To teach is to learn twice.
Joseph Joubert
Pro-Liberty Thought of the Day:
Friedman on Poverty, Greed, and Capitalism in 1979,
Also Works As a Response to Pope Francis
Well, first of all, tell me, is there some society you know that doesn’t run on greed? You think Russia doesn’t run on greed? You think China doesn’t run on greed? What is greed? Of course none of us are greedy. It’s only the other fellow who’s greedy. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way.
In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you’re talking about, the only cases in recorded history are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade. If you want to know where the masses are worst off, it’s exactly in the kinds of societies that depart from that. So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear that there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system. - Milton Friedman
Image of the Day
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| Via the Illinois Policy Institute |
It's Time to Reform the FDA
5-Year-Old Sweetie Saves Her Daddy's Life
This video dates back to 2010, but it's sweet and funny, new to me.
The American Public School System Falls Further Behind
Facebook Corner
(LFC commenting on a Libertarian Republic story over an electric car owner arrested over plugging his car into a school outlet without permission.) Theft is theft right? But technically he did pay for the school in his taxes. What's your opinion? -FN-
I don't buy the story he looked around to get permission. Theft is theft; it wasn't his electricity, and he knew it. What I don't like is they threw in a cage for 15 hours to make an example of him over change you could probably find in a teacher's lounge sofa. As others below have noted, it wasn't worth the time and materials of arresting him. I probably would have fined him $50 plus reimbursement.
(On the Libertarian Republic thread: hes just taking back what was stolen from him by tax funded school system...
No, property taxes pay for your eligible child's admission to a local public school, not for you to freeload at taxpayer expense. Here's another clue: you can't steal towels from a hotel, either. However, I would have simply fined him, not throw him into a cage for 15 hours.
(LFC commenting on another Libertarian Republic post over former Gov. Howard Dean, claiming healthcare is too important to be left to business and individuals.) We dodged a bullet when this guy lost. -FN-
"Not only are we going to bring government healthcare to New Hampshire, Tom Harkin, we're going to bring it to South Carolina and Oklahoma And Arizona.. And North Dakota And New Mexico! We're going to California and Texas and New York! And we're going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan! And then we're going to Washington D.C. and the White House! Yeah!!!"
(The Libertarian Republic). "If a regard to the public safety makes it right for a government to compel the citizens to do military duty when the country is invaded, the same reason authorizes the government to compel them to provide for the education of their children. A man has no more right to endanger the state by throwing upon it a family of ignorant and vicious children, than he has to give admission to the spies of an invading army." -Calvin Stowes, Progressive
How about ignorant and vicious "progressive" graduates? More seriously, you could make a similar claim for almost any human want or need--food, shelter, utilities, etc.; it's simply not feasible.The basic responsibility for raising a child and addressing his or her needs rests with parents, not the state. And the market, not the State, is the most efficient, effective provider of goods and services. The private sector, including churches and charities, can provide need-based support for lower-income households.
(Libertarian Republic). "A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -Milton Friedman
And the greatest mystery is why people continue to believe in Statism, after decades of failed programs and military adventurism.
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| Via LFC |
(Milton Friedman group). Cf. exhibit at start of the post.
The Pope can start with the enormous wealth held by the Vatican. (Many comments ridiculing alleged Vatican hypocrisy et al. are piled on.)
As a Catholic libertarian, am I surprised that this thread is acting out of a significant American tradition of anti-Catholic lies, prejudice and ignorance? No.
The pope attacked crony capitalism, crony capitalism is the problem. It doesn't surprise me but it seems those on the right are just as incapable of comprehension as those on the left and just believe the dribble they read by others
Not true. He specifically attacked the invisible hand and "trickle-down" capitalism. Next time, read the exhortation!
(Reason Magazine). Can you believe it? The president and both major parties spend huge amounts of money, rake in record levels of taxes, and younger Americans still can't stand them? These kids just might be all right.
I am not a partisan (I'm a libertarian-conservative), but " both major parties spend huge amounts of money, rake in record levels of taxes"? Only one party has significantly racked up deficits controlling both chambers of Congresses, introduced major entitlements, raised taxes and radically expanded regulation. The GOP has not held super-majorities in Congress and the Presidency in decades, and they have run elections on the defensive, with fear-mongering on senior entitlements. In fact, although they only held the House, the public largely held them responsible for the recent government shutdown when the Senate and White House stonewalled long-overdue fiscal reforms. We are talking about a failed leader whom as a Senator voted against raising the debt ceiling, promised to halve the deficit, ran against Gulf Region meddling, and opposed an insurance mandate. He also refused to back the majority-supported recommendations of his own deficit reduction commission, which had the support of every GOP senator on the commission. He has refused to enforce laws he doesn't like, and he writes up executive orders when the Congress refuses to rubber-stamp his agenda.
It's very easy to do a populist rant against Congress, but let us recall who got elected on the promise of a post-partisan Washington and who jammed partisan bills through a super-majority Congress. Millennials have finally figured out that politicians make promises they can't keep, that central planning of the economy and healthcare doesn't work--at their own expense, never mind inheriting a massive debt and many times that in Ponzi scheme unfunded entitlement liabilities? The Millennials need to figure out what's in their own best interests--paying attention to phony issues like "gay marriage" or being forced to cross-subsidize the healthcare of older/sick people, pay back trillions of debt run up by this "we can't afford to cut anything" President, and inherit the burden of tens of trillions in unfunded senior liabilities? How long will they be fooled by kaleidoscope accounting of the Jackass Party?
(Different thread.) This thread is ridiculous. First, Clinton, a Democrat, is largely responsible for DADT and DOMA--and neither measure involved prohibitions of homosexual activity or relationships, e.g., a privatized "gay marriage". I'm unaware of any GOP measure supporting child quotas or regulations directing employers to pay women less than market wages. The GOP mostly ran on a liberalized economy and a fiscally responsible government against a Statist party whose last competent leader was Grover Cleveland. As for the ludicrous argument that both parties are the "same", reality check: which party's Presidents got us into both world wars, Korea, and Vietnam? Which party is responsible for every failed government domestic policy since the New Deal? Which party in control has NOT balanced a federal budget in decades?
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| Via We the Individuals |
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of the original artist via Illinois Policy Institute. |
This is actually a serious video delivered in a tongue-in-cheek style. I found myself chuckling over her delivery. Also, some of these points (the roads and Somalia) are familiar in any libertarian forum; I would tweak some of content; for example, she makes an indirect reference to abortion; probably a third of libertarians oppose elective abortion by recognizing the preborn child's right to life. I don't think conservatives want to intervene on matters of morals; what I do think is more accurate is that many law-and-order and/or military conservatives are willing to subordinate individual rights to general security concerns
Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Holiday Series
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "Christmas Canon Rock"
