Opinion Editorials

In his latest piece, “Be Afraid of Economic ‘Bigness.’ Be Very Afraid,” Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia University, makes the argument that monopoly and excessive corporate concentration can lead to what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once called the “curse of bigness.” Jim Woods doesn't quite view Professor Wu's argument in such simplistic terms.

Cheaper prices on various goods and services from around the world are generally a good thing for American consumers. So why is it that so many 'free trade' advocates see this as unfair?

When it comes to the First Amendment, there is no restriction on who may publish information. Why, then, has Wikileaks been targeted so aggressively by the US government?

If you happen to be stuck for last-minute holiday gift ideas for the rational thinkers in your life, these books carry a wonderfully weighty endorsement!

Condescending do-gooders in the industrialized world think that giving handouts to the world's poor can alleviate any grinding poverty. This could hardly be further from the truth.

When the government talks about taxing the wealthy, the net result is usually a disincentive to work and produce to the best of one's ability. So why is this rhetoric so perennially popular?

Many see the privatization of public parks as an evil encroachment by the rich in the public sphere. In reality, privatized parks today are friendlier and more inclusive than ever.

As with so many 'progressive' ideas, minimum wage laws actually reduce the standard of living for many, almost invariably causing employment rates to plummet.  Why is this so? 

The unconstitutionally invasive new airport security measures in the US are not only illegal, but doomed to be ineffective. Why, then, do the powers that be insist on going forward?

Appointing a 'deficit reduction commission' in times of economic crisis is a favorite political show.  But do we really need another layer of bureaucracy to explain basic math?