January 2012

Afternoon Links: October 19, 2010

by Nicole Ciandella on October 19, 2010

in Zeitgeist

1. A growing number of California restaurants are serving wine on tap to reduce recycling.

2. Veronique de Rugy: “When the government tries to help small businesses, it hurts businesses (and taxpayers) of all sizes.”

3. Psychology Today says more intelligent people are more likely to binge drink and get drunk.

4. Want to know what employee benefits are like in the public sector? (Are you sure you want to know?)

5. National Review‘s Exchequer has an interesting in-depth look at the San Diego city budget.

A Surge Toward a New “Scientific-Technological Elite”?

by Fran Smith on October 19, 2010

in Energy, Environment, Global Warming

AEI’s Steve Hayward, in his article “Power Surge,” presents what he says is an innovative solution to foreign oil dependence and global warming: pump huge sums of government money into energy innovation through corporate-university-government partnerships:

While the details may vary, the consensus is clear: America should create a national network of decentralized energy innovation institutes — whether we call them Energy Discovery Innovation Institutes or the National Institutes of Energy or something else — that can bring corporate, university, and government scientists together to tackle big energy problems, while strengthening diverse, regional clean technology clusters. Modeled after sustained federal investments made in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s that assisted the rise of Silicon Valley, this effort would cost about $5 billion annually.

As a political historian, Hayward undoubtedly is familiar with Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address on January 17, 1961, where he warned against the power of the military-industrial complex: “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist,” he said.

Perhaps Hayward has forgotten that Eisenhower — in that same speech — also warned against the dangers of government research funding in universities and the creation of a new scientific-technological elite:

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present — and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

Hayward’s short paper is a synopsis of a report, “Post-Partisan Power,” co-authored by Hayward, Mark Muro of Brookings, and Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute.

Obama’s Nativist Scare Tactics May Backfire on Him

by Hans Bader on October 19, 2010

in Environment, Global Warming, International, Politics as Usual, Sanctimony, Trade, Zeitgeist

President Obama has made the baseless claim that the Chamber of Commerce is spending foreign money on political campaigns. This claim was widely disseminated to the general public through a hysterical ad campaign by the Democratic National Committee accusing the Chamber of Commerce of “stealing our democracy” and featuring an “ominous shot of Chinese currency,” suggesting that Chinese people are trying to take over America. Not only was this claim this untrue, but stoking nativism may backfire on Obama politically, since liberal interest groups that back Obama, like unions, receive large amounts of foreign money, and Obama himself has used regulations and subsidies to ship American jobs overseas.

As one writer notes in The Washington Post, “Labor unions are spending millions to tar Republican candidates — and they take in far more foreign cash than the Chamber.” “The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is spending lavishly to elect Democrats. . . takes in nearly $9.2 million per year from foreign nationals, compared to the mere “$100,000,” none of it used for political campaigns, that the Chamber “receives from its affiliates abroad” — less than 1/20th of 1 percent of the Chamber’s budget. Moreover, most foreign PAC money is going to Democrats, not Republicans.

And Obama’s policies have shipped American jobs overseas. Of the green-jobs funding contained in the $800 billion stimulus package, 79 percent went to foreign firms, aggravating the nation’s trade deficit. Meanwhile, the administration has paid $150 million a year to Brazilian cotton farmers, and supported a cap-and-trade global warming bill that would drive hundreds of thousands of jobs overseas.  (Although Obama and other backers of this “cap-and-trade” concept claim it will cut greenhouse gas emissions, it may perversely increase them by driving industry abroad to countries with fewer environmental regulations, resulting in dirtier air, and damage to forests and water supplies.)  Stoking anti-foreign sentiment may further increase public outrage over administration policies that help foreigners at the expense of Americans — like its backdoor bailouts of foreign banks, and the $6 billion Obama spent bailing out socialist Greece.

Obama’s attacks on foreign money may also remind Americans of Obama’s own 2008 receipt of foreign campaign contributions, which resulted from his campaign’s deliberate disabling of computer software that would have thwarted such contributions, as The Wall Street Journal‘s John Fund and others have pointed out: “As the Washington Post reported, the Obama campaign had turned off its Address Verification System, or AVS, at its Web site. That program should have stopped contributions coming in from citizens of foreign countries — a violation of federal law. Clearly, the Obama campaign’s decision to abandon filters had consequences — the campaign was forced to refund $33,000 to two Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip.”

The East German Immigration Model

by Ryan Young on October 19, 2010

in Economy, International, Personal Liberty, Politics as Usual

A U.S. Senate candidate in Alaska thinks that the U.S. should follow East Germany’s example when it comes to immigration. GOP nominee Joe Miller told a town hall audience, “The first thing that has to be done is secure the border. . .  East Germany was very, very able to reduce the flow.  Now, obviously, other things were involved.  We have the capacity to, as a great nation, secure the border.  If East Germany could, we could.”

He’s darn right “other things were involved.” See CEI’s video on the Berlin Wall for details. What a terrible choice of example.

Miller also forgets that East Germany’s 858 miles of fence weren’t meant to keep people out. That fence was meant to keep people in. Against their will. On pain of death.

It’s almost certain that Miller doesn’t really want the full-on East German border enforcement model. It was probably just a tasteless slip of the tongue. But he clearly favors a border fence. Which, of course, he should oppose if his goal is actually to reduce illegal immigration.

Many undocumented immigrants only stay in the U.S. for a few months. Get a job, make some money, go back home and share it with family. A border fence will keep a lot of people like that out, yes. But it also keeps current undocumented immigrants in. Unwillingly, in many cases.

If Miller wins his election, there is a lot he can do to reduce illegal immigration. Building an American version of the Berlin Wall is not one of them. As Alex Nowrasteh and I wrote, “The immigration black market only exists is because the government has made the legal market as cumbersome as it can.”

Miller should make legal immigration less cumbersome. People will come to America, no matter what. That’s what happens when you have one of the freest, richest, most dynamic nations on earth. That’s a fact of life that our broken immigration system does not take into account.

Neither, apparently, does Joe Miller.

Meager Part-Time Work Masks Unemployment

by Hans Bader on October 19, 2010

in Economy, Employment, Regulation

Unemployment is often masked by part-time work, since people who would prefer to work full-time are not treated as unemployed by government statistics if they work even part-time. But part-time pay is becoming increasingly meager, reports today’s Washington Post. It takes a look at how part-time workers’ pay has shrunken by double-digit percentages in the Washington, D.C. area, even though that region is one of the most prosperous areas in America.

The official unemployment rate in the U.S. is at 9.6 percent and is expected to rise slightly to over 10 percent in the coming year. But that’s just the official rate; some measures of unemployment that include more jobless people, such as discouraged workers who have given up looking for a job, give unemployment rates of up to 17.5 percent.

Washington, D.C. and its inner suburbs, such as Arlington, have benefited from growing federal payrolls, which will likely expand further due to the massive amount of new regulations and red tape from Obamacare and the Dodd-Frank financial “reform” law. Obamacare creates “183 new agencies, commissions, panels, and other bodies.” The Dodd-Frank law is nearly 2,400 pages long, and it “creates nearly 500 regulatory rulemakings, 60 studies, and 93 reports” that will require lots of new bureaucrats. Yet it left intact the money-losing government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are receiving a bailout likely to exceed $400 billion, while multiplying the regulations and exactions imposed on productive, self-supporting private banks.

By contrast, the outer suburbs of Washington, such as Prince William County and parts of Fairfax County, have suffered massive collapses in real estate values just like many other places in America. Private industry in the Washington metropolitan area, such as the biotech industry in Montgomery County, and high-tech industry in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, will suffer from the flood of red tape under the Obama administration, just like the rest of America. This red tape is a factor in the continued loss of jobs, such as the 95,000 that disappeared from the economy last month.

Morning Media Summary

by Lee Doren on October 19, 2010 · 2 comments

in Economy, Energy, Environment, Legal, Personal Liberty, Regulation, Trade

Tech:

The World is Full of Interesting Things:
“That’s the name of a brilliant slideshow created by Google’s Creative Labs. You’ll find a lot of interesting HTML5 apps, iPhone apps, visualization tools, 3D projections, art projects, creative YouTube videos, crowdsourcing services and many other interesting things.”

Researchers one step closer to ‘bootless’ computer:
“Physicists at the University of California, Riverside have made a breakthrough in developing a “spin computer,” which would combine logic with nonvolatile memory, bypassing the need for computers to boot up.”

What if We Ran Universities Like Wikipedia?:
“A silly question? Maybe. But the analogy, made by a speaker at the Educause conference here today, reflects a recurring theme at this year’s event: Do our university bureaucracies still make sense in the era of networks?”

Google Willing To Help Record Labels Combat Music Piracy, But It’ll Cost Them:
“If the record labels want Google to help them find links to infringing content; it’ll cost them. As much as $5 per thousand queries, say new reports. It costs money to provide services to aid the labels in their ‘war on piracy’ and Google plans to recoup every penny. After all, they have operating costs too. But, to be a viable solution to the labels, this service would have to not end up costing them several million dollars a year, which it would. Critics are crying foul, saying that Google profits from piracy no matter what anyone does. Their ads run on pirate sites. They want to charge to search for the links to pirate sites.”

Facebook: Congressmen Sent You A Message:
“The co-chairmen of the House Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, Edward Markey (D-Mass) and Joe Barton (R-TX), have sent the Facebook CEO a letter seeking answers in the wake of another round of user privacy concerns, according to the Wall Street Journal. The latest incident, which was revealed on Monday, involved Facebook applications transmitting users’ personal identifying information to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies.”

Spanish agency sues Google over Street View:
“Spain’s data protection authority said Monday it has filed a suit against Google for allegedly capturing data from Internet users when it collected photos for its Street View service.”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

In Kansas, Climate Skeptics Embrace Cleaner Energy:
““Don’t mention global warming,” warned Nancy Jackson, chairwoman of the Climate and Energy Project, a small nonprofit group that aims to get people to rein in the fossil fuel emissions that contribute to climate change. “And don’t mention Al Gore. People out here just hate him.””

‘We Are Destroying Life on Earth,’ UN Conference Claims:
“A U.N. biodiversity conference aims to address a simple problem: “We are destroying life on Earth,” said the head of the U.N. Environment Program.”

Team to investigate central China coal mine gas leak:
“China’s top work safety watchdog said the State Council, the Cabinet, has approved to set up a work team Tuesday to investigate a major coal mine gas leak that killed 37 people in the central Henan Province.”

Insurance / Gambling:

State court to weigh cards in poker case:
“The running battle over whether poker is a game of luck or skill heads to the S.C. Supreme Court Tuesday, and the state’s top judges will determine if the public should be allowed to shuffle up and deal in the privacy of their own homes.”

Health / Safety:

Canada declares Bisphenol A Toxic:
“Canada has become the first country in the world to declare as toxic Bisphenol A, a compound used in many consumer products, despite opposition by the chemical industry.”

Citing health care law, Boeing pares employee plan:
“Aerospace giant Boeing is joining the list of companies that say the new health care law could have a potential downside for their workers.”

Economics:

From Obama, the Tax Cut Nobody Heard Of:
“It is not a rhetorical question. At Pig Pickin’ and Politickin’, a barbecue-fed rally organized here last week by a Republican women’s club, a half-dozen guests were asked by a reporter what had happened to their taxes since President Obama took office.”

It’s Official… Obama Has Now Borrowed $3 Trillion:
“That didn’t take long. The Obama administration has now borrowed $3 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But look what we have for it… 9.6% unemployment and a record national deficit.”
Brazil calls for fairer share from genetic resources:
“Delegates from nearly 200 countries are gathered in Nagoya, Japan, for a two-week U.N. meeting to fight rapid losses in plant and animal species from the destruction of forests, rivers and reefs that are vital to livelihoods and economies.”

AP wonders: Why isn’t our very productive Congress more respected by voters?:
“If you’re wondering why this story feels familiar, it’s because Politico already wrote it three months ago vis-a-vis Obama and his “achievements.” It’s as true now as it was then — the Democrats certainly have done a lot with their majority. And yet, somehow … voters seem unhappy.”

Can You Name the Greatest President of the Past 100 Years?:
“It’s tempting to say that Ronald Reagan was the best U.S. president of the past century, and I’ve certainly demonstrated my man-crush on the Gipper. But there is some real competition. I had the pleasure yesterday of hearing Amity Shlaes of the Council on Foreign Relations make the case for Calvin Coolidge at the Mont Pelerin Society Meeting in Australia.”
National Debt Up $3 Trillion on Obama’s Watch:
“New numbers posted today on the Treasury Department website show the National Debt has increased by more than $3 trillion since President Obama took office.”

Legal:

U.S. Pushes to Ease Technical Obstacles to Wiretapping:
“Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, citing lapses in compliance with surveillance orders, are pushing to overhaul a federal law that requires phone and broadband carriers to ensure that their networks can be wiretapped, federal officials say.”

Trial Lawyers Sticking With Democratic Party:
“Trial lawyers are holding steady as one of the Democratic Party’s biggest sources of campaign contributions, providing a cushion for the party as it struggles to maintain control of Congress in the midterm elections.”

Court will hear appeal of ex-AG to stop lawsuit:
“The Supreme Court will consider an appeal by former Attorney General John Ashcroft to throw out a lawsuit seeking to hold him personally responsible for improperly arresting a Muslim U.S. citizen after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

Labor:

Progressives Like Soft Money, Too: SEIU Dumps $100K Into Third-Party Account “For (D8 Supe Candidate) Mandelman”:
“If politics were like the high school prom, third-party spending accounts are the fat ugly kid whose out-of-town parents have an unlocked liquor cabinet: nobody professes to like him, but come 2 a.m., everyone’s over at his house quaffing Peachtree schnapps and Triple Sec.”

Morning Bell: Big Government’s Government Union Firewall:
“Indications are that the Progressive Movement is headed for a crushing defeat two weeks from now. Political analysts Stu Rothenberg and Charlie Cook both peg the number of competitive House races at around 100. Separately, both analysts are also predicting Democrats will lose between 45 and 60 seats (39 are needed to switch control of the House). Striking back against the electorate’s small government fervor, AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman penned a strategy memo last week claiming “Union Voters are the firewall for candidates that support working families.””

Mark Hemingway: Unions are so desperate for tax-paid pension bailout:
“When it comes to accounting, the devil is in the details. A new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rule taking effect in December requires greater transparency for union pension plans and threatens to bankrupt organized labor.”

Union shill-in-chief: The empire of right-wing special interests is striking back:
“From yesterday’s mega-rally in Ohio, the clip doesn’t capture it but this tool is now warning about Republican fearmongering in virtually the same breath as he’s doing his heavy-breathing routine about shadowy money flowing in from conservative PACs. I wonder if the hypocrisy of that is something he’s aware of and happy to wallow in or if his own messianic ego blinds him to it.”

France’s Sarkozy: We’ll crack down on protests:
“French President Nicolas Sarkozy is pledging to crack down on “troublemakers” attacking police at protests against a proposed higher retirement age.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

Street crossing, urban density slow high-speed rail in New England:
“Washington is spending US$8 billion in federal stimulus money to establish high-speed rail corridors nationwide. But in populated areas of New England where city streets and railroad tracks intersect and trains must negotiate curves, hills and tunnels, travel at speeds as high as 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph) are out of the question.”

A Republican Sweep Might Not Stop Online Gambling

by Michelle Minton on October 18, 2010

in Nanny State, Personal Liberty, Tech & Telecom

Many analysts and pollsters are predicting a Republican sweep of the coming midterm elections in the House. While Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) seems untouchable, there are no guarantees and in fact, some claim that his challenger, 35-year-old Marine Corps veteran Sean Bielat, is just a few points behind Frank in polling data.

The end of Congressman Barney Frank would very likely be the end of his bill, HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which he has championed (through several incarnations and sessions).

While some advocates of decriminalized Internet gambling fear that the loss of its main champion will kill any possibility of legalization in the next session, their fears may not be warranted.

Last week Chris Krueger,  political strategy analyst with Concept Capital, appeared on CNBC and had this to say about the odds of decriminalizing Net gambling in the wake of a Republican sweep (video available here):

Keep in mind with Internet gaming there’s this pretty decent shot I think that in a lame duck session assuming the democrats lose both the house and senate Barney Frank this could really be his last chance he’s the primary sponsor of this bill. The trump card for Internet gaming for lack of a better word is that it raises 42 billion dollars over 10 years. That’s a big offset that you can tack onto an expensive tax extenders bill or even some sort of a transportation bill…

So in the lame duck with a Republican sweep the odds would go up that an Internet gaming ban lift could get through. Next year though without Barney Frank in his position of leadership I think it faces some long odds. But again it raises 42 billion dollars over 10 years and you can’t discount that in a congress that’s really going to be starved for revenue raisers.

So, while legalization of Internet gambling may still have a shot in a Republican-controlled House and Senate, I doubt that the version we would see would be any more free market than Barney Frank’s current bill. Most likely, it will look something like decriminalized alcohol sales after prohibition with the government retaining a death-grip on the neck of the industry for as long as it can.

Video Killed the Radio Star: 2010 Telephony Edition

by Kathryn Ciano on October 18, 2010 · 1 comment

in Tech & Telecom

One hundred and twenty-six years after Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, AT&T, America’s largest provider of fixed telephony (and third largest non-oil company in the U.S., behind Wal-Mart and Bank of America) may finally lose its iPhone stranglehold.

Rumors abound that Apple is about to open the iPhone to the Verizon network. “Verizon-friendly iPhone” rumors surface every six months or so. But this time, both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that the handset is coming. They’re getting this information from people who are “in direct contact with Apple” and who “don’t want to be identified” because they could “alienate” their contacts.

The Verizon buzz comes on the heels of two lawsuits in California addressing Apple’s hush-hush five-year contract with AT&T. A federal judge has allowed a class action suit to proceed, consolidating many iPhone buyers’ allegations of monopoly abuse against Apple and AT&T.

Apple and AT&T have a relationship as tight as it is tumultuous. Plaintiffs claim that Apple engaged in illegal monopolistic behavior in 2007 when it did not disclose its exclusivity contract to users. Apple customers had no notice that they might remain wedded to AT&T until 2012.

iPhone purchasers may have known that their iPhone then required them to contract with AT&T, but complain that Apple crossed the line when it failed to disclose its secret deal that would prevent purchasers from changing carriers after their initial two-year contract expired. Apple also incited the red flags of anti-competition by blocking third-party apps like Flash.

Check out these quotes from Apple’s defense:

The duration of the exclusive Apple-[AT&T] agreement was not ‘secret’ either. The [plaintiff] quotes a May 21, 2007 USA Today article – published over a month before the iPhone’s release – stating, “AT&T has exclusive U.S. distribution rights for five years-an eternity in the go-go cellphone world.

…

[T]here was widespread disclosure of [AT&T's] five-year exclusivity and no suggestion by Apple or anyone else that iPhones would become unlocked after two years… Moreover, it is sheer speculation – and illogical – that failing to disclose the five-year exclusivity term would produce monopoly power…

Competition suits merely scratch the surface of Apple’s battle with Google over intellectual property in smartphone technology. Not to mention suits over the notorious “no no spot” that disables iPhone’s antenna with one touch.

It’s been a long year for Apple. Droid’s debut on the Verizon network captured many would-be iPhone customers who waited for an alternative to AT&T’s infamous record of dropped calls and missed connections.

Sure, we can get a blackmarket T-Mobile iPhone hack. But who wants to live like a refugee?

In technology markets, late movers tend to prove the most loyal customers. Apple will not hold its breath to woo Droid users away from Google. Yet now that Droid and Apple apps emerge almost in tandem, the most distinguishing feature between these two products is the network.

Once the most important part of phone choice, network dependability fell second to gadgetry during the rush to innovate in the past ten years. Yet with ubiquity comes responsibility; “I’m on a mobile” no longer excuses dropped calls. In this post-landline era, where even emergency operators at 911 receive 30 percent of their calls from cell phones, network dependability is once again paramount.

Mac has long couched confidence in its superior product in keeping switching costs  to Apple products high, while costs to switch from Mac stay low. Apple computers can run Windows programs as well as any PC can, but only Mac users can run Mac operating systems. Even new iPhones come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. That’s a guarantee on both the phone and the contract.

Just try wiggling out of a Verizon contract after 30 days! Mac’s message comes loud and clear: Why would anyone switch back?

Evidently Mac users have begun switching back because they’re tired of clandestine contracts and anti-competitive measures from on-high. Long the “boy who cried wolf” of tech rumors, this time Mac would be wise to open the network to Verizon in real life, ending at long last the monopolistic Apple-AT&T “marriage made in hell.”

The Huffington Post Report on Tax Liens and Banks May Miss the Point

by Lee Doren on October 18, 2010 · 1 comment

in Economy

The Huffington Post is reporting that banks are purchasing tax liens from local governments to collect when people fail to pay their property taxes. Supposedly, the banks charge additional fees and require the homeowner to pay the entire lump-sum up front. This often leads to people having to sell their homes to pay the tax. You can see the entire video below:

The video is puzzling because it is difficult to understand what The Huffington Post is arguing. The easy solution would be to avoid using property taxes as a means to fund local governments; this does not appear to be addressed. Although all taxes have negative consequences, a consumption tax would be preferable to a property tax and would not require a tax lien in the first place.

While those on the Left argue that a consumption tax is inherently regressive, the example that The Huffington Post cites in the video certainly demonstrates that property taxes harm the poor just as easily.

However, if the Left argues in favor of a property tax to fund local governments, isn’t an efficient means of collecting the tax necessary? The reason why local governments sell the tax liens to banks is because they don’t have the necessary funds to enforce the liens. If they wanted more funds to accomplish that goal, they would need to tax people more, which is the problem in the first place. Is it not?

The Huffington Post seems to be concerned about the fees that the banks charge on top of the original tax. Again, this misses the point. The local governments created a tax scheme that was so burdensome on citizens that people could not even pay the tax. Worse yet, the local governments did not have the resources to enforce payment. Therefore, to solve the self-imposed problem, the local government needed to create an incentive for banks to enforce the tax lien by offering them an additional fee. When it is all over, The Huffington Post turns around and blames the banks.

It seems that The Huffington Post missed the point: The government created a mess with an unworkable tax structure that harms the poor, and needs a bailout from the banks to fix their problem. This isn’t the fault of the banks, but the fault of local governments.

Ben Lieberman on Consumer Costs of Regulations

by Marc Scribner on October 18, 2010

in Energy, Video

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRb2U8XzIlY 285 234]

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