Taxpayers Have Rights, Too | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary

Taxpayers Have Rights, Too | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary: "What's crucial to examine, though, is the much-neglected opposite side of all this rights talk: the right of individuals not to deal with unions and collective bargaining.

For one thing, there's the forcing of people as a condition of public employment to pay union dues. The law will end this egregious violation of individual freedom — the right to associate or not associate with others — but not having to plow money into their coffers is one right the unions absolutely will not tolerate.

Then there is the broader right: that of any taxpayer not to employ workers under terms he finds unacceptable. In other words, just as potential employees have the right to propose conditions for their employment, those who hire them have the right to make their own proposals and reject those they find unsatisfactory."

Get Rid of the Spoils System | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary

Get Rid of the Spoils System | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Amid the endless complaining over corporate control of politics, we've been distracted from the real behind-the-scenes power in this country: unions. The data are irrefutable. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, since 1989, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have spent as much on federal campaigns as Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, the NRA and Lockheed Martin combined.

While both parties excel at pandering to their constituencies, unions clearly have a single-party focus. The most partisan campaign contributors in this country are unions, which, according to opensecrets.org, are five of the top 10 contributors in the country and nine of the top 15. Not a single one of those nine gives less than 89 percent of its contributions to Democrats. Coming in at No. 3 on the list of largest contributors is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the biggest public-sector behemoth of them all, which could cough up only 1 percent of its $43.5 million in contributions to Republicans."

How the War on Obesity Went Pear-Shaped | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary

How the War on Obesity Went Pear-Shaped | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary: "the study found that, 'Whether assessed singly or in combination, body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio do not improve prediction of first-onset cardiovascular disease when additional information exists on blood pressure, history of diabetes, and cholesterol measures.'

As Danesh suggests, other researchers have suggested concentrating on a measurement of the waist alone, while many cling to BMI, which calculates obesity based upon a weight-to-height ratio. Because of its easy applicability, BMI is universally used in officially defining obesity, despite its manifest shortcomings. The BMI is wholly arbitrary and has no scientifically valid connection with mortality."

"Many studies for different disease outcomes have demonstrated that the effect of both diet and physical activity are independent of the effect of BMI or various measures of body size or fat."

"Katherine Flegal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in the US population there were more premature deaths among those who are normal weight than those who are overweight. Indeed, in this study, Americans who were overweight were those most likely to live the longest."

Averting the Washington Monument Ploy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Averting the Washington Monument Ploy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Congress could require every government agency to rank its programs from the most to the least cost-effective, and present a detailed plan as to how each agency would deal with a required 10, 20 or even 40 percent budget reduction, just as businesses often have to do."

"To bring the federal budget into balance this year would require spending cuts of approximately 40 percent. No one has proposed cuts of that magnitude at the moment — Republicans are proposing cuts of about 1.8 percent of this year's budget and Democrats are only proposing cuts of 0.28 percent. If Congress and the administration fail to agree on a budget or debt-limit increase, government tax revenues would only cover about 40 percent of spending, so a ranking of spending priorities would be necessary."

"I often speak before groups of government executives, and when I ask them, 'If you were forced to substantially reduce your budgets without impairing the effectiveness of your operation and mission, could you do so — if you were freed from unnecessary paperwork and other absurd requirements?' The answer is almost always 'yes,' including those in the military."

"Rather than taking all of the heat, the members of Congress should do what boards of directors in companies and other organizations do and that is to require management to come up with specific — and very substantial — budget cuts that would not impair the core functions of the organization. Specifically, they should require each government department to state specifically how it would reduce its budget (by some specified amount) in the most cost-effective way, and be prepared to defend it before the appropriate congressional committees. In addition, the government departments should be required to rank the importance of their activities on the Internet and state how they would reduce the budget (if required to)so members of the media and the public could comment on their rankings."

What Can We Do about Gasoline Prices? - Mark Brandly - Mises Daily

What Can We Do about Gasoline Prices? - Mark Brandly - Mises Daily: "Our political leaders criticize other countries, particularly the OPEC countries, for restricting their oil production in order to drive up oil prices. But many US government policies restrict US oil production. Beyond the hypocrisy in this issue, it's important to point out that US policies seem to be geared to helping OPEC maintain high oil prices."