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Why do the same ideas keep coming back?
History of the Future connects history, economics, and today's biggest headlines to better understand what's next.
Coming Wednesday!
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As America marks its 250th anniversary, the Independent Institute invites you to a substantive conversation on New York City's political transformation and the historical record and real-world consequences of communist regimes.
Featuring:
Joe Sweeny — NYC Lawyer & Political Commentator
William Watkins — Constitutional Lawyer & Author
Michael Douma — Author & Professor
The evening will conclude with a reception at historic Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington delivered his farewell address to his officers. Guests will enjoy an open bar and hors d'oeuvres while continuing the conversation with fellow attendees and speakers.
Tickets are $35, with proceeds donated to Victims of Communism to support its educational mission.
📅 Tuesday, November 10, 2026
🕕 6:00 – 9:00 PM
📍 Fraunces Tavern, NYC
RSVP required — limited seating >> buff.ly/Buhq0Of
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What is the future of conservatism, and what could it mean for free markets?
On September 30, Independent Institute Senior Fellow Phillip W. Magness will join scholars and policy experts for The Future of the Right: Conservatism at a Crossroads on Both Sides of the Atlantic.
The forum will explore the growing tension between free-market principles and economic postliberalism, and the implications for trade, investment, and prosperity.
Learn more >> buff.ly/nLXcdeI
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What separates voluntary cooperation from government action?
Robert Higgs examined the role of coercion in the public sector and what it means for individual well-being.
Explore his insights in The Indispensable Robert Higgs: A Reader. Get your copy today. | @ccoyne1
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California voters will soon decide whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of the state’s billionaires.
Supporters argue it would raise billions while making the wealthy pay their fair share. Critics like Google co-founder Sergey Brin see it as a threat to the startup culture that made California the innovation capital of the world, warning that it could undermine an entrepreneurial ecosystem responsible for much of California’s prosperity. buff.ly/UTuqV8h
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The courts have not been tolerant of the Trump administration’s legal arguments supporting global tariffs. In February, the Administration lost at the Supreme Court, which rejected its “emergency” powers claim under the IEEPA statute.
The administration reimposed the tariffs, pivoting to Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which authorizes a president to impose a temporary tariff of up to 15% for 150 days to address a “large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficit.”
No such deficit exists, at least not by the definition Congress intended. buff.ly/uHMZXYs
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Join Independent Institute for a reception featuring an open bar and hors d’oeuvres, followed by an engaging conversation with leading scholars and policy experts on California’s proposed wealth tax and what the measure could mean for the state’s future.
Learn more about the event and RSVP here: buff.ly/3nB6AsL
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Gavin Newsom publicly expressed regret about his performance during the COVID pandemic. He told Jake Tapper of CNN, “The idea that we closed beaches was insane in hindsight.”
The governor is on to something, but closing the beaches was not just an “idea.” buff.ly/a7YSj8x
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The U.S. government’s 2026 fiscal year will end on September 30. By then, the federal government will have spent about $2.1 trillion more than it collected in taxes and tariffs over the past year.
With a number like that, it’s not surprising the U.S. government’s total public debt outstanding has risen to more than $40 trillion. It has doubled over the last 10 years. buff.ly/HSelNeP
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In their attempt to alleviate the burden of high housing prices, politicians are stumbling into Groucho Marx’s warning that “politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.”
Instead of attacking the root causes—monetary policy in general and regulatory and zoning restrictions that impede housing supply growth—politicians are turning to measures that sound good… but may have significant unintended consequences. buff.ly/7Esc7RY
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President Trump attacked Iran without approval from Congress, as was the Framers’ intent regarding offensive warfare, made plain in the debates at the Constitutional Convention.
Trump also violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by not withdrawing U.S. forces within 60 to 90 days when Congress hadn’t declared war, given its legal approval or extended the statutory deadline—none of which happened. buff.ly/o12Pm9R
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Funded by taxpayers, federal bureaucracies are unaccountable and impossible to shut down, regardless of performance. buff.ly/Q7JVZ87
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Most countries have organ-donation systems like America’s—and long waitlists. Iran, by contrast, legalized payment to kidney donors in 1988; within 11 years, the country eliminated its waitlist. buff.ly/eRihBYP
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On September 14, the Fifth Circuit granted rehearing en banc in United States v. Cordova, a Second Amendment challenge to the lifetime felon gun ban, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
That follows the July 20 en banc rehearing grant in United States v. Squire, a challenge to the same prohibition under the Commerce Clause.
These cases test whether Congress had the power in the first place, and even if so, whether it is prohibited from doing so. buff.ly/qiUA97b
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🎥 Riley's side business is growing, and she thinks she's finally ready to go it alone. Gov disagrees.
Between new regulations, rising costs, and one last move to keep her in line, Riley's about to find out just how far Gov will go.
So how far will Gov go to stay in control? ▶️ Watch to find out. Link in the comments.
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As college closings increase and campus staff layoffs mount, schools are desperately innovating to ward off destruction, including ridding themselves of left-wing shenanigans that imperil funding.
In the business world, venerated companies such as Sears and Roebuck and Eastman Kodak died or shrank to make room for new innovators such as Microsoft or Nvidia. The same process is belatedly underway on our nation’s college campuses. buff.ly/u0EbkSi
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A recent poll found that 74% of voters who support 'Medicare for All' believe it could be financed entirely by raising taxes on billionaires.
This is a pipe dream. No country in the world makes health care universally free, paid solely by its wealthiest taxpayers. buff.ly/h8BC1EM
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The latest issue of The Independent Review is here—and it’s asking some uncomfortable questions about the expanding power of central banks.
Can a central bank really claim to be “above politics” when it takes on climate change, inequality, ESG, and other social priorities?
Read the Review: buff.ly/YSz3Ucq
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