What kind of system do we have in this country? Some say it’s a republic, some say it’s a democracy. My conclusion is it is a market system. We can modify it, curse its shortcomings, try alter it, or regulate it. But you can’t overcome it. Neither can the rest of the world. Most of…
True Detective Season 2 Blames Capitalism For The Evils Of Big Government
The interplay between big business and big government is central to the second season of HBO’s noir cop drama True Detective, but the show’s writers are taking some cheap shots at capitalism, using the story of a fictional city based on the fascinating history of a very real city to do it. The season greets us…
Breaking News: The Pope Is Catholic
Ever since making some statements against capitalism that, rightfully I think, angered those of us interested in free markets and individual liberty (after all, free market capitalism has done more to combat poverty than any church ever created by man), the left has held up Pope Francis as a sort of liberal icon. The anti-capitalists…
Government Price Controls Causes Toilet Paper Shortage In Venzuela
Remember when Hugo Chavez died, and our friends on the left were quick to eulogize him talking about all the hard work he did to make Venezuela a better place? Well, here’s a glimpse into the legacy left behind by the socialist strong man. Things are so great in Venzuela, getting toilet paper is a…
Under Obama, The Rich Have Gotten Richer
President Obama is nothing if not a class warrior, using the themes of the Occupy Wall Street movement to color his railing about the “1%” not “paying their fair share,” etc., etc. But what if it turned out the rich had actually gotten richer under President Obama’s governance? Remember too that from 2007 through 2010…
Movie Review: How Capitalism Ended Racial Segregation In Baseball
Last night my wife and I went to see 42, the Jackie Robinson story. It was an enjoyable enough movie (as they said in Moneyball , it’s hard not to be romantic about baseball), though the story was more fairy tale than reality. But what do you expect when a movie about real people doing…
Private Gun Buyers Infiltrate Seattle Law Enforcement Gun Buy-Back Program
Gun buy-back programs are kind of stupid in that they don’t really accomplish anything, as research has shown. Even for those who believe (wrongly, in my opinion) that fewer guns means less crime and violence, it has to be obvious that the only people ditching their guns for $200 gift cards are a) people who…
Being Right Doesn't Always Win Elections
At the Grand Forks Herald, opinion editor Tom Dennis uses the occasion of President Obama’s second-term inauguration to argue that Republicans haven’t been winning a lot of elections of late because they aren’t sufficiently caring. After referencing one of Scott Hennen’s columns here on SAB, Dennis writes that the problem with Republicans is that we…
Why Can't We Call It Fascism When It Is Fascism?
The CEO of Whole Foods – yes, you read that right, Whole Foods – recently referred to Obamacare as fascism. It was an appropriate application of the term. “Traditionally socialism means that the means of production are run by the government and in fascism the means of production are still owned by private individuals but…