Charter Schools: A Democratic Move toward Liberty
New York Mayor De Blasio has been waging a war against charter schools – a reactionary attempt to protect the interests of teacher unions at the expense of poor and minority children. Happily De Blasio...
View ArticleThe Corrections Officers’ Union is the Enemy of Prison Reform
The one crusade of Mayor Bill de Blasio with which I sympathize is his focus on reforming New York City prisons. They are in a disgraceful condition. Prisoners are not infrequently raped and some die...
View ArticleThe Cuomo Pink Slip and the Cuomo Tax
I cannot remember a time when New York’s Governor and New York City’s Mayor taken together pose a greater threat to liberty and prosperity. Last week each proposed a dreadful policy. Governor Andrew...
View ArticleThe Wackiness of Evil
That wacky Bernie Sanders, as his groupies would have it—daft, even, with the tousled hair and the professed socialism. Why, back in 1987, he even honeymooned in the Soviet Union. Missing, generally,...
View ArticleUber Is a Force for Equality
Uber is a company under attack by politicians and the media. Many politicians, like Bill De Blasio, want to restrain its growth to protect incumbent cab companies. Others want to undermine its...
View ArticleChristopher Columbus and the New Alt-Lightweights
The first person I ever knew who wanted to tear down a statue of Christopher Columbus was my mother. It was 1986 and my father, an editor at National Geographic, had erected a 10-foot statue to the...
View ArticleDiscrimination Against Asian Americans Reveals the Ugliness of Racial Selection
Two recent events show that our obsession with diversity and racial balancing is leading to substantial discrimination against a minority group—Asian Americans. The first is a lawsuit against Harvard...
View ArticleMarkets, not Regulations, Can Make the Most of our Differences
Mayors of New York have never been economists, but the administration of Mayor Bill De Blasio may be unrivaled for an economic ignorance that harms the less well off. Its latest idea is to require...
View ArticleThe Grim Logic of Urban Politics
When he was defeated by David Dinkins in the Democratic primary after three terms as mayor of New York, Ed Koch quipped “The people have spoken . . . and they must be punished!” That comment...
View ArticleDemocracies and Double Standards
Shortly before he died, François Mitterrand gathered his friends for one final grand meal. The meal featured ortolan, a rare bird, that was, illegal to consume. I recall discussing the meal with a...
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