Public school children are “captured”
Large, bureaucratic organizations, especially government agencies, are well known for using words to shape public perceptions and obscure their own failures. (George Orwell’s “1984” was simply an extreme literary example.) I realized this truth again when I was reading one of the local newspapers published in Dakota County, Minnesota. Various editions of the newspaper “This Week” published an article that could have come straight from […]
Taxes are not charitable contributions
Advocates of placing more and more of our incomes and lives under the control of government sometimes say that those of us who favor cutting down the size and burden of government are selfish. By contrast, proposing a significant role for government is a sign of altruism and charity. In this Christmas season, it’s important to remember just what “charity” is. Charity is when you […]
Our Healthcare future: Affordability and access or regulation and rationing
In Minnesota as well as in Washington, DC, there’s a push for a government takeover of health care. People who value freedom are right to warn of the horrors of single-payer systems in Britain, Canada and elsewhere. But they should also offer a positive prescription for change. One prescription is the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, available at the Cato web site (www.cato.org). While the handbook […]
Whose Children Are They?
Recently a member of the Minnesota Legislature–I forget who, and it’s not really important–asserted that the state needs a booster-seat law. It’s “to protect our children,” you see. The Star-Tribune editorialized that substituting political judgment for parental judgment is “a small price to pay to protect our kids.” Excuse me, but whose kids are we talking about? One of my favorite comedy sketches of all […]
Who does government really–and inevitably–work for?
A while ago,I attended a panel discussion on the life of John Brandl, held at the University of Minnesota and cosponsored by the Minnesota Free Market Institute. Among the several points I could mention from that 90-minute event, I’ll stick with one. During the discussion, one of the panelists said something like this: “We need to make government works for the people who need it […]
Once a subsidy, always a subsidy
Here’s something from the “once you start a subsidy, there’s no end” department: In 1973, the Minnesota Legislature created the Spirit Mountain Recreation Area Authority. With its views of Saint Louis Bay and trails that are longer than just about anywhere in the Midwest outside of Lutsen, Minnesota, it’s a fine place to go skiing or snowboarding. But it’s also an example of the dubious […]
Tweedledee, Tweedledum? Will Coleman support UAW bailout?
Congress is taking another step towards the nationalization of the American economy as it considers bailing out the United Auto Workers and the U.S.-based automakers. Guess who may be on board? Sen. Norm Coleman, the hope of … Republicans. According to Minnesota Public Radio and the Business Journal, Coleman–who would allegedly be part of the 40-senator filibuster firewall against far-left legislation coming out of the “world’s greatest […]