Everyone knows that environmentalists seek (among other things) to shackle energy producers with government taxes and regulations. Less well known is that some energy consumers also seek to shackle energy producers with the aim of keeping energy prices low by forbidding them to sell energy to foreign buyers. The energy…

Kevin Douglas reviews The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves, by James Tooley.

The IRS and the Department of Justice recently seized more than $35,000 from Schott's Supermarket in Michigan, which had done nothing wrong. The government took this action under the civil forfeiture laws, which permit federal and state governments to confiscate property they believe may have been used in a crime—even…

Some enterprising immigrants succeed in the United States despite laws that violate their moral right to seek employment and the rights of potential employers to hire them. A recent Los Angeles Times article describes how some illegal immigrants have turned to entrepreneurship to deal with the problem: Although federal law…

[caption id="attachment_30881" align="alignright" width="233"] Image: Nick Ares[/caption] The History Channel’s “reality” television show Pawn Stars not only reveals interesting facts about eclectic household items, it also demonstrates the value of pawnshops, how this business works, and, in so doing, the nature of trade in general. The pawnshop owners and their…

Kevin Douglas reviews Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders, by Jason L. Riley.