The Times I Met David Koch
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
People ask if I crossed paths with philanthropist David Koch, whose death is being mourned today, and the answer is yes.
When I...
The Ruins of Old Tech Monopolies
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Mar 2000: Palm Pilot IPOs at $53 billion
Sep 2006: “Everyone’s always asking me when...
House Passes Political-Omnibus Bill H.R. 1
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
H.R. 1, the political regulation omnibus bill, contains “provisions that unconstitutionally infringe the freedoms of speech and association,” and which “will...
Children and the Shadow of the Law
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Let me start with the big picture issues, where I think Diane Redleaf and I agree, and then turn to the...
Proposition 10: Rent Control in California
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Proposition 10 on the California ballot would empower local governments around the Golden State to institute more and stricter rent control....
Partisan Gerrymandering: Another Supreme Court Showdown?
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
It would have been natural to assume that partisan gerrymandering would not return as an issue to the Supreme Court until...
The Warren Plan and the History of Corporate Chartering
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposal for drastic changes to corporate governance, which I wrote about in this space last week, continues to draw thoughtful...
Class Action Tolling: A Good Day To Reverse the Ninth Circuit
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Class action tolling means suspending time limits on future lawsuits while a class action suit is pending. This is distinct from class action trolling which...
The Age of Discretion, As the Post Sees It
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
The Washington Post editorialized last month in favor of dropping the voting age to 16. I dashed off a letter to the editor,...
When Battling the Government In Court, What Are You Free To Say in the...
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Readers who follow the battles over forfeiture law may recall the recent case in which a North Carolina convenience store owner...
Young v. UPS : Bias Plaintiffs Win at the Supreme Court
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
As I’ve had occasion to note in this space, pundits regularly complain that the current Supreme Court is somehow throttling job-bias...
Judges Say No To Obama Labor Regulators’ Hot Blueberry Crush
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
What does federal labor law have in common with civil forfeiture law? As I write at Reason:
Under a provision of the 1938...
Voters Take Aim at Low Wages, Kill Bookstore
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Don’t believe minimum wage hikes hurt real people? After March 31, a famed sci-fi bookstore on Valencia St. in San Francisco’s...
Sheldon Silver and the Price of Doing Science
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Rumors of ethics problems have long swirled around long-time New York assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, many of them connected with his...
Suing Gun Businesses Over Sandy Hook
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
There’s a new legal attack under way against firearms, as the press reports:
Ten families touched by the Newtown massacre filed a...
The Washington Post On Dodd-Frank’s Conflict Minerals Fiasco
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Economic sanctions, when they have an effect at all, tend to inflict misery on a targeted region’s civilian populace and often...
Bloomberg: “I Don’t Think There’s Roads” Where Voters Backed Gun Rights
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Michael Bloomberg has now fully completed his transition from un-libertarian but arguably competent New York City mayor to abrasive, polarizing figure-of-fun...
Wal-Mart Swings Back against NYT Columnist
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Don’t you wish more companies would do this when attacked? After New York Times columnist Tim Egan took a swipe at Wal-Mart...
Connecticut’s Sweet Job-Protection Deal for Elected Officials
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
It is a truism that laws tend to be arranged for the benefit of the political class. Still, I was surprised...
“Minnesota ‘Unsession’ Dumps 1,175 Obsolete, Silly Laws”
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Wow, more of this please :
It’s no longer a crime in Minnesota to carry fruit in an illegally sized container. The...
Are Unpaid Internships A Social Evil? Ask Our Political Leaders
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
Next time you notice some politician demanding a higher minimum wage and denouncing private employers for underpaying labor, chances are good...
Fifty Years Ago Yesterday …
WALTER OLSON, CATO INSTITUTE
…the U.S. Supreme Court handed down what was to become one of its most celebrated tort reform decisions. A profitable national manufacturer...