Government & Politics

Unfree as a Bird Evan Sparks 01/03/2007

A program that subsidizes rural airline routes deserves to be grounded.

Take Two Servings of Paternalism David White 12/21/2006

Recent bans on smoking and fatty foods reflect a dangerously popular mindset.

Return of the Cowboy Pejman Yousefzadeh 12/15/2006

The President could act alone to make progress on free trade.

To End the Amtrak Monopoly, Let Someone Else Own the Tracks Joseph Vranich and Anthony Haswell 12/06/2006

Amtrak’s threats of service disruptions, lack of accountability, and monopolistic practices have brought the railroad to a defining moment. Last week, business, political, and transport leaders in New Jersey called for transferring ownership of Amtrak’s Boston-Washington line (the Northeast Corridor) to the U.S. Department of Transportation with a new public corporation controlling the rail line.

Trans Fats: Anatomy of a Scare Elizabeth M. Whelan 12/06/2006

NEW YORK—Yesterday morning, I watched as the New York City Health Department voted unanimously to ban the use of trans-fatty acids (trans fats) in all New York City restaurants. The ban will be phased in gradually, but ultimately New York City's eateries will be trans-fat-free. This regulatory move appears to mark the first time a health agency has taken action against safe, legal foods—in this case, certain margarines and cooking oils—instead of disease-causing organisms. The regulatory demonization of trans fats and the underlying "trans-fat-phobia" reveal a good deal about how the media and consumers react to a health scare, how scientists respond (or do not), and what lies ahead for other food ingredients.

Mister PowerPoint Goes to Washington Matthew Rees 12/01/2006

Mitt Romney, Massachusetts governor and Olympics savior, aspires to the White House. What does his background as a Bain consultant and hyper-successful venture capitalist tell us about how he’ll perform? MATTHEW REES has the answers.

Does Anybody Really Know How to Limit Government? Todd Seavey 11/30/2006

They said they'd keep the federal government strictly limited—and they failed. No, I don't mean the Republicans in Congress. I’m talking about a far more esteemed group of intellectuals: the Federalists, who urged the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Want to Control Spending? Jim Payne 11/27/2006

Give taxpayers a voice in government. If the federal government were as good at saving taxpayer money as it is at spending it, we'd all be better off.

The Class Struggle of Jim Webb James K. Glassman 11/20/2006

Billed as a moderate, the new Virginia senator sounds more like an old-school leftist.

Learning to Love Charlie Rangel Duncan Currie 11/17/2006

Afraid of or dismayed at the new chairman of the Ways and Means Committee? Rangel has hugged Fidel and compared George Bush with notorious racist Bull Connor, but he may have hidden virtues when it comes to free trade.

The Perils of a Late Landing David Malpass 10/14/2006

Political shifts occur in Washington when monetary policy is tight—that is, interest rates are much higher than growth rates. DAVID MALPASS paints such a scenario for the 2008 presidential election. It would damage the economy and the chances of the Republican candidate.