Mises Search

The move to impeach an ex-president is no longer about Donald Trump. The Democrats’ coming lawless impeachment trial violates the Constitution and libertarian tradition. The Constitution states impeachment can only be used against federal officials, that it doesn’t apply to private citizens. Article II, Section 4, states who can be impeached. “The

History matters, especially as the New York City today faces still another subway crisis. The New York subway system’s history illustrates the failures of state enterprise. The subways have been bad for so long that few know when the subways were “an engineering marvel.” That was when subway private management companies made money, about a century

(From the November 1998 issue of The Free Market ) Big media outlets are ignoring the quiet revolution that is taking place across America. Politicians don’t talk too much about it for obvious reasons. This revolution is building incredible momentum. It now threatens the legitimacy of every level of government, the viability of government

Those arguing that Wall Street and other major industries cannot survive without a strong regulatory structure because regulators keep markets fair must now answer a basic question: Who regulates the regulators? The query comes in the wake of a recent blatant conflict-of-interest at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulatory group

The hypocrisy of the federal government appears limitless. Now it’s suing the big tobacco companies for $25 billion. Mind you, they’re not going after the cigar companies, which, of course, don’t have “deep pockets.” Just cigarettes smokers and makers—America’s most embattled minority. How can the government sue these companies? It sanctioned the

“There is no doubt that the real destroyer of the liberties of any people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and largesse.” Plutarch “Nothing could be more obsolete than to attempt to liberate mankind from poverty by political means; nothing could be more futile and dangerous.” (Hannah Arendt) From its beginning in the mid 1930s,

At the height of the Vietnam War, a war most Americans either want to forget or not learn about in the first place, a search and destroy mission was captured on film. A young American lieutenant and his patrol took a Vietnamese village, then, noting the Vietcong had been using it for months, ordered it burned to the ground. He explained to CBS

Recently, one of my lords and masters on the Potomac sent me a letter. Social Security Commissioner Kenneth S. Apfel wrote to say that, “We are pleased to send this Social Security Statement to help you understand what Social Security means to you and your family.” I’m glad someone is “pleased.” Looking at the record of my payroll taxes over 30

When does a federal government “fee” become a tax?  Probably when it starts grossing about six times more than it was designed to take in. Probably when the government is in no hurry to end a windfall that generates an extra billion or two of play money each year. Probably when the government says that to cut the fee would be a boon to the rich,

The stock-market bubble of the past few years has distorted American economic values. The wealth effect is leading Americans to think that stock prices will never go down, so there is no reason to save. Americans, whose savings rates have been declining for decades, should save more. The stock-market boom of the past few years has been fueled by