Instituto Juan de Mariana

Prison

Gabriel Calzada — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 +0200

That is what the Professional Organization of State Tax Inspectors is hoping the prosecution will request for the nearly 200 Spanish residents connected to the 80 open bank accounts in Liechtenstein.

UNESCO's Blessing is a Curse

Gabriel Calzada — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Antigua, Guatemala is a beautiful colonial city, magnificently restored and maintained. Its streets and homes, its public squares and churches exude history. Monumental ruins are scattered about, giving the place a mythological air. To the south and west, three majestic volcanoes reveal the city's past. At the same time, they protect its secrets and tragedies. In Antigua, everything is in harmony. Everything? Well, almost everything.

Bring Back the League

Gabriel Calzada — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100

All of a sudden, every Fish and Agriculture ministry in the European Union has gone libertarian. At least that is the impression they gave with their unanimous decision to suspend tariffs on imported cereal. Is this because of some abrupt ideological conversion?

The EU Messing with Microsoft

Daniel Rodríguez Herrera — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0200

The Court of First Instance of the European Union, after deliberating forseventeen months and, according to some, having the president cast the deciding vote, ruled in favor of the Commission in almost everything it decided regarding Microsoft’s "abuse of dominant position."

Bureaucrats and Ryanair

Gabriel Calzada — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0200

Ryanair, the low-cost airline that now leads the world in number of passengers carried, tried to expand its operations by making an all cash offer for Aer Lingus. But apparently what was OK for Europe's old and stagnant national carriers is not acceptable for a company that satisfies consumers with private funds and low prices. That is how Brussels works!

Bumper Cars

José Carlos Rodríguez — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0200

I was still a child when I discovered what competition was all about. During my hometown's festivals, only one ride interested me: bumper cars. There were two bumper car rides right next to each other. I remember walking up to one of them and buying six rides for 500 pesetas. When I saw that the man at the ticket booth had handed me seven or eight tickets, I told him he had given me too many.

EU slaps Telefónica instead of CMT

Daniel Rodríguez Herrera — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0200

They are certainly giving me plenty of work. Once again, Brussels has put me in the mood to defend Telefónica, something that makes any web surfer feel more than a little guilty. And it isn't just me. The Association of Internet Users, of which I am a member, got its start years ago as the "Platform for a Flat Rate," holding Internet connection strikes to try to force the monopoly to offer a fixed rate Internet plan. Well, the Association has also had to come out against Brussels and in favor of the dominant telephone company.

Ten Easy Arguments against Government Intervention

Albert Esplugas Boter — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:12:13 +0100

Below, I lay out ten easy libertarian arguments to use during debates around the coffee table. It is worth having a few arguments at the ready that, because of their simplicity, overwhelming logic and visual power, appeal directly to a person's common sense and are able, at least, to plant a seed of doubt.

A Progressive Christmas

José Carlos Rodríguez — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Christmas is a season of deathly boredom; a tedious time during which we make the mistake of paying too much attention to the media. We allow the press to infect us with uneasiness about our civilization and our way of life.

ZP on Terrorism and Climate Change

Gabriel Calzada — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0100

ZP outdid himself at the XVI Ibero-American Summit. He said what, at first glance, only an idiot would express. In truth, it revealed his complete lack of ethical principles. Rodríguez claimed that "climate change has caused more deaths than international terrorism."

Year 2002, the Chaos Begins

Jorge Valín — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0200

According to a study in the financial daily Expansión, since the Euro was introduced in 2002, the cost of living has risen three times faster than salaries: having a coffee now costs double what it did in 2002; going to the movies is 33 percent more expensive; bread is up 60 percent; the prices for some fresh fruits and vegetables have jumped over 150 percent; chicken spiked 130 percent and textiles 40 percent. This year alone, rent for an apartment has increased 70 percent more than the Consumer Price Index (IPC).

Esperanza Aguirre and Taxation

José Carlos Rodríguez — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0200

In his own words, the first time he developed the idea was on a paper napkin.Arthur Laffer laid out a simple curve, an inverted "U", showing that as tax rates rise revenue to the State does too. When the rates reach a certain height, however, revenue growth slows. With even higher rates the State begins to lose revenue, unable to steal more wealth from society.

No Turning Back

Antonio Mascaró Rotger — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 12:05:24 +0200

In the West, the idea of having the state act as a central economic planner gained enormous prestige after winning World War II. It didn’t seem to matter the defeated powers had used this same method of socialist warfare with terrible results. With the United Kingdom leading the way, developed nations launched themselves down the social-democratic path.

From the Green Revolution to the GM Revolution

Daniel Rodríguez Herrera — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:49:12 +0200

Scientist Norman Borlaug is known, though not enough, as "the man who fed the world." During the 1950s and 60s, he made innovations in agricultural production that were dubbed the "green revolution," increasing the amount of food per planted hectare.

Ignorant for our own Good

José Carlos Rodríguez — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0200

Recently, parliament passed one of the worst laws in recent memory. However, it has gone unnoticed. Perhaps we can’t keep pace with the rate of legislative inflation. I am referring to the new Medicine Law which, among its many sections, includes a most hypocritical and surprising measure.