Author: Redactor

Categories
tax policy too much government

Nowhere to Run

Back in May, before partisan warfare in the New York state legislature temporarily stemmed the spate of bad legislation, the Democrats in that distinguished legislative body did the sort of thing Democrats do. Voted in a new tax.

Of course, Republicans often do the sort of thing Democrats do, too. When I say Democrats did it this time, I mean 32 Democrats voted in favor and zero Republicans.

The lawmakers passed a so-​called “Mobility Tax” on the residents of twelve counties to subsidize the Mass Transit Authority, which operates subways and buses in New York City. These include non-​borough counties like Orange County. On a map of New York counties, you’ll see Orange lies near the Big Apple. But few residents there make much use of MTA transportation services.

As one of many Orange County residents put it, “Thruway drivers pay to operate the Thruway. We don’t get to tax the people of Manhattan to keep tolls down. Yet we are being asked to subsidize the MTA even more whether we use it or not.”

Public transportation should be privatized. In any case, though, passengers should pay their own fares. Hike the charge for a subway ride to four dollars, if necessary, and let riders demand better management. But don’t go after the wallets of people in the towns next door.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
free trade & free markets national politics & policies too much government

Health Rations and You

Want a laugh? To keep you from crying at what President Obama and the Congress are trying to do to health care in this country?

Over the decades, the federal government’s involvement in health care has been making it harder and harder for doctors and patients to make independent, sensible decisions about care.

Many advocates of “reform” deny the destructive consequences of past “reform” and insist that the only way to solve our problems is, in effect, to make them worse: Get government even more involved, tie the bureaucratic noose even tighter around the necks of patients and doctors.

Despite all the problems in the health care industry, we often still get great care because of the freedom that still exists. But what if advocates of Obamacare get their way and government takes over? Well, that’s the scenario satirized in a new two-​minute video produced by the Sam Adams Alliance, all about “Health Rations and You.”

It adopts the black-​and-​white style of a 1950s-​era educational film. “Health rationing. What is it? What does it mean for you?” And it’s all about how the Health Administration Bureau will give you nothing but “the best” medical care.

The video is funny. Memorable. Getting a lot of hits on YouTube. And it just might help stop this socialist monster in its tracks. Give it a look-​see, and pass it on.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
government transparency judiciary

The Judges, the Lawyers, and the People

In legal circles, when folks think of Missouri, they think of the “Missouri Plan.” Seventy years ago, Missouri instituted a new method of selecting judges, especially the judges that sit on the state’s supreme court. The plan was copied by many other states. 

It is beloved by the insiders.

A few years ago, I wrote at Townhall​.com: “[T]he Missouri Bar has something of a lock on the whole process.… It’s supposed to be non-​partisan. Bottom line is that lawyers are in control.”

A judicial commission controlled by the state bar association picks the judges that the governor must then pick from — with the bulk of the commission’s work done behind closed doors.

Missourians are shocked when informed how the process works. So are folks in other states that have adopted the Missouri Plan. It isn’t transparent and it puts key decision-​making on judges in the hands of an unelected special interest.

But things may be looking up. A group called Better Courts for Missouri submitted paperwork to start a new petition. The group aims to gather enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2010, to open up the system, make it more transparent.

Legislative attempts to change the system have failed. Generally, politically powerful lawyers are for a plan that lets lawyers have the biggest say.

Well, now they are up against competition. The people.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
free trade & free markets national politics & policies too much government

Slavery Is Not Freedom

There is one fact about the health care “reform” legislation being debated in Washington, DC, that is unavoidable. The fact that it is coercive.

Governments coerce. It would be great if governmental force were used only to combat criminals, not also to tell us how to live our lives. But, alas, this is not the case.

If the proposed health care legislation is passed, it will result in new orders from the federal government that everyone must obey. Everyone: Doctors; employers; patients; taxpayers. One mandate would force you to sign up for health insurance if you currently lack it. Refuse, and you’ll pay a penalty. Unless you qualify for a “hardship exemption.”

Do we all know what this means? A Washington Post report claims that the notion of penalizing Americans who decline to sign up for health insurance “has its roots in the conservative philosophy of self-​reliance.” Because, presumably, the best way to encourage self-​reliance is to point a gun at people and tell them what to do “for their own good.”

This is worse than messy thinking. It is the opposite of the truth. Self-​reliance is a matter of making choices. It implies the freedom to make choices. Self-​reliance has nothing to do with Big Brother ordering you about as if your own thinking, values, and circumstances were irrelevant. And self-​reliance has nothing to do with the current health care debate in Washington.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
government transparency

The Transparent Parthenon

Historians know how much it cost to build the Parthenon, but we still don’t know what’s been spent on this past year’s economic recovery packages and bailouts.

Yes, we still have the clay tablets upon which the accounts for building the Parthenon were tallied. What we call “transparency” today was simple common sense in ancient Athens. 

Athens was a democracy, and as every small‑d democrat knows, it is absolutely essential to make government records public if the people are to make important decisions.

Same goes for a democratic republic, like ours.

Now, I’m not saying that building the Parthenon made sense for Athens. I’m glad we have it now, but it was part of Periclean grandiosity, and the great statesman’s next step was to invade Sparta — and that was one war without a good ending for Athens.

By the way, there is a theory of business cycles based on how tall corporate buildings become. You know the boom is ending just when all the businesses are building huge skyscrapers. 

Something similar happened in Athens. The Parthenon was finished; next, it was sacked by the Spartans.

As fascinating as it is, we can’t live in the past. But we can learn from it. If transparency was required for Pericles, it should be required for Barack Obama.

Oh, and maybe we should be extra cautious about going to war.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
initiative, referendum, and recall insider corruption

What Does Bloomberg Stand … Fore!

Hey! I’ve got something good to say about the anti-​democratic mayor of New York City.

It seems that Michael Bloomberg — who lately has become notorious for flouting the rules in the service of his personal power — plays by them religiously when the arena involves … uh … playing.

Turns out Bloomberg is a conscientious stickler when it comes to the sort of activity that doesn’t much matter. He’s not concerned about duly enacted electoral decisions to restrict the political power of city officials, mind you. But on the golf course — fore! He is the prince of fair play.

The mayor throws hissy fits when anybody dares question him about how he colluded with the city council to unilaterally undermine the city’s term limits law. At one impudent reporter, he barked, “You’re a disgrace!” But now data is emerging about how the mayor “is a stickler for obeying the golfer’s code of ethics.” 

According to his golf mates, he is scrupulous to a fault.

Daniel Menaker, a freelance writer, has a sassy piece online at the Huffington Post about Bloomberg’s chameleon sense of virtue. Menaker speculates that the golf course gives the mayor a way to “think that he is an ethical stickler. He may play hob with term limits, but he plays golf by the book.”

Great for the golf game, I guess. Not so great for governance.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.