How could a free market in health care bring lower costs?

Published June 06, 2012 in Short Answers by Mary Ruwart

QUESTION: Some people say that without all the government regulations on health care, the price of health care would drop. Could you explain this with a little more detail please?   MY SHORT ANSWER: Of course! Let’s use pharmaceuticals as an example.   In 1962, Congress passed the Kefauver-Harris Amendments to the Food and Drug Act, which greatly empowered the FDA. The time from the discovery of a new drug until it reaches the marketplace increased from 5 to 15 years; the cost of  (Read More)

What do libertarians think about labor unions?

Published May 29, 2012 in Short Answers by Mary Ruwart

QUESTION: What do libertarians think about labor unions? MY SHORT ANSWER: Unions can be very useful go-betweens between employers and employees, and would probably exist in a libertarian society. However, union members would be liable for prosecution if the engaged in intimidation, assault or property destruction in pursuit of their goals. (The same would be true for employers, of course.) Furthermore, unless forbidden by contract, employers could hire replacements for striking  (Read More)

How can we fund scientific research without government?

Published May 16, 2012 in Short Answers by Mary Ruwart

QUESTION: I am greatly in agreement with libertarianism principles, but as a college student preparing for a career in the hard sciences, I can't help but question one issue: scientific research. How would a libertarian society address such issues as scientific research of a purely academic nature at a scale that cannot necessarily be carried out at a university level? Without government-funded laboratories, how do we fuel new research of such a nature that would be inherently unprofitable to any private enterprise?   ANSWER: In his 1996  (Read More)

Do libertarians support the Fair Tax?

Published June 14, 2011 in Short Answers by Mary Ruwart

Question

Do you support the Fair Tax?

Libertarians believe that all taxes are immoral, so none could really be described as "fair."   However, some libertarians support a national sales tax (which is what the so-called Fair Tax is) as a replacement for the income tax. Some of these libertarian Fair Tax advocates feel that people will be much more enraged by a tax that they experience with every purchase, rather than one that is taken from their paycheck before they even see  (Read More)