Stories

A recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding territorial claims in the South China Sea could adversely affect U.S. national interests, according to Ted Galen Carpenter in The National Interest. The ruling, which completely rejected China’s historical claims to the South China Sea, was a victory for the Philippines. However, […]

A study from Roland G. Fryer Jr., a professor of economics at Harvard University, claims that although black men and women are disproportionately subject to most forms of force from law enforcement, there does not appear to be a disproportionate impact in terms of police shootings themselves. In response to the recent deaths of black […]

Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis continues to dominate headlines in 2016, but the country’s fiscal troubles have been brewing for years. Corporate welfare has not helped the situation, including the $519.7 million in taxpayer funds that has been provided to 11 agricultural biotech firms in the last 10 years. Classified as farmers, businesses like Monsanto and […]

While the public is increasingly accustomed to hearing about cities handing out taxpayer funds to professional sports teams for stadiums, details on how these handouts are structured are less understood. Elaine Povich of Stateline recently broke  down the tax-free bonds that fund many stadiums. As she notes:  Governmental entities have long used tax-free municipal bonds […]

Writing for Defense One, Daniel DePetris addresses the problematic nature of the United States’ ongoing support for Saudi Arabia’s  intervention in Yemen. While he acknowledges that the Houthis in Yemen are not blameless in the war, DePetris points out that the Saudi-led coalition has been responsible for the vast majority of civilian deaths and destruction […]

A recent ruling raises questions regarding the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and whether it needs to be reformed. The particular case, United States v. Nosal, upheld some of the charges against a man who used another individual’s password to access his former employer’s client database. What is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act […]

The U.S. House of Representatives recently blocked passage of a bill that would have expanded a provision of the Patriot Act. The particular provision would have allowed banks to share financial transaction data with the federal government. According to Cristina Marcos at The Hill, the bill was introduced under fast-track procedures that prohibit amendments. Furthermore, […]

Withdrawing U.S. troops from the Korean peninsula would offer a rare win-win situation by reducing the United States’ defense burden and giving North Korea fewer reasons to increase its militarization, according to a new piece by Doug Bandow. Writing for Cato at Liberty, Bandow notes that while it was once necessary, the United States’ presence […]

Recently, Scott Lincicome published a new report for The Heritage Foundation on advancing free trade in agriculture, noting that American agriculture has benefited tremendously from trade liberalization via the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). As Lincicome writes:  “A survey of economic analyses conducted by the USDA after NAFTA’s […]

Despite the public’s general distaste for it, corporate welfare remains popular among politicians and the favored recipients who can dole out and receive money with little accountability. However, as Dustin Hurst writes at IdahoFreedom.org, in Idaho one business owner made a clear case for how he is impacted. George Gersema, founder and owner of Employers […]