Businesses are greedy. They want our money.

So what do the politicians and bureaucrats do? They set "standards." I wish they'd stop.

That's what my syndicated column is about this week:... 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 »

Politicians pretend they can protect us from risks. But they can't. Often intuitively useful safety rules leave us less safe.

That's what my syndicated column is about this week:

Everyone has a different tolerance for risk. One person takes out a second mortgage to start a business. Another thinks that sounds nerve-racking, if not insane. Neither person is wrong. Government cannot know each person's preferences, or odds of success... continue reading »

Despite many government failures in pushing green energy, politicians just won't give up... continue reading »

Increasingly, government bureaucrats and activists propose to save us from our food by reducing salt, sugar, and fat.

In my syndicated column this week, I ask:... continue reading »

My column this week discusses the fallacies of Keynesian economics and government central planning. Politician claim they "create" jobs. They certainly do create some, but:

One of the most important questions in politics should be: ‘Would the private sector have done better things with that money?'... continue reading »

My new book is out this week! It’s been eight years since my last one... continue reading »

Pssst. Want to buy some Stossels?

That's the question I ask in my syndicated column this week:

Why should you trust ?

Because I promise to redeem them for gold. And I'm reliable. I have money in the bank and a job that brings in more than I spend. ... continue reading »

In my syndicated column this week, I discuss unintended consequences of 160,000 pages of federal rules:

The thick rulebooks help cheaters by giving them an indecipherable screen to hide behind. They also mislead consumers by giving them the illusion of protection. "I don't need to worry because regulation protects me." It's why some sophisticated people gave all their savings to Bernie Madoff.

A false sense of security is worse than none at all... continue reading »

Life's not fair. We learn that as children when we whine to our parents. Politicians like to pretend that they will make life more fair.

President Obama says he'll do that by raising taxes on rich people and giving the money to poorer people, as well as politically favored businesses. But that hardly makes life fairer.

In my syndicated column this week, I look at what politicians call "fairness":... continue reading »