those employees claim more exemptions,...
In March 2020, Dr. Robert Kadlec addressed a House committee to confirm his role and responsibilities as the federal government’s top preparedness official coordinating the government’s COVID-19 response. As assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services , Kadlec offered a lengthy statement to lawmakers on the “four principal...
President Joe Biden’s approval rating is tanking, and he’s now trailing former President Donald Trump in national polls, as well as in some key swing states . Vox blames the economy for Biden’s plunging popularity — or at least voters’ perception of the economy. A new Gallup poll shows that just 32% of people approve...
Advocates of various energy technologies have long argued that major barriers, either government or market-derived, stifle the development of their favored technology. They then infer that the current level of their preferred technology is suboptimal, necessitating some form of governmental intervention. That seems to hold true for New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who wants...