Reason.tv offers a video in which the chairman of the X Prize Foundation discusses private travel in space, for tourism, commerce, and exploration. To the extent that President Obama’s space agenda sets out a private course, he’s placing America on the most auspicious path.
Free Markets
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Cosmetology Nannies, Part 2: Expensive Courses for Eyebrow Threading
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s the second of two posts on cosmetology. (I’ll tackle all manner of topics at FREE WHITEWATER.) The post is about a Texas salon owner who is among those who brought a venerable practice, eyebrow threading, to the Lone Star state. It may seem new to us, but it has been practiced safely abroad, and…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Cosmetology Nannies, Part 1: Banning Fish Pedicures
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers can guess correctly that I don’t spend much time considering cosmetology. Unfortunately, some bureaucrats spend too much time regulating cosmetology. These regulations often inhibit new procedures, favor incumbent businesses over newcomers, and insist on unnecessary and expensive licensing. (The price for mandated coursework benefits, first and foremost, those who are in the business of…
City, Development, Free Markets, Planning
Visalia, California’s Sensible Choice in Favor of a Free Market
by JOHN ADAMS •
Visalia, California is far from Whitewater, Wisconsin. (It’s about 2100 miles by car, according to Google Maps.) Despite the distance, they recently confronted a question like one we in Whitewater once faced. In Whitewater, we once foolishly imposed a moratorium on residential apartments in our downtown; in Visalia, they considered and rejected a moratorium on…
City, Development, Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Planning
A Bigger Walmart Proposed for Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote once about the Walmart, No. 1274, in Whitewater. (Walmart now uses a name without a hyphen in advertising. I’m guessing they consider it both simpler and more upscale than “Wal-Mart.”) I wrote about Walmart a while ago, and a lot has changed. Walmart now sells both beer and liquor, there’s no east side…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations
Wisconsin Dairies and Immigrant Labor
by JOHN ADAMS •
Wisconsin’s automobile license plates proudly proclaim our state as America’s Dairyland. We are — ask people from all over the world about Wisconsin, and they’ll correctly tell you that we’re a powerhouse of dairy production. Rural Whitewater, Wisconsin has plenty of cows nearby (if not downtown, as some out-of-state readers sometimes ask). Some nearby dairy…
Development, Free Markets, Libertarians
Reason.tv: Encourage Bottom-Up Redevelopment – Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey, Ep. 5
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s the next episode of Drew Carey’s series on ideas to save Cleveland, and by implication lots of other places, too. Cleveland has spent billions on big-ticket urban redevelopment efforts including heavily subsidized sports stadiums and convention centers that have utterly failed to revitalize the city’s economy. Should the city be pouring even more money…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians
Reason.tv: Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey (Take Care of Business), Episode 4
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a discussion of how hard it can be to use one’s own money profitably to establish a business. In the video below, many business owners are even unwilling to discuss their frustrations on camera, from concern that spiteful bureaucrats will retaliate against them. Unfortunately, that’s a problem in many cities, including ones far smaller…
Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Planning
Reason.tv – Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey: Privatize It (Episode 3)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s episode three of the Reason.tv series on saving Cleveland, and by implication lots of other cities, too. In this episode, viewers see how government doesn’t manage produce markets or golf courses very well. Should cities be in the business of running businesses ranging from convention centers to farmers markets? Selling off golf courses, contracting…
Free Markets
The Difference Between Being Pro-Market and Pro-Business
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Washington Post, left-of-center columnist Ezra Klein has a sound point about the difference between favoring free markets and simply favoring incumbent businesses. (I think Klein’s right in this instance despite his favoring government solutions in place of markets more broadly in area after area of life.) See, Klein’s Post at the Washington…
Free Markets
Study: Markets Increase Fairness Between People
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are two posts over at Reason, about a study published in the journal Science. The study, entitled, “Markets, Religion, Community Size, and the Evolution of Fairness and Punishment,” finds that ” market institutions cause people to treat each other, especially, strangers more fairly.” Reason has two posts about the study, one from last week,…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Planning, Poverty
Reason.tv: Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey — The Decline of a Once-Great City
by JOHN ADAMS •
Reason.tv: Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey — The Decline of a Once-Great City Here’s the first full episode of Drew Carey’s series on Cleveland, and ways to revitalize the city. Sixty years ago, Cleveland was a booming city full of promise, opportunity, and people. Today, the city’s population is less half of what it…
Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Poverty
Reason.tv: Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey — Introduction
by JOHN ADAMS •
Drew Carey has a series at Reason.tv about his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland’s a big place, but Carey’s proposals for revitalizing his town would apply to other places in the Midwest, including far smaller ones. Here’s an introduction to his series: Click …to watch Drew introduce the series that just might save his hometown.…
Free Markets
Reason.tv: UPS vs. FEDEX—Ultimate Whiteboard Remix
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a Reason.tv post about how the government’s taking part in a conflict between UPS and FedEx. You may have heard the UPS is in quite the fight with FEDEX. Though both are package-delivery companies, they’re governed by totally different federal labor rules. As a result, UPS’s workforce is much more heavily unionized than FEDEX’s—and…