Suppose that Congress passed a law requiring all health plans to pay for an hour of free conversation every year between patients and doctors. The logical question would be: where are the doctors going to find all the additional hours to provide this service? The same question is relevant for the Affordable Care Act....
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With great sadness, I note the passing on September 8 of the man I have long described as the greatest living libertarian. Thomas Szasz was, among other things, a powerful influence on the movement to release people who were being held in prisons on “psychiatric” grounds, even though they had not been convicted of...
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Twenty years ago today, an FBI sniper shot Vicki Weaver in the head as she held her ten-month-old baby at her home in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The sniper also shot her husband Randy Weaver in the back, trying to kill him. Their son was shot in the back and killed the day before by U.S....
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Finishing college shouldn’t be so hard. Completing challenging classes and mastering advanced material plus working to pay for increasingly expensive degrees is tough enough. But some institutions make it even harder for undergraduates because of their own shoddy administration. Sacramento State undergraduate Starlight Trotter is starting her fifth year and shared her travails in...
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Reader advisory: the following is rated PG-13 Today is the anniversary of Singapore’s independence, and they’re celebrating by urging citizens to make a baby. With headlines like “Thursday’s the Day to Go All the Way for Civic Duty in Singapore,” and a new commercial rap video produced by Mentos to “Get Your National Night...
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This video making the rounds features the wonderful Andy Griffith, who sadly passed away this week, in character explaining the importance of due process to Opie. He reveals a profound reverence the principles of Fourth Amendment. More precisely, he is abiding by the principles of the exclusionary rule declaring that improperly obtained evidence is “poisoned...
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This month Title IX turned 40. Part of the 1972 Education Amendments, Title IX prohibits gender discrimination in federally supported educational programs and activities. Sexual harassment and college athletics typically receive the most attention; however, Title IX covers several additional key areas, including higher education access. Today, the academic focus is shifting to the...
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The American dream is moving out of reach for average Americans, according to this article, even as things have looked up for the top 10%. Statistics like this prompt calls for increasing government redistribution and more progressive taxation to level the playing field. We know that redistributive policies lower economic growth and ultimately make...
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“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” — H. L. Mencken Mass democracy and individual liberty do not mix, despite the propaganda. Surely, if a majority can vote against the rights of the minority, the libertarian case against democracy becomes clear enough. This...
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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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