California’s recent law reclassifying certain independent contractors as regular W-2 employees—AB-5—not only harms their ability to earn a living, but in some cases the law violates their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Independent Institute joins with the nation’s largest professional associations of freelance writers and press photographers in urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to strike down those provisions in AB-5 and to uphold rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. READ MORE »
By Randall G. Holcombe (The Hill, 5/19/20)
People are understandably alarmed that governments have responded to COVID-19 by imposing draconian restrictions, mandating business closures, and requiring people to remain at home. Liberty has been compromised, and today’s policies set precedents that can be called on to restrict liberty down the road. READ MORE »
By Vicki E. Alger (Houston Chronicle, 5/20/20)
Contrary to what a certain Harvard Law School professor suggests, homeschooled students are a diverse group who enjoy higher academic achievement and better life outcomes than their conventionally educated peers. Rather than learn from these successes, “progressive” academicians seem to prefer eliminating the competition. READ MORE »
By Benjamin Powell (American Institute for Economic Research, 4/29/20)
Invoking the Defense Production Act to force companies to make hospital ventilators isn’t socialism—it’s fascism. To deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, America would be far better served with more deregulation and market-driven innovation, not command-and-control edicts that violate the property rights of private business owners. READ MORE »
By Lee E. Ohanian (California on Your Mind, 4/7/20)
Along with many other occupations in California, certified registered nurse anesthesiologists under the state’s new AB-5 law can work as regular employees but not as independent contractors. Consequently, the law is worsening the Golden State’s anesthesiologist shortage and making surgery riskier. READ MORE »
By Richard K. Vedder (Forbes, 5/4/20)
Unless they soon take major corrective action, 500 to 1,000 institutions of higher learning will be forced into bankruptcy or face-saving mergers. Many schools could take preventive steps by cutting their personnel costs and better deploying their underutilized physical assets. READ MORE »
The Beacon: New Blog Posts
- California Exploits Ammunition Background Checks to Confiscate Guns, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- Pandemics Are Not Recessions, And Pessimism Isn’t Logic, by R. David Ranson
- More Executive Orders Will Not Fix Healthcare, by Raymond J. March
- Is a Coronavirus Fall Classic in Store for America?, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- Newsom to California Taxpayers: Enslave Yourselves or Die, by Mary L. G. Theroux
- USA PATRIOT Act: Leviathan in Search of a Crisis, by Mary L. G. Theroux
- CHiPs Are Down in California, and Federal Judge Is Down With It, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- The Smart Ones in the Time of Pandemic, by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
- COVID-19 Policy: Yet Another Intergenerational Transfer, by Randall G. Holcombe
- Tesla Restart Defies Lockdown, Stares Down County Officials, and Gives Workers Hope, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
Catalyst: New Articles
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