Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Libertarian supporters of an ‘Ellis Island’ type of immigration-control system are receiving a lesson in the fallacies of their system. They imagine an immigration-control system in which the federal government is vetting every foreigner and rejecting only the few ‘bad’ ones. What they fail to understand is that once federal officials are given the power to determine who comes into the United States, that power is inevitably going to be abused by encompassing ever-growing groups of innocent people. That’s, in fact, what happened with the Ellis Island system … Starting out with rejecting people who had tuberculosis, the Ellis Island immigration-control system was gradually expanded to encompass ever-growing groups of people, including anarchists (which ought to concern so-called anarchist libertarians, including those who favor government immigration controls and a border police state), prostitutes, mentally impaired people, people who might become public charges, and Chinese.” (03/13/25)
“The Democratic Party has been trying to paint negotiations as appeasement. During the 2024 elections, the Democratic platform condemned then-candidate Donald Trump’s ‘fecklessness’ on Iran and ‘love letters’ to North Korea. When Trump argued that the U.S. should negotiate with countries like Iran and Russia over economic sanctions, Kamala Harris'[s] campaign attacked his ‘weak’ and ‘reckless foreign policy.’ But some Democrats seem to regret taking that line. ‘Being afraid to negotiate, to my mind, is the ultimate sign of weakness because it just proves that you think that if I get in a room, you’re going to trick me and I’m going to do something stupid,’ Rep. Adam Smith (D–Wash.) said during a panel discussion Wednesday. … When asked by Quincy Institute Vice President Trita Parsi whether Democrats were seen as warmongers, Smith admitted that the party ‘walked into that problem.'” (03/13/25)
Source: EconLog
by Christopher Coyne & Andre Quinta
“Populism is one of the most important political phenomena of our time. Yet, it is still poorly understood. At its core, populism is built on the notion that the masses are engaged in a struggle against corrupt elites who have rigged the political and economic system to their advantage. Whether left-wing or right-wing, this is the essence of the populist narrative: an appeal to ‘the people’ against ‘the elite’ and the claim to restore power to ordinary citizens by breaking the grip of entrenched interests. But can populism effectively challenge crony capitalism—a system where the political and economic elite are entangled? Can it truly dismantle the grip of entrenched interests? In a recent working paper, we argue that populist movements are likely to fail to deliver on their promises. The reason is that populism does not resolve the dual epistemic and incentive challenges necessary for success.” (03/13/25)
“Among the most common economic justifications for tariffs today is that they’re needed to shrink a U.S. trade deficit that has long cost us jobs and dragged down economic growth. On both the left and the right (including the current occupant of the White House), trade balances — both overall and with specific countries like China or our new mortal enemy, Canada — are treated as a scoreboard for quickly judging the success or failure of U.S. trade policy and globalization more broadly. And seemingly every time the government releases the latest trade balance figures, at least one business journalist — and usually many more — will earnestly write that the U.S. trade deficit ‘improved’ (shrunk) or ‘worsened’ (increased), and that the deficit is a drag on economic growth. Yet little that I just wrote is actually correct.” (03/13/25)
“Some days it seems like oligarchy is inevitable. But as we enter the Age of Complexity and decentralization, the Iron Law might be bent or broken.” (03/13/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Fabricio Antezana Duran
“When thinking about Latin America, most people immediately think of its giants: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. Big cultures, big economies, and a notable presence in international affairs. But a new player has been making increasingly prominent appearances on the global stage: Paraguay. This small, landlocked country of nearly seven million people, located in the heart of South America, has historically been overlooked in international economics and diplomacy. Yet, despite its size and relative obscurity, Paraguay is beginning to crack the formula for economic success.” (03/13/25)
“United Nations-backed human rights experts on Thursday accused Israel of ‘the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence’ in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the Human Rights Council, a U.N.-backed body that commissioned the team of independent experts, as an ‘anti-Israel circus’ that has ‘long been exposed as an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting, and irrelevant body.’ His statement did not address the findings themselves. The findings by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which seeks to document in minute detail the allegations and evidence of crimes to bolster accountability for perpetrators, could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court or in other jurisdictions to try to bring justice to victims and their relatives.” (03/13/25)
“Trump was handed a great economy, ‘The Envy of the World,’ according to financial media. His trade war, lack of coherent economic policy and perhaps low interest in governing when cameras aren’t present have investors close to panic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 2,000 points since Election Day. Consumer confidence just scored its largest decline since August 2021. Americans are falling behind on car payments at the highest rate in more than 30 years. Inflation and employment numbers have gone wobbly, and the U.S. dollar is losing value. (By the way, the Russian stock market is doing splendidly as are the European bourses.)” (03/13/25)
“Australia has taken a drastic step, passing a law (and apparently enforcing it) to prevent people under age 16 from using social media. Now, even more are arguing that DC needs to also enact such a law. For the entire Fifty States and territories. Not much has been published about this in the past six or so weeks, or since the new regime started taking over DC. But it has been reported that twelve States so far have restricted teen access to social media and many more have seen legislation introduced to do so. Three States’ legislation have been blocked by courts. The most recent (reported on WTVR-TV) is Virginia, where lawmakers have passed a bill limiting social media use for those under age 16.” (03/13/25)
Source: Center on Budget & Policy Procedures
by Will Fischer
“A record number of people are struggling to afford housing, and leaders from across the political spectrum have called for action. But the Trump Administration, including Elon Musk and the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) has taken one step after another that will undermine the most effective policies to help people afford housing, including cutting Housing and Urban Development (HUD) staff, withholding urgently needed funds, and making harmful policy changes. In 2023, 24 million people lived in low-income households that paid over half their income in rent, forcing them to shift money away from other basic needs and often leaving them one setback away from eviction. In January 2024, 770,000 people across the country (an all-time high) couldn’t afford housing at all and were forced to live in shelters, cars, tents, or other unsafe and unstable circumstances.” (03/13/25)
