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FOXNews.com - With Money on the Line, Local Governments Urge Illegal Immigrants to Fill Out Census: "Jurisdictions across the country are reaching out to illegal immigrant communities, some of which are reluctant to participate, in an effort to convince them that filling out the census form is safe and that the information they provide won't be used against them. Counting every last resident is vital for these districts, because the census numbers will be used to determine funding as well as legislative districts. The more people an area has, the more money it is eligible for, and the more representation it can get in Congress -- which usually means even more money."
"In Phoenix, officials estimate every resident counted is worth about $400 in government funding."
"Sharon Bulova, chairwoman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors ... said every counted resident is worth about $1,000 to the county."
Thursday, March 04, 2010
The Race Against Government - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Institute
The Race Against Government - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Institute: "isn't there a way we could tap into people's philanthropic side without doing something intrinsically useless, like having a bunch of fourth graders walk around the school parking lot eight times, or asking people to spend money on candy or magazines they don't really want?"
"Suppose there were an organization that eventually gained a reputable name in the community, such that all the schools and many types of charities relied on it to coordinate their fundraising. Rather than kids selling boxes of almond candy bars or asking for pledges based on laps around the school, instead what the students would do is ask people to buy volunteer hours from them.
For example, a fourth grader would show up at your door explaining that he's raising money for his school's winter trip to the ski lodge, and that he's selling volunteer hours at $20 each. You say, 'A ski trip, heh? Sounds fun. OK I'm game, put me down for $5.'
Then, after the kid had raised a bunch of money, he'd turn it into his school, which would relay the information to the organization. Let's say the kid had collected $80 from the people in his neighborhood. Then on some Saturday he'd go down to the organization, where they would assign him to teams with other kids. Depending on their ages and abilities (and the number of adult chaperones available), they might ladle out soup in a homeless shelter, pick up litter in the local playground, help an elderly widow clean her yard up, or go to an orphanage and play with younger kids."
"I bet it's perfectly fine to pay $20 to have a fourth grader walk aimlessly around his school, whereas it's a violation of child labor laws to pay the same kid $20 to vacuum old lady Jenkins's living room."
"Suppose there were an organization that eventually gained a reputable name in the community, such that all the schools and many types of charities relied on it to coordinate their fundraising. Rather than kids selling boxes of almond candy bars or asking for pledges based on laps around the school, instead what the students would do is ask people to buy volunteer hours from them.
For example, a fourth grader would show up at your door explaining that he's raising money for his school's winter trip to the ski lodge, and that he's selling volunteer hours at $20 each. You say, 'A ski trip, heh? Sounds fun. OK I'm game, put me down for $5.'
Then, after the kid had raised a bunch of money, he'd turn it into his school, which would relay the information to the organization. Let's say the kid had collected $80 from the people in his neighborhood. Then on some Saturday he'd go down to the organization, where they would assign him to teams with other kids. Depending on their ages and abilities (and the number of adult chaperones available), they might ladle out soup in a homeless shelter, pick up litter in the local playground, help an elderly widow clean her yard up, or go to an orphanage and play with younger kids."
"I bet it's perfectly fine to pay $20 to have a fourth grader walk aimlessly around his school, whereas it's a violation of child labor laws to pay the same kid $20 to vacuum old lady Jenkins's living room."
Wage Earners and Employers - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Institute
Wage Earners and Employers - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Institute: "In the market economy, the only way left to the more gifted individuals to take advantage of their superior abilities is to serve the masses of their fellowmen.
Profits go to those who succeed in filling the most urgent of the not-yet-satisfied wants of the consumers in the best-possible and cheapest way. The profits saved, accumulated, and plowed back into the plant benefit the common man twice: first, in his capacity as a wage earner, by raising the marginal productivity of labor and thereby real wage rates for all those eager to find jobs; then later again, in his capacity as a consumer when the products manufactured with the aid of the additional capital flow into the market and become available at the lowest possible prices."
Profits go to those who succeed in filling the most urgent of the not-yet-satisfied wants of the consumers in the best-possible and cheapest way. The profits saved, accumulated, and plowed back into the plant benefit the common man twice: first, in his capacity as a wage earner, by raising the marginal productivity of labor and thereby real wage rates for all those eager to find jobs; then later again, in his capacity as a consumer when the products manufactured with the aid of the additional capital flow into the market and become available at the lowest possible prices."
Challenging the Rule of Law | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
Challenging the Rule of Law | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Do you think the General Electric Co., which owns NBC, should have freedom of speech, but not FedEx, which does not own a media company?"
"Other corporations will now have the same rights that media corporations enjoy. One overlooked aspect of the ruling is that in the Internet age, almost any company can create a low-cost electronic newspaper, making it easy to get around the restriction if the Supreme Court had left the old rule intact."
"An IRS official said, 'We expect the Swiss government to continue to honor the terms of the agreement' — despite the agreement having been deemed unlawful."
"IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, in a Jan. 26 speech, said some 'taxpayers would be required to annually disclose uncertain tax positions in the form of a concise description of those positions and the maximum amount of U.S. income tax exposure if the taxpayer's position is not sustained.' The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution clearly states: 'No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.' Perhaps Mr. Shulman and his colleagues have never read the Constitution.
The 16th Amendment to the Constitution states: 'The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,' yet the IRS routinely assesses taxpayers for taxes on 'imaginary' income, such as the portion of capital gains that are solely a result of inflation. For instance, if you paid $1,000 for 100 shares of stock in a company in 1983, and sold the stock for $2,000 in 2006, the IRS would claim you had 'income' of $1,000 and tax you on that. In fact, the consumer price index more than doubled in that period and you would not have been able to buy as much with the $2,000 in 2006 as you could have bought with the $1,000 in 1983. By any economic or dictionary definition of 'income,' you had none — yet the IRS lays what is, in effect, an unlegislated wealth tax on the inflation, which was caused by the government (i.e., the Federal Reserve)."
"Other corporations will now have the same rights that media corporations enjoy. One overlooked aspect of the ruling is that in the Internet age, almost any company can create a low-cost electronic newspaper, making it easy to get around the restriction if the Supreme Court had left the old rule intact."
"An IRS official said, 'We expect the Swiss government to continue to honor the terms of the agreement' — despite the agreement having been deemed unlawful."
"IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, in a Jan. 26 speech, said some 'taxpayers would be required to annually disclose uncertain tax positions in the form of a concise description of those positions and the maximum amount of U.S. income tax exposure if the taxpayer's position is not sustained.' The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution clearly states: 'No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.' Perhaps Mr. Shulman and his colleagues have never read the Constitution.
The 16th Amendment to the Constitution states: 'The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,' yet the IRS routinely assesses taxpayers for taxes on 'imaginary' income, such as the portion of capital gains that are solely a result of inflation. For instance, if you paid $1,000 for 100 shares of stock in a company in 1983, and sold the stock for $2,000 in 2006, the IRS would claim you had 'income' of $1,000 and tax you on that. In fact, the consumer price index more than doubled in that period and you would not have been able to buy as much with the $2,000 in 2006 as you could have bought with the $1,000 in 1983. By any economic or dictionary definition of 'income,' you had none — yet the IRS lays what is, in effect, an unlegislated wealth tax on the inflation, which was caused by the government (i.e., the Federal Reserve)."
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