Balancing the Federal Budget: What Would Jesus Cut? | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Balancing the Federal Budget: What Would Jesus Cut? | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Those on the religious left tend to miss the distinction between moral and political imperatives. Many of them are admirable individuals who live their principles, but that doesn't mean they are entitled to force others to live by those same principles. Which is typically what government is about.

For instance, there's no doubt that Christians (and Jews, who set practices upon which the early Christians relied) must be concerned about the poor. But no one should mistake taxation as compassion. In this regard the religious left shares much with President George W. Bush, who believed that giving away other people's money made him a 'compassionate conservative.'"

"Unfortunately, many government programs don't work. Food Stamps, foreign aid and Head Start are not exempt from problems. Any system based on spending someone else's money suffers from limited accountability. Indeed, government agencies often profit — i.e., received increased budgets — if they fail to solve problems."

"many anti-poverty programs are really welfare for the better off. For instance, federal housing programs are notorious for aiding developers. So-called 'Food for Peace' was created to dump domestic agriculture surpluses overseas, inadvertently routinely ruining poor farmers in other lands."

Lessons from the States | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Lessons from the States | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If Congress adopted the 'no fundraisers while Congress is in session' rule, it would have two desirable results: The first is that our federal elections would probably not be as expensive, and the other, more important, result is that Congress would in all likelihood spend far less time in session, which would benefit our pocketbooks and our liberties."

OMG! There's Discrimination in the Modeling Industry! - Ben O'Neill - Mises Daily

OMG! There's Discrimination in the Modeling Industry! - Ben O'Neill - Mises Daily: "there is no difference in principle between the characteristics which are presently protected (race, gender, nationality) and those that are not (height, weight, intelligence, beauty). And further, the characteristics we have so far considered are only the tip of the iceberg of those upon which people discriminate.
In addition, to mention only a few more, there is hair color, the side of the head upon which people part their hair, fastidiousness, neatness, strength of handshake, biliousness, loudness, shyness, considerateness, reliability, left or right handedness — the list goes on and on."

"Without discrimination on the basis of the superficial traits that make a model a model, she would be just another face among three billion women. She would not be capable of earning a living with her looks if not for the fact that people often judge others on the basis of superficial physical traits and like to look at physically attractive people. This discrimination is her bread and butter; she benefits directly from these superficial judgments, since her appearance puts her in a superior position compared to most other women. Though she complains of race discrimination in the present case, it is only because of similar kinds of discrimination, equally capricious, that she is special — that she can be a model, and other women cannot."

Pro-gun rights activists outbid cops for 'buy back' guns

Pro-gun rights activists outbid cops for 'buy back' guns: "While the Austin, Texas, police were offering grocery cards in exchange for unwanted firearms over the weekend, local activists showed up to outbid the men in uniform, insisting liberty would be better served if the guns were in the hands of law-abiding citizens instead.

At the 'no-questions-asked' event held at Oak Meadow Baptist Church in South Austin, the Austin Police Department offered, for example, a $100 Visa grocery card for an unwanted handgun. The activists offered $110 in cash."