Those who are fond of Voltaire’s famous quip about the Holy Roman Empire should take pleasure in the evisceration of Emmanuel Macron by CapX’s Anne-Elisabeth Moutet, who argues that the French liberal reformer is in fact none of these things — well, except that […]
Author: Erik Sass
Abolishing private schools is a bad idea (and impossible)
Labour’s plan to, in effect, abolish Britain’s private schools is pretty much the definition of pandering — a sensational and nakedly political sop to class resentment that is nonetheless counterproductive, unworkable and oh yes, probably illegal. Sure, nobody likes the British upper class (not […]
China must focus finance on small business
The words “Chinese companies” summon images of sprawling tech giants or vast state-owned enterprises, but like most other countries a large share of China’s economy is composed of small businesses — but this critical if unsung economic sector is marginal at best in the […]
Much of “Green New Deal” has nothing to do with the environment
There a couple plans for the “Green New Deal” circulating in the U.S., UK, and elsewhere, all supposedly intended to tackle the causes of climate change with sweeping measures to de-carbonize society. Except as Tim Worstall of the UK’s Adam Smith Institute points out, […]
Don’t hold your breath for EU trade carveouts, unless dying sounds fun
Brexiters still hoping the EU will somehow grant the post-Brexit UK special exemptions from its common regulations governing foreign trade are in for more disappointment, warns FT columnist Wolfgang Münchau. That rules out the possibility of a “Canada-style” trade deal which […]
If AirBnB Doesn’t Act On Criminal Rentals, You Can Bet Congress Will
By Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty When new technologies come to market, there are always unintended consequences. This is certainly true when it comes to new internet applications and services—sometimes unforeseen problems occur, and sometimes these apps can be used in […]
Amazon Ring devices enable mass surveillance
Like so many technological revolutions before it, the Internet of Things is being broadly embraced without any consideration for its implications for society — and that includes mass surveillance courtesy of seemingly innocuous items like digital doorbells, which just happen to be equipped with […]
Ex-Im “Reform” Documents Look Like More of the Same Crony Capitalism
By Veronique de Rugy, Senior Research Fellow, Courtesy of Mercatus Center It has been disheartening, though not completely surprising, to watch the Republican party move from being the driving force behind terminating the crony capitalist agency known as the Export-Import Bank to a party […]
New bill would target transit funding to places that allow housing density
By Salim Furth, Senior Research Fellow, Courtesy of Mercatus Center. On Thursday, Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) introduced a bill intended to alleviate the national housing supply shortage, which is acute in coastal areas such as Rep. Peters’ San Diego district. Since […]
How can populism govern without money?
By Agustín Etchebarne, Director, Libertad y Progresso Originally published in Ambito Financiero. Courtesy of Libertad y Progresso. The uncertainty generated by the possible triumph of the Peronist Fernández-Fernández ticket in Argentina is big and impossible to dismiss at the moment. Naturally, the markets […]