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Busybodies of the World, Unite! | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Obama's CDC head, who used to be Mayor Bloomberg's health adviser, declared in 2006 that "When anyone dies at an early age from a preventable cause in New York City, it's my fault." Now he cares about you on a national scale."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The War on the Working Class | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary
The War on the Working Class | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Intentionally or not, the War on Sprawl is a war on the working class. To curb sprawl, planners use urban-growth boundaries and other limits on suburban development, making housing unaffordable for working-class families. To reduce driving, planners deliberately increase traffic congestion, limit parking, and put other restrictions on driving. This hits working-class commuters, whose jobs are less amenable to flex time, telecommuting, or relocation to suburban offices, the hardest."
"cities adopted zoning codes that often banned non-family residents, backyard livestock, in-home businesses, and other features found in working-class homes."
"cities adopted zoning codes that often banned non-family residents, backyard livestock, in-home businesses, and other features found in working-class homes."
Columns - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin
Columns - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin: "Yet proposals in Congress, advocated by the White House, would give the federal government, namely the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), power to dictate cyber-
regulations to the private sector. Such regulations would create a maze of assessments, audits and standards that must be obeyed by companies deemed by DHS to be “covered critical infrastructure.”
I do not believe this is the right strategy because I have little faith in the ability of the federal government to be the leader on cybersecurity."
"Even DHS has been the victim of high-profile hackings. Yet businesses are now supposed to trust government regulators to tell them how to do their security better?"
"I questioned Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on whether DHS had analyzed the cost of the proposed regulations. She wasn’t even willing to admit they were creating new regulations, much less analyze the costs."
"The federal bureaucracy simply cannot keep pace with technology. Cyberexperts have said it could take eight to 10 years for DHS to develop cyber-regulations. Ten years is a millennium in technological terms; 10 years ago, there was no iPad, no Wii, and most Americans had never heard of “the cloud.”
New cyber-regulations could even make us less secure. Forcing industry to focus on checklists and audits rather than creating innovative solutions to threats might only provide a false sense of security. The correct strategy will recognize that industry is already the leader on cybersecurity. It is in business’ best interest to keep their networks secure."
regulations to the private sector. Such regulations would create a maze of assessments, audits and standards that must be obeyed by companies deemed by DHS to be “covered critical infrastructure.”
I do not believe this is the right strategy because I have little faith in the ability of the federal government to be the leader on cybersecurity."
"Even DHS has been the victim of high-profile hackings. Yet businesses are now supposed to trust government regulators to tell them how to do their security better?"
"I questioned Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on whether DHS had analyzed the cost of the proposed regulations. She wasn’t even willing to admit they were creating new regulations, much less analyze the costs."
"The federal bureaucracy simply cannot keep pace with technology. Cyberexperts have said it could take eight to 10 years for DHS to develop cyber-regulations. Ten years is a millennium in technological terms; 10 years ago, there was no iPad, no Wii, and most Americans had never heard of “the cloud.”
New cyber-regulations could even make us less secure. Forcing industry to focus on checklists and audits rather than creating innovative solutions to threats might only provide a false sense of security. The correct strategy will recognize that industry is already the leader on cybersecurity. It is in business’ best interest to keep their networks secure."
No More GOP Whining about Overregulation | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
No More GOP Whining about Overregulation | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "We are used to various government agencies overreaching and then seeing members of Congress go on TV and complain about what the government agencies are doing. The fact is, Congress (both parties are guilty) has failed in its oversight responsibilities and continues to fund agencies that ignore both the Constitution and the law.
Republicans whine that they cannot control spending because they only control one half of Congress. But the plain fact is that the Constitution is very specific. Any spending bill must be passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the president. Setting aside for the moment the budget agreements that House Republicans, Senate Democrats and the president made about the overall level of spending and funding of the entitlements, there is still much House Republicans can do through the appropriations process to prevent many of the excesses of government.
For instance, there is nothing to prevent the House Republicans from refusing to fund the EPA’s desired budget until the agency puts procedures in place to guarantee the basic constitutional rights of all Americans, including independent judicial review, before any fines or criminal charges are levied. These same rules also should apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission (well-known for its incompetence and overreaching), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other agencies that have a record of abusing citizens."
"Many Republicans continue to vote for appropriations for international outfits such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which has an anti-tax competition agenda and global minimum-tax agenda, and the International Monetary Fund, which indirectly helped fund the Greek bailout. Both organizations damage American interests. Members of Congress, please explain why U.S. taxpayers should have some of their hard-earned money spent to help the Greeks. The administration and members of Congress argue that no U.S. taxpayer money was directly used, but money is fungible. Just because it goes through several pockets does not mean that U.S. taxpayers did not contribute."
Republicans whine that they cannot control spending because they only control one half of Congress. But the plain fact is that the Constitution is very specific. Any spending bill must be passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the president. Setting aside for the moment the budget agreements that House Republicans, Senate Democrats and the president made about the overall level of spending and funding of the entitlements, there is still much House Republicans can do through the appropriations process to prevent many of the excesses of government.
For instance, there is nothing to prevent the House Republicans from refusing to fund the EPA’s desired budget until the agency puts procedures in place to guarantee the basic constitutional rights of all Americans, including independent judicial review, before any fines or criminal charges are levied. These same rules also should apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission (well-known for its incompetence and overreaching), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other agencies that have a record of abusing citizens."
"Many Republicans continue to vote for appropriations for international outfits such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which has an anti-tax competition agenda and global minimum-tax agenda, and the International Monetary Fund, which indirectly helped fund the Greek bailout. Both organizations damage American interests. Members of Congress, please explain why U.S. taxpayers should have some of their hard-earned money spent to help the Greeks. The administration and members of Congress argue that no U.S. taxpayer money was directly used, but money is fungible. Just because it goes through several pockets does not mean that U.S. taxpayers did not contribute."
On the Watch for Religious Persecutors | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary
On the Watch for Religious Persecutors | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: '"While members of all faiths are sometimes at risk somewhere, Christians are constantly victimized almost everywhere. And in many of these cases the threat is violence, imprisonment, and even death. Martyrdom apparently is more common today than during Roman times.
The California-based group Open Doors has released its latestWorld Watch List of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians around the globe. A Baker's Dozen are communist or former communist states, led by North Korea. An incredible 38 are Muslim, including several of Washington's allies. (Seven are both communist/former communist and Islamic, truly a toxic combination.) The other six are a potpourri — Hindu India, Buddhist Burma and Bhutan, conflict-ridden Colombia, and Eritrea and Ethiopia, which are both repressive and religiously divided."'
The California-based group Open Doors has released its latestWorld Watch List of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians around the globe. A Baker's Dozen are communist or former communist states, led by North Korea. An incredible 38 are Muslim, including several of Washington's allies. (Seven are both communist/former communist and Islamic, truly a toxic combination.) The other six are a potpourri — Hindu India, Buddhist Burma and Bhutan, conflict-ridden Colombia, and Eritrea and Ethiopia, which are both repressive and religiously divided."'
Obamacare Both Unnecessary And Improper | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary
Obamacare Both Unnecessary And Improper | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The power to force someone to give businesses money is incredibly attractive and dangerous. Rather than suffering the political liability of raising taxes, Congress can force citizens to cross-subsidize each other. This is precisely what Congress did here: It avoided the above-the-board taxation and clear budgeting in order to hide the true costs of the law.'
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