Entrepreneurship

Two Women Fight Set-Asides and Quotas

Dr. Azadeh Khatibi grew up in Tehran in the early 1980s. Her father wanted sons; he got two daughters. “He was like, ‘What is their future going to be like?’” she says.

When Government Gets Between a Mother and a Midwife

The birth of a child is a sacred experience in a mother’s life. How and where she chooses to bring her baby into the world is a deeply personal decision that should be free from government interference.

Racial Quotas for City Contractors May Ruin This Family Business

In the mid-nineties, Jerry Thompson was headhunted for a Texas company that paid good money. He was a whiz at sales. So he moved his wife, Theresa, and two kids from Michigan to Texas.

The Supreme Court Could Fix a 150-Year-Old Mistake

Dana’s son displayed concerning behavior from a very young age. It was a lot for Dana to handle—and she also had two other children. She reached out to services that provide “respite care”: part-time help for parents and other caregivers who need occasional breaks. Respite care is a game changer for parents of special needs children. A good respite caregiver can make a struggling mom feel like she’s not alone.

LUST: This Montana City Treats Massage Therapists Like Sex Workers

Occasionally, Theresa Vondra gets a client who has the wrong idea about her massage business.

Grading Butter

Beloved American Chef Julia Child learned to cook in France, where butter is indispensable. When she taught her recipes to American audiences in the 1960s, she had a favorite mantra: “With enough butter, anything is good.”

Prohibition for Thee, Not for Me

“I have a searing memory of a day in my childhood.” William Leuchtenburg was a boy living with his family in New Jersey during Prohibition. His father, a postal worker, commuted into Manhattan to work at a post office near Penn Station. But Mr. Leuchtenburg’s salary was modest, so he supplemented the family income by running a small still in the basement of the family home and selling his liquor locally.

Lunch at Ole Time Smokehouse

On days when Mark Shirley serves lunch at his food truck, Ole Time Smokehouse, he wakes up at 3:30 a.m. By the time most people in Farmville, North Carolina, are just getting out of bed, Mark’s barbeque has already been cooking for hours.

California Fishermen May Soon Be Extinct

Ask your average environmental activist about their impression of commercial sea fishing and you’re likely to hear about turtles caught in plastic soda can rings or dolphins trapped in drift nets.

Let’s Meet up at Goodwood

At Goodwood Brewing, the food is comforting, the beers come in flights, and the atmosphere immediately makes you feel like a regular. “I’m in the hospitality industry,” says Ted Mitzlaff, CEO of Goodwood Brewing & Spirits. “There’s nothing I love more than providing food, safety, and fun for my patrons.” The growing company has three locations in Kentucky and is adding a fourth. Their Louisville taproom hosts live music every weekend, including a Saturday afternoon “Bluegrass Jam,” where anyone is invited to bring an instrument, pull up a seat, and join in. Wednesdays are board game and bingo nights. Kids are welcome in the taproom. Sometimes Goodwood even hosts yoga classes, where they serve “beermosas.” “This place has personality and funk.” - Vyvian, Yelp review, Louisville Goodwood started with beer. “We were kind of at the forefront of the craft beer movement,” Ted explains.

We Should Follow the Science, But Who Makes the Decisions?

“We're just following the science.” That simple and seemingly unobjectionable statement has been used over the past year to justify every policy, regulation, and law related to COVID-19, no matter their scope or the length they’re in place.

Property Damage Is a Blight on Our Sacred Right to Protest

“Everybody watched it burn to ashes,” said Anmol Khindri. Khindri, a Kenosha, Wisconsin, resident, watched helplessly as his family business burned down. Rioters destroyed the business, a car dealership. “Nobody did nothing about it—nothing.”

Creative Destruction: The Inventions Born Out of Crisis

When Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter coined the phrase “creative destruction,” he described it as “the essential fact about capitalism.”

Unsought Hero

If you really want to get ahead in politics, you need a heroic story.

Modern Capitalism Improves Our Ethics

There is a growing chorus of academics, politicians, and activists around the world today espousing the belief that, while capitalism and individual liberty have made the world richer, wealth has come at the expense of equality, compassion, civility, and morality.

Luxury in a Socialist Hotel

Despite its increasing popularity, many people remain unaware of what socialism really entails, and of its inevitable economic consequences.

Socialism as Substitute Community

We shouldn't be surprised that people are turning to radical solutions like socialism, considering how many are finding modern life in America so wanting.

There Are No Winners Without Competition

Capitalism, at its core, is about the freedom to compete.

Why Capitalism and Socialism?

It might seem unusual for a public interest legal organization to focus so intensely on the debate over capitalism and socialism.

The Failure of Blaming Market Failure

There's a common refrain in the modern calls for socialism: It’s up to government to prevent markets from failing and corporations from taking advantage of us.

Interview with a CEO: How Capitalism Got Blamed for the Fiscal Crisis

The market crash of 2008 was the worst financial crisis in a generation. Millions of people lost their jobs, their homes, and their livelihood.

The Road from Serfdom: How Geza Karakas Escaped Socialism and Thrived Under Capitalism

Growing up in 1950s Hungary, Geza Karakas developed a unique pair of exceptional skills: bicycle riding and troubleshooting.

Innovation: A Modern-Day Miracle

People alive today are, on average, the richest that have ever lived.

Safeguarding America’s Fisheries and Fishermen

When government regulations for America’s coastline go too far, there are real consequences. As you’ve read, many beach homeowners can be forced to give up their property or acquiesce to absurd bureaucratic rules.

Commercial Speech Deserves Constitutional Protection

Michael Cefali in San Juan Capistrano, CA, and Scott McLean in Alexandria, VA, just wanted to sell their cars. So they did what any American might do and put a “for sale” sign in their car windows. But until PLF stepped in, local bureaucrats fined both men merely for advertising their vehicles for sale, claiming that the First Amendment didn’t protect the sellers because they were engaged in commercial activity.

Raising a Glass to Freedom of Speech Virginia Happy Hour Advertising Case

Chef Geoff Tracy is an entrepreneur, cookbook author, and owner of three successful restaurants in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

Tearing Down a Roadblock to Liberty

Like many PLF Clients, Arty Vogt simply wanted the opportunity to start a business and compete freely.