Congressional leadership has given up on a $3.5 trillion (or was it $5.5T?) “Build Back Better” spending bill and whittled it down to a much less expensive alternative. But is it that much better? READ MORE »

The Terrible 10 A Century of Economic Folly By Burton A. Abrams

The Senate recently passed a $52 billion subsidy for U.S. semiconductor manufacturers. But there is nothing special about the semiconductor industry that justified subsidies. The bill was just wasteful pork-barrel politics as usual. No wonder it had bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. READ MORE »

The Road to Crony Capitalism: An Introduction The Independent Review, Winter 2018/19

Russia may have paid a heavy military price for its invasion of Ukraine, but things look different on the economic front. In the first three months of the war alone, Moscow earned $100 billion in revenue from sales of fossil fuels. Sanctions-wielding Western countries, with winter coming, continue to see their economies crater. Putin has no incentive to end his war anytime time soon.... READ MORE »

Lessons from the Poor Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit Edited by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

The blockbuster Supreme Court cases on abortion, guns, religion, and climate change have now capped the Court’s session. A common theme? Legislatures, not courts, should legislate. The Framers would be proud. READ MORE »

The Right to Bear Arms A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class? By Stephen P. Halbrook