March 18th, 2011
“California Republicans love to talk about limiting government, fighting bureaucracy and keeping taxes low, but on Thursday they proved that this is nothing more than a rhetorical device. Given the opportunity to rein in the size and power of government in a tangible way, Assembly Republicans – with one sole exception – punted. They rallied to save some of the most abusive and wastrel government agencies around.”
“As the California GOP begins its convention in Sacramento today, party members ought to at least understand where its Assembly members stand – on the side of big government, higher taxes and uncontrolled debt and against property rights, individualism and freedom. As the party blathers about luring minority and working-class voters, let it be clear that the GOP sided with the developers and government planners who want to drive minorities and working-class people off of their property. The Democrats are right: The GOP is the party of big business and privilege.”
“As part of the governor’s budget package, the Assembly voted on SB77, which would have ended the state’s redevelopment agencies. But only longtime redevelopment foe, Chris Norby of Fullerton, sided with taxpayers and property owners. The rest of the Assembly Republicans voted “no” or didn’t vote at all. Had even one of the Republicans joined Norby, the bill would have passed with a two-thirds majority.”
Full Commentary by Steven Greenhut @ California Watchdog http://www.calwatchdog.com/2011/03/18/ca-gop-saves-eminent-domain/
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March 17th, 2011
ProPublica takes a look at the Administration spin on the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP) and related bailouts, and finds the numbers are off.
“As the Treasury Department official in charge of the TARP is saying at a congressional hearing this morning [2], the bailout won’t cost anywhere near the full $700 billion Congress authorized. In fact, many of its investments have turned a profit, and some of its most infamous bailouts — such as the rescue of AIG — won’t end up being the tax dollar black holes [3] they once seemed sure to be.”
“But the true picture isn’t so rosy.”
“At ProPublica, we’ve provided a comprehensive bailout database [4] since TARP’s launch. It shows not only how much money has gone to each recipient [4], but how much each has paid in interest and dividend payments. With all this data, we’re able to clearly show how deep in the hole the program remains [5]. And the answer as of today is $123 billion.”
“Add that to the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — which our site also tracks and is separate from the TARP — and taxpayers are $257 billion in the hole [5].”
Full expose @ http://www.propublica.org/article/behind-administration-spin-bailout-still-123-billion-in-the-red
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March 17th, 2011
“At what point does a public institution move beyond mere self-interest or ineffectuality and become actively evil? Two proposals in California Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011–12 austerity budget provide a useful comparison.”
“With his plan to ax the state’s system of “enterprise zones” and related tax credits, Brown wants to do away with a program whose history of failure can be charitably blamed on bad luck or miscarried good intentions. But by trying to kill the state’s 425 redevelopment agencies (RDAs), the governor is taking on—and robustly criticizing—a gang of thugs whose activities closely resemble those of a criminal enterprise.”
“Brown has plenty of reason to cut both entities. The state faces a $25 billion deficit during the next two years, and both programs are enormous money losers. By eliminating enterprise zone tax breaks (which include hiring credits, interest deductions, special treatment for sales taxes paid, and a credit for employees who earn wages within a given area), the governor expects to make an additional $343 million available in the 2010–11 budget and $581 million in 2011–12. The savings to state and local governments from deep-sixing redevelopment funding are expected to be even greater: an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion during the same period.”
Tim Cavanaugh applauds Gov Jerry Brown’s proposal to end Redevelopment Agencies in California @ http://reason.com/archives/2011/03/17/the-6-billion-scam
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March 9th, 2011
“In the context of federal spending that will total something like $3.8 trillion this year, $61 billion is a rounding error. Yet the Democrats resisting that amount in House-approved cuts say it will wreck the economy while leaving children unschooled, taking food from the mouths of the elderly, and casting disabled people into the streets.”
“Laughter is the only appropriate response to such predictions. In these absurd times, when both parties quibble over crumbs while the layer cake of debt rises higher and higher, laughter is a mark of fiscal seriousness.”
“How else should one greet a New York Times editorial that concedes the federal deficit, projected to be $1.6 trillion this year, is “too large for comfort” but calls $61 billion in cuts “ruinous”? Or a press release from the Every Child Matters Education Fund that deems them “harsh” and “extreme”?”
“The cuts represent less than 2 percent of the total budget, less than 4 percent of the deficit, and less than 5 percent of discretionary spending, which rose in real terms by 75 percent from 2000 to 2010 and by about 9 percent in each of the last two fiscal years. If the House-approved reductions would be “the largest one-year cuts in history,” as the folks at Every Child Matters say, that is a sad commentary not on Republican cold-heartedness but on the fiscal incontinence of both parties.”
Full Commentary @ http://reason.com/archives/2011/03/09/tiny-cuts-big-complaints
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March 2nd, 2011
“Last week Mitch Daniels, Indiana’s governor, told The Daily Princetonian that “justice was served” when he was arrested for marijuana possession during his junior year at Princeton. But like many pot smokers who became politicians, Daniels, a potential contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, seems to have two standards of justice: one for him and one for anyone else who does what he did.”
“Although Daniels was caught with enough marijuana to trigger a prison sentence, he got off with a $350 fine. Yet he has advocated “jail time” for “casual users”—a stark illustration of the schizophrenic attitudes that help perpetuate drug policies widely recognized as unjust.”
“According to the Princetonian, “officers found enough marijuana in [Daniels'] room to fill two size 12 shoe boxes.” Under current New Jersey law, possessing more than 50 grams (about 1.8 ounces) of marijuana is a felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison. Given the amount of pot Daniels had, he easily could have been charged with intent to distribute, which under current law triggers a penalty of three to five years.”
Full column by Jacob Sullum from Reason Magazine @ http://reason.com/archives/2011/03/02/mitch-daniels-pot-luck
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February 25th, 2011
“Americans, hit first by outsourcing and then a recession, are becoming deeply pessimistic about their country’s ability to maintain its economic leadership. America’s Aristophanes, Jon Stewart, commented during a recent interview with the author of “India Calling,” Anand Giridhardas: “The American dream is still alive — it’s just alive in India.” Likewise, 20 percent of Americans in a December National Journal poll believed the U.S. economy was no longer the strongest. Nearly half picked China instead.”
“But there are at least five reasons why neither India nor China will knock America off its economic perch anytime soon, at least not by the only measure that matters: Offering the best life to the most people.”
America wastes no talent
“Conventional wisdom holds that America’s global competitiveness is driven by geniuses flocking to its shores and producing breathtaking inventions. But America’s real genius lies not in tapping just genius — but every scrap of talent up and down the scale.”
Full commentary on America vs Asia by Shikha Dalmia @ http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/02/24/022411-opinions-column-americandream-dalmia-1-2/
Posted in Economic & Financial | No Comments »
February 11th, 2011
Ann Woolner at Bloomberg.com looks at how some Republicans in Congress ignore their claimed commitment to limited government when they want to stop abortion. She notes:
“…some House Republicans now say that whatever money a tax break lets you keep is actually government cash going into your pocket.”
“Likewise, you might be shocked to learn that while Republicans are directing a multifront assault on a government requirement to buy insurance, these House Republicans want to dictate what kind of coverage Americans can and can’t buy with their own money.”
Now, she says, anti-choice Republicans are saying if the government lets you keep money, it is still the government’s money:
“… sponsors of a new bill are trying to use last year’s health-care overhaul to make it even less likely that insurers will offer abortion coverage to anyone.”
It’s called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion bill, but don’t let the title fool you. The measure could curtail privately funded abortions, too.
Voiding Tax Breaks
“Sponsored by New Jersey Republican Representative Chris Smith, it would void tax breaks given to companies and the self- employed for insurance premiums on policies that cover abortion. The idea is that by leaving more of your money in your pocket, the government is giving you some of its cash.”
Full column by Ann Woolner @ Bloomberg.com http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-11/republicans-hug-big-government-in-abortion-fight-ann-woolner.html
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February 11th, 2011
At a general meeting on February 10, 2011 the Riverside County Committee of The Libertarian Party adopted the following resolution:
In California the cost of government programs has outgrown the ability and willingness of the people to pay for them. Year after year, the Sacramento politicians resort to accounting tricks, illicit borrowing and ‘temporary’ tax hikes to create the illusion of a balanced budget.
Governor Jerry Brown’s call for 12.5 billion dollars in spending cuts may point to a change in direction. Libertarians applaud Governor Brown’s call to close down all of the more than 425 community redevelopment agencies in California.
Redevelopment agencies have stood in the way of natural economic growth, rewarding favored developers with taxpayer funded subsidies.
The Riverside County Libertarian Party supports an end to community redevelopment agencies in California and we endorse Governor Brown’s proposal to bring this about.
More info on The Riverside County Libertarian Party @ www.rclp.org
Posted in Libertarian Viewpoint | No Comments »
February 8th, 2011
According to a report by Donald Kirk @ the Asia Times Online, Egypt has become the main base for the sale of North Korean missiles to Arab regimes, and Egypt is the most important outside investor in the North Korean economy.
Tracing a connection that goes back to Hosni Mubarak’s time as Commander of Egypt’s Air Force in 1970, Mr Kirk shows that Egypt and North Korea have developed a close relationship during the time Egypt has received billions in aid from the United States, which has seen Mubarak as a key ally. Full story in The Asia Times Online @ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/MB09Dg01.html
Additional details of the ties that bind Egypt to North Korea are revealed the February 7 issue of The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2011/0207/Why-Kim-Jong-il-wished-Egypt-s-Mubarak-a-Happy-New-Year
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February 8th, 2011
“Boris Nemtsov is a name that may not seem significant to those actively engaged in the struggle for liberty and freedom against statism and oppression. His fate is one which has gone largely unnoticed by those in the West, but is a story that reads like a Cold War thriller, as Nemtsov is the latest high-profile victim of persecution by the Russian Federation and its head of state, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.”
“Nemtsov was formerly the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 1997 to 1998, and is one of the founders of Russia’s only true right-wing party, the Union of Right Forces. He is also considered “Enemy Number One” of Vladimir Putin and his regime of heinous and deceptive political maneuverings and machinations, as he has been an ardent critic of Putin’s government.”
“His plight is not only an indication of the fundamental lack of individual freedoms in Russia, but also demonstrates that Soviet tactics of resorting to any means of denouncing one’s political opponents are still a vital aspect of Russian political life. Nemtsov lingered in the dark chasms of his modern day gulag, Moscow’s Tverskoy District Prison, for over two weeks, all for the “crime” of criticizing Putin’s government and expressing political and economic beliefs vastly different than that of Putin.”
Full story by Daniel Sayani from The New American @ http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/6223-political-repression-on-the-rise-in-russia
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