by John Berlau, Law & Liberty, March 20, 2025.
Excerpts:
The expression “regulation without representation” evokes the historic struggle against taxation without representation that fueled the American Revolution. However, during my research for my book, George Washington, Entrepreneur, I uncovered that “regulation without representation” was not merely a rhetorical flourish; it was a tangible grievance that played a crucial role in galvanizing Washington and his fellow patriots against British rule, rivaling the impact of taxation itself.
My book reveals the remarkable entrepreneurial flair of George Washington. Emerging from a modest background, without the privilege of a college education, Washington began his journey as an apprentice surveyor at the age of 16 with the Fairfax family. He swiftly established a thriving freelance surveying business, even speculating in real estate by claiming payment in undeveloped land he had surveyed.
Years later, after inheriting Mount Vernon following family tragedies, Washington pivoted from tobacco to diversify his agricultural efforts, venturing into wheat and a variety of other crops. He set up a grist mill to process flour, which he exported throughout the colonies and even to the West Indies and Great Britain. By branding his flour with the “G. Washington” mark, he innovated the concept of branding as we understand it today. Mount Vernon transformed under his stewardship into what historian Harlow Giles Unger describes in The Unexpected George Washington as “a vast agro-industrial enterprise,” complete with a blacksmith shop for tool-making and a mini textile factory managed largely by Martha Washington. Notably, Mount Vernon has restored the grist mill and whiskey distillery that Washington operated after his presidency.
And:
In the 1760s, the British intensified their tax impositions on the colonists while simultaneously tightening regulations that stifled local manufacturing. The Stamp Act exemplified this dual assault, levying taxes on paper imports while mandating that colonial printers use paper stamped in Britain for everything from legal documents to newspapers and even playing cards. Even in the absence of explicit prohibitions, entrepreneurs understood that their new factories could be shuttered at the whim of British officials if they threatened to undermine the colonies’ status as a captive market. As Lyman Horace Weeks notes in A History of Paper-Manufacturing in the United States, 1690–1916, “British manufacturers were always keen to maintain America as an exclusive market for their goods, and any signs of competitive manufacturing in the colonies triggered their jealousy.”
DRH comment: While I share John Berlau’s admiration for George Washington, I must note that it is essential to acknowledge his ownership of slaves, which complicates any unqualified admiration for his legacy.
by J.D. Tuccille, Reason, March 17, 2025.
Excerpt:
“Epidemics also contribute to a coarsening of society,” writes security expert Brian Michael Jenkins in his 2022 book, Plagues and Their Aftermath: How Societies Recover from Pandemics. “Civility has been declining for decades for various reasons, and the pandemic has added new layers of edginess…. We are witnessing not only a loss of comity but also an increase in aggression.”
Jenkins attributes the rise in antisocial behavior to prolonged isolation, which raises anxiety, stirs irritability, fuels aggression, and diminishes impulse control. Regrettably, he warns, “the effects may be hard to reverse.”
Why such difficulty in reversing these effects? A significant erosion of trust in institutions is to blame. Jenkins points out, “Suspicion of government is a recurring theme,” stemming from serious violations of civil liberties, mandated disruptions to daily life, and unprecedented expansions of state power into unwelcome territories. Additionally, isolation fosters new social habits, leading individuals to adapt to a more insular world—depriving them of the normal interactions necessary for social development.
by Eric Boehm, Reason, March 20, 2025.
Excerpts:
On Jerce Reyes Barrios’ arm, there is a tattoo of a soccer ball with a crown and the Spanish word Dios.
Is this emblem evidence that Reyes Barrios is a perilous member of a notorious Venezuelan drug gang, or simply a testament to his allegiance to the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid?
This is the type of question that an immigration court might address. Unfortunately, Reyes Barrios was among approximately 200 individuals deported to El Salvador without due process last weekend.
And:
Such a hearing would have determined whether Reyes Barrios qualified for asylum—was he escaping a regime that had arrested and tortured him, as his attorney contends, or was he part of what the Trump administration labeled as an “invasion” by the Tren de Aragua gang?
The hearing could have scrutinized his tattoo of a soccer ball and crown. Government attorneys might have argued that these symbols linked Reyes Barrios to the gang, and they would presumably be expected to provide substantial evidence to justify denying him lawful entry. Conversely, his attorney could refute these claims with evidence, including a sworn statement asserting that Reyes Barrios was a former professional soccer player and a Real Madrid enthusiast, thus explaining the tattoo. More critically, she claimed that Reyes Barrios possessed “a police clearance from Venezuela indicating no criminal record, multiple employment letters, and a declaration from the tattoo artist who created the tattoo.”
DRH comment: Are we living in the United States of America or the France of Jean Valjean?
by Bruce Pardy, Fraser Institute, March 17, 2025.
Excerpt:
In theory, legal frameworks are meant to be absolute. Yet exceptions have become so prevalent that they are now the norm. The Human Rights Commission, not the legislature, determines what constitutes discrimination. Police decide whether to enforce court orders. Officials within the environment ministry dictate when environmental impacts are acceptable. Cabinet decides when pipelines can be constructed.
While decision-makers must typically operate within the limits of their legislative authority, as defined by elected bodies, Bill 7 takes this delegation to an unprecedented level. Under the Eby government’s proposal, the cabinet will gain the authority not only to exercise broad discretion in accordance with existing legislation but to override legislation entirely. This bill will empower the cabinet to create exceptions to laws, modify legislative requirements, restrict the application of laws, or establish new powers and responsibilities in lieu of existing laws. Alarmingly, these cabinet edicts will remain valid for over two years, extending until May 2027.
by Maxwell Tabarrok, Maximum Progress, March 14, 2025.
Excerpts:
The predominant narrative often overly emphasizes social coordination as the solution to externalities. Our institutions cannot be relied upon to effectively rectify externalities or even to prevent them from worsening. Typically, externality costs diminish only after we innovate technologies that render socially optimal solutions more feasible or economically advantageous. Most significantly, technological advancements expand the production possibilities frontier, allowing outcomes that surpass what even perfect social coordination could achieve.
Economic discourse should underscore the role of technology in addressing externality challenges rather than focusing solely on social coordination.
And:
Coal pollution serves as a quintessential externality problem, and historically, various political and social initiatives have aimed to tackle it. These efforts culminated in a 1941 law imposing certain requirements on residential users to adopt cleaner fuels or special burners to reduce smoke emissions.
Ultimately, however, the resolution of this externality problem was driven by technology. Coal-gas burner lamps were replaced by electric ones, and a natural gas and petroleum pipeline was established nearby, leading to a dramatic increase in utility revenue—from $67 million in 1938 to $140 million a decade later. The transition to natural gas supplanted coal for heating and power generation in Pittsburgh, enhancing energy availability for residents. Similarly, diesel trains replaced coal trains, leading the Bureau of Smoke Prevention in 1955 to observe, “The Diesel locomotive has solved the smoke problem of the railroads.”
DRH comment: This perspective is refreshingly insightful, echoing Arnold Kling’s classic observation: “Markets fail; use markets.” Additionally, it resonates with an insight from environmentalist Amory Lovins and his co-authors in 2000, as noted in my review of his work: “Economic growth needn’t coincide with environmental degradation.”
