A Veterans Day Tribute

This originally appeared on November 11, 2008. Every Veterans Day, I try to do something special to remember or honor a veteran. I don’t like the standard flag-waving event that this day has become for many people. In many Veterans Day speeches, the speakers talk about the hundreds of thousands of American veterans who gave … Continue reading “A Veterans Day Tribute”

How Much Is US Aid to Ukraine Costing You?

Reprinted with permission from Econlib. In 2022, the U.S. government approved expenditures of $113 billion on aid to Ukraine. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget writes: In total, CBO estimated that $6.6 billion of the $113 billion would be spent in FY 2022 and another $37.7 billion in FY 2023. Furthermore, CBO estimated more … Continue reading “How Much Is US Aid to Ukraine Costing You?”

Remembering Hiroshima

Editor’s note: The following is an encore presentation of David R. Henderson’s column of July 31, 2006. Sometimes, something happens that is so awful that we find ourselves rationalizing it, talking as if it had to happen, to make ourselves feel better about the horrible event. For many people, I believe, President Truman’s dropping the … Continue reading “Remembering Hiroshima”

What’s Wrong with Registering Women for the Draft?

Reprinted from The Library of Economics and Liberty: The National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service issued a report in March recommending that Congress “eliminate male-only registration and expand draft eligibility to all individuals of the appropriate age cohort,” because “expanding draft eligibility to women will enable the military to access the most qualified … Continue reading “What’s Wrong with Registering Women for the Draft?”

Is China an Economic Threat?

It seems that more and more Americans, pro-Trump or not, are concluding that trade with China is a threat to the United States. The objections are typically one of three: (1) freer trade with China after it was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 has cost U.S. manufacturing jobs; (2) the Chinese … Continue reading “Is China an Economic Threat?”

Remembering Hiroshima

Editor’s note: The following is an encore presentation of David R. Henderson’s column of July 31, 2006. Sometimes, something happens that is so awful that we find ourselves rationalizing it, talking as if it had to happen, to make ourselves feel better about the horrible event. For many people, I believe, President Truman’s dropping the … Continue reading “Remembering Hiroshima”

Health Professionals Show What Matters. Hint: It’s Not Health

Last week, over 1,000 health professionals signed an open letter about the recent protests over the murder of George Floyd. Here’s the first paragraph: On April 30, heavily armed and predominantly white protesters entered the State Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, protesting stay-home orders and calls for widespread public masking to prevent the spread of … Continue reading “Health Professionals Show What Matters. Hint: It’s Not Health”

Silent Night

Originally published December 24, 2008 In my Veterans Day column last month (November 2008), I quoted free-market economist and World War II veteran Richard Timberlake, who wrote: "Yet, any U.S. soldier or airman who thought even briefly about his job of trying to kill and destroy ‘the enemy,’ knew that he was not within range … Continue reading “Silent Night”

War-Fighting and the Loss of Liberty

The following first appeared in the June Liberty Forum at Law and Liberty. Professor David Tucker argues in his Liberty Forum essay that a grand strategy, at least one that is dreamed of by experts, “is not a possibility for the United States,” and that if it were, we Americans would have fewer liberties. I … Continue reading “War-Fighting and the Loss of Liberty”