Dr Eamonn Butler wonders how we got ourselves in to this compensation culture. He points out that, fear of being sued, regulators have created a bubble to ensure there is no need to be compensated.
Free market theories have been under scrutiny lately, many believe it is what caused the credit crunch and thus, the recession. However, Dr Eamonn Butler, underlines that this is not the case and that the free market thinkers will not go down with out a fight.
Dr Eamonn Butler argues that it is absurd for ministers to condemn Goodwin's deal given the pensions mess that they created.
Dr Eamonn Butler explores how the long arm of the law is stretching too far in to our lives. He believes that Britain has casually slipped in to a police state in which anybody can be stopped and searched for no good reason.
In this think piece, Mark Skousen considers Marxist, Keynesian and Smithian economics.
In this think piece, Dr Eamonn Butler considers the economic downturn and the government's response to it. He unpacks the reality of quantative easing for what it is, namely printing money.
Dr Madsen Pirie on what the next government should do.
In this think piece, Tom Clougherty outlines the key ways the free market can be promoted in 2009: offer a compelling narrative that runs counter to 'common wisdom'; oppose Keynesianism and the idea that government can stimulate the economy; expose the government interventions and failures that contributed to the financial crisis; advocate policies to raise productivity and economic competitiveness; and educate people about theories and ideas of the great free-market thinkers, particularly those of the Austrian School.
In a briefing paper the ASI's regulation fellow Tim Ambler examines the populist demands for financial stability and security though increased regulation. The question the paper poses is whether existing regulation mitigated the 2008 financial crisis, had no impact, or exacerbated it. Answering this question is the key to deciding how we respond to the crisis. The paper's main conclusion is that improving regulation will not provide more than modest help in future. The important thing is that the Bank of England, the FSA and the credit agencies do the jobs they are supposed to do more effectively.
In this think piece ASI policy director Tom Clougherty outlines his reaction to the Chancellor's pre-budget report of November 2008, arguing that Alistair Darling's so-called 'stimulus package' is really a manifesto for wasteful spending, record levels of government borrowing and public debt, and higher taxes in the long term. He argues Darling should instead have announced a substantial rise in the personal allowance balanced by public spending restraint.
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