Of Fallible Umpires and Rogue Judges

There is a striking similarity between blown calls by umpires in baseball and blown calls by judges in our legal system. We now know, unambiguously, that umpires make mistakes—sometimes excruciatingly costly ones. According to baseball purists, those mistakes “are part of the game.” Yet there is a rising chorus of calls for Major League Baseball to [...]

Leviathan: The Growth of Local Government and the Erosion of Liberty

Does government have too much power? Certainly—just think of all the freedom Americans have lost on account of the income tax, Social Security, Department of Labor regulations, the threat of antitrust prosecution, and so on. Note that in my short list of examples, each one is due to action by the federal government. In Leviathan, [...]

Corporate Land Grab in Africa

Much of the modern world has been shaped, alas, by governments’ grabbing land from peasants and yeomen, whose families had worked it for hundreds of years, in order to give it to the nobility or other privileged interests.  As a result, many self-sufficient farmers became tenants of politically created absentee landlords. As Ludwig von Mises [...]

Supreme Neglect: How to Revive Constitutional Protection for Private Property

The framers of the Constitution were acutely aware that politics—even in the highly limited democracy they envisioned—could be dangerous to private property. For that reason they added the “takings” clause to the Fifth Amendment: “Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” Unfortunately, like so much other constitutional language intended to [...]

Book Reviews – June 2008

David’s Hammer: The Case for an Activist Judiciary by Clint Bolick Cato Institute • 2007 • 177 pages • $11.95 paperback Reviewed by George C. Leef In recent years “judicial activism” has been assailed from both ends of the political spectrum. Conservatives complain about “liberal” activism when courts strike down laws they favor, and “liberals” [...]

Downtown Revitalization: City Governments Versus Consumers

What a thrill to visit cities that have “revitalized” their downtown areas! From the empty streets to the government offices to the abandoned retail spaces—what’s not to like? Well, everything, of course. Not only are such areas unsightly and useless, they often come at the expense of millions of taxpayer dollars and eminent-domain coercion. There’s [...]

Extortion in Port Chester

The least appreciated form of tyranny in the United States goes by the names “redevelopment” and “government-business partnership.” While everyone knows about the threat of development-oriented eminent domain, thanks to the 2005 Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London, local tyranny goes much deeper than the “mere” taking of property in order to give [...]

Mixed Day at the Polls

Americans went to the polls on Tuesday not just to pick legislators and governors but also to vote directly on policies. The results were mixed. By and large people voted thumbs up on the minimum wage and thumbs down on eminent domain for private use. More . . .

A NEW article by Sheldon Richman

10Nov2006 | Sheldon Richman | 0 comments | Continued

Government Putts

Mark Twain once said that the game of golf was nothing more than “a good walk spoiled.” But to avid golfers, such impertinence obscures a cardinal truth: The sport is infinitely complex and not for everybody. Golf requires patience, concentration, and forbearance. Distractions must be ignored or compensated for by careful planning. A serious player [...]