The Lighthouse®
As horrifying as a beer shortage sounds, it’s nowhere near the worst of Venezuela’s problems. Venezuelans aren’t just thirsty. They’re hungry. Most of them don’t have access to markets like those in neighboring Colombia. As a result, three-quarters of Venezuela’s adults in 2016 lost an average of 19 pounds.
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Socialism Sucks
Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World
By Robert Lawson, Ben Powell
Is global warming real? Have any such predictions been established scientifically? Would massive “carbon” taxes and other controls put America and the world—especially the poor—at great risk? At this special event, geoscientist and astrophysicist Willie Soon separates fact from fiction in the global warming debate. He explains why the forecasts from CO2 climate models have been so wrong—and why solar influences on clouds, oceans, and wind drive climate change, not CO2 emissions. Stanford University physicist Elliott Bloom then comments.
WATCH »
By Ivan Eland (The Fiscal Times, 8/7/19)
President Trump and congressional leaders recently agreed on a two-year budget that would add $46.5 billion in defense spending and $56.5 billion in domestic spending, or $320 billion above the spending caps of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The president keeps claiming that he will cut spending, but he never does. The fiscal swamp is not being drained; it just expanded yet again.
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By Richard K. Vedder (Forbes, 8/5/19)
Most large businesses have formal training programs and some have even sponsored university-level training. Now Amazon is entering the fray, offering its employees not college degrees but practical training. This approach may spread, resulting in more people saying no to higher education.
READ MORE »
By Raymond J. March (The Hill, 8/9/19)
Vaping is harmful. But since vaping restrictions might lead many to switch to conventional tobacco cigarettes, we must exercise caution so as not to make an epidemic exponentially worse. San Francisco and Livermore may be the first U.S. cities to ban e-cigarette sales, but they would not be the first to cause considerable harm by enacting overzealous policies.
READ MORE »
The Lighthouse® is the weekly email newsletter of the Independent Institute.
Subscribe now, or browse Back Issues.
Volume 21, Issue 33: August 20, 2019
By Robert A. Lawson and Benjamin Powell (Reason, 7/25/19)
As horrifying as a beer shortage sounds, it’s nowhere near the worst of Venezuela’s problems. Venezuelans aren’t just thirsty. They’re hungry. Most of them don’t have access to markets like those in neighboring Colombia. As a result, three-quarters of Venezuela’s adults in 2016 lost an average of 19 pounds.
READ MORE »
Socialism Sucks
Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World
By Robert Lawson, Ben Powell
WATCH: Global Warming: Fact or Fiction? Featuring Physicists Willie Soon and Elliott Bloom (7/24/19)
Is global warming real? Have any such predictions been established scientifically? Would massive “carbon” taxes and other controls put America and the world—especially the poor—at great risk? At this special event, geoscientist and astrophysicist Willie Soon separates fact from fiction in the global warming debate. He explains why the forecasts from CO2 climate models have been so wrong—and why solar influences on clouds, oceans, and wind drive climate change, not CO2 emissions. Stanford University physicist Elliott Bloom then comments.
WATCH »
By Ivan Eland (The Fiscal Times, 8/7/19)
President Trump and congressional leaders recently agreed on a two-year budget that would add $46.5 billion in defense spending and $56.5 billion in domestic spending, or $320 billion above the spending caps of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The president keeps claiming that he will cut spending, but he never does. The fiscal swamp is not being drained; it just expanded yet again.
READ MORE »
By Richard K. Vedder (Forbes, 8/5/19)
Most large businesses have formal training programs and some have even sponsored university-level training. Now Amazon is entering the fray, offering its employees not college degrees but practical training. This approach may spread, resulting in more people saying no to higher education.
READ MORE »
By Raymond J. March (The Hill, 8/9/19)
Vaping is harmful. But since vaping restrictions might lead many to switch to conventional tobacco cigarettes, we must exercise caution so as not to make an epidemic exponentially worse. San Francisco and Livermore may be the first U.S. cities to ban e-cigarette sales, but they would not be the first to cause considerable harm by enacting overzealous policies.
READ MORE »The Beacon: New Blog Posts
- Trump’s Trade War Makes Us All Losers, by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
- How Uncle Sam’s Borrowing Binge Might Spark a New Financial Crisis, by Craig Eyermann
- How Government Prolonged the Lobotomy, by Raymond J. March
- All Gain for Criminals, All Pain for Motorists: California’s Prop 47 Prompts Catalytic Converter Thefts, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- Three Assumptions the Left Makes About Economic Inequality, by Randall G. Holcombe
- Universal Won’t Release The Hunt, but the “Satirical” Movie’s Backstory Is Eerily Familiar, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- U.S. Government Sets New Records for Spending and Revenues, by Craig Eyermann
Catalyst: New Articles
- Let Veterans Work: Don’t Let Licensing Rules Hold Back Our Veterans, by Conor Norris
- “Planting Trees” Disrupts the Carbon Tax Narrative, by Robert P. Murphy
- Bernie’s Labor Pains: Three Takeaways, by Art Carden
- Universities as Rip-Offs: The Costly and Inefficient Edifice Complex, by Richard Vedder
- If the Gig Economy Has Unintended Consequences, So Does Shutting It Down, by Luka Ladan
- Plastic Bans Are Symbolism Over Substance, by Robert P. Murphy
