Reason Foundation

Recent Research and Commentary

Senate Approves Lawmakers Insider Trading Ban. Whatever.

February 3, 2012, 11:01am

James Groth

After a “60 Minutes” report brought to the attention of the American public that Congress was capitalizing on non-public information, lawmakers quickly collaborated with one another and proposed two bills banning insider trading by members of Congress and their staff. This bill reeks of desperation.

South Carolina: The State that Booed the Golden Rule

January 23, 2012, 6:44pm

Adam Summers

As the post-mortem analysis of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary is written and we look ahead to the first Republican debate in Florida tonight, the thing that sticks with me most vividly from the South Carolina campaign was the reaction of the crowd in the Fox News debate, particularly when many in the audience booed Rep. Ron Paul for offering the notion of applying the Golden Rule to our nation's foreign policy.

Surveying the State of Global Freedom

In 2010, the world stalled on the road to democracy

December 23, 2011

Steve Chapman

This year served mainly to vindicate the desires of tyrants and the fears of pessimists. To recapture the sense that the world is destined for universal democracy, you'd need a time machine.

Congress Plays Charades with Insider Trading

STOCK Act gives appearance of crackdown but achieves little

December 20, 2011

James Groth

For six years, the STOCK Act sat idle, practically unknown by many members of Congress. Now it has more than 220 co-sponsors who don’t seem to be concerned with whether it actually solves any problems. 

Keeping Newt Undercover

America doesn't need Dr. Strangelove dealing with Iran's mad mullahs

November 22, 2011

Shikha Dalmia

It takes hard work to evoke sympathy for Iran’s odious regime. But Newt Gingrich and his fellow GOP presidential maybes proved up to the task during their recent South Carolina debate. The cheerful casualness with which they talked about deploying covert operations against Iran will make it much harder for America to win friends and influence people to achieve its foreign policy objectives.

Getting Past the Emotional Gripes to the Real Debates About Inequality

November 21, 2011, 8:17am

Anthony Randazzo

While the Occupy Wall Street movement is often criticized for not having concrete goals, there are several clear categories the gripes fall into. Complaints about crony capitalism are completely understandable. Demonization of corporations is a missed target, the fewer opportunities those with money have to manipulate the regulatory system the better. But where the logic falls completely apart is over the host of claims related to income inequality/wealth inequality.

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