Tag: Poverty
How minimum wage laws harm and exclude
December 1, 2023 | Post
Instead of elevating living standards and safeguarding workers from poor conditions and low pay, minimum wage laws lead to unemployment and limit job opportunities. Let’s look at how…
Why trade wars are wars on the poor
November 14, 2023 | Post
In the not-so-distant past, political leaders from both sides of the aisle in the United States held a general consensus on the benefits of free trade.
During their presidential campaigns in 2000, Al Gore and George Bush, despite their differences, at least agreed on the merits of fostering open markets.
Fast forward to the present day and we find Joe Biden and Donald Trump endorsing staunchly protectionist policies.
Let’s explore what caused this complete 180 and who bears the brunt when trade is restricted.
What would Adam Smith write about now?
October 6, 2023 | Post
In the pantheon of economic thought, Adam Smith stands as a colossus, a philosopher whose seminal work, The Wealth of Nations, fundamentally shaped our understanding of free markets and the power of individual self-interest to fuel societal progress. But what would he write about today’s issues?
Why is Africa poor? Is colonization the root cause?
June 16, 2023 | Post
“Colonization is why Africa is so poor” is something I hear all the time. But it was not until recently that I realized: This impulsive defense of Africa is far from the full truth.
How gun control might be seen 100 years from now
June 1, 2023 | Post
The book Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen was assigned to me during my senior year of high school. I still reflect on its lessons and have found them applicable not just to the past, but, in some cases, to the future. Here is how hypothetical, sweeping new gun control legislation might be seen 100 years from now…
What is capitalism?
February 8, 2023 | Post
Capitalism can be viewed as an economic system that has been a driving force in many advanced economies, fostered growth and innovation, enabled people to lift themselves out of poverty, and greatly improved living standards. But it also has many staunch critics, who will argue that, regardless of outcomes or track records, it is a deeply harmful and exploitative system. So, to clear up any confusion, what really is capitalism, and what isn’t it?
Why is Latin America so corrupt?
April 28, 2021 | Video
Ahead of his panel on Corruption and Poverty in Latin America at LibertyCon Europe, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, former policy analyst at the Cato Institute talks about why Latin America has so many cases of corruption, the recent protests in Chile and other countries around the world.
What most Americans have never heard about extreme poverty
September 13, 2017 | Post
Why did poverty decrease so much over the past 200 years, and especially over the past 30 years? Let’s look at one key example; then we’ll zoom out to the broader research.
Who has Walmart shareholders’ wealth?
July 3, 2017 | Post
Many good people condemn the free market system on the mistaken belief that the wealth of the wealthy benefits only the wealthy.
Why libertarians should oppose the Universal Basic Income
March 24, 2017 | Post
Here’s my opening statement for my Students for Liberty debate with Will Wilkinson. Enjoy. Libertarians have a standard set of fundamental criticisms of the welfare state. Forced charity is unjust. Individuals have a moral right to decide if and when they want to help others. Forced charity is unnecessary. In a free market, voluntary donations […]
What should we do about luck?
March 17, 2017 | Post
What should we do about the fact that some people are able to earn more money than others? Should government redress the resulting disparities in income? The answer is often believed to hinge upon our conclusion about the role of luck in affecting income-earning abilities. Those on the political left emphasize factors beyond the individual’s […]
Why aid programs are harder to evaluate than dessert shops
February 22, 2017 | Post
Recently, at a Center for Global Development conference, attendees criticized a wide swath of development programs that, these experts say, provide no evidence they are achieving their objectives.
The many faces of means-testing
February 19, 2017 | Post
Isn’t a Universal Basic Income just another name for a negative income tax, such as Tax = -$10,000 + .3*Income? If so, isn’t a Universal Basic Income means-tested by definition?
Better market-oriented proposals that reduce income inequality
February 15, 2017 | Post
I was initially excited to see that progressive Dean Baker has written a piece on “Eight Market-Oriented Proposals That Reduce Income Inequality” for AEI. It begins promisingly by criticizing overly strict occupational licensing for high-skilled workers. But it then studiously avoids the really big wins. Namely: 1. Immigration. High-skilled immigration reduces conventionally measured inequality by […]
William Graham Sumner Part 4 – Charity, Liberty, and Social Justice
February 12, 2017 | Post
Zwolinski concludes his series on William Graham Sumner with the question of how we ought to help the poorest among us.
William Graham Sumner Part 3 – The Forgotten Man
February 12, 2017 | Post
Zwolinski examines William Graham Sumner’s critique of “social justice.”
Over-Criminalization Nation — 5 Blood-Boiling Cases of Government Overreach
December 28, 2016 | Post
Every year the number of regulations, dictates, rules, decrees, guidelines, statutes, laws, and bylaws in the United States grows by leaps and bounds.
Is culture the key to poverty?
December 20, 2016 | Post
A personal story about Vance’s climb from poor, white Appalachia to a Yale law degree and a white-collar career, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis will make you laugh, cry, and think carefully about the importance of culture for economic wellbeing.
Would you give up the Internet for a million dollars?
December 8, 2016 | Post
Would you give up air travel for $100,000? What about foregoing automotive travel for $500,000? Why or why not?
Relief from wars & politics
November 10, 2016 | Post
Reports of the world’s demise are greatly exaggerated.
The welfare state is a (bad) polygamist
October 20, 2016 | Post
The road to tyranny is paved with good intentions.
Reasons to be optimistic
October 17, 2016 | Post
Beneath the surface there’s a lot of progress occurring that should make us all feel a little more optimistic about the future.
Should Paid Surrogacy Be Illegal?
October 6, 2016 | Post
NPR’s Goats and Soda recently covered a debate in India over surrogacy. In India, there is a thriving industry of women who are paid to be surrogate mothers, carrying another couple’s children. Many surrogates are impoverished women, and there are growing concerns that paying poor women to be surrogates amounts to exploitation. Some are calling […]
Volunteer Work Reveals The Inefficiencies of Government Aid
October 5, 2016 | Post
Cumbersome, top-down aid policies are not agile enough to effectively respond to the diverse needs of our communities.