Economic PolicyEconomy
October 7, 2014

Keynesianism in Chile

Last week Chilean president Michelle Bachelet announced an “especially anti-cyclical” government budget for 2015. Utilizing the usual rhetoric of creating jobs and stimulating the economy, the first budget in her second term is set to increase by a whopping 9.8…
September 16, 2014

Poop Out of Poverty

Emily MacNintch and Nick Holvik have stumbled on to a brilliant idea to help reduce disease, and save lives.  Please watch their video, and consider voting for their idea on the like provided. Video transcribed below:   "Hello, my name's…
September 14, 2014

The Overpopulation Bomb — Defused

For many people, the idea of a world based on liberty is flawed.  As long as people are free to keep having babies, then eventually we're going to run out of resources.  At the time of this writing, the population…
Environment
September 1, 2014

Saving the Amazon From Socialism

As reported by the BBC last week, Brazilian authorities have dismantled a criminal organization believed to be the “biggest destroyer” of the Amazon rainforest. The gang stands accused of invading, logging and burning large areas of public land to put…
August 18, 2014

Privatize Water!

In recent days reports have been coming out about authorities’ struggle to battle a water shortage in Brazil’s two major cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Ostensibly caused by a severe drought, the crisis has even sparked fears…
August 11, 2014

The State of Firearm Freedom in Brazil

Walking down the street here in Brazil it quickly becomes apparent political campaigns are in full swing. Signs displaying the slick smiles and hollow rhetoric of (would-be) politicians abound, and the same rhetoric emanates from megaphones on small vans driving…
Asia
August 5, 2014

Why You Should Not Visit North Korea

Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit North Korea every year, making it quite a popular tourist spot.  Guided tours can cost from $1,000 to $4,000 dollars, depending on the length of stay, and more people are paying this cost in…
August 4, 2014

Pacification and Brazil's War on Drugs

For decades, Brazilian favelas (slums) have been under the control of highly organized, well armed gangs. Financed by the drug trade and armed with weapons often bought from the police the gangs rule their territory, rivaled only by other gangs…
July 30, 2014

I, iPhone

Hello.  I am an iPhone.  To many people, I might seem quite simple.  Yet take a closer look, and you may discover a whole world of complexity.   Not a single person on the face of this earth knows how…
July 28, 2014

Brazil's Most Controversial Government Program

A common characteristic of developing nations is the high rate of urbanization and subsequent disparate development between regions. Brazil being no exception to this rule, the effect is quite far-reaching in the healthcare industry. More than 90 percent of medical…
July 24, 2014

The TSA Makes Us Less Safe

Sometimes when I'm in line at airport security, I like to imagine that I'm a ninja trying to get through their defenses.  I imagine hopping over the scanner, throwing some ninja stars, and then flying up the escalator with my…
July 21, 2014

A Critical Look At a World Famous Welfare Program

Hailed by The Economist as a “much admired and emulated anti-poverty program”, the signature legislation of Brazil’s last president Lula da Silva was the Bolsa Família (Family Allowance) program. Aimed at alleviating the misery of the poorest segments of the…
July 14, 2014

The Self-Regulating Power of the Market

A common objection to a libertarian society is the “without the government corporations would rule the planet” argument. The theory goes something like this: having few or no laws would give business free reign to run roughshod over our rights…
July 7, 2014

Constitutionally Protected Corporatism

The seventh and current Brazilian Constitution dates back to 1988, when it was written from scratch by a Constitutional Congress elected two years earlier. It contains a whopping 250 articles making it about as thick as the Bible. As its…
July 1, 2014

The Private Security Industry In Brazil

Walking down the street here in Brazil one can spot many signs on homes and businesses warning criminals that the property is protected by company X. For a free market proponent like myself this was a particularly interesting observation which…
June 25, 2014

The Market for Morality

The first time I took an online taxi cab – I was nervous.  Here I was on a street corner, using an iphone app (Uber or Lyft) to call a random driver.  Who was this mysterious person?  If anyone with…
June 5, 2014

ISIL at Freedom Fest 2014

From Mark Skousen, producer of FreedomFest: I woke up this morning thinking about "Why We Need to Get Together Once a Year."  Over the years, I’ve been impressed with the proliferation of free-market think tanks and freedom organizations which are…
Education
June 4, 2014

Truant in America

Have you ever heard of anybody who never went to school? No, I don't mean 'home schooled'. I'm talking about no school at all. No curriculum. No home school course. No online accredited program. Never went to Kindergarten, or any…