Unfortunately, a free market is not something that appears overnight, so what do we say to those who do not have equal opportunities as things stand?
“From the evidence I’ve seen, propaganda works – though not nearly as well as the propagandists would hope.”
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released the “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2017 to 2027.” This annual report provides the federal government’s most comprehensive analysis of the current state of federal spending, taxes, and debt. It also provides a framework within which to analyze the President’s budget proposal and upcoming Congressional legislation. The news is […]
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 […]
Without substantive entitlement reform, it will be exceedingly difficult to address the country’s long-term fiscal problems, and it will only get harder if needed changes are delayed.
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?
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 […]
The road to tyranny is paved with good intentions.
Cumbersome, top-down aid policies are not agile enough to effectively respond to the diverse needs of our communities.
Local communities have a better understanding of their communities’ needs than far off centralized government anti-poverty directives.
Policies backed with even the best of intentions can still have detrimental effects on those they aim to help. The “Welfare Cliff” is one such example.
Social Security is incredibly difficult for politicians to cut or reform—any changes in the program would deprive a large portion of their voting base of benefits, which could cause politicians to lose the next election. The problem would only be worse with a universal basic income,
There’s a very good chance that Finland will become the first country to implement a nationwide Universal Basic Income (UBI). The country’s Social Insurance Institution (Kela) is studying proposals to replace most of its existing welfare state programs with a simple cash grant – 800 euros for every Finnish citizen, regardless of whether they work, […]
What might be reasons to restrict immigration to the United States? Can we justifiably refuse entry to immigrants on the fear that they will receive welfare but not work in return? Would that, then, justify kicking American citizens out of the country if they do not meet a certain standard? Give us your two cents […]