The Institute for Justice released a fun video today revealing the trevails of “Chuck”—a poor sucker who wants to start a small business. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQscE3Xed64] The video makes a compelling case for how hard it is to start a business in America today.  My favorite part is when “Chuck” goes thru the maze of trying to get a street vendor’s permit in the city of Miami.

IJ says: “Only 75 total v... continue reading »

I have a new documentary airing this weekend (Saturday @ 9pm ET and Sunday @ 8pm & 11pm ET) called, "The Battle for the Future." Let's face it: The news is ugly.  Big government keeps growing. The Federal government alone now spends $10,000 per American, pushing our debt to more than $13 Trillion. Total government spending eats up 40% of the economy! Yet the Progressives who rule elite colleges teach that government spending solves problems... continue reading »

Who is Greg Ip? I hadn't heard of him, and began reading his WSJ Op Ed expecting another tedious diatribe, but the economics editor of the Economist surprises me with new insights. First he reminds us how the silly American media worried about a rising Japan in the 80's.

"Japan has created a kind of automatic wealth machine, perhaps the first since King Midas," Clyde Prestowitz wrote in 1988. The U.S... continue reading »

My FBN show tonight talked about the ways government makes it harder for entrepreneurs to succeed in America.  In this post-show conversation, the audience talks with three entrepreneurs who have been attacked by unions or cartels, and their politician friends.  Hector Ricketts owns a private commuter van company in NYC and faces resistance from the local public transit union.  Dennis Ballen owns a bagel shop and fought a slew of stupid government rules when he tried to expand his business.  Melony Armstrong is a hair-braider who fought the politicians who demanded she pay... continue reading »

Everyone says he likes small business.  Even big-government types.  Then they find all kinds of reasons to make business owners jump through hoops for the right to operate. On my show Thursday, and column this week, I cover several  examples:

Case No. 1. The monks at St... continue reading »

That’s my topic for this week’s FBN show. I'll give the politicians the benefit of the doubt.  Most don't intend to attack entrepreneurs.  They just want to make sure businesses obey a few rules.   But those rules kill opportunity. I’ll talk to customers of “Dollar Van” drivers in Queens who are happy to commute by van rather than bus.  Most don’t know that the Dollar Vans may soon be strangled by regulations.    The vans are resented by transit unions that claim the vans steal “their” customers.  I’ll confront the head of the union. Also: In Washington State, a bagel store owner w... continue reading »

Economist Mark Skousen, the organizer of Freedom Fest – an annual gathering of libertarians – says that fighting for freedom this year is more critical than usual. He writes on Freedomfest’s website:

“We have reached the tipping point… where the burdens of being over-regulated, over-taxed, and over-indebted will kill the golden goose. Heritage’s Index of Economic Freedom shows the United States steadily declining -- and now it may go into free fall, unless we act…”... continue reading »

Goats, not government workers, are being called upon to clear brush near a U.S. Courthouse in Pasadena, California. In the past, government workers cleared this brush every year. However,

“xtreme overgrowth and underbrush on the hillside… prompted GSA’s Pacific Rim Region property management to take quick action to avoid summer fires. Ultimately, the choice was easy: Use a herd of goats... continue reading »

On my Fox Business program this week (Thursday @ 9pm ET), we take a look at the new threats to freedom, like Congress's drive to create more Federal crimes. It reminds me of a scene in Atlas Shrugged, where a powerful government official, Dr. Floyd Ferris, tells an industrialist:

"Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?... continue reading »

One of my FBN shows covered the idiotic licensing rules that states impose on business, particularly those that protect established business from upstart competition.

"hy do so many occupations need a license? Requiring permission from the state to do everything from flower arranging to practicing law paralyzes competition and protects entrenched special interests..."... continue reading »