Pandemic | Reason Archives (original) (raw)
Matt Gaetz's Personality Irked His GOP Colleagues. There Are Better Reasons To Oppose His Nomination.
The nominee for attorney general passes the Trump loyalty test, but he lacks relevant experience and has repeatedly demonstrated poor judgment.
Jacob Sullum | 11.14.2024 5:40 PM
Trump's First Term Wasn't Fiscally Responsible. Will His Second Be Different?
Even before the pandemic spending increase, the budget deficit was approaching $1 trillion. The GOP has the chance to embrace fiscal sanity this time if they can find the political will.
Veronique de Rugy | 11.14.2024 12:01 AM
The Impact of Trump's Cost-Cutting Initiative Hinges on What He Means by 'Government Efficiency'
Narrowly understood, the president-elect's familiar-sounding plan to tackle "massive waste and fraud" may not give us "smaller government" in any meaningful sense.
Jacob Sullum | 11.13.2024 4:50 PM
How the Political Spectrum Turned Inside Out
From 9/11 to the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis moments keep reshaping the political landscape.
Jesse Walker | 10.26.2024 6:00 AM
Biden and Harris' Record on Spending and Debt Is a Tragedy of Epic Proportion
When they entered the White House, the budget deficit was a pandemic-influenced 2.3trillion,anditwassettofallto2.3 trillion, and it was set to fall to 2.3trillion,anditwassettofallto905 billion by 2024. It's now twice what it was supposed to be.
Veronique de Rugy | 10.10.2024 3:00 PM
Neither Harris Nor Trump Is a Friend of Free Speech
Both presidential candidates (and their running mates) seem confused about the constraints imposed by the First Amendment.
Jacob Sullum | 10.9.2024 12:01 AM
Anthony Fauci, the Man Who Thought He Was Science
On Call, Anthony Fauci's new memoir, can't disguise the damage caused by his COVID-19 policies.
Jay Bhattacharya | 10.6.2024 6:00 AM
Don't Expect a Return to the Trump Economy
If the former president wins the 2024 race, the circumstances he would inherit are far more challenging, and several of his policy ideas are destructive.
Veronique de Rugy | 9.26.2024 11:00 AM
The Best of Reason: Should We Blame Fauci for the COVID Pandemic?
America's COVID celebrity is facing scrutiny for funding risky research that may have sparked the pandemic—and for allegedly covering it up.
Christian Britschgi | 9.17.2024 6:23 PM
Should We Blame Fauci for the COVID Pandemic?
America's COVID celebrity is facing scrutiny for funding risky research that may have sparked the pandemic—and for allegedly covering it up.
Christian Britschgi | 9.14.2024 6:00 AM
Drive-Thrus Are Booming. Why Are Cities Banning Them?
Despite increasing demand, cities across the U.S. are pushing bans on new drive-thru restaurants in the name of reducing traffic and promoting walkability.
C. Jarrett Dieterle | 9.7.2024 7:00 AM
Mark Zuckerberg Told the Truth—and That's a Good Thing
In defense of Meta's CEO
Robby Soave | 8.29.2024 10:00 AM
Mark Zuckerberg Blames Biden for 'Government Pressure' To Censor Facebook
The Meta CEO says his platforms will not blindly obey the bureaucrats again.
Robby Soave | 8.27.2024 3:21 PM
Party of COVID-19 Authoritarianism Improbably Rebrands as 'Party of Freedom'
Democrats campaigning both on their pandemic record and minding your own damn business: Pick one.
Matt Welch | 8.22.2024 12:45 PM
Nobody Cared About Bernie's Speech
Plus: Obama endorses building more housing, why CEOs are paid so much, and more...
Liz Wolfe | 8.21.2024 9:30 AM
Trump Falsely Claims That 'Homicides Are Skyrocketing,' an Imaginary Trend He Blames on Kamala Harris
Trump's campaign dismisses recent crime data while glossing over the fact that he was president during the huge homicide spike in 2020.
Jacob Sullum | 8.13.2024 3:45 PM
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Used COVID Relief Money on Things That Had Nothing To Do With COVID
Minnesota used federal taxpayer dollars to cover state workers' parking costs, fund the Minnesota Zoo, and teach minority-owned businesses how to apply for government contracts.
Eric Boehm | 8.8.2024 1:25 PM
Tim Walz Was a COVID-19 Tyrant
The Minnesota governor actually defended the state's disastrous nursing home policies.
Robby Soave | 8.6.2024 5:04 PM
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Darling of the Progressive Left, Is Harris' Running Mate
Walz's track record as governor includes pushing for higher taxes, legalizing marijuana, and asking neighbors to spy on one another during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eric Boehm | 8.6.2024 11:23 AM
RFK Jr. Pays Lip Service to the Debt While Pushing Policies That Would Increase It
It's good to hear a candidate actually talk about our spending problem. But his campaign promises would exacerbate it.
John Stossel | 7.31.2024 6:30 PM
New Analysis Finds Lasting Impact for Students Affected by COVID School Lockdowns
According to a new report, the average eighth-grader needs over nine months of extra school time to catch up with pre-COVID achievement levels.
Emma Camp | 7.23.2024 4:50 PM
Did COVID Come From a Lab?
Author Matt Ridley debates virologist Stephen Goldstein on the origins of SARS-CoV-2.
Gene Epstein | 7.19.2024 9:00 AM
A Maskless, COVID-Positive Biden Bares His Naked Face to the World
Even the mask mandators are done with once-ubiquitous pandemic precautions.
Christian Britschgi | 7.18.2024 1:00 PM
Republicans Hammer Biden on Inflation. But Do They Have a Better Plan?
Opening night of the Republican National Convention programmed a central issue with a Trumpian twist: "Make America Wealthy Again."
Billy Binion | 7.16.2024 12:34 AM
The Media Is Back to Deriding the Lab Leak as a 'Conspiracy Theory'
Even if EcoHealth's "basic research" in Wuhan didn't cause the pandemic, it certainly failed in its mission to stop it.
Christian Britschgi | 7.10.2024 2:45 PM
Study: George Floyd Protests Did Not Cause Mass Exodus of Police Officers
Most officer retirements happened in 2021, and there is no evidence showing cities with more intense protests saw a greater number of officer exits.
Joe Lancaster | 7.8.2024 4:35 PM
The National Debt Is Crossing an Ominous Line
The U.S. has successfully navigated past debt challenges, notably in the 1990s. Policymakers can fix this if they find the will to do so.
Veronique de Rugy | 7.4.2024 12:01 AM
Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. Are All Anti-Freedom
Those three presidential candidates are making promises that would have bewildered and horrified the Founding Fathers.
John Stossel | 7.3.2024 12:30 AM
America Is in a Debt Crisis. Will Trump or Biden Address It at the Debate?
The candidate who grasps the gravity of this situation and proposes concrete steps to address it will demonstrate the leadership our nation now desperately needs. The stakes couldn't be higher.
Veronique de Rugy | 6.27.2024 12:01 AM
'I Don't Support Mandates From Government': John Stossel Interviews Libertarian Presidential Nominee Chase Oliver
The candidate makes the case against the two-party system.
John Stossel | 6.26.2024 11:55 AM
Eating Doritos While Drowning in Debt
Plus: A listener asks if there are any libertarian solutions to rising obesity rates.
Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman | 6.24.2024 5:27 PM
'Vast Majority' of Pandemic Employee Retention Credit Claims Are Likely Scams, Says IRS
Just the latest development in the continuing saga of COVID stimulus fraud.
J.D. Tuccille | 6.24.2024 7:00 AM
A Pennsylvania Pastor Leads His Community's Fight for Educational Freedom
Pastor Joshua Robertson stepped up when his community asked for support. His efforts have more people realizing that there is an alternative to the failing school system.
Charles Mitchell | 6.23.2024 6:00 AM
In Congress, Debate Rages About How To Prevent the Next Lab Leak
The Biden administration says its new guidance will make pandemic research safer. Critics say it suffers the same flaws as past, failed gain-of-function regulations.
Christian Britschgi | 6.20.2024 2:40 PM
Anthony Fauci's Inner Circle Initially Thought COVID Came From a Lab
Sen. Rand Paul explains why FOIA litigation shouldn’t have been necessary to find this out.
Rand Paul | 6.18.2024 6:15 PM
A Real-Life Psyop: How the U.S. Military Spread Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theories
Washington keeps getting caught pushing the kind of disinformation it claims to oppose.
Matthew Petti | 6.17.2024 2:31 PM
Biden Keeps Blaming Others for His Economic Mistakes
The president has tried to shift blame for inflation, interest rate hikes, and an overall decimation of consumers' purchasing power.
Veronique de Rugy | 6.13.2024 12:01 AM
This New York Charter School Is Helping Low-Income Students. But the City Is Holding It Back.
Government school advocates say competition "takes money away" from government schools. That is a lie.
John Stossel | 6.12.2024 12:30 AM
Anthony Fauci Is Not a Hero
Is the narrative finally shifting?
Robby Soave | 6.6.2024 1:33 PM
Jay Bhattacharya: 'I Sued the Biden Administration for COVID Censorship'
Bhattacharya explains the stakes of Murthy v. Missouri, the politicization of medical research, and his RFK Jr. endorsement.
Nick Gillespie | 6.5.2024 11:00 AM
Anthony Fauci Gives Misleading, Evasive Answers About NIH-Funded Research at Wuhan Lab
At yesterday's congressional hearing, the former NIAID director played word games and shifted blame in an effort to dismiss credible claims that his agency funded work that caused the pandemic.
Christian Britschgi | 6.4.2024 4:55 PM
COVID Accountability Never
Plus: Cryogenic freezing, masking for robberies, Trump surrenders his guns, and more...
Liz Wolfe | 6.4.2024 9:31 AM
The Congressional Budget Office's Alternative Scenarios Forecast a Dire Economic Picture
Why aren't politicians on both sides more worried than they seem to be?
Veronique de Rugy | 5.30.2024 11:40 AM
The COVID-19 Vaccines Shouldn't Have Been Free
So many problems would have disappeared if we had treated them like a normal product.
Christian Britschgi | 5.30.2024 10:30 AM
Hey, Fauci's Staff: You Can't Just 'Make Your Emails Disappear'
A government scientist is the latest official whose attempts to evade the Freedom of Information Act have landed him in hot water.
Matthew Petti | 5.28.2024 1:13 PM
K-12 Schools Crippled by Covid Cash
Inflation and expiring funds push public education into financial chaos.
Aaron Garth Smith | 5.27.2024 8:00 AM
Nellie Bowles: How the Lockdowns Drove Us Crazy
The former New York Times reporter explores the collective madness that washed over us in 2020, tracing the path from #MeToo to “Intifada Revolution!”
Nick Gillespie | 5.22.2024 1:20 PM
No, Politicians Can't 'Fix' Prices—and That's OK
Price controls lead to the misallocation of resources, shortages, diminished product quality, and black markets.
Veronique de Rugy | 5.16.2024 12:01 AM