The Misery Index: A Reality Check | Steve H. Hanke | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Misery Index: A Reality Check | Steve H. Hanke | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The data in the misery index chart speak loudly. Contrary to left-wing dogma, the Reagan 'free-market years,' were very good ones. And the Clinton years of Victorian fiscal virtues – when President Clinton proclaimed in his January 1996 State of the Union address: 'the era of big government is over' – were also very good ones."

Like Your Health Plan? Read This | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Like Your Health Plan? Read This | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If your current health insurance doesn't meet all those requirements, you won't be immediately forced to drop your current insurance for a government-specified plan. But you would be required to switch if you lose your current insurance or 'if significant changes are made to the existing health insurance plan.'

More critically, for the 70 percent of us who get our insurance through work, those plans would all have to satisfy the government's benefit requirements within five years.

More likely, your employer will simply find that the increased cost and administrative burden is not worth it, and will dump you into the government-run 'public option.'"

Campaign For Liberty — Tim Nerenz Health Care Town Hall Speech

Campaign For Liberty — Tim Nerenz Health Care Town Hall Speech: "Here are two changes that Congress could write in one page and pass in a day that would cut out most of that wasted 40%. 1) Indemnify providers against lawsuits in which there is no criminal negligence alleged, and 2) eliminate 3rd party payer by using Health Savings Accounts to pay providers directly. That takes two of the biggest snouts out of the trough."

"President Obama promised my employees they could still choose private insurance if we had a public option. Sadly it won't be up to either of them. The House Bill levies a payroll tax of 8% on employers who don't provide health care benefits. That is less than half of the cost of a decent insurance premium; it is a simple business decision to drop coverage and pay the tax.

Businesses don't have the luxury of dealing with the government that is promised, we must confront the one that is practiced. Don't blame the players when the refs change the rules.

We all know what improves quality, reduces cost, and expands selection - choice and competition. Markets don't work perfectly, but they work - we can't say the same for government interventions. What keeps the small town auto mechanic honest? It's not the policeman or the priest - it's the second auto mechanic."

The Government's Cooked Books - Jacob Shreffler - Mises Institute

The Government's Cooked Books - Jacob Shreffler - Mises Institute: "For example, if I write myself a signed and sealed letter saying that I owe myself $1,000,000 by next year, that letter does not constitute a contract, a credit instrument, or any legal claim whatsoever. I cannot reasonably claim that I'm managing a million-dollar asset. It cannot properly be placed on my balance sheet as an asset or a liability. Yet the United States handles its accounts in just this way."

Hey, Mr. President, Leave Those Kids Alone | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Hey, Mr. President, Leave Those Kids Alone | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "One of the plans envisioned teachers making kindergartners write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. After parents rightly recoiled from that recommendation, the DOE tried to throw it down the memory hole, deleting it from their Web site.

Given some of the cultish questions that survived DOE's hasty revision, however, concerned parents can be pardoned a few overheated references to Kim Il-Sung:

How will [President Obama] inspire us?'

What is President Obama inspiring you to do?

Why is it important that we listen to the president and other elected officials?

These are question-begging questions, especially if you're one of those sensible Americans of all ages who aren't particularly inspired by President Obama, and who aren't convinced that listening raptly to elected officials is the best possible use of your time."

ACORN Officials Videotaped Telling 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' How to Lie to IRS - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

ACORN Officials Videotaped Telling 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' How to Lie to IRS - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "If the girls are under age 16, the ACORN staffer says on the tape, then they are not legally allowed to work in the state, regardless of what they do.

'So it's like they don't even exist?' 'Kenya' asks.

'Exactly,' the ACORN staffer replies. 'It's like they don't even exist.'"

'Public Option' Unlimited But Paid For, Leaving Number-Crunchers Perplexed - Political News - FOXNews.com

'Public Option' Unlimited But Paid For, Leaving Number-Crunchers Perplexed - Political News - FOXNews.com: "Speaking Thursday, Obama repeated his claim that the cost of the plan -- estimated at $900 billion over 10 years -- will not add to the deficit."

It costs money but won't add to the deficit? I have no confidence that the government could pull that off.

Taxpayers Face Heavy Losses on Auto Bailout - Political News - FOXNews.com

Taxpayers Face Heavy Losses on Auto Bailout - Political News - FOXNews.com: "The prospect of recovering the government's assistance to GM and Chrysler is heavily dependent on shares of the two companies rising to unprecedented levels, the report said. The government owns 10 percent of Chrysler and 61 percent of GM. The two companies are currently private but are expected to issue stock, in GM's case by next year.

The shares 'will have to appreciate sharply' for taxpayers to get their money back, the report said.

For example, GM's market value would have to reach $67.6 billion, the report said, a 'highly optimistic' estimate and more than the $57.2 billion GM was worth at the height of its share value in April 2008. And in the case of Chrysler, about $5.4 billion of the $14.3 billion provided to the company is 'highly unlikely' to ever be repaid, the panel said."

Unions Must Stop Supporting Legislation That Kills Jobs - FOXNews.com

Unions Must Stop Supporting Legislation That Kills Jobs - FOXNews.com: "'Card check' is the provision in this bill that would strip workers of the right to vote using a secret ballot during a union election. Instead, a union 'election' would be held with just half of the workers publicly signing their name to a card. It would be immensely difficult to refuse to sign the card if a union boss followed you home.

Under EFCA, employees and employers would also lose the decision-making ability to negotiate contracts. In what is the most egregious provision in EFCA, a federal bureaucrat with no knowledge of the particular industry would dictate wages, benefits and workplace conditions under a contract that is binding for two years. This mandatory, binding arbitration is different from other forms of arbitration, in which the arbitrator just interprets the contracts agreed upon by both parties. Under EFCA, this government arbitrator would dictate the terms."

Campaign For Liberty — Obama's Czars

Campaign For Liberty — Obama's Czars
Obama now has 32 Czars! Czar came from "Caesar" and means Emperor -- that seems like a bad title.