Donald Trump: From Casino Magnate to Presidential Candidate
Donald Trump came to be known all over the world for his sardonic humor and his magnetic personality when he starred in the famous television show, The Apprentice. Having first aired in 2004, the show ran for 14 seasons in two formats, The
Visa Restrictions from China Sharply Hit Macau’s Growth
Macau’s growth has been sharply hit as anti-corruption regulations in China, along with a ban on smoking in the Macau casinos and visa restrictions for gambling in Macau
Sheldon Richman: His Beliefs and Contributions
An American writer, Sheldon Richman, is the vice president of The Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) as well as the editor of the monthly journal of the FFF,
What does the Narendra Modi Government mean for the Indian Economy?
“India has won. Good times ahead.”
This is what Narendra Modi tweeted when his party achieved an irrefutable lead in the elections earlier this year. Now that Modi has formed his government at the centre, what does the new government have in store for the third largest economy in Asia?
Reaganomics: The Life and Economics of Ronald Reagan
“The American dream is not that every man must be level with every other man. The American dream is that every man must be free to become whatever God intends he should become.”
~ Ronald Reagan
5 Myths About Free Trade
Free trade is when governments stop discriminating between exports and imports and allow manufacturers and service providers to buy and sell products and services in an environment free of subsidies and duties. While economists around the world have been favoring this concept and
Casino Industry Treated Differently from the Entertainment Industry
Yes, we have all heard the old bugbear of how gambling is bad for society. However, gambling is nothing but a common noun belonging to a larger family of more respectable relatives like ‘games of chance’, ‘betting’, and ‘probability.’ Yet,
A Eulogy for the Greatest Champion of Free Markets in Modern Politics
I say the greatest not because there weren’t others, but because there was or has been no other – till date, quite like her. Margaret Thatcher is the only woman statesperson who has been credited with an “ism” to her name. Her political and socio-economic ideology is today considered to be in a league with names as iconic as Marx, Gandhi, and Reagan.
Governments and Contradictory Objectives
My previous blog – Why Governments Fail – addressed some questions. Governments do not fail because of inept politicians or a dearth of the number of laws being passed.
There is talk of improving the public sector by removing political interference and granting autonomy i.e. run government companies as private companies. This is a contradiction. If the public sector is to function as the private sector and provide a return on investment, then why have it at all?
Why Governments Fail?
When one is in office one has no idea how damnable things can feel to the ordinary rank and profile of the public – Sir Winston Churchill
Government isn’t the solution; government is the problem – Old slogan of the Libertarian Party of the USA
Feeling good about the government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there – P.J. O’Rourke
Why do governments perform poorly? Why do government actions have consequences which are the opposite of the intended objectives? Why are government forays into business abysmal failures? Why is the government record pathetic in controlling crime and terrorism? Why when the government administers justice, the horrendous delays negate the concept of justice? Why are government budgets perpetually in deficit and countries eternally in debt? Why are governments constantly looking for increased revenues and forever increasing taxes? Why are government actions hallmarks of ineptitude and inefficiency? Why is corruption endemic?….Why?
Rakesh Wadhwa. Ever since, I was a school boy, I knew India was on the wrong path. Socialism was just not what we needed to get ahead. Government controlled our travel; government controlled our ability to buy and sell; and government controlled our freedom to move our money. My life has focused on the inherent rights people have. When I was in college, I never understood, what the governments meant by their "socialistic attitude". If people are free to buy, sell and move their capital themselves without any restrictions by state, then the welfare of people is inevitable & hence the countries they live in will become wealthy. The government has no right whatsoever, to point a finger at me or my business. I am not a revolutionary. I just want to light up my cigarette and not get nagged about it. I believe in non-interfering attitude to attain more. 
The Bastiat Award is a journalism award, given annually by the International Policy Network, London. Bastiat Prize entries are judged on intellectual content, the persuasiveness of the language used and the type of publication in which they appear. Rakesh Wadhwa won the 3rd prize (a cash award of $1,000 and a candlestick), in 2006.
What the readers are saying…