Archive for December, 2019
Impeachment and Presidential Power

It is easy to conclude that the impeachment proceedings against President Trump are politically motivated. Both the House and Senate appear split on the issue along party lines, so the outcome that the president is impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate seems a forgone conclusion. The Constitution is vague enough...
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California’s ‘Disammoment’ Campaign Targets Legal Gun Owners

California’s law requiring background checks for purchases of ammunition kicked in on July 1. Since then, according to the state attorney general, there have been 345,000 background checks. In 101 cases, the purchases were prohibited and 62,000 buyers were denied or rejected. Those 62,000 people, as it happens, were legally entitled to purchase ammunition....
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Boris versus Maggie: UK’s New Prime Minister Is Cut From a Different Cloth

The leader of the “tories”, Boris Johnson, could not have asked for a more perfect opponent in last week’s elections than Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party. It was delusionary on the part of the Labour Party to think they could win with a leader who seemed to have come straight...
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California Leads Nation in Occupational Licensing Lunacy

California deploys the nation’s highest income and sales taxes, but taxpayers may be unaware that the Golden State also leads the nation in occupational licensing. As Matthew D. Mitchell of the Mercatus Center notes, in a report submitted to the Federal Trade Commission, such licensing “represents a significant and growing barrier to work.” 

How To Be a Good Neighbor by Being a Role Model — The United States, Mexico, and Economic Freedom

Role modeling economic freedom and open trade are the correct policies long term, not only for the United States, but also for its neighbors and trade partners around the world.

Economic Liberty Alleviates Poverty Better Than Any Government Program

As part of the SoCal Policy Forum, a project of the Southern California News Group (SCNG) and the University of California, Riverside, a number of other policy experts and I were invited to weigh in on the causes of, and solutions to, poverty. Below are my responses, which were recently published in the Orange...
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“Crazy, Stupid” Federal Spending Proposals from Candidates of Both Parties

Thanks to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, which has been described as “the worst budget deal in history,” the U.S. government will spend $57.9 trillion over the next 10 years, with $12.2 trillion of that spending requiring new borrowing that will add to the U.S. government’s bloated $22.7 trillion national debt. Those already...
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Turmoil at the NATO Summit Should Be a Wake-Up Call for Trump

Last week’s brief NATO celebratory summit meeting for the alliance’s seventieth anniversary displayed tumult and dysfunction. Three of NATO’s crucial players proceeded to roil the proceedings. And such disruption is not all bad. Before the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron—furious at President Trump’s lack of coordination with NATO allies in the U.S. troop pullback...
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The Economic Costs of the National Debt and How to Avoid Them

One week ago, noted Stanford University economist John Taylor testified at a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives’ budget committee, whose members are reexamining the economic costs of the national debt. After the hearing, Taylor summarized his remarks and reflected on previous testimony he provided on a related topic back in 2015:

Only Markets Can Alleviate Drug Shortages

The American Heart Association finds that over 1 million heart attacks occur in the United States every year. Fourteen percent of all heart attacks are fatal. Many heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues result from heart disease, which is even more common (and often more deadly). When a heart attack happens, victims need immediate...
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