Any day now the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, a case brought against government unions for charging non-members “agency fees.” If unions are prohibited from charging those …
It’s the Spending, Stupid!
Following the release of the U.S. Treasury’s monthly statement for May 2018, the Wall Street Journal has some grim news about the U.S. government’s fiscal situation: The U.S. government’s budget deficit widened in the first eight months of the fiscal …
Crime.Gov.Con
As NBC reported in February, “San Francisco’s nearly 30,000 car break-ins last year shattered previous crime records,” a veritable “epidemic.” Of the nearly 30,000 car break-ins the police department made arrests in just 1.7 percent of cases, totaling 790 arrests …
Trade Wars Put Prosperity in the Cross Hairs
[This post first appeared in the June 12, 2018, issue of The Lighthouse, the weekly newsletter of the Independent Institute. To stay current with all of Independent’s work to boldly advance free societies, enter your email address here.] Near the …
Hey Millennials: Here’s the Truth About Socialism, Kim Jong-un, and Nicolás Maduro
A recent story in the New York Times discussed the increasing willingness of political candidates in the United States to run as socialists. Times reporter Farah Stockman wrote that the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is surging, even in conservative-leaning states. …
FAA Puts “Diversity” Over Safety
According to news reports, during the Obama administration, the Federal Aviation Administration diluted standards for air traffic controllers by screening out applicants competent in science and even those with experience as pilots. This was because of a union group charging …
NEA Grants for Clown College
Of all the strange things that the U.S. government spends money upon, perhaps one of the strangest is a college for clowns located in California’s 12th congressional district, which falls entirely within the city limits of San Francisco and is …
Adrift Testifies to the Strength of the Human Spirit
The intensity ratchets up somewhat late in the survival movie Adrift, a largely true account of 24-year-old Tami Oldham’s 41 harrowing days stranded at sea. The magnitude of Oldham’s (now Tami Oldham Ashcraft’s) accomplishment is a testimony to the strength …
Homeless Get House Calls, Courtesy of Taxpayers
As taxpayers discovered, they couldn’t keep their doctor or medical plan under Obamacare, and the Affordable Care Act, as it is also known, fails to provide for house calls. Taxpayers might be surprised to learn that house calls are available …
Should Uncle Sam Set Up a GoFundMe for the National Debt?
There are a lot of debt-strapped nations across the world, where a few have turned to some pretty unusual tactics to reduce their national debt burdens. One such nation is Malaysia, which has turned to crowdfunding to try to reduce …
Cutting Out Corruption By Cutting Pay for Federal Execs
In 2016, a small agency within the U.S. Department of Energy called the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), which sells hydroelectric power generated at dams owned by the federal government to electric utilities in 15 western states, proved that it …
Pope Francis Film Promotes Tolerance but Flawed Thinking on Poverty
As I sat watching the documentary Pope Francis: A Man of His Word, I kept thinking Pope Francis would have trouble navigating my senior seminars on social entrepreneurship. Even though the social problems—entrenched poverty, environmental degradation, empowering marginalized populations—and the …
