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(National Taxpayers Union). Sen. Barry Goldwater knew trade makes America stronger!
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I think most of us true pro-liberty conservatives would see managed trade acts as neomercantilistic and would argue real free trade simply means getting governments the hell out of the way. But anything that results in the lowering of tariffs across the board and expands the global market for American goods and services, including TPP, is a step in the right direction.
Barry Goldwater did say 'I believe in free trade', and then he voted against the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, so why quote him?
He would probably argue the 1962 act was not free trade.
Translation: the Koch brothers want to destroy your job. Don't fall for this crap; it's NAFTA on steroids
First of all, you economically illiterate troll, NAFTA was win-win. Let us hope you "progressive" bastards don't sabotage one of American's greatest opportunities to market American goods in the other 90+% of the world's population.
In 1963 manufacturing jobs were plentiful for legal American Citizens in the USA. You could raise a family with one person working just one of those jobs. All our new trade law changesand deals have ruined this way of life for Legal American Citizens over the years. Just NAFTA and GATT have gutted MADE IN USA and closed over 50,000 factories and caused the loss of over 5,000,000 working class jobs for legal Americans in the USA. The total loss is several times that as GATT and NAFTA were in the 1980's. The working class has been under attack and loosing for over 50 years.
Wrong, anti-trade troll, on all counts. Stop spreading protectionist bullshit.
(Rand Paul 2016). Important decisions made by the House today.
Rand Paul flip-flopped on TPP. He was originally on the right side of liberalized trade until he decided it was more popular to oppose it. He has got to stop this unprincipled crap (he's also violated principle on ISIS and immigration). This is giving the few of us real pro-liberty conservatives who have been pushing for Rand heartburn. No, Rand, you're wrong to be pandering to the economically illiterate anti-trade protectionists, the neo-cons, and the anti-immigrants.
(FEE). The Trans-Pacific Partnership has failed to pass, but it's nothing to feel bad about.
The point that one does not need to manage free, simply get out of the way, is clear. Of course, I don't like Obama's version of neomercantilism. But the fact is that the trade pact improves consumer access across the pact to the variety and scale of goods, which is a step forward. To allow economically illiterate protectionist demagogues to sabotage a modest step forward is irresponsible.
(Cato Institute). House Democrats dealt a big blow to Obama's trade agenda today, but it's not over yet....
Mind blowing. The GOP is siding with Obama on this while the Dems are not... Who said when hell freezes over ????
Liberalized trade is win-win; whereas Obama's version of trade is still managed/neomercantilisic trade, it is an improvement for consumers across the board. Just because the Dems are economically illiterate demagogues doesn't imply House Republicans should abandon principle.
(Cato Institute). "Civil asset forfeiture is not merely susceptible to abuse; civil asset forfeiture is abuse. Under no circumstances should someone be forced to forfeit their money, property, or even their home to the government on suspicion alone."
Whereas Hogan is a vast improvement over the Martin O'Malley experience, it's a shame he's not following in the footsteps of Gov. Martinez for due process when it comes to property rights.
(IPI). Since 2003, Claudia has supported her three children by owning and operating a food cart in Little Village.
But unlike almost every other major city in the country, more than 1,500 mobile vendors in Chicago are incredibly limited in what they can sell; in fact, they can only offer whole, uncut fruit or frozen desserts.
These rules have forced low-income Chicagoans, primarily immigrants like Claudia on the city’s south and west sides, into a shadow market, where they work to meet high customer demand and make a living in constant fear of police harassment and hefty fines.
Street vending could be a boon for Chicago, creating much-needed jobs and providing access to great food.
Sign the petition to legalize street vending: http://illin.is/1FMRSFz
not a fan of leeching off brick and mortar business..sorry..make the field level for all..how would you like to own a brick and mortar and have some truck pull up in front of your door sell the same thing you do at much cheaper prices becuase he can skirt the additional costs of rent water electricity etc etc?..
Boy, some really economically-illiterate crony food fascists in this thread. It's really ridiculous for all these whining corrupt bastards; "real" restaurants welcome the competition. There are some natural advantages for a brick and mortar, e.g., outside food sales are highly vulnerable to weather conditions and available parking locations, brick and mortars generally are able to offer tables and seating, host special events and take reservations, offer longer hours and restrooms, accommodate expanded offerings and more scalable food storage, etc. Not to mention brick-and-mortars don't risk operations over mechanical issues, overnight parking restrictions and don't face differing rules and regulations based on where they do business
"“Hands down, brick-and-mortar is easier,” says David Schillace, the owner of Mexicue, which includes one truck, and now, two restaurants. “Running three or four trucks, then working sixteen hours a day, is a nightmare. And it’s still not going to make you rich.” "
The idea that food trucks are exempt from health regulations is a deliberate lie; I've cited studies show that food trucks usually test at or above the scores for brick and mortars. The idea that food trucks offer the same menu items at lower prices is simply a departure from reality: "An ice cream sandwich at Coolhaus, which has 11 trucks nationwide, starts at $6, compared with about $2 for a 12-pack at Wegmans grocery store...Alex Tsamouras owns Feelin' Crabby, a Washington, D.C., food truck that serves crab and lobster-centric sandwiches, salads and sliders ranging from $11 to $18. "
(Cato Institute). "The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has another failure on its hands. In recent tests, undercover investigators smuggled mock explosives and banned weapons through U.S. airport checkpoints 96 percent of the time."
You are more likely to die from hot weather, a fall in the home, in a car accident than from a terror attack. And yet we don't see a super-bureaucracy against slippery tubs. Before we decided in the fear-driven hysteria after 9/11 to create the world's first morally-hazardous super-bureaucracy, DHS, and its bastard child TSA, airlines had more of a vested interest to ensure security of their expensive planes and passengers. It's time to return to the principle of Subsidiarity and privatize the dysfunctional, ineffectual TSA.
You guys have never been to Northeastern Pennsylvania. Private corruption is only different from public corruption in that it's harder to see. And we see how well accountability works with the banking crisis. The airline would cry "we'll be out of business and nobody will be able to fly" and Uncle Sugar will be there with a bailout.
I see economically illiterate "progressive" trolls can't resist parroting their anti-corporate bullshit.. First, get a clue, bank-bashers. The fact of the matter is that banks have always been the most regulated industry; just compare the relative stability of Canadian banks. For much of US history, branch banking was illegal. We have regulation on the state and federal level--one thing is absolutely clear. Government is the problem, not part of the solution.
Second, the fact of the matter is that no company would have been willing to write mortgages to high-risk borrorowers with little money down (something the FHA continues to do today) during a housing bubble--if they couldn't resell the note, say, to the subsidized GSE's. It's bad enough that the government insures deposits, a morally-hazardous policy that basically enables to depositer to choose a bank for convenience than fiscally prudent policies.
(Reason). If you were in any doubt that a dark cloud of illiberalism has descended over the Western academy, then the case of Tim Hunt should put you straight.
So Tim Hunt will never make a living at stand-up comedy. Given the politically correct environment, this level of absurd overreaction speaks for itself. Genuinely confident women would shrug off an unfunny joke of dated stereotypes made by someone's crazy old uncle. In fact, a lot of couples have met at work, and in my experience, women are more likely to cry at what a man says than vice-versa (during my years in academia, 3 coeds started crying in office meetings, which in the context of the situations I inferred as manipulative behavior; the male students never did that). Would I tell that joke? No; it's just not funny. Let it go, people; you are giving Tim Hunt's words far too much power and disparate, counterproductive publicity.
(FEE). This is big news. Not merely because it is the most ambitious school choice measure yet passed, but also because it represents a very real opportunity to demonstrate the power of competitive forces to unleash entrepreneurship and innovation in the service of children.
http://at.fee.org/1HBApV4
Tax dollars should not support religious indoctrination. It's one of America's founding principles, for God's sake. No tax dollars to Catholic schools.
I figured anti-Catholicism which led to anti-competitive Blaine Amendments (which were also closet anti-immigrant policies against, e.g., my French Canadian ancestors) would rear its ugly head in this thread. First of all, speaking as someone who attended both Catholic and public school during my elementary school years, I can attest to the higher quality of Catholic education, and the idea that they spend a large proportion of time teaching religion is an urban myth; I had some Protestant teachers, and in many urban schools a large plurality of students, if not majority are non-Catholics; the idea that non-Catholics would attend or work at Catholic schools by waiving their religious preference is ludicrous. Here are the facts:
"Catholic schools welcome all families regardless of economic status. The average cost to educate a student in a Catholic school is between $6,000-$8,000. The cost to educate a student in the public school is between $10,000-$14,000. Private school tuition ranges between $15,000-$25,000. Catholic education has a success rate of 89%-100% for graduation and college acceptance and does so at a fraction of the cost of both private and public schools. Many Catholic schools offer tuition assistance through 3rd party foundations or through Diocesan grants. All [local] Dioceses require that teachers have a [state] teaching credential or be enrolled in a credential program at time of hire. A large percentage of all teachers in the Catholic school network possess MA degrees."
(FEE). Many people think that labor unions help reduce unemployment, but in reality, they are responsible for causing more of it.
Union President for 15 yrs..27 years at the work place, board consisted of members on site from each classification. If you've never been behind that door negotiating, you really don't no how evil your company really is..any questions? First hand experience here...
I just knew a union propagandist would find his/her way onto this thread. I don't have a problem with free association, but I strongly disagree with corrupt anti-competitive public policy which tries to regulate/restrict voluntary contracts between employer and workers and/or refuses to acknowledge the rights of workers not to associate.
(IPI). Yesterday, Governor Bruce Rauner announced that funding for Illinois’ Tobacco Quitline will be suspended, effective July 1
Around 18% of Illinois adults smoke, and helping people quit is an admirable and important goal.
In fact, it’s a goal the American Cancer Society is already helping to achieve – without Illinois taxpayers footing the bill.
Society saves money when people quit. Republicans just have no long-term thinking. It is all about what you can put in your pocket today.
The economic illiteracy of busybody authoritarian "progressives" in this thread is staggering.. Saying something like 'let's ban tobacco because some people abuse it' is clueless. Because some people abuse food, we should ban farming? Really? If people abuse tobacco over the objections of their physician, family, and friends, written warnings on packaging, the high cost and excise taxes, restrictions on where you can light up, etc., spendaholic Big Nanny political whores or parasitic bureaucrats are going to make a difference?
My Dad, who picked up the habit in the military, smoked during my early childhood years, quit cold turkey; he did it for his wife and growing family. My maternal grandfather would smoke one cigar every Sunday afternoon--and never went beyond that. I've never smoked anything--but it had nothing to do with ubiquitous anti-smoking propaganda.
The real issue is whether the State of Illinois benefits at least as much from spending that money: if someone quits, is it really because of Illinois-funded programs? Clearly not. Gov. Rauner should be applauded for not squandering taxpayer money on ineffectual programs; it's a small but necessary first step in restoring fiscal sanity to the Illinois state government.
(Jeffrey Tucker). I'm curious about the school choice issue. I've always been against all reform proposals I've seen, e.g. vouchers that push public money into private schools, choice programs that effectively redistribute wealth between districts, and so on. But I'm haunted by the incredible success of Charter Schools, which have done so much to actually injure the public school monopoly, not to mention help multitudes of real kids and parents. Here's the thing: even if a reform measure is a mixed blessing, the disruption itself can have fantastic consequences. And the system desperately needs disruption. Those who would condemn things like this Nevada move need to show what plan they have that is actually viable, something other than yelling "privatize all things" over and over. We need to get from here to there, and it is very significant than such programs like this have been resisted by the establishment for many decades. The path to freedom is not merely a matter of pushing a button. Sometimes it can take a circuitous route.
I find it curious a libertarian would rant against those 'yelling "privatize all things" over and over'. I'm one of the few who do so, and I think it takes political courage because political whores often kiss public school monopoly teachers on the ass; public schools are a sacred cow, a third rail of American politics. The fact of the matter is that taxpayers find themselves plundered to subsidize the often-failing, anti-competitive local school monopoly--money they can and should use to fund their own choice of schooling for their kids. Criticizing the limited alternatives for true educational choice is not very constructive. Catholic schools, often a drain on parish/diocesan budgets, typically offer higher student performance and graduation rates at a fraction of the cost of a student attending local public schools; parents who do send their children to Catholic schools effectively pay twice for their kids' education. I'm sure I don't need to remind Tucker about the moral hazards implicit in "free" public anything. I seem to have more faith in spontaneous order if, say, we suddenly privatized local education. For example, I'm sure the few decent public school teachers could find work at private alternatives. I am less reluctant than Jeffrey when it comes to pulling the plug on Statist propaganda camps.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Chip Bok via Townhall |
Dionne Warwick, "Anyone Who Had a Heart". I hadn't heard this gem in years; Dionne's vocals are brilliant, of course, but I just love the musical arrangement--the percussion, backing sax, etc.
