Last September the New York City Board of Health approved a measure that would ban the sale of sugary drinks over 16 ounces. Politicians justified the action because of the city’s escalating obesity rate and research linking sugary drinks to weight gain. Overall, care for obesity-related illnesses costs the New York City nearly $2.8 billion annually, according to city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley. Politicians, then, believe they have the authority to legislate how much of a beverage citizens can...

In 2011, the Obama administration cut off funding to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that was used to fight human trafficking. The USCCB lost funding for its refusal to provide abortions, sterilizations and artificial birth control in their anti-trafficking programs, as these services are all immoral, according to Catholic teaching. Now, the bishops have re-grouped, and are launching a new initiative in the fight against human trafficking. The USCCB’s new educational campaign, The Amistad Movement, rolls out this...

Sojourners’ Jim Wallis has been at the Davos gathering in Switzerland and is urging us to be guided by a new Davos “covenant.” If you’ve never heard of Davos, Michael Miller’s RealClear Politics piece “Davos Capitalism” describes the gathering and its unassailable hubris this way: Davos capitalism, a managerial capitalism run by an enlightened elite–politicians, business leaders, technology gurus, bureaucrats, academics, and celebrities–all gathered together trying to make the economic world smarter or more humane…. And we looked up to...

In honor of the third annual National School Choice Week, here are some facts you should know about school choice in America. What does “school choice” mean? The term “school choice” refers to programs that give parents the power and opportunity to choose the schools their children attend, whether public, private, parochial, or homeschool. Why is school choice necessary? While there are some excellent public schools in America, many students are trapped in schools with inadequate facilities, substandard curriculum, and...

Samuel Gregg was recently on WORD-FM: Pittsburgh’s “The Ride Home with John and Kathy” to talk about ing Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and How America Can Avoid a European Future. They discuss many of the main themes of the book, including: Americans’ changing attitude toward liberty and economic freedom, entitlements, and the welfare state. Listen to their discussion here: [audio: ing Europe is available as a hardcover or an eBook. If you want to learn more, read a free sample,...

Over at Ricochet, Peter Robinson broaches the oft asked question about intellectuals and their disdain and rage against capitalism. Robinson unearthed Robert Nozick’s, “Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?” Nozick declared, The schools, too, exhibited and thereby taught the principle of reward in accordance with (intellectual) merit. To the intellectually meritorious went the praise, the teacher’s smiles, and the highest grades. In the currency the schools had to offer, the smartest constituted the upper class. Though not part of the official...

In a prime example of how irony is lost on politicians, lawmakers in North Carolina are proposing to prohibit people receiving welfare from playing in the lottery. Perhaps the legislators aren’t aware of what state lotteries are, in effect if not intent, designed to do: redistribute the e of mostly poor Americans to a handful of other citizens—and to the state’s coffers. Nevertheless, the lawmaker’s moral intuitions seem to be leading them to good intentions. As Rep. Paul Stam says,...

Last week, Barrett Clark summarized some key insights shared at the recent Common Good RVA event in Richmond, Virginia. The event was part of Christianity Today’s This Is Our City project, which seeks to highlight how Christians are “using their gifts and energies in all sectors of public merce, government, technology, the arts, media, and education—to bring systemic renewal to the cultural ‘upstream’ and to bless their neighbors in the process.” This week, the project moves its focus to Detroit,...

Why do we go to work, day after day, year after year for most of our lives? Sure, we most of us have to “make a living?” But is that our only motivation? Is there a better reason why we should work? Matthew Kaemingk thinks so: Aboveeach of thesepartial reasons for work, I would like to propose an alternative motivation that should qualify, define, limit, and rule them all. This reason is simple but not narrow. It is focused on...

“Judaism loves the market economy,” says Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi for the British Orthodox synagogues. Rabbi Sacks explains how the “beautiful idea” parative advantage promotes peace, cooperation and tolerance among all people. (Via: Chris Robertson) ...