Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“The masterful socialist strategy is to present only the benefits of their policies with no (or almost no) costs, and then assert that the consequences of state intervention are actually the costs of free-market capitalism. Ironically, however, the socialists need the genuine production and exchange from some degree of market capitalism in order to give anything to anyone. What does not exist or is not possessed cannot be given.” (10/09/26)
“For the ancients, thymos always had to cede to reason to be exercised properly, and always, as for every virtue, in moderation. The consequences of unrestrained thymos could be disastrous, as Socrates taught, and Alcibiades, who rashly got Athens into a war it could not win, proved. So no, the West is not defined by ambition, nor by ‘the unapologetic pursuit of national power.’ For most of the last two thousand years, after all, ‘national power’ did not exist. Christendom did. The West is defined by reason allied with Christianity, which eventually gave us the liberal order. Rubio wants to replace that with unconstrained passion allied with the will to power. God help us. But that just reveals how virulently anti-Christian the American right has now become.” (10/09/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Marta Roels
“At the turn of the century, Italy was a G7 industrial power, admired for its fashion, automobiles, machinery, food, and design. Since then, a rigid labor market, complex taxation, slow courts, small family firms, heavy public debt, demographic decline, and the constraints of the euro have combined to undermine growth. Italy has not dramatically collapsed; it has lost time. Between 2000 and 2022, Italian labor productivity fell by roughly 4%, while the EU average rose around 20%.” (10/09/26)
“I think of Sarah Longwell as a kind of political sin-eater. The founder and publisher of The Bulwark sprinkles quotes like the above throughout her new book, a New York Times bestseller, How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time. They are a small sampling of her regular focus groups of American voters. She listens to the most infuriating inanities from the world’s most irresponsible voters because the rest of us would be driven to madness from the Lovecraftian horror that is American public opinion. Longwell uses her vast trove of qualitative voter data and her long experience in Republican communications to end the electoral dominance of her former side and enact reforms long and deep enough to decisively resolve the authoritarian crisis.” (10/09/26)
“Let’s start with the good news. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has added 61 companies to its database of businesses involved in activities linked to illegal Israeli settlements, expanding the list from 158 to 214 companies. Why is this good news? Because it further illustrates a degree of seriousness within the international community to move its position on Israel from the realm of language to that of action. Yet more good news: Five previously listed companies were removed after the office determined that their involvement in the relevant activities had ended. For the Israeli mindset to change, the consequences of occupation, annexation, and genocide must become unmistakable. This matters because it suggests that the mechanism can work: Sustained scrutiny can influence corporate behavior, and supporting Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine can carry a price.” (10/10/26)
“Councils of Government (COGs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are a form of non-democratic authority that are taking over functions from duly elected state and local governments, funded by grants from state and federal governments. This project has been expanding in power and funding since the 1960s. It involves creating new organizations with appointed members for which there is no direct citizen oversight.” (10/09/26)
“Washington responded to two crises with extraordinary monetary and fiscal interventions. Why did COVID-era stimulus produce soaring inflation when the response to the 2008 financial crisis did not?” (10/09/26)
Source: Independent Institute
by Daniel Sánchez-Piñol
“This November, voters will decide on the California Billionaire Tax Act (Prop 40), which would retroactively impose a 5 percent tax on the wealth of residents worth more than $1 billion. Its supporters say it could raise $100 billion, even though several billionaires have already left the state or plan to. Beginning in 2020 and intensifying in 2021, a tidal wave of entrepreneurs and businesses left California, including tech billionaires Elon Musk and Larry Ellison. It’s not hard to see why: the state’s high taxes, heavy regulations, and increasingly contentious political climate have made it clear that success is not welcome.” (10/09/26)
“One is doing a bit of cynical pandering, the other is condemning anyone opposed to the tech future—and neither is willing to look in the mirror.” (10/09/26)
