Many folks believe the government should provide insurance against natural disasters. Congress recently voted to extend the National Flood Insurance Program for another four years. The NFIP was established in 1968 to provided “affordable” insurance to people living in the most flood-prone areas. (In the West, federal flood insurance has primarily taken the form of […]
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Let’s dispel a common myth. Critics deride capitalism and private property as simply a means for the rich to exploit the poor. Actually, the poor have the most to gain from secure property rights. In a system without private property rights, the rich have the resources to buy security, either by bribing government officials or […]
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Both the Jeffersonian Democrat and the libertarian have an interest in fostering a moral society. The late liberal Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan lamented in a 1993 essay: “[O]ver the past generation…we have been redefining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized, and also quietly raising the ‘normal’ level in categories where behavior is […]
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Most folks care about their less fortunate neighbors. Americans have long formed voluntary associations and civic groups to address such problems. Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army are two successful examples. But since FDR’s New Deal and LBJ’s Great Society, which harnessed government to cure social problems, the federal government has claimed the dominant […]
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Dear Max and Denny: Thanks so much for giving Montana such good highways. Céline and I enjoy taking road trips to explore and photograph the state. The drive up Routes 287 and 89 along the Rocky Mountain Front is beautiful. We really appreciate the fine condition of Montana’s roads. I, particularly, am grateful since I […]
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Commerce spreads culture — the arts, entertainment, ideas, religious beliefs, etc. — and I’m grateful it does. Exposure to other cultures enriches our lives, broadens our perspectives, and demonstrates the rich variety of humanity. But we often hear complaints about America’s so-called “cultural imperialism.” McDonald’s, Levi’s, and Hollywood peddle degenerate American culture to gullible international […]
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Government transfers resources, money, and opportunities from the poorly organized to the well organized. That’s the way the world works. One form is corporate welfare. The Continental Pit copper mine in Butte, Montana, exemplifies this sorry process. In 2000, due to high electricity prices and low copper prices, Montana Resources, Inc. suspended operations at its […]
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Bozeman’s farmers’ market is a charming way to purchase locally grown produce and handicrafts. The ideal of self-sufficiency such markets imply is often advocated by environmentalists and community food co-ops, e.g., “Be a yokel, buy local.” But while it may appeal to the well-off and socially conscious, if taken to its logical conclusion it has […]
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Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria writes in The Future of Freedom: “First, a government must be able to control the governed, then it must be able to control itself. Order plus liberty. These two forces will, in the long run, produce legitimate government, prosperity and liberal democracy.” Now that Saddam’s regime is gone, the U.S. […]
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Change is our only certainty. How we handle it is important. Some risks can be reduced or insured against, such as illness, auto wrecks, and fires. But many risks offer opportunities. Progress implies change and change implies risk. But when considering our environment, many would avoid all risks. Instead they defer to the “precautionary principle.” […]
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