Update: 2.16.12 – video recording of session embedded below. Whitewater’s taken more than one bad turn in recent years — sadly, it took another one Monday night. Introduction. Following a unanimous January denial of a conditional use permit to operate a sports bar on the main business district in Whitewater, the city’s Planning Commission this…
Free Markets
Free Markets
‘Markets, Not Capitalism’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
City, Development, Free Markets, Liberty, Planning
How to Make Whitewater Hip and Prosperous
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Some suggestions, in no particular order, of a list that’s only a sketch: Recognize the truth of the city, and all cities. This small town is filled with thousands upon thousands of smart, knowledgeable people. I don’t say this to make others feel good; I say it because it’s true. These many don’t need the…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Local Government, Planning
The Williamsburg Neighborhood in Brooklyn
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I mentioned that I would write a bit about the Williamsburg neighborhood. Brooklyn’s huge (millions of residents) and there are many neighborhoods (themselves large) within that borough. One of them is Williamsburg, a diverse and eclectic community, with both Hasidim and hipsters, and a thriving arts scene. These groups within the neighborhood do not always…
Free Markets, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Institute for Justice fighting the good fight
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
From the IJ, highlights of ongoing work: Litigating for Liberty. The Wall Street Journal featured IJ’s founder and president, Chip Mellor, this past Sunday. Read the in-depth interview here. Georgia property owners are fed up with forfeiture. The state’s forfeiture law allows law enforcement to seize the property of innocent owners without convicting or even…
Federal Government, Free Markets
Bain’s Not Romney’s Weakness, It’s His Strength
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Predictably, opportunistic GOP rivals want to attack Mitt Romney’s career at Bain Capital as proof that he’s heartless, greedy, etc. This is unsurprising, as these GOP rivals (except Ron Paul) don’t favor free and voluntary markets, they favor particular businesses (those that contribute to their campaigns, first and foremost). They talk about being pro-business, but…
Free Markets, Presidential race 2012
Desperate GOP Also-Rans Turn on Free Markets
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
How predictable, really, that struggling GOP candidates are attacking Gov. Romney’s time at Bain. Many of those candidates have talked about economic opportunity, but they’re truly more comfortable with favored businesses than free markets. Denying the truth about capitalism — and trying to make Romney’s success into evidence that he’s Ebeneezer Scrooge — must seem…
Free Markets, Immigration, Laws/Regulations, Politics
The GOP’s Wrong Turn on Immigration
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at National Review, libertarian Daniel Griswold makes the case for liberalized immigration policies, by reminding Republicans that current GOP Candidates Betray the Spirit of Reagan on Immigration. Commenters at the site will have none of it, and are highly critical of Griswold’s views. Their criticism matters no more than if flat-earthers railed against the…
Business, Free Markets, Uncategorized
The value’s in design: China Makes Almost Nothing Out of Apple’s iPads and iPhones
by JOHN ADAMS •
Free Markets
Three cheers for civilization and free markets this festive season
by JOHN ADAMS •
Happy Christmas: As you open your gifts this festive season, or tuck into your dinner, take a moment to think about the extent to which free markets have made this possible. Probably, people from all over the globe have been involved in helping you enjoy your day; people you don’t know and don’t need to…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations
Anti-immigrant legislation threatens Alabama’s farms
by JOHN ADAMS •
Of course it does, as any option other than a free market in labor for a need this large is an inferior, inefficient solution. (It’s also an insult to reason that desperate — and dim — officials think that prison labor is an adequate replacement.) Farmers have complained of a lack of field hands since parts of…
Free Markets, Libertarians, Politics
GOP Message-Massager Frank Luntz, in the Wake of Occupy Wall Street
by JOHN ADAMS •
Matt Welch writes about the GOP’s needless fear, and silly response, to the Occupy movement: Did you need a little Monday morning reminder of why GOP politics and libertarian ideals so rarely mix when Republicans hold power? Well check out this piece from last week by Yahoo News Chris Moody, who went inside a recent…
Business, Free Markets, Laws/Regulations
F.L.O.S.S: Protecting You from Low-Cost Teeth-Whitening Services
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s not health, but favoring some businesses over others (and over consumers) that’s the concern of Connecticut’s regulators: Here’s the description of the Institute for Justice’s video: Teeth-whitening services are popular and increasingly available at spas, salons and shopping malls. This has been a boon for consumers because these businesses offer whitening services at a…
City, Economy, Free Markets, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Wisconsin
The War on Immigrants
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason’s blog, libertarian Shikha Dalmia writes on Alabama’s War on Immigrants. The essay is solid from beginning to end. I’d recommend readers to consider her full essay, but I’ll quote now from a few key passages. Overview: Conservatives are resorting to ever more draconian measures to take back the country from “illegal immigrants.”…