The Lighthouse®
In 1894, the Supreme Court struck down President Grover Cleveland’s income-tax proposal for violating the U.S. Constitution, a ruling that prompted income-tax supporters to pass the Sixteenth Amendment less than 20 years later. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax also seems to fail on constitutional grounds—unless it were introduced after the ratification of a new, enabling constitutional amendment.
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By Benjamin Powell (Washington Examiner, 11/12/19)
Recent attacks on Jeff Bezos and Amazon for selling clothing made in Bangladesh are counterproductive. Forcing all Bangladeshi garment factories to abide by the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, either by passing new safety laws or by shaming large retailers such as Amazon, jeopardizes jobs that provide millions of workers the opportunity to escape extreme poverty. Sustainable safety improvements come about through the market’s natural process of economic development, not through coercion or artificial pressure.
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By Richard K. Vedder (Forbes, 10/14/19)
At a time when the public is casting a skeptical eye on higher education, universities are increasingly doling out huge salaries for positions that didn’t even exist 50 years ago, such as “Chief Diversity Officer” and “Vice Provost for Equality and Inclusion.” Will the courts rein in Excessive Diversity Syndrome?
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By Raymond J. March (The Beacon, 10/29/19)
Nearly one in ten U.S. seniors suffers from Alzheimer’s. That ratio may improve markedly if the Food and Drug administration gives a company named Biogen the go-ahead to market an experimental new drug called aducanumab. The agency failed to approve the drug manufacturer’s earlier application for approval, but Biogen’s latest attempt is backed up with a much larger dataset to confirm the drug’s effectiveness.
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By Alvaro Vargas Llosa (The Washington Post, 11/15/19)
Former Bolivian president Evo Morales wasn’t the innocent victim of an illegal coup that forced him to flee the country. In reality, it was his own continuous effort to hijack Bolivia’s constitution that ultimately toppled his rule—a classic case of hubris getting the best of a corrupt autocrat.
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Volume 21, Issue 46: November 19, 2019
By Randall G. Holcombe (The Beacon, 11/13/19)
In 1894, the Supreme Court struck down President Grover Cleveland’s income-tax proposal for violating the U.S. Constitution, a ruling that prompted income-tax supporters to pass the Sixteenth Amendment less than 20 years later. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax also seems to fail on constitutional grounds—unless it were introduced after the ratification of a new, enabling constitutional amendment.
READ MORE »
By Benjamin Powell (Washington Examiner, 11/12/19)
Recent attacks on Jeff Bezos and Amazon for selling clothing made in Bangladesh are counterproductive. Forcing all Bangladeshi garment factories to abide by the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, either by passing new safety laws or by shaming large retailers such as Amazon, jeopardizes jobs that provide millions of workers the opportunity to escape extreme poverty. Sustainable safety improvements come about through the market’s natural process of economic development, not through coercion or artificial pressure.
READ MORE »
Making Poor Nations Rich
Entrepreneurship and the Process of Economic Development
Entrepreneurship and the Process of Economic Development
Edited by Benjamin Powell
By Richard K. Vedder (Forbes, 10/14/19)
At a time when the public is casting a skeptical eye on higher education, universities are increasingly doling out huge salaries for positions that didn’t even exist 50 years ago, such as “Chief Diversity Officer” and “Vice Provost for Equality and Inclusion.” Will the courts rein in Excessive Diversity Syndrome?
READ MORE »
By Raymond J. March (The Beacon, 10/29/19)
Nearly one in ten U.S. seniors suffers from Alzheimer’s. That ratio may improve markedly if the Food and Drug administration gives a company named Biogen the go-ahead to market an experimental new drug called aducanumab. The agency failed to approve the drug manufacturer’s earlier application for approval, but Biogen’s latest attempt is backed up with a much larger dataset to confirm the drug’s effectiveness.
READ MORE »
By Alvaro Vargas Llosa (The Washington Post, 11/15/19)
Former Bolivian president Evo Morales wasn’t the innocent victim of an illegal coup that forced him to flee the country. In reality, it was his own continuous effort to hijack Bolivia’s constitution that ultimately toppled his rule—a classic case of hubris getting the best of a corrupt autocrat.
READ MORE »
The Beacon: New Blog Posts
- Are Wealthier Americans Ditching Health Insurance?, by Craig Eyermann
- President Trump and the Popularity of Socialism, by Randall G. Holcombe
- Fed Chief Warns That National Debt Trend Will Choke Economic Growth, by Craig Eyermann
- Is Elizabeth Warren’s Proposed Wealth Tax Constitutional?, by Randall G. Holcombe
- The Berlin Wall Still Teaches Invaluable Lessons 30 Years After Its Fall, by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
- Civil Libertarians Worry that Facial Recognition Tech Is Inaccurate, but Fears May Worsen After It’s Perfected, by Jonathan Hofer
- “Medicare for All” Is Not Free Health Care, by Randall G. Holcombe
- Will New District Attorney Chesa Boudin “Transform” San Francisco?, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- Elizabeth Warren’s Proposed Wealth Tax, by Randall G. Holcombe
- Trendy California Is Not the First to Ban Tiny Hotel Shampoo Bottles, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- Runaway Health Insurance Costs Under the Affordable Care Act, by Craig Eyermann
Catalyst: New Articles
- The Berlin Wall Still Teaches Invaluable Lessons 30 Years After Its Fall, by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
- Blackouts and Monopolies: Public Utilities in California, by Adam B. Summers
- A Tale of Two Drug Approvals, by Ross Marchand
- Do University Stores Rip Off Students?, by Richard Vedder
- Is Urban America Ready for Mopeds?, by Scott Beyer
- Detroit Right to Literacy Ignores the Potential of School Choice, by Kristiana Bolzman
