Tag: regulation
A new Vancouver development shows what’s possible when housing is deregulated
January 12, 2024 | Post
Sen̓áḵw is a $3-billion, 11-tower real estate development in Vancouver, set to be built on Squamish Nation reserve land. The project, named after the ancestral territory the Squamish people were removed from in 1913, is a sustainable village developed in partnership with Westbank.
The example set by the Sen̓áḵw development project shows us what we could have in other places too, if only the state — and the NIMBYs whose interests they serve — would step aside and let progress unfold.
Why some countries succeed and others don’t
March 6, 2023 | Post
Why are some countries successful while others aren’t? Is it down to natural resources, colonialism, or can it be better explained by something else?
The dirty word that gives us our freedom
October 18, 2017 | Post
Competition is often considered a dirty word, with many critics of free market ideas emphasizing the cutthroat competition of Wall Street as an example of how competition brings out the worst in people, encourages us to cut corners, and undermines our altruistic tendencies.
Amazon is about to buy Whole Foods. Is it time to panic?
June 23, 2017 | Post
Evoking images of sinister railroad barons, scholar Lina Khan argues that antitrust officials should stop this acquisition.
The business case for supersonic overland
March 7, 2017 | Post
Wouldn’t a fleet of supersonic aircraft overland create intolerable sonic booms that would rattle windows and scare livestock?
Will President Trump kill capitalism?
February 23, 2017 | Post
Capitalism—stronger than any border wall or immigration ban—remains a resilient and deeply American system.
Deregulation gets the beer flowing.
February 5, 2017 | Post
Breweries will open as long as it is profitable. When taxes and regulations raise the costs of opening a brewery, we will see fewer of them.
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.
The Shared Experiences of the Sharing Economy
July 30, 2016 | Post
The English poet John Donne once wrote that “no man is an island.” It often feels quite the opposite what with the ever increasing technological advances made and the preoccupied-with-our-phone age we find ourselves in. Yet, the same technology that sometimes feels divisive is actually one of the best ways to stay connected. (Think Pokémon Go). The […]
All McDonald's Hamburgers Taste the Same, But You'll Need a Crash Course in Economics to Know Why
March 28, 2016 | Post
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 […]
Quote of the Day: The Wisdom of Mises
January 26, 2016 | Post
The argument no proponent of central planning has ever been able to overcome; if humans can’t be trusted with freedom, how can they be trusted with power?
Discussion Question: Gun Control
January 15, 2016 | Post
In March of 2015, the Obama administration proposed a ban on ammunition commonly used in AR-15 rifles. Are there functional differences between restricting ammunition and restricting the right of gun ownership? Should the government’s ability to control gun possession change based on the type of weapon? What are the distinctions, if any, between handguns, assault […]
Discussion Question: Pharmaceutical Regulation
January 8, 2016 | Post
What is the best way, if at all, for medication to be regulated? How do you balance the right of consumers to purchase what they want with protection of consumers from dangerous or fraudulent medical treatments? Be sure to check out this video on the current government monopoly on prescription drug approval.
Wait: Why Would a Liquor Store Want to be Forced to Close on Sundays?
December 21, 2015 | Post
Alcohol laws are some of the most headache-inducing rules on the planet. Recently, AL.com ran an article about Sunday alcohol sales in Alabama with notes about how you can buy alcohol in some places on Sundays, but only (say) for on-premises consumption. Or only if you’re a restaurant or a hotel. Or only for off-premises […]
Discussion Question: Thalidomide
December 18, 2015 | Post
Thalidomide was a drug marketed in the 1950s in West Germany for the treatment of morning sickness and other nausea in pregnant women. However, thousands of women who took thalidomide had babies who were born with limb deformities, and many of those children also died shortly after birth. Can the government justifiably keep thalidomide out […]
Discrimination, Freedom of Association, and “True Capitalism”
December 14, 2015 | Post
In order to label a country “capitalist” there must be complete freedom of association and private property. There is a limited government in place, but the government would be a referee, not a player. It would be outrageous to watch ESPN and hear, “The ref had a great game! He sacked the quarterback twice and […]
Medicare: The Numbers Don’t Speak for Themselves
October 15, 2015 | Post
I got a powerful reminder a few months ago of a lesson I learned in grad school: numbers don’t speak for themselves. We must interpret them alertly if we are to learn from them.The numbers I came across are these: [Medicare] spends roughly $3 on administration for each $100 of medical services it buys for […]