Issues

In its recent decision in Pung v. Isabella County, the Supreme Court ruled that when the government sells your home to satisfy a tax debt, just compensation comes from the surplus of a fairly conducted tax sale and not the home's fair market value. The Court's focus on fairness matters especially in Pung because the fairness of the Pungs' own ta ...

On July 4, 1776, a group of patriots mutually pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor when they signed the Declaration of Independence. The document signaled the official severing of ties with Britain and the establishment of a new nation, where individuals were free to enjoy their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. F ...

Free to Flourish is PLF's Environment and Natural Resources quarterly newsletter. If you agree that a better world is possible through liberty—that a thriving environment and free individuals are not in conflict—subscribe below to follow along.   Welcome to another edition of Free to Flourish. As millions of Americans prepare ...

For nearly a century, federal law barred the president from firing members of the Federal Trade Commission unless they could be shown to have committed "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." The goal of this congressionally imposed restriction was to give agencies like the FTC some measure of independence from politics. But the ...

If you're a typical shopper, you just want to shop in peace—when you stroll through the local mall, you expertly weave, dodge, and avoid eye contact with the well-intentioned salespeople pitching their wares as you go about your business. But the state of California has another obstacle for ordinary shoppers and introverts at the mall: a self-sty ...

Emily Tvrdy has given birth four times. Now, as she prepares for her fifth, she knows what type of birth experience she wants—and what type she wants to avoid. Three of her four children were born in a hospital. The first she describes as traumatic, involving complications, pain, and a long separation from her infant son. Medical decisions wer ...

In 2005, the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation received a troubling call from one of its members. A Fish and Game officer had crossed onto their private land—no warrant, no permission, no notice. Over the years, more ranchers, farmers and landowners came forward with additional, more troubling stories. To prevent ongoing abuse of property rights, Idah ...

When I wrote for The Star last December, I was in the middle of the fight of my professional life. The Kansas State Board of Nursing decided that giving speeches about dementia while my license briefly lapsed as I cared for my husband through cancer treatment constituted "unprofessional conduct." Its members wanted me to admit guilt and accept a pe ...

Yesterday, the Supreme Court delivered its decision in Pung v. Isabella County, ruling against the Pung family. In February, the Pungs asked the Court to affirm that when the government takes and sells a home to satisfy a tax debt, just compensation should be measured by the home's fair market value—not whatever price the government happens to ...