The Revolutionary Capitalism of Ayn Rand

Source: The Jolly Libertarian
by Marco den Ouden

“Capitalism has long been a mainstay of libertarian thought. But it was not until Ayn Rand came on the scene that capitalism took on a new tenor. Its defenders, for the most part, had been economists, and, as economists are wont to do, their arguments for capitalism were largely pragmatic. Rand, more than anyone in the modern era, turned capitalism into a moral crusade.” (03/09/25)

https://jollylibertarian.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-revolutionary-capitalism-of-ayn-rand.html

Water about to get a lot more expensive for millions of Californians

Source: SFGate

“Millions of Californians are set to see significant water rate hikes over the next few years, with prices for essential water supplies jumping by double-digit percentage points. In one large city, cumulative increases could see prices jump about 70% just in the next five years. San Diego County, the second-largest county in California by population, will see its water rates jump 14% for 2025, according to the San Diego County Water Authority. The public water agency, responsible for providing the majority of water to nearly two dozen area municipalities, including the city of San Diego, currently imports the majority of its water from elsewhere. The utility blamed the rate hikes on increased costs to import water, among other issues. Those costs, handed from a supplier directly to a consumer, are known as ‘passthrough costs.'” (03/08/25)

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/water-rate-hike-california-20209007.php

Firms Moving to the US Pay a Tariff Equivalent

Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux

“About his new tariffs, President Donald Trump said (and repeated in different forms): ‘So what they have to do is build their car plants frankly and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.’ This is seriously misleading. … the owners of foreign exporting firms may indeed decide to move their plants to the US if the total cost of moving is lower than the cost of reduced sales to America. Moving and building a new plant, and quite certainly losing money on the sales of the old facilities (the owner does not literally move his plant across the border), is costly and takes time. Moreover, production costs will certainly be higher in the US, which is the reason why the firm did not previously decide to produce here—and the owners know more about this than any politician.” (03/09/25)

https://www.econlib.org/firms-moving-to-the-us-pay-a-tariff-equivalent/

Some Democrats Endorse Bill Allowing [sic] Elon Musk to Create His Own Currency

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“The crypto industry spent lavishly to buy a friendly Congress in the 2024 elections, with their donations making up almost half of all corporate donations to PACs last year. They hope this week will begin the return on that investment, with assistance from Senate Democrats. The Senate Banking Committee is expected this week to mark up the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a Republican-led bill co-sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the new chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Gillibrand has worked for years to push industry-friendly crypto legislation through Congress, and she may have hit on a winning formula, with a critical mass of Democrats having received millions from crypto PACs and ready to collaborate with Republicans and the Trump White House.” (03/10/25)

https://prospect.org/power/2025-03-10-some-democrats-endorse-bill-allowing-elon-musk-create-own-currency/

The death of democracy?

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“We here at The Price of Liberty are definitely not fans of democracy. If we were facing its demise, we would certainly be on our knees thanking our God for it. Why? Democracy is ‘rule by majority vote.’ To engineers, to scientists, to followers of Christ Jesus, ‘this does not compute.’ To Old Army veterans, who were taught that republics decay into democracies which in turn decay into tyrannies, we rightly object to seeing that process before our very eyes. As free-market anarchists and more, we see government (mandatory human government) as rebellion against the Creator and something that is ultimately evil. Even if it can sometimes be used for good. So we welcome its end. Even as too many around us, and too many who are in power, decry its loss.” (03/09/25)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/03/09/the-death-of-democracy/

Canada: Carney to replace Trudeau as prime minister

Source: Reuters

“Former central banker Mark Carney won the race to become leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party and will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister, official results showed on Sunday. Carney will take over at a tumultuous time in Canada, which is in the midst of a trade war with longtime ally the United Statesunder President Donald Trump and must hold a general election soon. Carney, 59, took 86% of votes cast to beat former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in a contest in which just under 152,000 party members voted. … Trudeau announced in January that he would step down after more than nine years in power as his approval rating plummeted, forcing the ruling Liberal Party to run a quick contest to replace him.” (03/10/25)

https://archive.is/Phfes

Yawning Through the Rites of Spring (Forward)

Source: Garrison Center

“Every year, tens of commuters die in excess car accidents because the fake time changes throw people off their bodies’ preferred adherence to circadian rhythms. Others show up late or tired, to work, reducing productivity to the tune of billions of dollars. If a natural disaster or terror attack had that kind of impact, Congress would pass yet another disastrous and ineffectual version of the USA PATRIOT Act and social media would provide a whole new category of ‘never forget’ memes. The Daylight Saving Time scheme isn’t a natural disaster, but it is a century old semi-annual terror attack.” (03/09/25)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19421