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Legal Challenge to Michigan Union Power Grab

Legal Challenge to Michigan Union Power Grab

by Ivan Osorio
20 November 2009 @ 2:30 pm

With the Detroit auto industry floundering, the United Auto Workers is turning its attention to…day care provider. And to do so, the UAW partnering with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, a union that organizes workers in the one sector where unionization is growing: government. That’s because…

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Posted in: Economy, Labor, Politics as Usual, RegulationComments (0)

Regulation of the Day 75: Food Containers

Regulation of the Day 75: Food Containers

by Ryan Young
20 November 2009 @ 2:05 pm

The Code of Federal Regulations has 28 sections on food containers. Metal, glass, plastic, flexible, rigid – if you can put food in it, there are rules for it.

Recent innovations, such as easy-open tabs on cans, have prompted the Department of Agriculture to issue a 13-page update to its food container…

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Posted in: Agriculture, Deregulate to Stimulate, Economy, Nanny State, Personal Liberty, Regulation, Regulation of the DayComments (0)

Government Employee Pensions’ Threat to New Jersey’s Fiscal Health

Government Employee Pensions’ Threat to New Jersey’s Fiscal Health

by Ivan Osorio
20 November 2009 @ 1:58 pm

New Jersey residents pay the highest state and local taxes in the nation, notes the New Jersey Taxpayers’ Association (NJTA). And what do they get for all that money? For most New Jerseyites, not much more than residents of other states, but for government employees, the benefits are great, according…

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Posted in: Deregulate to Stimulate, EconomyComments (0)

The Economic Way of Thinking about Stimulus Packages, Part II

The Economic Way of Thinking about Stimulus Packages, Part II

by Ryan Young
19 November 2009 @ 6:51 pm

In light of the news about stimulus job creation statistics not being as advertised — complete with made-up Congressional districts — I offer another surprisingly relevant insight from Mises’ Human Action. Turns out there is a reason stimulus advocates are resorting to trickery:

“If government spending for public works is financed by taxing…

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Posted in: Economy, Stimulus to NowhereComments (0)

“Cultlike” Union Organizing Tactics?

“Cultlike” Union Organizing Tactics?

by Ivan Osorio
19 November 2009 @ 6:41 pm

The row between the UNITE-HERE hospitality and textile union and Workers United — which broke away from UNITE-HERE earlier this year and joined the powerful and growing Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — has taken a bizarre and ugly turn.

According to The New York Times, several UNITE-HERE organizers have complained…

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Posted in: Labor, Politics as UsualComments (0)

Property Owner Fights Nashville Land Grab

Property Owner Fights Nashville Land Grab

by Marc Scribner
19 November 2009 @ 5:30 pm

Yesterday, Tower Investments filed a motion to dismiss the Nashville-chartered Metropolitan Housing and Development Agency’s Petition for Condemnation of the company’s 5.6-acre downtown property. MHDA is attempting to clear land for the proposed Music City Convention Center, the construction of which is currently projected to cost nearly $600 million.

What makes this…

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Posted in: Economy, Legal, Personal Liberty, Politics as UsualComments (0)

“Obama Warns on Dangers of US Debt”

by Fred Smith
19 November 2009 @ 5:30 pm

This morning I read with interest - and amazement - the above headline.  Does our president live in the same world that I inhabit?  He’s worried about America’s increasing indebtedness and is pushing for a massive expansion of health entitlements (aka wealth redistribution programs) and the cap-and-tax global warming initiatives (aka wealth redistribution programs) and a host of other other wealth-destroying regulatory programs. Yet, he’s worried about America’s growing debt?

Our political system is only now perhaps emerging from a foolish policy of lowering credit standards to encourage universal home ownership.  We’re now about to lower credit standards for health and energy investments.  In effect, the problems of subprime mortgages are now being universalized.  But, as in the subprime case, we’re…

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Posted in: Bailout Watch, Deregulate to Stimulate, Economy, Stimulus to NowhereComments (0)

“I Can’t See the Objection”

by Fred Smith
19 November 2009 @ 5:28 pm

The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind are seeking a preliminary injunction in federal court to stop ASU’s plan to use Kindles in place of traditional textbooks. Their objection was based on the point that it is far from easy for a blind individual to access the Navigation Features of this device.  And they’re right - the “Home Menu” lists the books stored but that order changes as soon as they’re accessed and that list is not available on audio.  The titles, for example, aren’t read aloud.

But, the early versions of any technology are often clumsy.  Books, after all, have long been less accessible to the visually handicapped.  This is not unusual; many visual projects…

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Posted in: Deregulate to Stimulate, Personal Liberty, Precaution & Risk, Tech & TelecomComments (0)

Gun Control Laws Empower Pirates and Terrorists!

by Fred Smith
19 November 2009 @ 5:26 pm

As John Lott has so effectively demonstrated time and time again, widespread citizen gun possession is an effective way of increasing public safety. His policy suggestions have never been more relevant than in today’s world where the military has disarmed its troops exposing them to the horrors recently experienced in Camp Hood, where U.S. ships remain far too exposed to pirate attacks.

Yet, an article in the Washington Times today quotes Roger Middleton, a piracy specialist at the London-based Chatham House: “the international community was still ’solidly against’ armed guards aboard vessels at sea” and goes on to note that “American ships have taken a different line from the rest of the international community.”  Remember when Ross Perot sent his own team to…

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Posted in: International, Nanny State, Personal LibertyComments (0)

More cash/ Fewer clunkers

More cash/ Fewer clunkers

by Michelle Minton
19 November 2009 @ 4:58 pm

More cash/Fewer Clunkers

Via the Von Mises blog:  According to the consumer pricing index report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the price of used cars rose 3.4% in October thanks to the government’s cash-for-clunkers that spirited away a large portion of the used-car inventory. So, for those of us…

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Posted in: Economy, Odds & Ends, Stimulus to NowhereComments (0)

Reid Health Care Bill Adds New Tax Increases, Costs Twice As Much As Promised

by Hans Bader
19 November 2009 @ 3:48 pm

The health care “reform” bill drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid adds new tax increases, and costs twice as much as its promised $849 billion price tag.

The tax increases (in billions) include:

1. 40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $8,500 (individuals) / $23,000 (families). . .
2. Additional 0.5% Medicare (Hospital Insurance) tax on wages in excess of $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers) – begins in 2013 – $54 B tax increase
3. Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of branded drugs – begins in 2010 – $22 B tax increase
4. Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices – begins in 2010 – $19 B tax increase
5. Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of…

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Posted in: Health and Illness, Healthcare, Insurance, Legal, Personal Liberty, Politics as Usual, Precaution & Risk, Regulation, SanctimonyComments (1)

New Trotsky Biography

New Trotsky Biography

by Ryan Young
19 November 2009 @ 10:09 am

Robert Service’s new biography of Trotsky is reviewed in today’s Wall Street Journal. Having read Service’s excellent biography of Lenin a few years ago, this seems like a book worth reading. Joshua Rubenstein’s thoughtful review touches on some thoughts about socialism and socialists.

Socialism had three major failings. The first is what economists study…

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Posted in: Culture, Personal Liberty, ZeitgeistComments (0)

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