By Richard Pollock What does the nearly bankrupt federal agency that helped trigger the great recession of 2008 do when top officials want a swank new headquarters? They erect a Taj Mahal-style building that costs taxpayers 53 percent more than promised. That’s the conclusion of Federal Housing Finance Authority Inspector General Laura S. Wertheimer, who released…
By JP Carroll The starving people of Venezuela resorted to stealing live chickens off a truck just to feed themselves, according to a video posted to YouTube Friday. A driver caught the scene while stuck in traffic on a major Venezuelan roadway. The footage zooms in to show a mob of people running to steal crates of live chickens…
In recent times, Venezuela has been the object of many headlines across the globe that detail its current economic predicament. Once Latin America’s most stable country, Venezuela is now experiencing a historically unprecedented economic and social collapse. How did such a nation awash with bountiful oil reserves and numerous decades of democratic stability stoop to…
If there is one thing Bernie Sanders is trying to avoid it’s comparisons between his brand of socialism and what is happening in Venezuela. Sanders has skirted the issue, even admitting he should know more about how socialism has worked in Latin America. But all that is lost now as Nicolas Maduro, the authoritarian leader…
By Guy Bentley The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new e-cigarette regulations, which could destroy 99 percent of the market, are triggering backlash from vaping advocates and businesses vowing to teach vapers to make their own e-liquid. The centerpiece of the FDA regulations, published Thursday, is the requirement for all vapor products released prior to Feb….
Readers of The Libertarian Republic are well aware of all the problems government causes, including all the problems associated with cannabis prohibition. But if we know anything else about the government, it’s that they never really stop causing problems; if anything, they simply shift the problem causing to other areas. Take cannabis legalization, for example….
By JP Carroll President Rafael Correa of Ecuador will not be running for re-election as the leader of his oil rich OPEC member country which he has ledsince 2007 and is facing economic turmoil due to low global oil prices. The country’s National Electoral Council announced Feb. 19 that elections would be held a year from…
This is the 1984 public debate between the Objectivists (Leonard Peikoff and John Ridpath) representing the capitalist view, against the Democratic Socialists (Gerald Caplan and Jill Vickers) representing the socialist view. The debate is over morality. Which system, capitalism or socialism, is more moral? Part One is the introductions, skip down to Part Two below…