Everyone loves a good movie, but with an average cost of more than $8, most Pennsylvanians have to choose carefully what they will spend their money on. Too bad we don't have that same luxury with our tax dollars, which subsidize the film industry to the tune of $60 million a year. If lobbyists for the “film tax credit” have their way, this will increase to $100 million in short order.

The debate over whether to increase the credit clouds the real issue: The debate should be whether the credit should exist at all. Simply put, it should not.

The credit, we are told, is an “investment” in Pennsylvania. By offering this credit we entice out-of-state productions to the state, which creates jobs and increases the tax base. Everybody wins! But if you really want to see who wins, look at who is pushing for the benefit. Filmmakers win. Taxpayers will be left holding the empty popcorn bag.

The film industry claims that the tax...

Based on the high standards of living enjoyed by their citizens, you might think that the governments of First World countries know how to create development. They don’t. Development isn’t created by anyone, not least well-intentioned politicians or development “experts”. The process of improving well-being only takes place in an environment that encourages constant innovation and experimentation.

Unfortunately, the state-led aid industry not only neglects the realities of development, but often takes actions that actively undermine it. For First World countries, development does not mean allowing other societies to go through the same messy process they did themselves. It entails top-down planning and grandiose promises that – this time – their plans will end poverty and suffering for good. Just consider the $9bn (£5.9bn) pledged to Haiti following its 2010 earthquake. Only a small portion was delivered, and even that has proven ineffective. Haiti’s...

Wind energy is the darling of the green energy sector. Over the past 35 years, the industry has received nearly $30 billion in federal subsidies and cash grants, and Washington has promised another $12 billion in subsidies over the next decade.

Thus, the argument goes, subsidizing wind energy will not only help boost economic growth and create jobs, it will also promote a cleaner environment. However, evidence shows these arguments to be at best a stretch, and at worst outright false. Let's review.

The wind industry's main subsidy, the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit, was created in 1992 to provide temporary assistance for promoting investments in energy technology. But 21 years later, the subsidy is still in effect.

Department of Energy data show that as of March 1, 2010, 86 percent of all renewable-energy grants went to wind projects. From 2000 to 2010, federal wind subsidies grew by an average of 32 percent...

Starting on May 14, the International Telecommunication Union – an agency of the United Nations – is kicking off a meeting for governments and telecom companies to discuss "international Internet-related public policy matters." Up for debate are six draft opinions on various aspects of Internet policy, but the unifying question is: how much should governments (and intergovernmental organizations) involve themselves in the building and running of the Internet? Under the current system, governments do very little – and the Internet has flourished because of it.

Here are five reasons we should resist giving governments a bigger role in Internet governance:

1. Censorship: Some governments want to be more involved in managing the Internet so that they can better monitor who is saying what online. Reporters Without Borders...