My local newspaper, The Tallahassee Democrat , ran a story on March 19 reporting on a talk given by former Florida Governor and former US Senator Bob Graham. In his talk, Graham calls for more civic engagement. His talk was a part of a larger program titled “Choosing to Participate: The Power of Civic Engagement.” For most citizens, civic
I’ve recently read Peter Schweizer’s book, Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets . The book offers a solid account of the way politicians use their political power to extract money from interest groups for the benefit of the Permanent Political Class. Interest group activity is often viewed as
New ebook in the Mises Bookstore God’s Gold: The Story of Rockefeller and His Times by John T. Flynn In 1932, John T. Flynn had begun to rethink his old-style “progressivism” to develop intellectually into a defender of markets as against the regimentation of government management. A first product of these steps is this classic and extraordinary
President Obama has recently promoted inequality as a fundamental threat to our way of life, saying, “The combined trends of increased inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the American Dream, our way of life, and what we stand for around the globe.” You can read the rhetoric here . Let’s look at the reality. The
The existence of common property in anarcho-capitalism naturally points to the interesting policy question of how this common property would be controlled and maintained. While one might speculate on the issue, this paper stops short of any hard-and-fast conclusions on this point, focusing instead on how common property comes into being in
Taxpayers in Austin, Texas, are upset that their property tax bills are rising. This article reports that taxpayer Gretchen Gardner is “at the breaking point” because of her increasing property taxes. Gardner says, “I have voted for every park, every library, all the school improvements, for light rail, for anything that will make this city
I liked Jeffrey Tucker’s column on the tax rebate . I hadn’t been following that rebate thing very closely, so I was SHOCKED to find a check for $1200 from the IRS in my mail yesterday. And I can’t say I’m upset about it. I was wondering where I was going to get the money to pay my next quarterly estimated income tax payment, due in September,
... is that you know who your enemies and opponents are. They will speak out against your ideas, your actions, or maybe just you on a personal level. One reason we value these freedoms is that they help make those in power accountable. Those who disagree with particular policies or actions can say so without fear of being sanctioned, whether they
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.
