Category:Charity
Who are the most generous helpers in the wake of Hurricane Irma?
September 21, 2017 | Post
The media rarely celebrate ordinary people doing jobs for which they get paid. But the man selling several generators can be more impactful than the man giving one away.
FEMA should not favor zoos over houses of worship
September 15, 2017 | Post
It is a bedrock American principle that governments cannot discriminate against religious citizens and institutions.
Markets work with altruism, too
April 4, 2017 | Post
The market can route self-interest toward the common good. But the market channels altruism better than the state too.
Entrepreneurs create value for disabled workers.
March 24, 2017 | Post
Any entrepreneur who succeeds in reducing costs faced by a laborer who suffers from a disability can earn a profit.
Why libertarians should oppose the Universal Basic Income
March 24, 2017 | Post
Here’s my opening statement for my Students for Liberty debate with Will Wilkinson. Enjoy. Libertarians have a standard set of fundamental criticisms of the welfare state. Forced charity is unjust. Individuals have a moral right to decide if and when they want to help others. Forced charity is unnecessary. In a free market, voluntary donations […]
Won't someone think about the disemployed steel workers?
March 11, 2017 | Post
Joe works in a Pennsylvania steel mill. Many of Joe’s fellow Americans start buying more imported steel and, hence, less American-made steel. Because of this change in trade patterns, Joe – a good, hard-working, honest, play-by-the-rules, middle-aged family man who toiled in the steel mill all of his adult life – loses his job. Joe […]
Why aid programs are harder to evaluate than dessert shops
February 22, 2017 | Post
Recently, at a Center for Global Development conference, attendees criticized a wide swath of development programs that, these experts say, provide no evidence they are achieving their objectives.
A (Revised) Theory of Justice
February 21, 2017 | Post
Although Rawls is part of the liberal tradition, he is arguably the pinnacle of the “high” liberal tradition, which is a far cry from the “classical” side I’m more comfortable with.
The many faces of means-testing
February 19, 2017 | Post
Isn’t a Universal Basic Income just another name for a negative income tax, such as Tax = -$10,000 + .3*Income? If so, isn’t a Universal Basic Income means-tested by definition?
Better market-oriented proposals that reduce income inequality
February 15, 2017 | Post
I was initially excited to see that progressive Dean Baker has written a piece on “Eight Market-Oriented Proposals That Reduce Income Inequality” for AEI. It begins promisingly by criticizing overly strict occupational licensing for high-skilled workers. But it then studiously avoids the really big wins. Namely: 1. Immigration. High-skilled immigration reduces conventionally measured inequality by […]
William Graham Sumner Part 4 – Charity, Liberty, and Social Justice
February 12, 2017 | Post
Zwolinski concludes his series on William Graham Sumner with the question of how we ought to help the poorest among us.
William Graham Sumner Part 3 – The Forgotten Man
February 12, 2017 | Post
Zwolinski examines William Graham Sumner’s critique of “social justice.”
Christmas gifts are a hassle. Why do we bother?
January 5, 2017 | Post
We spend a lot of time and energy getting gifts for our loved ones. Yet a look at the return lines in many stores this time of year seems to indicate our time could be better spent wrapping a corresponding amount of cash. Why don’t we?
Does inequality make us miserable?
December 28, 2016 | Post
Indeed, classical liberals are usually much more concerned with the alleviation of poverty, rather than hand-wringing about who might have a larger slice of an ever-widening pie.
Some economics of Christmas
December 24, 2016 | Post
The holiday season is a time for love and cheer. So this Christmas, as you’re huddled in front of fire drinking eggnog and singing carols, be thankful for the wealth and opportunity that the free market has generated, and signal your love by giving a gift that matters.
Is culture the key to poverty?
December 20, 2016 | Post
A personal story about Vance’s climb from poor, white Appalachia to a Yale law degree and a white-collar career, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis will make you laugh, cry, and think carefully about the importance of culture for economic wellbeing.