In an excellent piece in the Wall Street Journal last week, Phil Gramm and John Early made a convincing, fact-supported case that, contrary to what is repeatedly asserted and widely believed, income inequality in the U.S. is lower now than it was 50…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Or do we? At the end of a long, bitter political year, shall we take a look? The Founding Fathers’ abstract commitment to equality — reinforced by…

Politicians are renowned for their shortsightedness. During the post-war period, for example, Republicans have very publicly opposed most tax increases. I like small government, so I’m good with that. Where I part ways with the Grand Old Party is with…

I hope you will understand: I am not an advocate for tobacco. But there’s an ember inside me that flares up just a little for the thoughtful space a puff on a pipe or cigarette allotted us, back when we…

In the dystopian 2006 cult classic film Idiocracy, the collapse in humanity’s collective IQ 500 years hence is explained by a narrator describing how in the early 2000s, evolution no longer rewarded the human species’ most noble and salutary traits. Two…

As free trade and markets are increasingly vilified today by the political Left and Right alike, the ideas of Adam Smith, author of the famed Wealth of Nations and sometimes called the Father of Capitalism, are also tarnished.  It’s worth noting…

Awaiting the start of an economics class during my freshman year in college, I often found the notes left on the chalkboard from a preceding lecture to be interesting. So one day I came early and sat in on what…

Utah State University researchers released findings this week that one percent of trees in older forest constituted half of forest biomass globally. The axman, like the taxman, forever cometh to solve the slur against egalitarianism. Former Vice President Joe Biden…

Most research surrounding the proliferation of overly burdensome professional licensing rules focuses on the economic costs it has for society, but the repercussions of licensing laws go beyond their economic impact. With strict occupational licensing rules in place, entrenched professionals…