Ten-Year Anniversary of Minitel’s End Offers a Reminder of the Limits of Industrial Policy

The FDA's War on Juul Will Kill People

War on Drugs Veronique de Rugy | 6.30.2022 2:35 PM There's something terrifying about a government so powerful that it...

Who Is the FDA's Juul Ban Supposed to Help?

There's something terrifying about a government so powerful that it can shut down your business overnight without even bothering to offer substantive...

The Inconvenient Truth About COVID-19 Relief Scandals

Raise your hand if you’re surprised that the trillions of dollars spent on COVID-19 relief gave way to billions of dollars in government waste,...

Why the trillions in COVID-19 relief money led to billions in fraud

Trillions of dollars spent on COVID-19 relief gave way to billions of dollars in government waste, fraud and abuses.

The Inconvenient Truth About COVID-19 Relief Scandals

Raise your hand if you're surprised that the trillions of dollars spent on COVID-19 relief gave way to billions of dollars in government waste, fraud...

Blame Congress for Pandemic Fraud

Government Spending Veronique de Rugy | 6.23.2022 4:50 PM Raise your hand if you're surprised that the trillions of...

The Inconvenient Truth About COVID-19 Relief Scandals

Raise your hand if you're surprised that the trillions of dollars spent on COVID-19 relief gave way to billions of dollars in government waste, fraud...

Biden’s Budget Deficit Victory Lap Is Unearned and Unjustified

President Joe Biden is taking victory laps for last year’s reduced budget deficit. No one would be happier than me to see this number fall in a...

A Wonky Evisceration of Biden's Bad Deficit Math

Deficits Veronique de Rugy | 6.16.2022 2:40 PM President Joe Biden is taking victory laps for last year's reduced...

Biden's Budget Deficit Victory Lap Is Unearned and Unjustified

President Joe Biden is taking victory laps for last year's reduced budget deficit. No one would be happier than me to see this number fall in a...

Too Much Blind Faith in Models

Rash Optimism on Social Security's Solvency

Don't worry if you get confused reading accounts of the new Social Security Trustees Report. On one hand, you have some articles reporting that this...

Social Security Is Running Toward Insolvency

Social Security Veronique de Rugy | 6.9.2022 4:50 PM Don't worry if you get confused reading accounts of the new Social...

Rash Optimism on Social Security's Solvency

Don't worry if you get confused reading accounts of the new Social Security Trustees Report. On one hand, you have some articles reporting that this...

Biden's Plan for Reducing Inflation Will Actually Make It Worse

Economy Veronique de Rugy | 6.2.2022 4:26 PM President Joe Biden wants you to know he is serious about taming inflation...

Enough with the Supply-Shock Excuse

When Will Magical Economic Thinking from Biden and Co. End?

President Joe Biden wants you to know he is serious about taming inflation and that he has a plan to do so. Unfortunately, his plan reveals that his...

Corporations' 'Woke' Signaling Won't Override Profit Motive

Many people on the Right fear "woke capitalism" and the idea that corporate executives will bend to pressure to advance a vision of the world that...

'Woke Capitalism' Does Not Advance Social Justice

Culture War Veronique de Rugy | 5.26.2022 4:49 PM Many people on the right fear "woke capitalism" and the idea that...

Corporations' 'Woke' Signaling Won't Override Profit Motive

Many people on the Right fear "woke capitalism" and the idea that corporate executives will bend to pressure to advance a vision of the world that...

Diversity Signaling

Jerome Powell, Who Wildly Misjudged Inflation, Is Overwhelmingly Reconfirmed as Fed Chair

Federal Reserve Veronique de Rugy | 5.19.2022 3:08 PM After presiding over the biggest Federal Reserve failure in 40...

Spread the Blame Around for Fed's Lack of Accountability

After presiding over the biggest Federal Reserve failure in 40 years and with inflation rating as the top concern among Americans, Jerome Powell's...

Greedflation Is a Witch Hunt, Not Real Economics

A Global Tax Cartel Would Be as Bad as It Sounds

Taxes Veronique de Rugy | 5.12.2022 3:27 PM When all you have is a hammer, everything does indeed look like a nail....

Don't Bend to Calls for a Global Tax Cartel

When all you have is a hammer, everything does indeed look like a nail. This is the best way to describe government officials' unoriginal and often...

Putting Some WD-40 on the Supply Chain

Politicians, the Federal Reserve, and Fed and administration apologists like to claim that the inflation we face is caused by supply constraints. This...

Will Punishing the Mouse End Florida Cronyism?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation that strips Walt Disney World of its independent, special district status after the company...

No, Florida Republicans Do Not Care About Crony Capitalism

Crony Capitalism Veronique de Rugy | 4.28.2022 12:35 PM Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation that...

Will Punishing the Mouse End Florida Cronyism?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation that strips Walt Disney World of its independent, special district status after the company...

France's Authoritarian Establishment Faces Off Against the Even Uglier Authoritarianism of the Far Right

France Veronique de Rugy | 4.21.2022 2:56 PM This Sunday, French voters will decide on their next president. While most...

Will France Move Further Toward Authoritarianism This Week?

Next Sunday, French voters will decide on their next president. While most of the country and the rest of the world are united, for valid reasons,...

Biden's Billionaire Tax Wouldn't Just Hurt Billionaires

wealth tax Veronique de Rugy | 4.14.2022 4:40 PM One of the most important lessons in tax policy is that the person who is handed the bill and...

Biden Can't Shield Us from "Billionaire Tax" Fallout

Want to Further Economic Woes? Put in Price Controls

History has a way of repeating itself. Or maybe it’s that people cling to defunct beliefs, stubbornly refusing to learn from experience. Such...

Price Controls Would Make a Dire Economic Situation Worse

Price controls Veronique de Rugy | 4.8.2022 7:30 AM History has a way of repeating itself. Or maybe it's that people cling to defunct beliefs,...

Want to Further Economic Woes? Put in Price Controls

History has a way of repeating itself. Or maybe it's that people cling to defunct beliefs, stubbornly refusing to learn from experience. Such...

Sloppy New York Times Reporting

Want to Further Economic Woes? Put in Price Controls

History has a way of repeating itself. Or maybe it's that people cling to defunct beliefs, stubbornly refusing to learn from experience. Such...

Blame Insane Government Spending for Inflation

Inflation Veronique de Rugy | 3.31.2022 4:25 PM Many people still blame today's inflation on snags in globe-spanning supply chains. The chief...

Inflation: The Result of Sticker Shock on Government Spending

Many people still blame today's inflation on snags in globe-spanning supply chains. The chief proposed solution is to dismantle decades of...

Joe Biden Says He Loves Trains -- Not So Much

Cronyism: Intel Edition

It isn’t difficult to see why capitalism gets a bad name when many big companies have the receipt of government subsidies as part of their...

Campus Free Speech Problems Come Down to Culture

We’ve all heard stories about university administrators cracking down on free speech. But free expression is suffering even without these...

Campus Free-Speech Problems Come Down to Culture

We've all heard stories about university administrators cracking down on free speech. But free expression is suffering even without these enablers,...

Will More Defense Spending Translate to Better Security?

The brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia has renewed conservatives' calls for large increases of our defense budget. The extra money, we are told,...

More Defense Spending Does Not Equal More Safety

Will More Defense Spending Translate to Better Security?

The brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia has renewed conservatives' calls for large increases of our defense budget. The extra money, we are told,...

Re: We Can’t Afford a $1 Trillion Defense Budget

In response to We Can’t Afford a $1 Trillion Defense Budget I agree 100 percent with Phil’s post that we can’t afford a $1 trillion defense...