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Interview on California’s Fast-Food Minimum Wage Law

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I was interviewed on National University’s podcast on the topic of California’s fast-food minimum wage law that took effect on April 1st.  The minimum wage for many fast-food workers was increased from $16 per hour (which is the minimum wage that applies to all workers in California) to $20 per hour.  I discuss the effects of the law with a colleague from National University.  I argue that minimum wage laws are both economically harmful and immoral.  Here is the link to the podcast.

Presentation on International Trade and Immigration

Here is a link to a presentation I recently made on international trade and immigration to an Iranian-American retiree group in San Diego: presentation.  Here is a link to the PowerPoint slides I used in the presentation. Here are a few resources for further reading on international trade and immigration and on which the presentation was, in part, based:

John Cochrane, “Trump’s Tariffs Will Hurt Trade, and Trade Is a Good Thing – Really,” March 5, 2018.

Benjamin Powell, “The Trump Policy that Will ‘Shrink the Economy and Make the U.S. Poorer,’” November 18, 2016.

George Reisman, “Globalization: The Long-Run Big Picture,” November 17, 2006.

George Reisman, Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics (Ottawa, IL: Jameson Books, 1996), pp. 350-356, 362-366.

Brian P. Simpson, A Declaration and Constitution for a Free Society: Making the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution Fully Consistent with the Protection of Individual Rights (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2021), pp. 177-180 and 197-200.

 

Presentation on Ayn Rand’s Political Philosophy

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I made a presentation on Ayn Rand’s political philosophy to the John Galt School England on November 6, 2023.  It was a webinar organized by a Students for Liberty group.  There were about 15 students in attendance, they were very enthusiastic to learn about Ayn Rand’s ideas, and they had many good questions.  It was great to see young adults eager to learn about Objectivism.  For a recording of the session, click here.

The Daily Objective Podcast

I was interviewed today on The Daily Objective podcast, hosted by James Valliant, on my book A Declaration and Constitution for a Free Society and topics related to the book.  Listen to the interview here.

The Invasion of Ukraine and the Second Amendment

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia provides a good example of just one of the many benefits of the Second Amendment.  Many citizens of Ukraine lined up to obtain guns to help defend their country from the invading Russian army.  The protection of the right to keep and bear arms helps to keep the citizenry of a country armed to fight and deter possible invaders and to fight its own government should the government turn against its citizens.  It also helps to improve the skills and readiness of the citizenry in the use of guns.

Critics say that citizens armed only with rifles are no match for government armies.  The armies are much better trained and have powerful weapons that can annihilate the citizens.  This is true.  But there are reasons why dictators who invade or seek to take over a country are often hesitant to use the massive weaponry they have available to them.  For example, dictators by their nature are parasites that live off others.  However, they cannot live as parasites if they kill large numbers of the people and destroy the assets—the factories, homes, and businesses—off of which they plan to live.  Cultural ties may also limit the type of weapons and the amount of force an army is willing to use.  As a result, citizens armed with rifles can make it much more difficult for an army to conquer a nation.  Even if the nation is defeated, citizens engaging in armed resistance can make it much more difficult to occupy the nation and may be able to wear down the occupying army.

For more on the benefits of an armed citizenry and how to strengthen the Second Amendment (as well as the discussion of related issues), see the discussion of the Second Amendment in my book A Declaration and Constitution for a Free Society.

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