Obamacare promises to cover the uninsured, and somehow... lower costs. How can it do both?

Wyoming senator, and licensed orthopedic surgeon, John Barrasso, explains that Obamacare is incredibly complicated... continue reading »

In my syndicated column this week, I explain why, in a free market economy, greed works.

On TV, my Fox colleague Bill O'Reilly says, "The recession was brought on largely by greedy Wall Street corporations."

Give me a break.

Bill's smart. If he believes such things, we who care about freedom have done a poor job communicating economics.

Blaming problems on "greed" is a mindless cliché. ... continue reading »

I recently reported about an exciting new project in Honduras, which would carve out a small part of the country and allow a private developer to build a city there -- one with a free market government and strong private property rights. (Video here.)

Unfortunately, the Honduran Supreme Court struck down that law this week... continue reading »

Dr. Grey Stafford, Director of Conservation at the World Wildlife Zoo in Phoenix, Arizona, emailed me that he is upset because "lawyers and extremists" use government to change the way he runs his zoo. He says that bad training and conservation methods are "imposed on us by some outside party whose agenda is not in the best interest of conservation, animals or zoos."... continue reading »

My column this week explains why government and unions don't improve working conditions. Wages are best determined by the market.

But without a minimum wage or union protection, wouldn't employers abuse workers? In a real free market, no, they can't. Because workers have choices. Employers have an incentive to maintain a good relationship with employees -- one that keeps them reasonably loyal -- because workers can quit and go work for a rival... continue reading »

On my show this week, I point out that although leftists claim that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," the truth is that the poor got richer too.

Media Matters says I "mangled" and "cherry picked" the data.

Curiously, the sources they list confirm my point. For instance, the graph they use shows that the poorest fifth of Americans gained 18% in inflation-adjusted income since 1979... continue reading »

My syndicated column this week discusses the "fairness" of wealth inequality:

A free market will create big differences in wealth. That wealth disparity is simply a byproduct of freedom - vastly diverse individuals competing to serve consumers will arrive at vastly diverse outcomes.

That disparity is not unfair - if it results from free exchange.

... continue reading »

That's the title of tonight's show.

Ok, most bankers aren't evil. Except the ones who who took on too much risk, assuming housing prices would only rise -- then lost billions of dollars and were saved by a taxpayer-funded bailout. They are evil.

Maybe that's unfair. They just chased opportunity. I mostly blame the politicians who grabbed our money and bailed them out. Had they not done that, then the bankers would have just lost their own (and their reckless investors') money, not taxpayers' money... continue reading »

Complaining about high oil prices last week, Bill O'Reilly argued:

There is plenty of oil in the USA. Prices should not be at record levels. But they are because the oil companies are sending their products overseas to make more money...

His solution? America should tax American oil refiners when they sell overseas:

If you are going to refine in the United States, you sell to the United States. And if you don't, you pay a higher tax to export, all right?

That's intuitive: Keep gasoline in America to keep prices low.

... continue reading »

Bill O'Reilly was on the warpath last week about record-high oil prices. He says collusion among greedy oil companies is a big factor, and he bet me $1,000 that the gas stations in his town charged the "exact same price," which he says is evidence that they collude.

I checked his town's prices, and he's wrong. I win $1000! Here were the prices this afternoon:

Gulf: $3.95 ... Getty: $3.99 ... Shell: $4.05 ... Mobil: $4.07... continue reading »