Elizabeth Holmes is the con artist we were all waiting for

Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty on four of 11 federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy, after promising revolutionary blood test technology from her corporation, Theranos. The promised disruption was something people desperately wanted and still want: cheap, quick blood tests, requiring only a finger drop of blood. Continue Reading...

Justice demands ‘Just Money’

Widespread civil unrest, social media fueled hysteria, and political polarization have infected our public life. Vice President Joe Biden suggested on Monday that these problems have been fomented by his opponent. Continue Reading...

‘American Factory’ manufactures a lemon

(Feb. 12, 2020) Update: American Factory wins an Oscar for best feature documentary. In accepting the award, co-director Julia Reichert told attendees at the awards ceremony, “We believe that things will get better when workers of the world unite.” Continue Reading...

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: Corruption and economic freedom

Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, writes this morning in Forbes about the relationship between economic freedom and corruption. Transparency International released its 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index last week, and Chafuen correlates these results with countries’ rankings in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. Continue Reading...

Government funds bring corruption to Mayberry

Front Royal, Virginia, is just 70 miles from Washington, D.C., by road but a million miles away by culture. One resident described the town, which bills itself as “the northern gateway way to the Shenandoah Valley,” as “sort of like Mayberry.” Continue Reading...

Why do we hate whistleblowers?

Americans claim to hate fraud and corruption. Yet we also tend to despise and discourage those who “snitch” and expose such crimes. How do we reconcile these contradictory positions? Today is “National Whistleblower Appreciation Day,” an observance to celebrate people who come forward to raise the alarm about a problem within government or a public organization. Continue Reading...