Debt

John Hayward at Human Events has an analysis on the current debate over the federal debt and the debt limit. Put simply, Hayward believes that the huge debt burden carried by our bloated government is an intentional and vital element of maintaining that bloated mass:

High corporate and individual tax rates lead to high unemployment rates.  If you suggest reducing those tax rates to spur private-sector growth and lower unemployment, you will be accused of making the debt situation worse.  That wouldn’t be very intimidating if the national debt was low.  Why not lower those taxes and see if the resulting growth generated more net revenue at the lower rates?

For Your Own Good

Jacob Sullum at Reason comments on the government’s new imperative to demand that you purchase a more efficient and cost effective product that costs you 10 times more than the more popular model.

Jenkins says those efficiency standards are clearly justified because the industry supports them and because they benefit consumers, who will save enough money on electricity to more than make up for higher bulb prices. Consumers, of course, have always been free to take advantage of this bargain, and the vast majority have not: According to the Energy Department (PDF), more than 80 percent of residential light sockets were still occupied by standard incandescent bulbs last year. Because consumers are too stupid to perceive the clear advantages of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), LED bulbs, halogen bulbs, or the new, extra-efficient incandescents, they must be forced to buy them. Is it surprising that manufacturers support a law that allows them to foist newer, more expensive products on customers who otherwise would pass them up?

More on Net Neutrality

Julian Sanchez at the Cato Institute takes on civil liberty groups’ arguments for net neutrality by pointing out that the alleged “violations” regarding neutral access to the internet seem to be misrepresented by these groups:

I harp on this because I think it indicates how muddled a lot of the debate over “neutrality” has gotten. People have a whole welter of heterogeneous concerns about the future of the Internet that increasingly seem to be lumped under the rubric of “non-neutrality” or “network discrimination,” which both obscures the plurality of potential problems and begs the question of whether, assuming a policy remedy is necessary, “neutrality” regulation is actually the ideal silver bullet response to all these diverse concerns.

Hubris

I haven’t been on top of the blog for a bit, and hence have not gotten around to commenting about the 2010 elections yet. So, here goes.

The election results have been out for a while, so I’ll give them little attention. The Republicans won fairly big, and by a decent margin. The GOP now controls the House and has a good standing of the Senate. The big win was over 600 state legislature seats around the country, meaning that conservatives have had major successes in local campaigns and offices. Since this is where most of the governance should be coming from, this is a good thing.

But what I am interested in is not the office numbers or even conservative/ Tea Party reactions to the elections, but the reactions from the left. I am interested in them because they confirm the hubristic attitude that has been the primary complaint of the Tea Party, and show that the aristocratic elites on the left have opted to continue their pathologically narcissistic politics and ignore just why the people have rejected them.

How Government Kills Small Business

A fun little video, complements of IUSB Vision, that illustrates why government regulation harms small businesses:

 

Where Are the Jobs?

Reason TV Presents this brief video that asks a simple question: If Obama’s economic policies are so great, and he’s fixed the recession, then where are all the jobs at? An interesting comparison between the policies of today and those that ended prolonged the Great Depression.

Today many Americans credit FDR with rescuing our nation from the Great Depression, but there’s plenty wrong with that view, says Lee Ohanian, a UCLA economics professor who specializes in economic crisis. “What’s wrong with that view is that private-sector job growth did not come back under Roosevelt,” says Ohanian, who notes that Americans often forget how long the Great Depression lasted. Unemployment stood at 17 percent in 1939, a decade after the infamous stock market crash, and, although times were much worse back then, Ohanian sees troubling parallels between the Great Depression and the Great Recession. In both instances our nation emerged from a severe downturn with strong productivity growth and the banking system largely restored. We were poised for a recovery, but didn’t get one. “So the key puzzle for both today and the 1930s is why aren’t private-sector jobs being created at a much more rapid rate?”

Net Neutrality ancd Property Rights

Despite claims by Net Neutrality supporters that they are simply looking to protect freedom of speech and access to public information, it is becoming more and more apparent that what they truly want is for the government to regulate what services companies are allowed  to provide and to whom.

Colorado Springs Rosary Ban

A Middle School in Colorado Springs has banned the wearing of rosaries as necklaces, because either gang members may wear the rosaries as identifiers, or because wearing a rosary as a necklace might conceivable offend some Catholics.

These reasons don’t seem to hold much water, as banning “gang symbols” is arbitrary at best, and there is no Catholic doctrine prohibiting the wearing of rosaries or even deeming such an act particularly offensive.

Aristocratic Dietary Restrictions

Nicole Russell at the American Spectator makes a great point about the Obamas’  constant admonitions that Americans need the Federal Government to help them eat better, while nonchalantly breaking their own rules.

When President Obama indulges in fast food while traveling he exhorts interested onlookers: “Don’t tell Michelle.” The fit First Lady is, of course, an advocate of healthy foods and outspoken about childhood obesity. She had her own “Don’t tell Barack” moment recently, when she stopped at a diner in Milwaukee and had classic greasy fare: a burger and fries. Mrs. Obama’s meal really wouldn’t be anyone else’s business were it not for her own aspiration to rewrite the nation’s menus.

Powerthirst Mayhem!

Jacob Sullum at Reason Magazine takes a look at recent coverage overhyping some kind of “threat” posed by alcoholic beverages spiked with caffiene:

Until last week, the main hazard of caffeinated alcoholic beverages such as Joose, Torque, and Four Loko was supposed to be that they keep you alert even when you’re drunk, so that you underestimate your inebriation and are more inclined to engage in risky behavior. But now, thanks to the faux-sober reporting of ABC News, we know you also might drop dead from a heart attack the first time you try one of these drinks, even if you’re a strapping 19-year-old …