Here in small-town Whitewater, we’re getting an expanded Walmart. It’s Walmart, not Tiffany & Co. It is, however, popular with millions, for low prices on a wide selection of goods. We’ve also a selection of local merchants, some of whom are positioned to thrive regardless of Walmart’s plans. I’ve objected to an exclusionary ‘buy local’…
Free Markets
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
A Victory in the Food Truck Wars
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written before about the anti-consumer battle against food trucks, and efforts to deny consumers convenient access to the popular, varied, and inexpensive fare that food trucks offer. See, Institute for Justice Defends the Rights of Street Vendors. In El Paso, where that city had tried to zone food trucks away from potential patrons, there’s…
Development, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Planning, Taxes/Taxation
Stossel: End Corporate Welfare
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason, John Stossel writes about the problem – a big, expensive one – of corporate welfare. Particular businesses shouldn’t receive preferential treatment, including taxpayer handouts, from government. Taxes and fees should be lower across the board, and without preference for one corporation over another. Corporate handouts only reduce competitiveness and increase dependency, and…
Education, Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Planning
Bloomberg Television: Veronique de Rugy Explains Fannie and Freddie’s Role in the Housing Crisis
by JOHN ADAMS •
Free Markets, Libertarians, Liberty
Lessons from Atlas Shrugged
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a fine video about what the videographer learned from Atlas Shrugged. I’m a libertarian, rather than an Objectivist (as I’d guess the videographer is), but the video offers an appeal to both groups. (Libertarianism is a political view, of individual rights and limited government, and has no inherent suspicion of religion, as Objectivism does.…
Free Markets, Liberty
Long live the American dream
by JOHN ADAMS •
Beautiful Whitewater, Free Markets
Wisconsin State Journal: Whitewater custom bike builder will debut new line at national bike show
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Wisconsin State Journal has a fine story today, about the success of a local venture, exhibiting admirable creativity, industry, and individuality: John Sotherland [of Bicyclewise] has been building his own custom, light-weight steel bicycles since 2006 with little marketing push. That will change next week when the Whitewater bike shop owner officially launches his Sotherland Custom Bicycles line at the National Handbuilt…
City, Free Markets, Libertarians, Liberty
Sundry Libertarian Themes
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve had an eclectic set of posts lately, perhaps more even than usual. Someone asked me if there’s a theme to them, and there is. These recent posts reflect a libertarian view (although not exclusively a libertarian one.) I’ll list some posts, with a few remarks on each. First, what do we believe? Libertarians support…
Free Markets, Liberty
Executive Q&A: ‘I believe in the American dream’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yes — no better opportunities in all the world: “I believe in the American dream,” said [accountant Julia] Arata-Fratta. “This is a country of opportunity. If you work hard, you are rewarded.”That meant learning the language and renewing her tax accounting skills to re-enter the work force. Now, she’s dedicated to making it easier for…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Politics
Postville judge calls proceedings “travesty” in new documentary
by JOHN ADAMS •
The massive meat packing plant raid in Postville, Iowa – and the prosecutions of immigrant workers arrested there – have been drawing heat since agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement swarmed Agriprocessors Inc. in May 2008. Via Grass Roots: Postville judge calls proceedings “travesty” in new documentary.
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Institute for Justice Defends the Rights of Street Vendors
by JOHN ADAMS •
The presence of a street vendor should be a welcome sign for a community, as evidence of a flourishing, diverse economy. More to the point — should government be used to discriminate against popular, efficient street vendors and in favor of less popular, less efficient brick-and-mortar retailers? Shouldn’t picking one over the other be a…
Free Markets
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat — The American, A Magazine of Ideas
by JOHN ADAMS •
….the free market promotes another virtue [additional to independence, productivity, and self-responsibility] that is rarely mentioned: curiosity. In 2004, psychologists Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson created an index of 24 character strengths, such as kindness, wisdom, and gratitude; based on their research, curiosity was one of the top five most closely linked to fulfillment and…
Free Markets
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a fine story over at the GazetteXtra entitled, New Janesville business planning to stick around, about a cane and walking stick manufacturer. [Lenny] Staller, a self-taught cabinetmaker, spent years making wooden toys. Now the 70-year-old Janesville man creates canes, walking and hiking sticks. He works in a shop in the back of the store…