https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2012/02/14/money-for-nothing/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 11:32:03 -0400<![CDATA[Richard Epstein at the Hoover Institution looks at whether government can require companies or the States to give things away for free.   The idea is nothing as crazy as one might think. There&#8217;s an argument that it can already mandate behavior as a condition for receiving government money, a subject which has recently created tension between the administration and the Catholic Church. Epstein says, &#8220;that mandate requires all religious institutions that partake of the health-care benefits under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to supply—against their moral beliefs—contraceptive, sterilization, and abortion services to all persons whom they treat at their facilities in order to continue receiving government benefits, some fraction of which have been raised by tax revenues from persons of similar religious beliefs.&#8221;]]>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:32:45 -0500<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2012/02/14/money-for-nothing-n191416