Adam Smith Has Something for Everyone

From the American Founders to communist meme creators, people have long claimed Smith’s endorsement for their ideas.

There’s a reason that everyone still wants a piece of the odd Scottish bachelor after all these centuries. In an age when one can make the case to melt down nearly every statue of a once-revered figure, Adam Smith remains startlingly unproblematic. He was scathing about the slave trade as well as the mistreatment of Native Americans. His compassion for underdogs and his delight in the improvement of the circumstances of the poor shine though the archaic prose, as does the sincerity of his self-scrutiny. 

https://reason.com/2023/06/01/adam-smith-has-something-for-everyone/

The Socialist Generation Debate

Lange and the other socialists went out, saw the enormous, terrifying challenge of Mises, and then went back to the Ministry of Central Planning, and said, “You’re going to need a bigger computer.”

This mistaken interpretation of the Misesian “calculation” problem persists to today, and it’s getting worse.

Tesla Solar Factory Not Living Up to New York’s $1 Billion Investment

The enormous expenditure on a private company is dispiriting for many reasons, not the least of which is Musk’s public rhetoric on subsidies. In the past, he has spoken quite eloquently about the problems with taxpayer funding for private projects, saying in 2021 that “the role of the government should be that of a referee, but not a player on the field.” And yet he and his companies have benefited significantly from government largesse, to the tune of billions of dollars since 2010.

https://reason.com/2023/07/07/tesla-solar-factory-not-living-up-to-new-yorks-1-billion-investment/

Lessons from Honolulu’s New Train System

Skyline opened with five days of free service through July 4, when daily ridership peaked at 18,108. The elevated train system with its unique views proved to be something of a tourist attraction during the holiday weekend. But when Skyline began to collect fares on Wednesday, July 5 ridership plummeted to only 1,245

https://www.cato.org/blog/lessons-honolulus-new-train-system

Maine Legalizes the Sale of Prostitution Services

Maine’s policy is a step in the right direction, but as with laws that legalize drug possession but not production or sale, removing criminal penalties from only one side of the market is a minor step that can be worse than no legalization at all.

https://www.cato.org/blog/maine-legalizes-sale-prostitution-services

A New Underground Market in E‑Cigarettes Will Soon Begin Flourishing in Australia

As with all black markets, consumers will be less sure about the purity and quality of the products they buy or whether they contain deadly compounds. This will make vaping more hazardous.

https://www.cato.org/blog/new-underground-market-e-cigarettes-will-soon-begin-flourishing-australia

Public Employee Unions Rule California

Expect more strikes, fewer government services, and more tax increases to pay for pension obligations.

Let’s just admit to reality: Taxpayers actually work for our public employees rather than the reverse. As long as that’s the case, public services will never improve and your tax burden will only increase.

https://reason.com/2023/08/18/public-employee-unions-rule-california/

Beyond the Fourteenth Amendment: Protecting the Right to Earn a Living

Most people would be hard‐​pressed to define the “American Dream” without some reference to economic freedom. From Benjamin Franklin’s dozens of inventions (bifocals! A flexible catheter!), to self‐​made man Frederick Douglass, to serial inventor Joy Mangano’s miracle mop, Americans believe that with a good idea and enough hard work, anyone can enjoy economic success—no matter the circumstances of their birth.

https://www.cato.org/blog/calling-papers-beyond-fourteenth-amendment-protecting-right-earn-living

Tax Exiles

In 1973, Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon which included the single ‘Money,’ on which Roger Waters snarled: 

Money

Get back

I’m alright, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack

‘Money,’ according to one critic, “deals with crass materialism.” But by the time Pink Floyd recorded The Wall in 1979, they did so in France and the United States because remaining in Britain would have incurred a massive tax bill. 

Should We Abolish Zoning?

Houston is not a free-for-all. It requires a minimum number of parking spaces for different uses, which encourages sprawl. Its complex development code limits how many homes you may build on an acre. But it has no zoning, and its density restrictions are less severe than in almost any other large city.

The surprisingly strong argument for abolishing zoning is the rare case of successfully moving the “Overton window.” It should make all of us more sympathetic to fundamental reforms.