TARP Didn’t Work

Three weeks ago, while announcing the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee, President Barack Obama described the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) as “a distasteful but necessary thing to do.” Although most of the money had been recouped already, the administration promised to get back “every single dime” the banks owed the American government. A few days […]

No Bank “Too Big To Fail”

Kevin Warsh of the Federal Reserve warns that by bailing out banks, government has only strengthened moral hazard in the financial sector.

Palin’s Smear Tactics

Sarah Palin is no asset to the Republican Party. Behind the image of no-nonsense folksiness she so likes to project, the former Alaska governor hides no intellectual depth whatsoever. She owes her popularity to her fierce criticism of the Obama Administration which has propelled her into the position of something of a spokesperson for the […]

Obama Privatizes Space

That’s right. As much as this (and the last) American administration has nationalized entire industries and promotes the overregulation of others to such a degree that the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom warns of “concerns about expropriation and violation of the contractual rights of shareholders and bondholders,” President Barack Obama seeks privatization in perhaps rather […]

The Assault on Industry

The environmentalist gospel is heard evermore louder in public discussions today as governments the world over move to impose restrictions and regulations upon businesses for the sake of protecting the Earth. Products that are supposedly harmless to nature are quickly becoming the norm while companies happily promote themselves as “green” and ecologically responsible. Industry, meanwhile, […]

The Enforcement of Education

In many developed nations, education is one of the greatest expenses of government. In Great Britain, for instance, about £88 billion was spent on education last year, ammounting to 17 percent of the kingdom’s total budget. In the United States, where education is partly privatized, the federal government still intends to invest over $46 billion […]

Sarkozy Bids Farewell to Capitalism

Government intervention in the economy is something of a tradition in France. As the the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal noted, French business “remains curtailed by the pervasive presence of the state in economic activity.” Government spends more than half of GDP and owns […]

Bailing Out Bernanke

In the coming days, the United States Senate will vote on whether or not Ben Bernanke will go on to serve as Chairman of the Federal Reserve for another term. Some legislators are skeptical. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky said Tuesday on CNBC that Bernanke’s own staff recommended against bailing out insurer AIG in September […]

The Environmentalist Gospel

A new, thoroughly twenty-first century threat to domestic harmony is emerging, reports The Independent. “In some relationships, it is said to be causing as much discord as those age-old battlegrounds, sex and money. The problem is environmental incompatibility.” Therapists across America are reporting a sharp increase in what they call “green disputes”. Couples are finding […]

Haiti’s Avoidable Death Toll

Some expect Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake death toll to reach over 200,000 lives. Why the high death toll? Northern California’s 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was more violent, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, resulting in 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, about eight times more violent […]

The Impossible Joy of Sacrifice

The recent disaster in Haiti has sparked a renewed wave of commentators to demand that men “sacrifice” for the sake of others’ needs. There is little mention of the injustice suffered by the Haitian people at the hands of their own government and, recently, at the hands of nature — which would be legitimate reasons […]