Freedom and vitality of religion
While Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s,” Germany practices what might be dubbed “Render under God what is God’s, through Caesar.” A recent article in the Wall Street Journal describes an unpopular move by government to increase the enforcement of the church tax. Church tax? Yes. People who “registered” with a church pay a church — Catholic or […]
Tax credits for bicycles
Should I get a tax exemption for my new bicycle pedals? The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or ObamaCare, allegedly expands the number of people who have health insurance. While the law has many troubling qualities–including its command to “buy insurance or get taxed!”– the goal of getting more people to have health insurance insurance is not new. Ever since World War II, […]
Most minimum-wage jobs are also part-time ones
The minimum wage is in the news, so here’s an interesting chart from the Federal Reserve. Source: Minneapolis Fed Since the minimum-wage law is in the news, it’s useful that the Minneapolis Fed provides a handy map that shows the various laws in place in the 50 states. For more, see the articles, “Not all minimum wage jobs are created equal. The cover story of […]
2 Judges on DC Court: “States” means “states”
While one federal court delivered the most significant rebuke to date of ObamaCare, another came to an opposite conclusion, setting the stage for more legal uncertainty. First up, the DC Court of Appeals ruled against the Obama Administration in Halbig v. Burwell. (The ruling is in this PDF link.) At issue: Does the Affordable Care Act–particularly, its individual mandate and the means-tested subsidies to purchase insurance–apply […]
Search warrants required for cell phones: SCOTUS ruling
The Supreme Court has ruled a ruling with some significant implications for policing and personal privacy. To quote from a review from the Washington Post, “In a unanimous opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court holds that searching a cell phone incident to arrest requires a warrant.” A few comments on the ruling: First, the analysis comes from Orin Kerr, a contributor to the Volokh […]
Saving money on college, extreme edition
Many people who attend college will be saddled with large debts and unmarketable degrees. One Minnesota man, though has found one way around it: Load up on college classes while still in high school. The Northfield News reports on one local resident who has earned a high school diploma and a college diploma in the same year. David Greer used Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) a program under which […]
National sovereignty is not a sufficient reason for “the ultimate sacrifice”
Today is Memorial Day. It’s common to confuse it with Veterans Day. One example comes from the Twitter feed of one business, “Today we honor all Veterans, including those on our Staff here, we thank all of those who have served our country, and we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.” There was a letter-to-the-editor someplace that captures the distinction nicely. It was posted […]