In “America's Governments: Enemies of the Poor,” veteran libertarian thinker Archie M. Richards Jr. delivers a provocative and meticulously researched examination of how government policies often achieve the opposite of their intended effects. Through dozens of concise, accessible essays, Richards systematically analyzes how federal, state, and local governments' well-meaning interventions frequently worsen the very problems they aim to solve.
Drawing on decades of economic analysis, Richards demonstrates how occupational licensing, minimum wage laws, welfare programs, and regulatory overreach disproportionately burden those at the bottom of the economic ladder. The author challenges conventional wisdom by illustrating how initiatives designed to help the disadvantaged often restrict economic mobility and opportunity.
From healthcare and education to monetary policy and environmental regulation, this collection methodically dissects the counterintuitive outcomes of government force. Richards offers an alternative vision where free markets, private enterprise, and individual liberty create more prosperity and equal opportunity than top-down planning.
Backed by historical examples and economic principles, Richards makes a compelling case that the proper role of government should be limited to essential functions: protecting private property, enforcing contracts, adjudicating disputes, and defending the nation. Beyond these core duties, he argues, government intervention typically causes more harm than good.
Whether you're a policy maker, student, or concerned citizen, this book will transform how you view the relationship between government action and societal outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable among us.
If you enjoyed “Free to Choose” by Milton Friedman, “Basic Economics” by Thomas Sowell, and “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt, you'll love “America's Governments: Enemies of the Poor.”
