Free Republic

If you could go back to 1950, would you do it? There would be no Internet, no cellphones and you would only be able to watch television in black and white. But even though they lacked many of our modern conveniences, people genuinely seemed to be much happier back then. Families actually ate dinner together, neighbors knew and cared about one another, and being an “American” truly meant something. Today, we like to think that we are so much more “advanced” than they were back then, but the truth is that our society is in the process of falling apart...

Frank Lloyd Wright originally proposed The Mile-High Illinois in the 1950s. Innovations in construction materials and elevators are necessary to reach the one mile height and beyond. We may see the first mile-high skyscraper by the middle of the 21st century. The undefeated champion of the skies right now is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 2,717 feet (roughly half a mile) and is the tallest building in the world. Although take that with a grain of dusty salt—only 1,916 feet of the Burj Dubai is occupiable space, the rest is vanity height, meaning nearly 800 feet is...

Democratic voting naturally pressures politicians to endorse policies that will get them the most votes. But you almost never hear a politician admit that. Have you ever heard a politician say, “In the next election I will support whatever policies the polls tell me are most likely to get me elected”? I bet you haven’t. If a candidate for office did say something like that, almost everyone would find it distasteful.If you find this paradoxical, it’s a paradox with a long history. Our notions of democracy come from ancient Greece. Our notions of good government come from the same place.For Aristotle,...

“The Next Millionaire Next Door” is a repeat of the landmark study from the classic book “The Millionaire Next Door”. Written by Thomas J. Stanley and his daughter Dr. Sarah Stanley Fallaw, it provides insight into the original work, addresses criticisms of it and a whole new data set. Yet the “next” millionaire next door book is not just an analysis of the original. It contains new information, and it builds on related works by others that borrow from the original millionaire next door book.

Those ignorant working-class Republicans are just too dumb to realize they should be voting for us!That, in a nutshell, is a key Democrat kvetch when it comes to economics. Put in somewhat more academic terms, Democrats like to say that working-class Americans are "voting against their economic interests." The notion was made famous by leftist author Thomas Frank in his book, What's the Matter with Kansas? And the complaint has been echoed countless times since by a parade of progressives. [snip] Scarborough today also parroted that same classic leftist trope. It came in his Washington Post column that his wife...

Rapper Akon has revealed plans for a futuristic $6 billion city in his Senegal homeland modelled on Black Panther's Wakanda. The R&B star, who boasts two multi-platinum albums, told a news conference on Monday he had laid the first stone for the city in the Atlantic Ocean village of Mbodiene, around 60 miles south of the capital Dakar. The solar-powered Akon City will offer hotels, a university, hospitals, business and leisure centres including a casino, as well as movie studios, all featuring futuristic designs by architect Hussein Bakri, with African sculptures for inspiration.

“Economic Facts and Fallacies” by Thomas Sowell came out in 2008, but like many of Thomas Sowell’s other books on economics, it remains a classic. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this book? How does it compare to his other major works?

On this episode Sam invites Mark Thornton onto the show. Together they discuss the economics of slavery and the long lasting effects of it on economies. Mark Thornton is an economic historian and a senior fellow with the Mises Institute. While everyone knows a bit about slavery, few think about the economics of it. It is the contention of Thornton that slavery was not a profitable institution in the antebellum South and that its after effects continue to drive the industrial underdevelopment of the region today.

One top CATO economist is letting The Wall Street Journal have it for pushing more federal bailouts for states and using liberal spin to justify it. CATO Director of Tax Policy Studies Chris Edwards slammed The Journal for pushing “a biased news story regarding state budgets” in a piece headlined “Error and Spin in Wall Street Journal Budget Article.” The Journal’s story, headlined “Coronavirus-Hit State Budgets Create a Drag on U.S. Recovery,” reflects “only Keynesian thinking, exaggerates the plight of governments, and only quotes analysts in favor of more federal bailouts,” according to Edwards.

One way President Donald Trump built the best economy in 30 years was by attracting nearly $1 trillion of foreign capital to these shores. This money got invested in new business startups and expanded existing Made-in-America businesses. This "repatriation tax holiday" worked like a charm. Millions of jobs were created -- and this was a major contributing factor to the American economic sonic boom. Now, we've been flattened by a pandemic, and the rebuilding job is underway. We need another infusion of investment capital into the U.S. -- and quickly -- to get the 25 million jobs back that were...

Matt Bracken guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the true value of stocking up on ammunition.

The last few months have brought rioting, targeted violence toward police officers and conservatives, flag burning, and wanton destruction in U.S. cities. American society is also in turmoil. Ordinary Americans fear being “canceled” for saying the wrong thing or having the wrong ideas. Two New York Times editors have been ousted, and reporters all over the country feel increased pressure to conform to a specific narrative. A Chicago Federal Reserve economist was fired for politely criticizing the policy positions of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization. These are but a few examples. Some of America’s largest multinational corporations are not...

Some thoughts on the real problem behind SCOTUS's transgender expansion of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Last week we learned the twitter mob has taken over economics too. In case you aren't following, here is the short version of the story. Harald Uhlig, a distingushed macroeconomist at the University of Chicago, sent out a few tweets questioning the wisdom of quickly "defunding the police." The twitter mob, led by Paul Krugman and Justin Wolfers, swiftly attacked. A petition circulated, reportedly gaining 500 signatories, demanding his removal as editor of the Journal of Political Economy. That petition has been taken down and I can't seem to find it to verify just who did sign it. But I...

https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screen-Shot-2020-05-29-at-4.53.59-PM-998x687.png President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has directed his administration to “begin the process of eliminating policy exemptions that give Hong Kong different and special treatment.” His announcement came a day after China’s People’s Congress passed Beijing’s controversial new national security law related to Hong Kong. Trump’s announcement will profoundly affect the future of Hong Kong and the U.S.-China relationship.The president’s decision was based on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s certification to Congress Wednesday that “Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China,” a decision he said gave him no pleasure but that “sound policy-making requires a recognition...

The media has riled Americans into a frenzied panic over COVID-19. Concerned, corrupt, and ignorant politicians alike have used fear of COVID-19 to institute neurotic “social distancing” policies. Tens of millions of Americans are now prohibited from working, from seeing loved ones, from worshipping—the nation’s greatest churches were empty this Easter. America’s government has suspended the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and destroyed the economy. And for what? Nothing. New data reveals that COVID-19 is not the pandemic we were promised. The media compares COVID-19 to the Spanish Flu, which killed 50 million people in the wake of World War...

'There's no one in the U.S. that does what we do. That would leave the option of really going to Asia...and there's no chance that they can deliver the kind of quality that we do." Leupold is a 113-year-old, family-owned business manufacturing rifle scopes, firearm sights, and other optics in Beaverton, Oregon. With more than 650 employees and a factory that runs seven days a week, they manufacture the types of products that have to work every time, under pressure.“That moment of truth when is when you’re behind that sight and pulling the trigger, and we want to make sure...

In World War II, America produced the gauze, iodine, and syringes that allowed allied troops to soldier on in the face of bloodshed and broken bones. Times have changed. Today, America cannot produce the basic medical supplies it needs to fight COVID-19. Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services secretary, told the House Appropriations Committee that America needs 25 times more masks than it currently has stockpiled. Worse still, it turns out that America cannot even manufacture the masks it needs because most of the factories are in China. Evidently, it will take years for domestic mask-makers to fulfill the...

https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screen-Shot-2020-05-14-at-4.58.53-PM-998x725.pngMADISON, Wis. — Declaring that the state’s top health official wrongly bypassed legislative oversight, the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the Evers’ administration’s extended lockdown of the state.The 4-3 decision by the conservative-led court declares Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm’s Emergency Order 28 “unlawful, invalid, and unenforceable.”“Because Palm did not follow the law in creating Order 28, there can be no criminal penalties for violations of her order,” the ruling notes. “The procedural requirements of Wis. Stat. ch. 227 must be followed because they safeguard all people.”Palm’s extended order, issued before Evers’ first stay-at-home edict...

What some who don’t live in Georgia may not realize is that Gov. Brian Kemp’s original shelter-in-place order was not a total lockdown. Undeterred by his critics, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is moving forward with the bold decision to begin to reopen his state’s businesses and launch our return to normal life. According to an order Kemp promulgated Monday, nail salons, massage therapists, tattoo parlors, bowling alleys, gyms, and other businesses may reopen on Friday. In-person church services can reopen. On Monday, restaurants and movie theaters may reopen. Dentists’ and doctors’ offices and all other health care-related practices and services...