Quote of the Day
Intellectuals solve problems,geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
Judicial Tyranny Continues
Judge-In-Name-Only Terence Kern decided to overturn Oklahoma's traditional marriage law (validated by three quarters of voters) on activist jurist grounds. Of the 18 states that have adopted gay "marriage" laws, more than half were done by activist judges, not the will of the people. I do differ from some libertarians in that I distinguish between prohibition of relationships and judicial meddling with traditional institutions. I do think there is a role for majority-based preferences, so long as they do not unduly infringe on individual rights. Mr. Kern, who was nominated by President Zipper, joins Shelby in this year's crop of bad jurists for my new annual award.
Economically Illiterate Rent Control Policies
Facebook Corner
(Cato Institute). "There’s no doubt that raising the minimum wage would reduce employment and slow economic growth. Worse, government wage-setting is immoral."
I find myself on the "Why are we subsidizing McDonald's and Walmart?" side of the question.
The way I interpret the slap at Walmart and McDonald's is, like regulations in general, Big Businesses benefit from imposing cost increases on smaller businesses which don't have the scale to compete.
But beyond the sheer immorality of prohibition of employment at a market-clearing rate and the utter insanity of Statist politicians setting arbitrary wage floors (see Mises for a compelling argument on the folly of central planning without a market), employer mandates are a disingenuous form of government taxation on business that doesn't appear on the government's books. And it's futile because the floor doesn't apply to 98% of job holders; it discriminates against lower-skilled, inexperienced or younger workers by shrinking the number of work opportunities.
(LFC). Thoughts on net neutrality?
Utter insanity. The Internet didn't need incompetent government regulators to become the vibrant, rich provider of content that exists. If there is a problem of Big Providers, the answer is to deregulate the industry and eliminate barriers to entry, not to insert a meddlesome regulator making obsolete decisions in a world of rapidly changing, ever more powerful technology and capacity.
(Independent Institute) Communications Counsel K. Lloyd Billingsley: "As Albert Einstein put it, doing the same thing over again and expecting different results is insanity. The new war on poverty will fail, just like the one LBJ launched fifty years ago."
What war has been won by Statists? Prohibition, poverty, drugs...
(The Libertarian Republic). "I believe that we have to have border control. I believe there is absolutely no reason we can't have a fence, because we've got to keep those people from Massachusetts out of New Hampshire." - Senator Rand Paul
LMAO. Well, maybe not Scott Brown... But now about those big-spending politicians invading the District of Columbia....
(Cato Institute). "Even if Big Box entry hurts independents, laws that limit Big Boxes do not necessarily help independents."
Eliminating WalMart would help American businesses.
Eliminating WalMart would help the special interests but leave the consumer worse off.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of the original artist via Illinois Policy Institute |
Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series
Madonna, "Like a Prayer". My favorite Material Girl tune by a long shot. I purposefully did not choose to embed her video, which I find offensive, but I love the song itself, the arrangement, the exquisite harmonies, the backing choir. I've often thought of doing the song as as lead of a barbershop quartet (in monk's robes). The world has been spared of my inner producer...
