Senator Elizabeth Warren recently delivered a speech in Washington entitled “America’s Monopoly Problem,” and it could completely change the way we live our lives. That’s because if she is chosen by Hillary Clinton to be the Vice President and if Clinton defeats Trump, this could be a signal of what is to come with respect to antitrust activity […]
Political slogans tend to obscure more than they enlighten. Barack Obama’s 2008 call for “Change We Need,” for example, turned out to mean almsgiving rather than substantive policy reform. Similarly, the American Revolution’s most famous slogan, “No taxation without representation,” failed to capture the essence of what colonists sought, or what, as freemen, they soon […]
Editor’s note: This post originally appeared at the Washington Post. The author, Emily Ekins, will be joining Learn Liberty on Facebook Live this upcoming Thursday the the 30th at 3pm to talk about this and other election issues. Millennials are the only age group in America in which a majority views socialism favorably. A national […]
Abby Hobbs [name changed for privacy] is not the type of person you’d classify as lazy or naïve. As a digital strategist at a small marketing firm, her enthusiasm for and knowledge of her industry are obvious whenever she talks about her job. But, as she told Learn Liberty, getting there wasn’t easy. As a […]
Many voters, especially younger voters, are “feeling the Bern.” But what exactly are they feeling? Generally, these individuals believe that some people (financially successful individuals) owe other people (low-income individuals)—and that some people, like those of the working class or youth demographic, are entitled to receive benefits at the expense of others. Is This an […]
The news from Venezuela just keeps getting worse: runaway inflation, rolling electricity blackouts, shortages of even the most basic goods, people dying in hospitals waiting for care that just doesn’t ever arrive. The world looks on, appalled at the spreading miseries, and asks: “Why is this happening?” And, “What can be done about it?” These […]
You know, some Skittles would be really good about now. Lunch was over and I wanted something sweet, Skittles specifically, as I’ve rediscovered a taste for them during my daughter’s last few “go to work with dad” days. I grabbed a dollar and walked over to the bookstore. The Skittles rang up…$1.04. The last few […]
Each presidential election year—perhaps this year more than most—we hear from friends, family, and celebrities the familiar refrain of, “If he/she wins, I’m moving to Canada!” Actress Lena Dunham is just the most recent example of this, claiming that if Republican Donald Trump is elected she “really will” move to Canada. The prevalence of this […]
In 1954, Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized Operation Wetback, a project that rounded up hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and deported them. Now policy leader Donald Trump is proposing that we do something similar—on a much larger scale. Think 11 million immigrants deported in two years. Now, many argue that if immigrants are coming to the […]
There is perhaps no public policy issue that has more misinformation around it than immigration. Because immigrants (except for naturalized citizens) can’t vote, they make for a favorite political scapegoat for a stagnant economy, meager job creation, and slow wage growth. Immigrants and Economic Growth In the new Learn Liberty video below, Texas Tech Professor […]
Editor’s Note: This post was first published on the Cato at Liberty blog. The Syrian Civil War has produced about 5.8 million Syrians seeking refuge or asylum elsewhere–a scale of population displacement unseen since World War II. Although the flow into Europe dominates the news, most of the registered Syrian refugees remain in the Middle […]
Fans of increased government intervention in the economy often like to justify their position by pointing to the success of the moon landing. “If we can put a man on the moon,” the refrain goes, “we can surely rebuild our crumbling infrastructure (or provide everyone with healthcare, etc.).” There’s no question the moon landing was […]
As the election season heats up, candidates from both sides of the political spectrum seem to agree on one thing: Free trade hurts Americans. There is also a fierce debate about whether—or to what degree—free trade increases income inequality in the country. As commentators continue to disparage free trade (often on products like smartphones, computers, […]
Note: This piece is dedicated to my mom, as I celebrate my first Mother’s Day without her. With Mother’s Day upon us, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the vision of motherhood that we normally celebrate on this day. The holiday’s origins, interestingly enough, come from celebrations of the role of mothers in the […]
Today is Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates Mexico’s unlikely victory against its French occupiers in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The holiday is usually associated with festivities celebrating Mexico’s incredible culture. But numerous historians believe there’s an added reason to celebrate this day: If Mexico hadn’t won this battle, they argue, the […]
Editor’s Note: This is an open letter from Prof. Howard Baetjer to a friend who commented on one of his Facebook posts about minimum wage laws. Baetjer and his friend, Adam, look at the minimum wage issue from very different perspectives, so Baetjer wrote an open letter. What do you think about the issue? Check […]
Maybe you’ve heard this slogan: “we can’t get rich doing one another’s laundry.” It’s a sneer at low-skill jobs in the service sector and it is sometimes used to persuade governments to give special privileges to those who practice macho arts like manufacturing lest we be reduced to a nation of shopkeepers, or worse, dry […]
Why don’t economists get invited to the good parties? Professor Sarah Skwire (Poet) thinks it has to do with economists’ choice of words. According to her, it seems, the optimal amount of economists to invite to an evening social would be close to zero. Economists probably aren’t known for the liveliness of their dinner conversations, but […]
Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown and the state legislature agreed to a plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour across the state by 2022 in order to gradually increase the earnings of 6.5 million Californians. Regarding the proposal, Brown said: This plan raises the minimum wage in a careful and responsible […]
Do you feel like you’re looking for love in all the wrong places? Are you sick and tired of swiping to the left, when all you want is a few good swipes to the right? You have a great personality. You’re smart, and gainfully employed. You’re also incredibly good-looking and even bathe daily — twice […]
Markets can be regulated by the figurative force of competition or by the literal force of government. Which better protects buyers and sellers? Contrary to popular belief, regulation by competition usually renders regulation by government either unnecessary or counterproductive. Regulations are usually presented to the public as a matter of guarding the public interest and […]
You hear the words “socialism” and “capitalism” thrown around a lot, but what do they really mean? And what are the pros and cons of each system? In this special On Demand program, we take an honest look at these concepts and explore the practical and philosophical issues behind them. Is socialism a fairer system […]
Mr. Sanders: In last-night’s debate you said: “I was on a picket line in the early 1990s against Nafta, because you didn’t need a Ph.D. in economics to understand that American workers should not be forced to compete against people in Mexico making 25 cents an hour.” I’m told that you’re a principled man who […]
What do we learn if immigrants lower the wages of American high school dropouts? That we should restrict immigration? No. We shouldn’t. First, if immigrants reduce the wages of high school dropouts, it sends a very clear message: don’t drop out of high school. Indeed, this is how people have responded to competitive pressure from […]