James R. Harrigan, FEE

James R. Harrigan

FEE

Tucson, AZ, United States

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Recent:
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Past:
  • FEE

Past articles by James:

FEE

Can Comedy Change the World?

In today's strange climate of political correctness, free speech exists in a weird place. Safe spaces, First Amendment zones, the attitude of victimization, and accusations that "your fave is problematic" abound. And yet, important things, challenging things, dangerous things still need to be said and are being said. One critical "loophole" for dodging the would-be censors to get these ideas out… → Read More

FEE

Social Security Is Doomed. Now What?

There's no way to sugar-coat it. Social Security is going to fail. There are, of course, ways to possibly extend its life for a few years, or even decades, but ultimately, like all Ponzi schemes, it will collapse. By the federal government's and the Social Security Board of Trustees' own admissions, the Social Security program will be paying out more than it takes in in just 4 years. At current… → Read More

FEE

Podcast: Death for Dealing... Really?

Rumors have been circulating recently that the Trump Administration is considering including drug dealing among those crimes that can be subject to capital punishment. That's just a nice way of saying "the death penalty." In an effort to signal to his supporters that he's "tough on crime" and serious about the opioid crisis, President Trump has indicated his positive view of the death penalty… → Read More

FEE

Podcast: Tariffs Are Always Bad, So Why Have Them?

Last week, President Trump announced his intention to place tariffs on steel and aluminum. Unfortunately for the president—and everyone else, should these tariffs be imposed—more than a century of economic data make it very clear that tariffs are a net negative for the economy. But what are tariffs, anyway? Why are they so awful? And, if they are, why does any country impose them? Join Antony… → Read More

FEE

Why Don't We Insure Guns Like We Insure Cars?

After the horrific school shooting in Parkland, FL, on February 14th, the "debate" about gun control has reignited in the US. Pundits on both sides of the issue are over-generalizing, taking assumptions to the extreme, and generally talking past each other. But one thing that remains constant is the left's persistent cries for "common sense" gun regulations. What constitutes "common sense"… → Read More

FEE

Podcast: Is College Really for All?

In the last two and a half generations, the number of students who go on to attend college, as a percentage of the population, has tripled. In 1959, about 20 percent of high school students went on to college. Since relatively few people were earning degrees, having one all but guaranteed getting a good, high-paying job. As a result, parents, high schools, and colleges began encouraging more and… → Read More

FEE

Podcast: Has Uber Become Part of the System It Fought Against?

Regulatory capture is a problem in this country. It happens pretty easily. Politicians can't be experts in everything, so they turn to actual experts for help with regulating various industries. The experts tend to be those who have already enjoyed some measure of success in their field. The regulatory suggestions that these experts give politicians tend to make life easier for the… → Read More

FEE

Podcast: Why Does Government Keep Expanding?

The fact that the United States' yearly deficit spending is set to soon top $1 trillion — an amount that is itself larger than most governments' entire operating budget — might be an indicator that the federal government has gotten too large. No matter which party is in power, the federal government and its attendant spending never really ceases to grow. In school, we're taught a rose-colored… → Read More

FEE

Podcast: America Relies on Immigrants

Immigration is, as happens fairly routinely, an important topic in the national conversation these days. It's generally well-accepted that the United States is "a nation of immigrants," and yet there remains a stubborn skepticism about new immigrants. These concerns generally branch into two broad categories: economic concerns and social concerns. Economically, citizens seem to think that… → Read More

FEE

Intentions Don't Matter — Outcomes Do

Socialism is, whether we like it or not, in the national dialogue. And there are numerous people who claim to be socialists who, nevertheless, have a hard time defining what socialism actually is. Socialism, in its purest form, indeed, has never been tried. But, by the same token, neither has undiluted capitalism. To understand which works better, we have to think about means and ends. Almost… → Read More

FEE

The Constitution Is Useless if We Don't Follow It

Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent the country into a tizzy not long ago, when he declared that the federal government would start cracking down on state-legal marijuana. This is problematic, but it's a symptom of a larger problem. Article I, Section 8, of the US Constitution lists the things that the federal government may concern itself with. Marijuana — indeed, any drug — is not on that… → Read More

FEE

When Do-Gooders Do Bad

Despite its passage some time ago, recent attention has been brought to the impending implementation of a Washington, D.C., regulation that will require all professional childcare workers to have a college degree. This has raised a great hue and cry as it will ban a number of existing childcare workers from their chosen profession as well as having the effect of dramatically increasing the cost… → Read More

FEE

Should We Abolish Government Regulation?

What do you do on any given day that is not somehow regulated by government in some way? There really isn't much. In point of fact, there are well over one hundred thousand pages of federal regulations alone, to say nothing of state and local regulations. We have government-mandated guidelines for everything from space exploration to how your dog can behave in a city park. While many people… → Read More

FEE

Actually, Things Are Kind of Amazing

It seems, these days, that you can't turn on the TV or log on to social media without someone griping about how awful things are. They complain about everything, from taxes to avocados to bills to cell signal strength. But the truth of things is a lot rosier than popular media would lead you to believe. Global illiteracy rates are below 14 percent. Global rates of extreme poverty are below 10… → Read More

FEE

Four Years On, What Can Colorado Teach Us about Legalizing Weed?

There has been quite the groundswell in recent years in the efforts to legalize marijuana. In fact, a majority of US states have at least some sort of access to legal weed, despite its still being criminalized at the federal level. But the state of Colorado led the nation when it legalized marijuana for all purposes, even recreational ones, in January of 2014. The anti-marijuana advocates warned… → Read More

FEE

Americans' Generosity Can Help the Poor Better Than Government

Christmas is right around the corner, and people everywhere are in the holiday spirit. In addition to giving gifts to loved ones, Americans are also giving to their preferred charities. Indeed, about a third of all charitable donations occur during the month of December. And Americans are, in general, incredibly generous. Recent estimates have the total dollar amount of charitable giving, both… → Read More

FEE

Is America a Police State?

Recently, in a small town Pennsylvania, an insurance agent for Nationwide Insurance noticed a certain plant growing in a garden on the property he was inspecting. This insurance agent identified the plant as marijuana and notified the police about this nefarious behavior. An elderly couple lived at that property, and while the husband was out at the time, the wife was dragged from her home, in… → Read More

FEE

The Lesser Known History of Thanksgiving in America

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, take a moment to contemplate the series of miracles that brings and keeps us together. Take a cue from Washington and Lincoln and appreciate the blessings that we enjoy rather than pining for things we don’t. → Read More

FEE

The Super-Rich Don't Understand Taxation

It never seems to fail that whenever any kind of change to the tax code is proposed in Washington, billionaires and millionaires come clambering out of the woodwork to tell Congress not to cut their taxes. This current round of tax reform is no exception. Recently, more than 400 of the super-rich signed a letter asking exactly that, claiming that both the national debt and wealth inequality are… → Read More

FEE

How Fair is Fair Trade?

The World Fair Trade Organization has declared this week to be World Fair Trade Week. "Fair trade" is quite the buzzword in commerce these days and is generally associated agricultural products. Chief among those is coffee. The popularity of fair trade coffee is undeniable. But what even is "fair trade" and what does it entail? How "fair" is it? Or is it just a marketing gimmick? James Harrigan… → Read More