Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Brownstone Institute
by Roger Bate

“In December 2024, Congress did something unusual: it introduced a bill that openly acknowledges tobacco harm reduction. The POUCH Act of 2024, sponsored by Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and co-sponsored by Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), aims to prevent states and cities from banning or restricting FDA–authorized lower-risk products, including modern nicotine pouches and vaping products. … This should not be a radical idea, but within the chaos of American nicotine regulation, it almost counts as revolutionary. However, the bill also reveals a deeper truth about why the United States struggles so badly with harm reduction. It exposes the forces that keep smokers tied to cigarettes, protect government revenue streams, and effectively eliminate smaller innovators who cannot survive the regulatory gauntlet.” (12/12/25)

https://brownstone.org/articles/why-governments-prefer-cigarette-revenue-over-safer-alternatives/

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by David Gordon

“The Constitution of 1787 — though not without its good points — had two main defects. First, although the preamble recognized that Americans came together as ‘We the People’ to choose their own form of government, it failed to failed to rule out explicitly the argument of the South that the Constitution was formed by the states, with states having the right to secede if, in their judgment, the terms of the original compact had been violated. Second, it restricted popular sovereignty and called for government by an elite who were deemed fit to rule over the masses.” (12/12/25)

https://mises.org/friday-philosophy/our-secret-constitution

Source: Independent Institute
by Scott Beyer

“For most of modern history, the perception of whether a country is ‘rich’ or ‘poor’ has centered on the wealth of its citizens. We look at median incomes and GDP per capita to divide the world into prosperous nations — usually Western democracies with median household incomes above $30,000 — and poorer ones in the developing world, where typical earnings are a fraction of that. This citizen-level view of wealth makes intuitive sense, because income dictates living standards. But there’s another, increasingly-important way of understanding national wealth: by examining the financial health of the state itself.” (12/12/25)

https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/12/how-to-spot-rich-and-poor-countries/

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“The problem is communism — in finance. That’s the world according to Robert Kiyosaki, says an Epoch Times profile. ‘Kiyosaki described the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank — established in 1913 with a goal of stabilizing the nation’s monetary supply following years of extreme volatility, and preventing panic — as a Marxist organization,’ Travis Gillmore writes. ‘When the Fed came to America, it was the end of America,’ states Kiyosaki, who co-authored a bestselling investment book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, in 1997, ‘and our freedom is being stolen via our money.'” (12/12/25)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/12/12/capitalisms-communism/