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Domestic Military Detention Isn't Necessary | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Proponents of using military detention for domestic 'combatants' claim that it is weakness to treat terrorists the same as petty thieves and armed robbers.
That's great rhetoric, but the law of war is the law of necessity, meant to be applied when civil authorities are overwhelmed. If the civil rule of law handles terrorist threats adequately, then invoking military jurisdiction is a counterproductive overreaction."
Monday, May 16, 2011
Yes, Cut Medicaid — It Won't Be as Painful as You Think | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary
Yes, Cut Medicaid — It Won't Be as Painful as You Think | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In 1996, Congress eliminated Medicaid eligibility for many non-citizen immigrants.Coverage among non-citizen immigrants actually increased — the opposite of what one might expect — because non-citizen immigrants responded to the cuts by obtaining jobs with health benefits.
In 2005, Missouri cut 100,000 people from its Medicaid rolls. The number of adults with health insurance fell, but by a smaller amount than the number cut from the Medicaid rolls, because private insurance filled part of the gap. With children, the news was even better. Missouri cut loose one fifth of all low-income children enrolled in Medicaid, yet the coverage rate among low-income children did not change. Private insurance filled the entire gap."
In 2005, Missouri cut 100,000 people from its Medicaid rolls. The number of adults with health insurance fell, but by a smaller amount than the number cut from the Medicaid rolls, because private insurance filled part of the gap. With children, the news was even better. Missouri cut loose one fifth of all low-income children enrolled in Medicaid, yet the coverage rate among low-income children did not change. Private insurance filled the entire gap."
State or Private-Law Society - Hans-Hermann Hoppe - Mises Daily
State or Private-Law Society - Hans-Hermann Hoppe - Mises Daily: "If an agency is the ultimate judge in every case of conflict, then it is also judge in all conflicts involving itself. Consequently, instead of merely preventing and resolving conflict, a monopolist of ultimate decision making will also cause and provoke conflict in order to settle it to his own advantage. That is, if one can only appeal to the state for justice, justice will be perverted in the favor of the state, constitutions and supreme courts notwithstanding.
These constitutions and courts are state constitutions and courts, and whatever limitations on state action they may set or find are invariably decided by agents of the very same institution under consideration. Predictably, the definition of property and protection will be continually altered and the range of jurisdiction expanded to the state's advantage."
These constitutions and courts are state constitutions and courts, and whatever limitations on state action they may set or find are invariably decided by agents of the very same institution under consideration. Predictably, the definition of property and protection will be continually altered and the range of jurisdiction expanded to the state's advantage."
Why the Terrible Destruction of the Civil War? - Jeff Riggenbach - Mises Daily
Why the Terrible Destruction of the Civil War? - Jeff Riggenbach - Mises Daily: "the war's direct costs amounted to $6.7 billion. If upon Lincoln's inauguration, the government had purchased the freedom of four million slaves and granted a forty-acre farm to each slave family, the total cost would have been $3.1 billion, leaving $3.6 billion for reparations to make up for a century of lost wages. And not a single life would have been lost."
GOP Shouldn't Be Afraid to Challenge Reckless Spending | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary
GOP Shouldn't Be Afraid to Challenge Reckless Spending | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Instead of using the growing debt as an excuse, Republicans should package their reforms as worth undertaking even if the government had a surplus. If the GOP fails to articulate a positive message about the benefits of spending cuts and keeps leaning into the Democrats' strong hand, it could find itself on its back staring up at the lights."
Kids Prefer Cheese: Fair Trade Revealed As Feel-Good Hoax
Kids Prefer Cheese: Fair Trade Revealed As Feel-Good Hoax: "The result is that, after a fairly short period, three years at most, the 'fair trade' farmers are getting no more, and maybe less, than everyone else, and no more than they got before the 'fair trade' scam was started. The scam artists, it's true, are skimming the profits"
"the certification process is so corrupt many don't even bother, and just mislabel the coffee as 'fair trade' from the get-go"
"the certification process is so corrupt many don't even bother, and just mislabel the coffee as 'fair trade' from the get-go"
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A Strategic Defeat for Educational Freedom | Adam B. Schaeffer | Cato Institute: Commentary
A Strategic Defeat for Educational Freedom | Adam B. Schaeffer | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Private voucher schools will not only be forced to make this fabrication available to students, they are also prohibited from lowering a student's grade, if he should, for example, cite the letter as a primary source in the course of his school work.
Unfortunately, this is just the peak of the regulatory mountain being dropped on participating private schools. The legislation will greatly expand state regulation of and authority over participating private schools."
Unfortunately, this is just the peak of the regulatory mountain being dropped on participating private schools. The legislation will greatly expand state regulation of and authority over participating private schools."
Auction Off the State - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily
Auction Off the State - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily: "if people say that $750 billion in spending cuts (between now and September 30) is simply 'impossible,' then we still don't have to either borrow more or raise taxes. We have another option: namely, the federal government could auction off some of its holdings and fill the gap that way."
"the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (as of late November) had almost 727 million barrels of crude oil. At current market prices, this inventory is worth more than $80 billion."
"the federal government owned 14,000 buildings and structures that were 'excess' and 55,000 that were 'under- or not-utilized."'
"the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (as of late November) had almost 727 million barrels of crude oil. At current market prices, this inventory is worth more than $80 billion."
"the federal government owned 14,000 buildings and structures that were 'excess' and 55,000 that were 'under- or not-utilized."'
Friday, May 13, 2011
We Don't Need a Tax Increase | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
We Don't Need a Tax Increase | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In the 40 years prior to the 2007-09 Great Recession, tax revenues as percentage of gross domestic product were remarkably constant, never varying more than 2.3 percent above or below 18.3 percent of GDP. This fact is all the more remarkable given that the maximum individual income tax rate during this period varied from a low of 28 percent to a high of 70 percent."
"the current tax regime, in normal times (with normal economic growth rates — approximately 3 percent), will produce enough tax revenue to cover the historical rate of spending with only a small and manageable deficit. The current long-term deficit and GDP-to-debt problem was caused by a big jump in federal 'stimulus' spending over the past three years — not the Bush tax cuts."
"Saying a bigger government is a necessary evil because of the rising cost of 'entitlements' misses the point that under present law and practice, the costs of the entitlements never stop rising as a percentage of GDP until they consume the whole pie, which obviously will not happen."
"the current tax regime, in normal times (with normal economic growth rates — approximately 3 percent), will produce enough tax revenue to cover the historical rate of spending with only a small and manageable deficit. The current long-term deficit and GDP-to-debt problem was caused by a big jump in federal 'stimulus' spending over the past three years — not the Bush tax cuts."
"Saying a bigger government is a necessary evil because of the rising cost of 'entitlements' misses the point that under present law and practice, the costs of the entitlements never stop rising as a percentage of GDP until they consume the whole pie, which obviously will not happen."
The Practical Idealist - Gary Gibson - Mises Daily
The Practical Idealist - Gary Gibson - Mises Daily: "Union power, gained by legislation, even without physical violence, is still violence. The laborer gains legal force over the employer. Economically, in the long run, labor loses. …
If only it were so easy to help the working class. Just dictate wages and everyone will be financially better off. Unfortunately, this leads to disastrous results, whether it's the prolonging of the economic mess as it did in the 1930s or the tragic results in American industry that we're witnessing today.
What good is it to mandate a $75 per hour wage if there are no jobs available at that price? What good is a minimum wage of $7.50 if it significantly contributes to overall unemployment?
The reaction to the economic argument explaining the shortcoming of labor unions and minimum wage laws is that it's heartless and unfair not to force 'fairness' on the ruthless capitalists. But true compassion should be directed toward the defense of a free market that has provided the greatest abundance and the best distribution of wealth of any economic system known throughout history."
If only it were so easy to help the working class. Just dictate wages and everyone will be financially better off. Unfortunately, this leads to disastrous results, whether it's the prolonging of the economic mess as it did in the 1930s or the tragic results in American industry that we're witnessing today.
What good is it to mandate a $75 per hour wage if there are no jobs available at that price? What good is a minimum wage of $7.50 if it significantly contributes to overall unemployment?
The reaction to the economic argument explaining the shortcoming of labor unions and minimum wage laws is that it's heartless and unfair not to force 'fairness' on the ruthless capitalists. But true compassion should be directed toward the defense of a free market that has provided the greatest abundance and the best distribution of wealth of any economic system known throughout history."
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