Jesse Walker has an intriguing blog post about data concerning illegal immigration. The most fascinating part to me discusses an analysis concluding that illegal alien crackdowns and border fencing has actually increased the illegal immigrant population in the U.S. By making it more risky for undocumented migrants to come in, the border walls have...
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[The Independent Institute does not work to influence the legislative process, but we find the following information and analysis interesting and worth passing on.—Ed.] Later this year Americans could wake up to some unpleasant surprises: Higher fees and costs associated with banking, pensions, insurance, and investment; Reduced foreign investment in the United States and,...
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Bullying is gaining greater and greater prominence as a social issue, marked by the recent debut of the documentary “Bully” but preceded by decades of books highlighting its destructive effects on our kids (see SE Hinton’s classic The Outsiders and Judy Blume’s Blubber). At first glance, libertarians might think they have little to contribute...
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Here is another of those head-scratchers, this one from Amartya Sen, about how neoclassical economics is partly responsible for the financial crisis because neoclassical economists hold that markets work “perfectly”: Since the crisis broke out the economics profession in general and mainstream economics in particular have been severely criticised. Do you think this is justified? The...
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As our old friend Milton Friedman famously said, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Mrs. Obama might be well counseled to take that into consideration as she continues on her self-congratulatory, “We Made History” media stump. There might just be a few unanticipated consequences of the “free” contraception, abortificant, and abortion...
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This story reports that two TSA employees were arrested for taking bribes to allow large narcotic shipments pass through the Los Angeles airport. I put up a post about a similar story last year, so I’ll raise similar questions again. There is no rule against carrying drugs on airplanes, and carrying them did not...
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Argentine president Cristina Kirchner recently caused an international uproar with her decision to expropriate 51 percent of YPF, Argentina´s main oil and gas producer, and a major affiliate of Spain´s Repsol, one of the world´s great energy concerns. As has so often been the case with Latin American nationalizations, the move was accompanied by...
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Robert Higgs Exposes Delusions of Power Why have so many Americans abandoned the Jeffersonian principle that the best government is that which governs least? In his new book, Delusions of Power: New Explorations of the State, War, and Economy, Independent Institute Senior Fellow Robert Higgs suggests that part of the reason is that we...
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Many find much to criticize in a certain late-night comedy sketch featuring the president. Indeed, the man has much to answer for. He has a very important job in society. Millions of young people look up to him as a role model. He surely has much better things to do with his time. And...
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TSA agents in Wichita, KS, reached a new low in their terror campaign against the flying public: subjecting a 4-year girl and her family to a brutal confrontation, including threats to shut down the entire airport and cancel all flights due to the little girl’s being—in their words—a “high security threat.” The Daily Mail...
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