Ability is nothing without opportunity.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Morally Corrupt Cop
Instead of Adding Jobs, States Protect Crony Big Occupation Cartels
Notice one of the hypocritical "progressive" arguments was that ObamaCare unleashed people from being tied to their jobs by their health policies to, say, start their own companies. (We could in part address this issue by letting insurers to market across straight lines and for employers to fund existing employee health policies; that's another story except to point out this is a problem caused by government, not the private sector.) But a big issue is the states themselves restrain competition through occupational licensing cartels. As Rodriguez of Reason points out:
A 1990 study of occupational licensing for the Federal Trade Commission concluded that licensing contributed “little, if any, quality enhancement” and that “consumers are not necessarily better off” if licensing does enhance quality, as licensing is associated with higher prices. In further support of this latter claim, Table 3 of Adam Summers’ report lists 15 studies (thirteen American, two Canadian) that looked into the effect of licensing on prices. Thirteen definitively found price increases associated with licensing.As Worstall of Forbes notes:
We would expect the rise in non-mutually recognised State occupational licenses to reduce labour mobility across State lines. We have had such an increase in recent decades, from perhaps 5% of all jobs in the 1950s to 30% now. We have also, over that same time period, seen a reduction in labour mobility across State lines.How many occupations? Back to Reason on California:
Over two million Californians must apply for permission to work in over 200 occupations from one of 42 government bureaus and boards. In the process, job seekers may have to spend thousands of dollars and spend years in government-mandated classes. And that’s just to become a tree trimmer....The state of California, through the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), spends a quarter of a billion dollars annually to regulate and license over 200 occupations ranging from tree trimmers to animal trainers to doctors. Funding comes from the litany of fees and citations issued by the licensing boards, and significant portions of licensing board budgets are directed toward enforcement (e.g. audits, sting operations) of board policies. Licensing generally requires submitting fingerprints, paying various application fees, and documentation of fulfilling certain educational and/or work experience explicitly outlined by board policies. For some occupations, the educational and work requirements may take years and thousands of dollars; for others, individuals may just need to submit fingerprints and a fee.The Institute for Justice takes on economic liberty for a teeth whitener service which is being challenged by Big Dentists seeking to protect their exclusive profitable sideline business:
Kindness: One of the 7 Heavenly Virtues
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Facebook Corner
(IPI). Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan proudly announced a settlement that would allegedly ban the production of caffeinated alcoholic beverage called Four Loko. The announcement is extremely misleading, however; Four Loko, the signature drink of Phusion Projects, hasn’t contained caffeine or any other stimulant (including guarana or taurine) since 2010. So the agreement “bans” a product that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists. Conspicuously missing from the press release is the fact that Madigan and other attorneys general were able to shake down Phusion Projects for a $400,000 fee as part of the settlement.
What are they going to do next--ban the sale of coffee or tea at bars? What about the freedom of those whom have self-control, whom know when to say when? Prohibition Lite is "progressivism" as usual--and a tacit admission any regulations on alcoholic beverages limiting or restricting sales to young adults aren't working. (We already know how that story works out in general: the market finds a way to satisfy consumer demand, in the open, grey or black markets.)
One aspect not emphasized is the FDA's role in refusing to certify caffeine as "generally recognized as safe", apparently worried about "wide-awake drunks" whom underestimate their state of intoxication, and threatening a possible federal shakedown of producers. I think the FDA undermines its credibility when it blurs the line between science and politics.
Finally, I think IPI should have emphasized the point that affected Four Loko vendor Phusion Projects is Chicago-based. That AG Madigan proudly joined 19 other states in a crackdown on an Illinois-based economic success story in a sluggish economy reveals volumes about political leadership in Illinois: with friends like these, who needs enemies?
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| Via LFC |
Death by a thousand cuts or creeping normality. Stealth taxation burden. Progressivism as usual. They are in a state of denial for unfunded liabilities that aren't included in the very visible public debt total, and they want to vest the middle class in unsustainable programs, while ignoring on the unseen unintended consequences of morally hazardous policies, the opportunity costs of not taking the other path. They want taxpayers to notice only that part of the iceberg appearing above the surface and try to minimize that through populist gimmicks like reimbursable tax credits, higher exemptions.
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| Via the Independent Institute |
the Super Rich Greedy s.o.bees only paid 16 % in TOTAL Federal taxes in 2012 BUT TOOK 70 % OF THE MONEY. I paid 43.65 % when I was an independent sub constractor.
First, you're mixing apples and oranges (federal taxes vs. all taxes and you are comparing earned income vs. unearned income), completely ignoring the double taxation problem. Almost every serious economist considers taxation of investment income counterproductive; it's investment that drives business and job growth. Second, you're ignoring the scale of income and related taxes, even on a flatter scale: the rich are still paying far more than you are in taxes. It's just the bulk of their income is so-called unearned.
Envy is a vice, not a virtue. You need to focus on the evil of government spending, which makes everybody's taxes too high. There aren't enough rich people to plug budget holes even if you stole all their money with taxes. And then who the Statist vultures come for next?
Your children are educated with tax dollars. The military is paid with tax dollars. The police and firemen are paid with tax dollars. The roads you drive on are paid for with tax dollars. On and on. You are going to teach your children that taxes are bad?
Your kid can't find a job despite a government-sponsored education. His older brother died serving in the middle of a foreign sectarian war. The city condemns your property to make room for a new shopping mall. The roads are congested and full of potholes. On and on. You are going to teach your kids that their own earnings are better invested in the hands of corrupt, profligate politicians trying to buy their reelection rather than invested, spent or saved in the private sector which anticipates consumer preferences?
(Reason). Why scrap a failing program when you can expand it instead?
The hubris of central planning. As if micromanaging a spartan, unappealing meal will result in favorable word of mouth at home, the propagandists' dream! Remember when in North Carolina, a preschooler's packed lunch of a turkey and cheese sandwich (whole wheat bread), banana, chips and apple juice was replaced with a 3-chicken nugget lunch for which her parents were charged? It's bad enough that the feds are looking to centralize education with politically motivated behavioral objectives; they also want to micromanage parenting. It's time for parents to stand up to judgmental busybody Statist bullying and arrogance. (See Political Humor below.)
(Libertarian Republic.) Texas teacher suspended for being transgender http://bit.ly/1jATbym
It's one thing if Klug was not performing her job, but she was being judged over her personal lifestyle, not promoting it in the classroom. For a public sector employer to discriminate is unconscionable and unconstitutional.
(Lew Rockwell). " 'Got Freedom? Thank a Vet.' That’s what the t-shirt read that I saw someone wearing last night. I thank God for any freedom I have. No veteran of Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan has anything to do with any freedom I have," says Laurence Vance.
More like "Got Any Diminishing, Enumerated Liberties Left? Thank SCOTUS." I have not feared invasion by Canada or Mexico in my lifetime; but meddling in regional disputes far from our shore does nothing but create motivated enemies and cost American lives and treasure.
(Reason). GOProud founder Jimmy LaSalvia gives 3 reasons why the GOP is in trouble. Surely, you can think of even more.
They fail to provides a cohesive, consistent, comprehensive critique against government intervention, both in economic and international policy, they run predictable campaigns, and they have been all too willing to waive individual liberties, e.g., the Patriot Act, immigration, the TSA. They lack the political courage to take on unsustainable unfunded liabilities. At best, they slow the rate of government spending.
Political Humor
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Henry Payne and Townhall |
Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series
Jewel, "Hands"
