Entries by Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)

Are Markets Ruining Video Games? Or is intellectual property the real culprit? by MATTHEW MCCAFFREY

/in , /by

Capitalism is ruining video games. So says game producer Lorne Lanning, creator of the Oddworld series, who recently sparked controversy by blasting economic developments in the gaming industry. Lanning blames “capitalism” for gaming’s recent financial and artistic troubles, especially its emphasis on commercial success over artistic creativity. His basic claim is the same one levied against the film […]

Why Are Feds Threatening to Black Out Times Square? by MARC SCRIBNER

/in , , , /by

Colleagues tipped me off to an absurd news story about how the federal government is threatening to punish New York City for its famously gaudy Times Square electronic billboards: It is known as the “Crossroads of the World,” the “Center of the Universe” and “the Great White Way,” but Times Square could become like the “Black Hole […]

Court: NSA’s Mass Surveillance Is Illegal: The 2nd Circuit strikes down bulk collection of U.S. phone records by JULIAN SANCHEZ

/in , , , , , /by

In a ruling certain to profoundly shape the ongoing debate over surveillance reform in Congress, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today held that the National Security Agency’s indiscriminate collection of Americans’ telephone calling records exceeds the legal authority granted by the Patriot Act’s controversial section 215, which is set to expire at the […]

Real Heroes: Ludwig Erhard — The Man Who Made Lemonade from Lemons by LAWRENCE W. REED

/in , , , , /by

How rare and refreshing it is for the powerful to understand the limitations of power, to actually repudiate its use and, in effect, give it back to the myriad individuals who make up society. George Washington was such a person. Cicero was another. So was Ludwig Erhard, who did more than any other man or […]

Michael Moore and the 2nd Amendment by B.K. MARCUS

/in , , , , /by

Would the left support gun rights over police monopolies?  In the wake of the Baltimore riots and the latest charges of police violence against unarmed suspects, Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore has called for disarming American cops, saying in his Twitter feed, “We have a 1/4 billion 2nd amendment guns in our homes 4 protection. We’ll survive […]

The Welfare State Needs Abolition, Not “Reform” by DOUG BANDOW

/in , , , , , /by

The United States is effectively bankrupt. Economist Laurence Kotlikoff figures the government faces unfunded liabilities in excess of $200 trillion. Making the programs run more efficiently would be helpful. But only transforming or eliminating such programs will save the republic. The left likes to paint conservatives as radical destroyers of the welfare state. If only. […]

3 Myths about Economic Intervention

/in , , , , /by

Whenever a social or economic problem arises, most people’s default position is that the government should “do something about it.” Indeed, most people think that if the government does nothing, nothing will get done. It’s crazy to think our elected officials should sit idly by. But when the government does intervene, things can go wrong. […]

The Chart that Could Undo the Healthcare System: Skyrocketing costs are being driven by bureaucracy

/in , , , , /by

This chart looks remarkably similar to a chart that tracks the growth of the administrative class in higher education. And that’s no accident. As the physician who shared the chart writes: [The chart] outlines the growth of administrators in healthcare compared to physicians over the last forty years. And, it includes an overlay of America’s healthcare […]

The Sweet, Sweet Privilege of the Maple Syrup Federation

/in , , , /by

“Quebec is the Saudi Arabia of maple syrup.” That’s the money quote from an exposé on the provincial maple syrup cartel. Quebec’s maple syrup “marketing board” first made big news in 2012 when the culprits of an $18 million maple syrup heist (really) from the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve (really) were caught by provincial police. […]