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Bill Clinton used to enjoy a reputation as a policy wonk, a person who puts political pragmatism and detail ahead of conviction and dogma. But with his State-of-the-Union education proposal, he plunges headlong into hardcore statist ideology. His idea comes down to this: let the federal government have more control over local schools and their

The Journal of Commerce January 27, 1999 It’s no secret that government has lost its prestige status in recent years. Surveys of students show that very few have an interest in becoming employees of federal agencies. Being elected to public office no longer carries the cache it did during the Cold War. The Wise Men of our time aren’t cabinet

Delivered February 6, 1999 The head of state makes a speech to a packed house of legislators, and is cheered to the rafters for his flurry of visionary policy ideas. He calls for the restoration of cities and towns, and the revival of the nation’s industrial base through new spending programs. He makes more housing a national priority. He promises

It takes a shameless liar or a blooming idiot–take your pick–to come to the defense of one of the most destructive pieces of legislation passed in the last two decades. I’m talking of the regulatory madness called the Americans With Disabilities Act, passed at the urging of the elder Bush and the male Dole, to their everlasting disgrace. The ADA

Euphoria about the economic boom is nearly universal. We are living through a record economic expansion, brought on by factors both real (technological improvements and the opening of new international markets) and unreal (the Fed’s loose money policy and regulatory subsidies to the stock market). How long it will last, no one knows. But it will

Clinton gave three reasons for his military intervention in the heart of Europe. A quick look shows them to be models of the state disinformation we’ve come to expect in wartime. First, he says he is dropping bombs to prevent the spread of war. But this is straight out of Orwell. Escalating war does not prevent its spread. It encourages it. It

What can be said about those public figures who have enlisted in the war effort, defended the indefensible, celebrated this destruction, and even called for more? They belong on a roll of dishonor, and here is a start: DISHONOR ROLL David Aaronovitch (London Independent) Spencer Abraham (R-MI.) Christiane Amanpour (CNN) Dick Armey (R-TX) Larry

This article ran in the Journal of Commerce , May 5, 1999: By now, virtually every public school student in the country has heard about the supposed environmental catastrophe of deformed frogs. Everywhere you look, it is said, there are frogs being born with severe disabilities: too few or too many limbs, and misshapen eyes and toes. And the

Pause for a moment from the parade of nonsense that is American public life, and consider the source of great ideas that would dramatically improve our world. The life and work of economist Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992), born 100 years ago, is cause for celebration because they have helped lead the revival of the idea of liberty in a

Well, isn’t this lovely: airline fares are higher this week than last week because major airlines have stopped matching the discount fares of smaller airlines. The boon that rigorous price competition has meant for travelers for the last several years has come to an end. There’ll be no more consumer-driven ploys to force large carriers to lower