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 […]
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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, […]
Google follows Microsoft to Washington
A group of nerds get together to start a company. They become wildly successful by focusing on their business. Then they go political. Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. Oh wait. You have. In the 1990s, there was Microsoft, which had a tiny presence in Washington DC, until its competitors egged on the US Department of Justice to pursuit anti-trust actions against the […]
It’s not polite to ignore the feds
There’s a saying, attributed at various times to Lenin or Trotsky (same difference!): “You may not like war, but war likes you.” I can’t authenticate the source of it, so at the risk of taking it out of context, I take away this lesson: you may have to deal with some unpleasant facts of life, whether or not you want to, or are ready for […]
Do Michigan’s freshman congressman still support limited government?
So how committed have the freshmen members of the U.S. House been to the Tea Party goal of rolling back government? The Club for Growth, one of my favorite political organizations, is a group for people “who believe that prosperity and opportunity come through economic freedom.” The club, like many groups, “scores” a select number of congressional votes as a way to identify which politicians […]
The curse of the food police
I am writing this while my child runs around inside a McDonalds Playplace. I opted to not get fries with my cheeseburger, thinking I would eat a portion of the fries that came with the kiddo’s Happy Meal. Win-win, I thought. We both get enough fries to be satisfied, but we don’t overload on the deep-fried goodness. Silly me, to make my own decisions. I […]
Frederik Meijer: Viva the 1 Percenter
The honorable 1 percent get that way by providing something that the 99 percent value. Such is the case with one West Michigan man who made a positive impact not only on his small town, but on Michigan and the nation. There should be no begrudging this billionaire. Last week, Fred Meijer died at the age of 91. He was the long-time leader of Meijer, […]
Driving your Edsel to the store to buy some yogurt shampoo?
Andrew Coulson draws a contrast between private business and the public sector: “So there I was, checking e-mail this morning on my JooJoo when I came across this editorial about how the private sector lacks accountability unless the government provides it through regulation! This naturally caused me to expectorate New Coke all over over myself and my Apple III, forcing me to toss my Levi’s […]
Free Wi-Fi, Courtesy of Corporate Self-interest
Remember the saying, “to the person who has a hammer, everything looks like a nail?” Here’s one application of that in the political world: “If there’s a new, promising service or technology on the horizon, government must get involved to promote it.” We we’ve endured taxes, subsidies, and regulations, all in the name of increasing access to electricity, “green” products (think: Toyota Prius and Chevy Volt), […]
Expansive Government Poisons Science
Scientific disciplines are filled with internal disputes–few of which matter to outsiders, until governments use the authority of science as a justification for taking away individual liberty and expanding official power. The most obvious example is “climate change.” Is the earth on a secular warming trend or is it just another phase in a cycle? What factors cause the climate to change? Does the relative […]