Land of the mostly free?

by Rob Natelson | 7:35 am, January 24, 2010

The Index of Economic Freedom, 2010 edition, is now available.  The U.S. ranks 8th in the world, but has slipped into the “mostly free” from the “free” category.  As usual, Hong Kong and Singapore lead the pack.  Also in front of the U.S. are Switzerland and four other “Anglosphere” countries — Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, [...]

On the new free speech case . . .

by Rob Natelson | 5:49 pm, January 21, 2010

Here are some quick comments on the Supreme Court’s opinion in Citizens United v. FEC:
* The Court voided a federal law insofar as the law banned independent election expenses by corporations and labor unions on behalf of a candidate. Direct corporate or union contributions to a candidate’s campaign were not at issue. Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion.
* [...]

Are federal health insurance mandates constitutional?

by Rob Natelson | 8:17 am, December 11, 2009

There have been some on-line discussions recently of whether a federal mandate that individuals obtain health insurance would violate the U.S. Constitution. This issue is distinct from the issue of whether other sorts of government health programs – such as single-payer – would be constitutional.

It is also distinct from whether states can impose insurance mandates.  They can:  [...]

Congressional avoidance – then and now

by Rob Natelson | 8:02 pm, December 1, 2009

Americans have been dipping into the history of the Founding Era for clues as to how to get our country out of its current mess.
Here’s an instructive story: In 1783, the Constitution had not yet been written, and Congress was operating under the Articles of Confederation. Congress had no ability to enforce its laws, no [...]

Now the Left Opposes(!) Confrontational Tactics

by Rob Natelson | 7:09 am, September 3, 2009

In recent months, we have heard voices on the Left cry “foul” at the town-hall tactics of Americans upset at current political leadership. The Left professes to be shocked — horrified! — to see Americans defending themselves passionately, unapologetically, and confrontationally. The confrontational tactics the Left now finds so troubling include such activities as holding up [...]

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Featured Posts

• ProgressNow Colorado and ALEC

  Oooh, looky what our friends at ProgressNow have been up to lately – ALEC And The Left’s War On Free Speech: If you want an insight into today’s left, look at its multifront war against the American Legislative Exchange Council for committing the grave sin of pushing free-market bills in state legislatures. At a recent [...]

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