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Corporate America blog
Right to Repair Splits Conservatives Between the Farmer and the Contract Conservatives disagree over farm-equipment right-to-repair laws, and the cleanest answer may be to repeal one federal rule rather than add a new mandate. Bailouts and moral hazard, from Chrysler in 1979 to Silicon Valley Bank Every bailout teaches lenders that losses will be socialized. From Chrysler to Silicon Valley Bank, the habit grew, and a rule-based way out exists. Solyndra to Amtrak, why government picks losers when it picks winners Washington says it can spot the next great company. Solyndra, Amtrak and Hayek's knowledge problem show why its bets fail more often and never close. The sugar program makes every family pay more so a few growers earn more Federal loans, marketing allotments and import quotas prop up U.S. sugar prices. Who gains, who pays, and why the food-security defense does not hold. Why gun makers are not sued for crimes, the 2005 law and the Mexico case The 2005 PLCAA bars suits blaming makers for crimes committed with lawfully sold guns. Its exceptions, the municipal suits behind it, and the 9-0 Mexico ruling. Corporate Activism Breaks the Deal Between a Company and Its Customers Companies that take political sides spend owners' money on executives' opinions. Friedman's 1970 essay and the stakeholder case, argued fairly. Big companies love the regulations their small rivals cannot afford Large firms often back new rules because compliance costs work as a moat against competitors, so more regulation can mean less competition. The regulation bill a ten-person company pays that a giant can shrug off A rule costs the same paperwork at ten workers or ten thousand, so it weighs most on small firms. The SBA studies, the 1980 law and the per-employee arithmetic. Seven Myths About DEI Programs, Including That Critics Oppose Diversity Seven common claims about DEI programs tested against the Civil Rights Act, the Fourteenth Amendment and the 2023 admissions ruling, with a verdict on each. The Home Front Built Ships in Days and Became the Arsenal of Democracy American industry out-produced every enemy in World War II, and the figures show what free enterprise can do when mobilized, controls and rationing included. Big Companies Can Afford Regulation, Which Is Why Some of Them Ask for More Compliance costs are largely fixed, so they fall hardest on small firms and protect incumbents. Stigler, Yandle and the Regulatory Flexibility Act explain why. The Defense Production Act of 1950 Is a Wartime Tool with Peacetime Habits Passed for the Korean War, the Defense Production Act lets presidents steer contracts and fund factories. Both parties now stretch it far past defense. Defense Contractors Do Not Start Wars, and Six Other Slogans Examined Seven popular slogans blame war on profit. Tested against the 1961 farewell address, budget shares and the 1990s consolidation, most of them fail. Six myths about robber barons, sweatshops and the age of capitalism The textbook Gilded Age leaves out that the so-called robber barons often got rich by cutting prices. Six popular claims, tested against the record. Milton Friedman's 1970 essay against stakeholder capitalism still wins A corporate executive who spends shareholders' money on causes is levying a tax no one voted for. Friedman's 1970 case holds up against the 2019 rebuttal. Profit is a signal, not a sin, and what a loss tells a company Profit and loss are the economy's feedback system, telling firms what customers value and what wastes resources. Government programs lack that signal. Pharmacy Benefit Managers, the Middlemen You Never Hired, Explained How rebates, formularies and spread pricing work, why a list price can rise while someone else pockets the gap, and why transparency beats a price board. Andrew Carnegie Went From Bobbin Boy to Steel King and Then Gave It Away A Scottish immigrant who started at $1.20 a week built the world's largest steel company, then gave his fortune away on principle, with Homestead on the record. Your Questions About the Code of Federal Regulations, Answered Plainly How the CFR differs from the Federal Register and the U.S. Code, how it is organized and updated, and how to find who wrote a rule and what is coming next. Thomas Edison's Menlo Park Was the First Invention Factory and It Changed Work Edison's real invention was the research laboratory, and Menlo Park shows how private capital, teamwork and honest failure built the modern economy. Greedflation is a story that skips the question of why greed took a break Corporate greed was as constant in 2019 as in 2021, so the real question is what changed to let companies raise prices. How America Built 2,710 Liberty Ships and Why It Could Not Do So Today Henry Kaiser's wartime yards launched Liberty ships in days, and the story shows an industrial base is a weapon and why rebuilding ours is a conservative cause. Friedman's 1970 Essay on Business Responsibility Still Answers Its Critics Friedman's 1970 essay says executives who spend shareholders' money on social causes tax without representation; read closely, it is no license for fraud. The corporate rate cut to 21 percent and the inversions it brought to an end Before 2018 the corporate rate was 35 percent and firms moved their legal homes abroad. Here is what the 2017 law changed, and the answer to the buyback charge. A Regulatory Budget Would Make Washington Count the Cost of Its Rules A regulatory budget caps the compliance costs agencies may impose, as an appropriation caps spending. How it works, the 2017 precedent and the objections. Why the corporate income tax is paid by people, and the only question is who A corporation is a legal form, not a taxpayer, so every dollar of corporate tax lands on shareholders, workers or customers. The only question is which of them.