Rising Interest Rates and Inflation
“A 5 to 10 percent jump in inflation expectations could be enough to set off a fiscal crisis for the federal government. And a fiscal crisis could be enough to generate a crisis of confidence in the dollar. There are numerous traps to avoid on the road ahead. Yet, monetary and fiscal policy both continue on expansionary paths with the greatest boldness that we have seen since the chairmanship of Arthur Burns.” ~ James L. Caton
We Must Not Be Forced Into Vaccinating Our Children From COVID
“We make this plea and urge those in the medical field to reiterate the need for a thorough examination of the science of efficacy, the potential risks to the children and the evidence that supports the need for such a medical intervention foisted on our children. Failing which, it would seem a violation of the Hippocratic Oath, ‘Above all do no harm.’ We will address the insanity of vaccine passports in a subsequent op-ed.” ~ AIER Contributing Authors
The Right Not to Get Matched
“We all need and deserve tools that we understand and can control. That is why I think we should be really vocal about it and resist technologies that instead of supporting and collaborating with humans, take over and make decisions on their behalf. Pop culture feeds us these scenarios as inevitable. Let’s write different ones in our real lives.” ~ Aleksandra Przegalinska
New York Rolls Out Vaccine Passport Program
“New York is just one of several states that is introducing an independent vaccine passport program (Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to his great credit has ruled it out as a misguided, authoritarian idea). These states are not alone in embracing the social credit score model. Several European Union members (The EU is introducing a ‘Digital Green Certificate’), South American countries, China, and other nations are moving forward on their own vaccine passport systems.” ~ Jordan Schachtel
An Age of Patronage
“If we widen our scope, large companies have long donated funds to support causes they think are important or channel the values they wish to portray, often entirely detached from their business. A twenty-first century age of patronage is here. Perhaps it will support the foundation for a twenty-first century Enlightenment too.” ~ Joakim Book
The Best Part of Life in the 21st Century? Not Being Dead
“Is the modern world perfect for everyone? Of course it isn’t, but it’s trending in the right direction. The Covid pandemic has been a setback, but it has only delayed the day when everyone has first-world problems like a closet full of clothes with nothing to wear. That day is coming, though, and in our world of incremental progress, more of us will be there to see it.” ~ Art Carden
Lockdown Proponents Have Seemingly Forgotten North Sentinel Island In 2018
“Lockdowns furthered the rather backwards notion that our health is improved if we’re separated from one another. Not at all. Isolated people aren’t saved from what threatens their health as much the inevitable infection from the threat is delayed. Worse is what the isolation means over the longer term. The North Sentinelese are a very real reminder of how cruelly bankrupt the run-and-hide strategy is as a broad form of virus mitigation.” ~ John Tamny
Consumer Confidence Jumps as Outlook Continues to Improve
“Consumer attitudes improved significantly in March, but consumer confidence remains at historically moderate levels, and concerns about consumer-price increases are rising.” – Robert Hughes
How to Be an Anti-Authoritarian
“We can choose to be more open in face-to-face conversations arising organically with friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues. Even in those conversations, the intolerant will ridicule you and blame you for the troubles in the world. Yet your display of genuine curiosity will evoke curiosity in others. Out of your courage to share ideas and with a mutual mindset of curiosity, freedom can be rediscovered.” ~ Barry Brownstein
Wars and “Following the Science” are Sure Paths to Tyranny
“History has the habit of playing tricks on us and very often turning out in ways that many if not most of us could not even imagine. That is why, in spite of how things may look, it is never too late. But if history is to tell a story of liberty rather than collectivism for the remainder of this century, then it behooves as many of us as possible to point out to our fellow citizens that the political emperors who say they are ‘just following the science,’ are really not wearing any clothes.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling
Needed: A COVID-19 Lockdown Commission
“America’s independent sector and civil society associations are founded on that very premise—the notion that we can do more in community than in isolation. No segment of American life is better suited to launch and lead a Covid-19 Lockdown Commission—and shine light on this mammoth policy failure—than the independent sector.” ~ Alan W. Dowd
Household Net Worth Hits A Record While Debt Service Remains Low
“Despite restrictive government policies and recession, aggregate household net worth rose to a new record, but financial health varies widely across cohorts.” – Robert Hughes
Twitter Censors Famed Epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff
“If there ever was a troubling sign of the power and arrogance of big tech, of which I’ve long been a defender, this new action is it. Dr. Kulldorff has been a brave proponent of traditional public health in the midst of an unprecedented and very obviously failed policy of lockdowns. He has been a voice of clarity, reason, calm, and science. That Twitter would choose to use its power over public debate to silence his insights should be of profound concern to everyone concerned about the use of science in the public interest.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker
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