The Lighthouse®
Launched by President Trump to accelerate the development of a vaccine, Operation Warp Speed is rife with conflicts of interests. Unfortunately, government funding is never immune to unethical and worrisome political opportunism.
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By K. Lloyd Billingsley (The Beacon, 6/8/20)
California Assembly Bill 5—the state law reclassifying rideshare drivers and many other independent contractors as regular W-2 employees—is now slated for reconsideration on the November ballot. Although economists charge that the law harms freelance workers and reduces essential services during the pandemic, presidential contender Joe Biden urges Californians to support this restriction on freelance workers and calls for a similar law on the national level.
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By Alvaro Vargas Llosa (The Beacon, 6/16/20)
Uruguay has managed to keep its COVID-19 death toll unusually low without having to impose a national quarantine, shut down the economy, or direct the police or the military to arrest people. Instead, the nation relies on massive testing, brief isolation, and individual responsibility.
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By Richard K. Vedder (Forbes, 6/8/20)
Although lawyers as a group are often subject to ridicule, a large supply of attorneys is essential for enforcing the rules and laws that allow for a prosperous, orderly society. This necessity is one reason why everyone has a stake in how well law schools will weather the coronavirus pandemic.
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By Donald J. Boudreaux (The Independent Review, Spring 2020)
The Scottish economist and moral philosopher’s landmark treatise, The Wealth of Nations (1776), is relevant today not only because it makes a still pertinent and compelling case for free trade, low taxes, and the “invisible hand” of the marketplace. It also resonates by calling out, with acumen and eloquence, the “folly and presumption” of any persons or group who believe themselves fit to direct the affairs of other people.
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The Lighthouse® is the weekly email newsletter of the Independent Institute.
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Volume 22, Issue 24: June 23, 2020
By Raymond J. March (The Beacon, 6/15/20)
Launched by President Trump to accelerate the development of a vaccine, Operation Warp Speed is rife with conflicts of interests. Unfortunately, government funding is never immune to unethical and worrisome political opportunism.
READ MORE »By K. Lloyd Billingsley (The Beacon, 6/8/20)
California Assembly Bill 5—the state law reclassifying rideshare drivers and many other independent contractors as regular W-2 employees—is now slated for reconsideration on the November ballot. Although economists charge that the law harms freelance workers and reduces essential services during the pandemic, presidential contender Joe Biden urges Californians to support this restriction on freelance workers and calls for a similar law on the national level.
READ MORE »
Open Letter to Suspend California AB-5
From 153 Economists and Political Scientists in California
From 153 Economists and Political Scientists in California
By Williamson M. Evers, David J. Theroux
By Alvaro Vargas Llosa (The Beacon, 6/16/20)
Uruguay has managed to keep its COVID-19 death toll unusually low without having to impose a national quarantine, shut down the economy, or direct the police or the military to arrest people. Instead, the nation relies on massive testing, brief isolation, and individual responsibility.
READ MORE »
By Richard K. Vedder (Forbes, 6/8/20)
Although lawyers as a group are often subject to ridicule, a large supply of attorneys is essential for enforcing the rules and laws that allow for a prosperous, orderly society. This necessity is one reason why everyone has a stake in how well law schools will weather the coronavirus pandemic.
READ MORE »
By Donald J. Boudreaux (The Independent Review, Spring 2020)
The Scottish economist and moral philosopher’s landmark treatise, The Wealth of Nations (1776), is relevant today not only because it makes a still pertinent and compelling case for free trade, low taxes, and the “invisible hand” of the marketplace. It also resonates by calling out, with acumen and eloquence, the “folly and presumption” of any persons or group who believe themselves fit to direct the affairs of other people.
READ MORE »
The Beacon: New Blog Posts
- Is State-Sponsored Racism Staging a Comeback?, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- Uruguay’s Freer Approach Has Severely Limited the Pandemic While Protecting the Economy, by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
- Are Police Forces the Best Candidates for Defunding?, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
Catalyst: New Articles
- Will California’s Freelance Work Restrictions Go National?, by K. Lloyd Billingsley
- How California’s AB5 Law Threatens Entrepreneurship, by Luka Ladan
- Friends of the L.A. River Has an Anti-Urban Vision, by Scott Beyer
- NPR: Evidence Mounts COVID Less Lethal Than Predicted, by Jon Miltimore
