Nov 16
Government regulations are essentially a wealth redistribution program from the poor to the rich. Those in poverty increasingly find themselves trapped by licensing and other regulatory barriers. In the 1950s, only one in 20 U.S. workers needed the government’s permission to pursue their chosen occupation. Today, that figure stands at almost one in three. See …
Nov 12
Michael DiFrancesco, a 22-year-old man from Bozeman, Montana, never had a chance. In 2009, DiFrancesco was convicted of being a minor in possession of alcohol and fined $185. He was ordered to pay for and complete a substance abuse course, neither of which he could afford. DiFrancesco’s driver license was later suspended due to the …
Oct 23
by Roger Roots, founder of Lysander Spooner University Governments want their subjects sick, weak, scared and dependent. Every generation of Americans has seen its life expectancy improve. Until now. A new Bloomberg News report finds that Today’s Americans are retiring later, dying sooner and sicker in-between. Social Security alone has incentivized millions of Americans to …
Aug 27
Trusters of government often claim that government-imposed minimum wages help the poor. But research has shown that minimum wage laws harm the poor by completely locking them out of the bottom rungs of the economy. Minimum wage laws cause unemployment rates to increase, especially among the poorest and most desperate Americans. Only 19 percent of …
Aug 24
Whenever government expands, people become impoverished, dependent, sick, weak, diseased, trapped, and less mobile in every sense. CBS Moneywatch has released a report indicating that “[a]lmost 8 out of 10 American workers say they live paycheck to paycheck.” Government taxes, regulations and central banking savagely punish savers, so most Americans save little or nothing. Studies …
Aug 09
Venezuelan economist Raefael Acevedo recently addressed the Mises Institute. See here. Between 1999 and 2017, said Acevedo, the Venezuelan minimum wage was raised 38 times: a 108,000 % increase. Yet “[a]nyone in Venezuela would be happy to eat out of American trashcans.”
Jul 26
Government policies punish savers so much that it is utterly foolish to save even a penny. Near-zero interest rates. “Social Security” payroll taxes. Medicare and Medicaid. Obamacare. Market-entry barriers such as occupational licensing laws. Government policies incentivize Americans to work less, build less, create less, save less, be unhealthy, sick and weak. “Nearly 20 million …
Jul 09
Astounding story of a small bridal shop in a suburb of Dallas. See here. It seems that the IRS accused the shop’s owners– Tony Thangsongcharoen, 68, and his wife, Somnuek Thangsongcharoen, 72–of “structuring”: making bank deposits just under $10,000 to avoid federal “reporting requirements.” The IRS shut down the small business and quickly held an …
Jul 05
Three years ago, the city of Seattle voted to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour. As usual, government-trusters promised that the minimum-wage increase would lift the poor out of poverty. But a new study by the University of Washington’s School of Public Policy and Governance finds the opposite. The study concludes that there …
Jun 20
Study upon study shows that the American people are increasingly saving little or nothing in response to government policies. If you save anything in modern America, you are an utter fool. Near-zero interest rates, Social Security and Medicare incentivize Americans to save nothing. “About 1 in 4 literally have no emergency savings. A survey released …
