subsidy

January 29, 2018

A real ‘fair trade’ solution: Fix U.S. agricultural policy

In our attempts to support struggling farmers across the developing world, Westerners have tended toward supporting a particular set of preferred “solutions,” whether purchasing “fair trade” products or donating funds to specific causes. Continue Reading...

December 13, 2016

What you should know about subsidies

Note: This is post #13 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What is a subsidy? A subsidy is really just a negative or reverse tax, explains Alex Tabarrok. Instead of collecting money in the form of a tax, the government gives money to consumer or producers. Continue Reading...

July 20, 2016

The Harmful Effects of Protectionism

What is the biggest economic problem that the U.S. is currently facing? Depends who you ask. Some social justice warriors would tell you that capitalism is ruining our economy, yet many who have studied and understand economics would argue the opposite. Continue Reading...

July 22, 2014

Explainer: The Obamacare Subsidies Ruling (Halbig v. Burwell)

What just happened with Obamacare? In a two-to-one decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dealt a serious blow to Obamacare by ruling the government may not provide subsidies to encourage people to buy health insurance on the new marketplaces run by the federal government. Continue Reading...

February 29, 2012

Commentary: Corn Subsidies at Root of U.S.-Mexico Immigration Problems

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement began to be implemented in 1994, the United States has raised farm subsidies by 300 percent and Mexican corn growers complain that they have little hope of competing in this protected market. Continue Reading...

August 16, 2011

Elise Amyx: Farming subsidies often do more harm than good

In today’s Detroit News, Acton communications intern Elise Amyx offers a piece on farm subsidies. She looks at how Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow described this government support as “risk management protection” for farmers. Continue Reading...

July 06, 2011

Pope Addresses Rising Food Prices

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the annual conference of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and expressed particular concern over rising food prices and the instability of the global food market. Continue Reading...

May 04, 2011

Hardships of Ethanol

Everywhere we look we are facing rising prices. We find them at the gas pumps and now we see them at our supermarkets. Food prices are climbing, and just like gas prices, they are having broadly felt adverse effects on Americans. Continue Reading...

March 14, 2011

Can the U.S. learn from Europe’s green mistakes?

Kenneth P. Green, of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), recently examined green energy in Europe in an essay titled, “The Myth of Green Energy Jobs: The European Experience.” Green thoroughly analyzes the green industry in Europe while seeking to discover the reasons behind its current downward spiral. Continue Reading...

March 11, 2011

Samuel Gregg: Business vs. the Market

In a new essay for Public Discourse, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg explains why we shouldn’t only focus on public sector unions as examples of organizations that seek government power and taxpayer dollars to advance their ends. Continue Reading...

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