Success Despite Government, Courtesy Jugaad | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary

Success Despite Government, Courtesy Jugaad | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary: "No less than 93% of Chinese businessmen say the main reason for their spectacular success is network connections (guangxi), especially with government officials. Indian businessmen, however, have succeeded despite the government: 81% say the main reason for their success is jugaad, the ability to find innovative way round prohibitive rules and institutions."

Success depends on dealing well with government?!?

A Captive of the Industry | Jim Harper | Cato Institute: Commentary

A Captive of the Industry | Jim Harper | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The best way to pursue the public's true interest is to keep Verizon, Google, and every other industry player in competition, unprotected by regulation. When recent reports suggested that Verizon might strike a deal with Google to prioritize certain content, that plan seemed like it might fail the most important test — the consumer test. People want a wide-open Internet, and they're in a position to demand it as long as there is competition."

An Inconvenient Economic History | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

An Inconvenient Economic History | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "What Mr. Krugman and the other critics have been unable to provide are historical examples of when big increases in government spending led to higher growth and more job creation."

Black Budget in the Red | Julian Sanchez | Cato Institute: Commentary

Black Budget in the Red | Julian Sanchez | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Nobody doubts that the FBI and the NSA serve vital functions. And if $75 billion per year is the price of detecting and preventing plots to murder Americans by the thousands, it would be hard to call it money wasted.

Yet the most compelling conservative arguments for skepticism about runaway government growth have never depended on the worthiness of the goals at which government aims. Rather, conservatives have drawn on the insights of public-choice economics, which predicts that rational bureaucratic actors — often in collusion with profit-seeking firms — will more reliably act to maximize their own power and budgets than seek the general welfare."

Court allows warrantless cell location tracking | Privacy Inc. - CNET News

Court allows warrantless cell location tracking | Privacy Inc. - CNET News: "the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permissible because Americans enjoy no 'reasonable expectation of privacy' in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers have said that 'a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records' that show where a mobile device placed and received calls."

The Ethanol Tax Credit -- It's Worse Than You Think | Jerry Taylor and Harry de Gorter | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Ethanol Tax Credit -- It's Worse Than You Think | Jerry Taylor and Harry de Gorter | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently issued a report on how the corn-ethanol tax credit costs $1.78 to reduce one gallon of gasoline consumption and $754 to reduce one ton of greenhouse gases. The Wall Street Journal immediately noted that 'to put that [latter] number in perspective, the budget gnomes estimate that the price for a ton of carbon under the cap-and-tax program that the House passed last summer would be about $26 in 2019'.

While this study is being used by critics of the tax credit — which will cost about $30 billion over the next five years and is up for reauthorization this year — the CBO nonetheless severely underestimates the true costs of the ethanol tax credit in their calculations"

Cutting Is So Hard to Do - Grant M. N�lle - Mises Daily

Cutting Is So Hard to Do - Grant M. N�lle - Mises Daily: "It is the base of voters with the greatest amount of time, interest, or direct personal and financial stake (unions, pensioners, government employees, government contractors) who wield the greatest amount of voting clout in the political system.

In general, citizens, particularly those voters who tend to actively participate in the political process, want government spending directed toward their favorite programs, but are reluctant to pay for it. Typically they conveniently advocate policies to force someone else — be it 'greedy corporations,' small businesses, the wealthy, or future generations — to pay for what they want."

The Unemployment President | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Unemployment President | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "FDR's programs that were supposed to help the middle class and the poor were mainly paid for by the middle class and the poor. This was because the biggest single source of federal revenue during the New Deal period were excise taxes on beer, cigarettes, chewing gum, soda and other cheap pleasures enjoyed mainly by the middle class and the poor. To hear one of FDR's famous 'Fireside Chats,' people had to pay an excise tax for a radio and an excise tax on the electricity needed to turn it on."

Feingold says he opposed policies that led to collapse | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin

Feingold says he opposed policies that led to collapse | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin: "he pointed out that he voted against the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program signed into law by President George W. Bush in October 2008."
That is one thing for which I can thank him.

"Feingold asserted that he “didn’t vote for all of the deficit spending that occurred particularly during the Bush years.”" So he voted for some but not all -- that's not very convincing.

"He also highlighted his vote against the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which he called “a huge gift to the pharmaceutical industry.”"
True!

“Huge new tax cuts for the wealthy will cause the (deficit reduction) bus to explode,”
Tax cuts can increase revenues -- that has been proved.

"Feingold also blasted Johnson, his presumed opponent in the general election, for opposing the development of high-speed rail service in Wisconsin."
The costs will reduce jobs more than the few jobs that thr train creates!

FOXNews.com - Man Who Cut Off Whale's Tail to Eat is Detained by Police in Florida

FOXNews.com - Man Who Cut Off Whale's Tail to Eat is Detained by Police in Florida: "Police detained Hogan, and another man, for questioning, explaining that mutilating a federally protected species is illegal, even if the animal is found dead."

What? Does the government think it is better to just let it rot?