Nevada Policy Research Institute

Let’s be honest: Both major political parties seem to be fans of growing government. Politicians, however seem to know that most voters aren’t quite as anxious to hike taxes or increase spending. After all, hopeful lawmakers continually promise to make government leaner, trim excess and curb waste in the public sector — and politicians are masters of telling voters what they … [Read more...] about Big Government’s Largest Cheerleader Is Itself

Kids today ruin everything. Socialism, for example, just isn’t what it used to be. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, for advocates of the free market system, the evolving understanding of what it means to be a “socialist” in modern America isn’t nearly as dire as it sounds. The newly empowered generation of young Americans — millennials certainly … [Read more...] about America’s ‘Socialist’ Generation Is More Capitalist Than It Thinks

What happens when the “public square” is guarded by gatekeepers eager to censor anything they view as inappropriate political speech? That’s a question many conservative and libertarian activists are now asking, as “progressive” social-media companies accelerate their crusade against anything that gets labeled as hate speech, online bullying and fake news. At its outset, … [Read more...] about Free Speech? Social Media and its Gatekeepers

During the tumultuous presidential primaries in 2016, one candidate promised to impose huge tariffs on Chinese goods, “until they stop dumping steel into the United States,” thus restoring the American steel industry to its former glory. The candidate I’m thinking about was actually the self-described socialist senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders — but it just as easily … [Read more...] about Just Because It’s Bipartisan, Doesn’t Mean It’s a Good Idea

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, he introduced his readers to the concept of “doublethink” — the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. Orwell concisely illustrated the concept with his fictional government’s contradictory slogan for the people: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is … [Read more...] about The Doublethink of Modern Politics

Fifty-four years ago this month, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced the beginning of what would turn out to be America’s longest running war: the “War on Poverty.” “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America,” boomed Johnson, basking in the applause the grand declaration guaranteed him during his State of the Union … [Read more...] about Where’s the ‘Progressive’ Outrage over Government’s Failures?

Americans still largely believe in the right to free speech — but they are simultaneously less likely to exercise it than they have been in the past. And it’s not hard to see why. According to a recent Cato survey on the topic, nearly three-fourths of Americans say that “political correctness” has significantly silenced political speech on important issues. A quick … [Read more...] about Political Contempt is Chilling Free Speech

The late Steve Jobs once explained that “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” This is clearly the mentality of a successful entrepreneur. Part of this mindset is the ability to see the world, and the marketplace, with fresh eyes — to spot new ways of doing things and then exploit those opportunities while the rest of the world is … [Read more...] about Be Thankful for Our Ability to Fail

It’s not very often that a bad tax system actually benefits taxpayers — but that’s the case with Nevada’s property tax. Both policy experts and local governments have repeatedly called for reform to the state’s convoluted property tax structure — albeit for entirely different reasons. Many policy experts dislike the current system because it’s unnecessarily complex, and … [Read more...] about Stop Calling Higher Taxes a ‘Reform’: Property Taxes in Nevada