Learning from What Works | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Learning from What Works | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Economists, political scientists, reporters and pundits spend too much of their time looking at dysfunctional societies and trying to explain why there are poverty, joblessness and hopelessness. In many ways, Haiti is easy to explain - no rule of law and 200 years of corrupt and incompetent governments. Switzerland is the polar opposite. It has almost no corruption and has the rule of law with honest, competent judges and government administrators. The question should be, 'What can we learn from the Switzerlands of the world about how to do things right' rather than, 'What is wrong with the Haitis of the world?' Switzerland manages to run a smaller government as a share of gross domestic product than the United States and most other countries while providing a higher level of service, security, prosperity and freedom. How does it do that?"

"Health care insurance is subsidized, and everyone has access regardless of income, but there is no 'public option.'"

"In the U.S., roughly two-thirds of government is at the federal level, and one third is at the state and local level. Switzerland is just the opposite, with roughly two-thirds of government being at the state (canton) and local level."

Get Rid of Vague Laws | Timothy Sandefur | Cato Institute: Commentary

Get Rid of Vague Laws | Timothy Sandefur | Cato Institute: Commentary: "There's probably nothing more dangerous to individual rights than vaguely written laws. They give prosecutors and judges undue power to decide whether or not to punish conduct that people did not know was illegal at the time. Vagueness turns the law into a sword dangling over citizens' heads — and because government officials can choose when and how to enforce their own interpretations of the law, vagueness gives them power to make their decisions from unfair or discriminatory motives."

"Last year Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out that if taken literally the honest services law would make it a crime to call in sick to work and go to a ball game instead. Other federal courts have tried to improvise: In 2003 a team of seven judges wrote a long decision patching together a complicated test for determining whether a person is in violation. But six judges on that same court dissented. How can average Americans be expected to understand the law if even federal appellate judges are divided on its meaning?"

FOXNews.com - GOP: End Public Lifeline for Large Financial Institutions

FOXNews.com - GOP: End Public Lifeline for Large Financial Institutions: "End the public lifeline for large financial institutions, Republicans are demanding as they push back against Democratic efforts to set new rules for the financial industry."

Maybe the Republicans shouldn't have started the bailouts if they didn't what the Democrats to continue them.