Thoughts for Ben Stein

by Rossputin | 5:55 am, May 6, 2011

Dear Mr. Stein,

Not least due to being a frequent American Spectator (web site) contributor myself, I enjoy reading your writing (and I’m glad you think better while doing so.)

I respectfully disagree with your glowing review of TARP. If I may respond to your article’s French with some French of my own, your analysis falls in to the trap that Bastiat described with “Ce qu’on voit et ce qu’on ne voit pas”, namely that which is seen and that which is not seen. (I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that that’s the essay which contains the famous parable/fallacy of the Broken Window.)

What was seen with TARP is that it stabilized the banking system and that the CBO now suggests the cost to the taxpayers may only be $25 billion. What is unseen, however, are a few important things:

1) The banking system may not have performed as badly as the politicians’ sky-is-falling predictions. (The crying “wolf” continues today with the debt ceiling debate.)
2) The instability might have been a lot less if “they” had not shown policy schizophrenia by arranging a government-backed takeover of Bear, Stearns but allowing Leman to fail.
3) Perhaps most importantly is the substantial risk of moral hazard, of cementing into our banking system the idea of “too big to fail” despite rhetoric to the contrary.  Perhaps TARP directly cost taxpayers less this time than some thought it might, but it could end up costing us much more lately.
4) On a related note, I don’t like the broader message that it’s OK for the federal government to interfere in the private economy because it claims a situation is critical or because its motives are at least superficially noble. If TARP is OK, then why shouldn’t mortgage modification or cash-for-clunkers or picking favorites within industries be OK? Don’t forget, the government forced quite a few institutions to take money they neither wanted nor needed. And once you have their money, you’re under their thumb. This is the same government which trampled decades or centuries of bankruptcy law by giving the property of Chrysler and GM bondholders to their union buddies. (Your grudging support for the auto bailout is not just wrong-headed; it’s intentionally introducing a cancer into the body of economic liberty.) It’s all fodder from the same toxic mill that gave us TARP and taking the first bite, even if you’re hungry and it seems harmless and tasty, is a bad idea.

By the way, regarding supply-side economics, it’s been a long time since its proponents claimed that most or all tax rate cuts would “pay for themselves.” It’s unfair of you to characterize that as being the central tenet of supply-side. (That said, the Bush tax cuts probably did increase government revenue above what it otherwise would have been and the Clinton capital gains tax cuts certainly did.) In any case, the real point is that tax cuts reduce revenue by less than static modeling supposes for reasons which I don’t need to explain to you.

I note that you next wrote about alcoholics and then went to sleep, so maybe I should ascribe these few paragraphs of yours to imbibing a fine wine at Del Frisco after a tiring afternoon or travel. I hope so, because I don’t like seeing someone who is widely viewed as an intelligent spokesman for conservatism, especially regarding economics, giving such aid and comfort to the enemy.

Most sincerely,

Ross G Kaminsky

Summarizing the legal case against ObamaCare

by Brian T. Schwartz | 5:30 am, May 6, 2011

The Cato Institute has published a new white paper (22 pages) by its chairman Robert Levy: The Case Against President Obama’s Health Care Reform: A Primer for Nonlawyers. It summarizes why mandator insurance is unconstitutional.

FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide Part Two

by Ben DeGrow | 5:14 pm, May 5, 2011

Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. I know the timing is impossible for it to be true, but you’d almost think my first School Cuts 101 response piece triggered some interest from the FOX 31 team with my cryptic closing: Anyway, looking [...]

Colorado to Kill Amazon Tax?

by PerlStalker | 4:45 pm, May 5, 2011

Good news via the Colorado News Agency. The Amazon Tax may be on the way out in Colorado.

House lawmakers gave preliminary approval Wednesday to the repeal of last year’s so-called “Amazon tax”—an attempt, thwarted in court, to tax online sa…

Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender’s “final four” appointments round out Reapportionment Commission

by CTBC Director | 3:03 pm, May 5, 2011

The ongoing legislative battle over Congressional Redistricting remains the “hot” topic in the news – “Public asked, again, to weigh in on Congress maps” – with a final opportunity for Citizens weigh in on competing redistricting maps by publicly testifying at the Congressional Redistricting Committee hearing scheduled for today (Thurs, May 5) at 2:00 p.m. in [...]

Everybody Else is Posting the Mitch Daniels Ed Reform Speech: Why Can’t I Do It?

by Eddie | 11:27 am, May 5, 2011

My mom really doesn’t have much tolerance for the “But everybody’s doing it” excuse. I’m hoping she makes an exception for this posting. What am I talking about? Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (who, today, I might add, signed into law “the nation’s largest voucher program”…. HIP, HIP, HOORAH!) gave a big education reform speech at [...]

Fight Federal Overreach With Us!

by Jon Caldara | 11:02 am, May 5, 2011

If you’ve ever dreamed of being in the same room as not one, but TWO real life geniuses, then you’ll want to attend our program for the grassroots on Sunday, May 15th, from 1:15 to 5pm at the Red Rocks Community College. Both constitutional law professor Rob Natelson and our Second Amendment expert and constitutional [...]

Why Colorado’s Campaign Laws Constitute Censorship

by Ari Armstrong | 7:37 am, May 5, 2011

In the above video, I argue that Colorado’s campaign laws constitute censorship, drawing on a May 3 meeting held by the Colorado Secretary of State. See my May 2 post for more background about the meeting. Following is the transcript of the video.[From…

DHS warns Americans to be alert for terrorist retaliation

by Rossputin | 5:11 am, May 5, 2011

Following the heroic killing of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden by US Navy SEALs on Sunday night, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano issued the following statement urging Americans to remain vigilant during this time of heightened potential terrorist activity:

My fellow American citizens: The death of Osama bin Laden, arguably the most evil and dangerous man on Earth until just 72 hours ago, has increased the possibility of retaliatory acts by terrorists operating here in the United States. Those who would do us harm have, as you might imagine, a particular hatred of President Obama and may look to strike any targets which relate to him, have his name – such as many schools around the country, or which they perceive to be of particular importance to the President or his wife. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned schools, we urge particular caution around golf courses, basketball courts, ultra-expensive hotels, or ESPN studios.

Some of these would-be terrorists have identifying traits. If you see any of these traits, and particularly if you see anyone with more than one of the following characteristics near any of the above-mentioned sites, please call the FBI immediately:

Typical identifying traits of expected terrorists:

• White male between the ages of 25 and 45
• NRA sticker, Ron Paul sticker, “Keep the Change” sticker on a pick-up truck
• Is seen praying in a Protestant church (except for a Lutheran church)
• Is heard listening to Rush Limbaugh or Fox News
• Is heard complaining that the security line at the airport is too long or that the machines which show his wife’s near-naked body to the TSA screeners seem beyond the pale.

On the other hand, any of these traits would tend to exclude someone from suspicion as a terrorist:

• Driving a Prius or any other hybrid vehicle
• Wearing an SEIU or AFSCME t-shirt
• Ordering food while asking if it is gluten-free, vegan, or organic
• A member of the Religion of Peace
• Is heard listening to “A Prairie Home Companion” or “Fresh Air” on NPR

Again, if you see anyone with two of the identifying traits (and none of the exclusionary traits), please call the FBI immediately at 1-800-IAM-SOPC.

If you run across a bearded man praying while facing toward the East who has a ticking device next to him, rest assured that he supports Obamacare and is thus not a threat to our nation. Thank you for your assistance and your support.

Taking Their Victory Lap in a Clown Car

by Joshua Sharf | 12:04 am, May 5, 2011

Yes, I know, he’s right there in that photograph of the senior staff watching the bin Laden operation on the live feed.  (Think about that for a moment.  We’re commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Lincoln used to spend a lot of time over at the War Department Telegraph Office waiting for scraps [...]

FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide

by Ben DeGrow | 9:37 pm, May 4, 2011

Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. Local FOX 31 Denver News and reporter Eli Stokols are to be commended for wanting to look at the effects of K-12 education spending cuts and innovative ideas for addressing the challenge. But the first edition [...]

My time after a while: Regis University and the freedom to stir the pot

by Jimmy Sengenberger | 7:57 pm, May 4, 2011

This piece was originally intended for publication in Regis University’s student newspaper, The Highlander, for which I have had the pleasure of working for the past three years.  Because of the significance of freedom of speech on college campuse…

Midweek Update: more media coverage of Redistricting battle

by CTBC Director | 2:23 pm, May 4, 2011

Since publishing an article (”Redistricting versus Reapportionment – the confusion continues“) some two weeks ago clarifying the different constitutional constraints and processes for drawing up Colorado’s Congressional and state legislative district boundaries, Clear The Bench Colorado has received renewed interest and feedback from multiple sources concerning the ongoing developments in each area (including gubernatorial and legislative appointments to the [...]

Budget, Fiscal Policy Debate

by Jon Caldara | 2:22 pm, May 4, 2011

Last week our resident economist and Health Care Policy director Linda Gorman went to UC-Denver to debate Carol Hedges on our state budget hole. Typical with any debate on state funding and public services, the arguments eventually boiled down to what each person believed ought to be funded and provided by government. In other words, [...]

Ohhhhhh Burn!

by Jon Caldara | 12:32 pm, May 4, 2011

In response to this pro-health care exchanges op-ed written by Amy Stephens herself, our Health Care Policy blogger Brian Schwartz responded in the comments section beautifully:
A truly “pro-market” and “pro-business” health insurance exchange would not be run by the state. Private, non-government insurance exchanges already exist, as I describe here:
http://www.patientpowernow.org/2011/04/private-insurance-exchanges-already-exist/
If politicians want to start an [...]

Innosight Blended Learning Encyclopedia a True Wealth of Innovative Information

by Eddie | 10:18 am, May 4, 2011

What can I say but, “Wow?” (I know, bad rhetorical question, because here goes….) All you education transformers out there should be aware of a new Innosight Institute report by Heather Staker titled The rise of K-12 blended learning: Profiles of emerging models. Doesn’t sound that spectacularly exciting, I know, unless you have joined little [...]

Denver Mayor Race Illustrates Benefits of Approval Voting

by Ari Armstrong | 8:57 am, May 4, 2011

As of this writing, the top four candidates in the Denver race for mayor show the following vote totals:Chris Romer: 28.5%Michael Hancock: 27.1%James Mejia: 25.7%Doug Linkhart: 9.4%The Denver Post reports, “If no candidate receives more than 50 percent…

Conifer Voters (Wisely) Reject New Rec District

by T.L. James | 8:09 am, May 4, 2011

High Timber Times has the skinny on yesterday’s rec district vote: In a huge turnout, Conifer voters on Tuesday rejected another attempt to form an area recreation district, despite promises from supporters that it wouldn’t involve a tax levy in the short term. The proposal by Friends of Conifer Parks & Recreation to create a [...]

Maps

by Joshua Sharf | 7:35 am, May 4, 2011

So the Colorado Republicans have produced a compromise map in an effort to avoid a crapshoot showdown in the courts.  Given that there are a fair number of Republican-appointed judges out there now – not the case in 2001 – the chances of winning are perhaps higher.  But you essentially give up control over the [...]

Colorado SB 11-200, State Insurance Exchanges: The Case against Implementation

by Brian T. Schwartz | 5:30 am, May 4, 2011

Establishing state-level government-run insurance exchanges “offers no protection against future decisions by the federal bureaucracy, collaborates with an unconstitutional framework, and risks undercutting court cases across the country.”

Canadians vote their wallets

by Rossputin | 5:14 am, May 4, 2011

From the “be careful what you wish for” files come the 2011 federal elections in Canada, triggered in March  when the Liberals, the socialist-leaning NDP, and the separatist Bloc Quebecois found the Conservative government of Stephen Harper to be in contempt of Parliament.

The Harper government aims to continue the two-decade-long trend in Canada – unknown to most Americans – to reduce government spending and taxes. As economist Brian Wesbury has noted, “In Canada, total government spending fell from 53.3% of GDP in 1992 to 39.2% in 2007. Since then, stimulus spending boosted it to 43.8%, but the trend is down, not up. At the same time, tax rates have continued to fall. Corporate tax rates were cut from 21% in 2006 to 19.5% in 2008, 19% in 2009 and then 18% this year. The GST (a national sales tax) was cut from 6% to 5% in 2008.”

During the same time, US government spending as a percentage of GDP ranged between 37% and 32.5% before exploding to nearly 42% in 2009 and 40% in 2010. The key is not as much the absolute values as the trend, showing investors and employers what the future is likely to be. Canada is offering a pro-growth vision while the US, under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, is offering a big government vision to be paid for by higher taxes now or later.

One politically important economic data point – perhaps the most important – is unemployment.  Canadian unemployment in March was 7.7%, down from 9.5% a year ago, and well below the 8.8% unemployment rate last reported by the US Department of Labor. (US Data for April will be released on Friday morning.) Prior to 2007, Canadian unemployment had been consistently higher than US unemployment, though narrowing the gap: In January, 1995, the Canadian unemployment rate was 4 percent higher than the US’s rate. By January, 2001, it had narrowed to below 3%, and then to 0.7% by 2007. By the second quarter of 2008, the Canadian unemployment rate was below the US’s rate.

Given that people vote their wallets and that Canadians are far more aware of what’s going on in the US than we are aware of our neighbor to the north, the push for elections by the minority parties seems ill-considered. In hindsight, it obviously was.

In Monday’s election, the Harper conservatives picked up 24 seats to reach 167 seats, giving them an outright majority in the Canadian parliament. The long-ruling Liberal party won only 34 seats, the fewest seats in its history, including losing the seat held by the party leader who then resigned that leadership post. The socialist-leaning New Democrat Party (NDP) picked up an enormous 66 seats to reach 102, making them by far the largest opposition party.

The dynamics are an interesting parallel to the US where those promoting limited government and low taxes are gaining and maintain support whereas the non-conservative sector of politics drifts further to the left. In the US, “blue dog” Democrats were wiped out in the last election, leaving a Democratic Party even more left wing than it had been before, even if with much less power. At the same time, the NDP’s gain was the Liberals’ loss in Canada, as well as a big loss for the separatist Bloc Quebecois, moving the political opposition further to the left which is perhaps a benefit for the now-majority conservative government. That said, the NDP politicians aren’t stupid and will probably move to the center in a bid to appear as a legitimate and credible opposition party. (It’s not entirely surprising to see support for the essentially socialist NDP from the essentially French province of Quebec.)

The next couple of years in Canada will offer an instructive example to Americans who have been behind Canada in the historical progression of socialism leading to its own destruction.  Canada did 20 years ago what Obama is trying to do now. They learned their lesson and have successfully turned toward limiting the scope and cost of government. Many other countries have learned the same lesson. It’s only American liberals who haven’t.

Stifling Debate in the El Paso County GOP

by Al Maurer | 10:32 pm, May 3, 2011

Dissent over SB11-200 spawns debate-stifling measure in the El Paso County GOP

Public Education Negotiations Should Be Public

by Jon Caldara | 2:59 pm, May 3, 2011

Doesn’t it seem a little odd that a public institution like K-12 education would shield its union negotiations from the people who fund them? Public education implies that the public ought to be made aware of meetings that affect them. Unfortunately in Jefferson County, union negotiations have not be open to the public. Despite the [...]

Five-Year-Old ProComp Competes for Reform Attention, Awaits Final Evaluation

by Eddie | 11:35 am, May 3, 2011

Denver’s Professional Compensation System for Teachers has received a great deal of attention through the years from those interested in education policy and reform. (Just Google “ProComp” if you want to see what I mean.) So it’s certainly no surprise to see the Denver Public Schools celebrate ProComp’s fifth birthday. Somehow, ProComp has caught up [...]

Hey, Paul Krugman, patients should be consumers, not helpless pawns in an authoritarian politically-controlled health care system you support

by Brian T. Schwartz | 5:30 am, May 3, 2011

Nobel-prize winner & New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman is demonstrates how little he knows about health care policy. Let me count the ways.

Colorado SB 11-200: Feds will control the insurance exchange

by Brian T. Schwartz | 5:30 am, May 3, 2011

The feds have broad authority over how state legislatures operate nominally “state-run” health insurance exchanges. The exchanges have “police” functions helping the IRS punish the uninsured. They also expand gov’t dependency & power.

Bin Laden’s PC burial at sea

by Rossputin | 5:30 am, May 3, 2011

In a mid-day press conference on Monday, John Brennan, chief counter-terrorism advisor to President Obama, was asked multiple questions about the burial at sea of Osama bin Laden.

In short, Brennan said that it was done in compliance with Islamic law, including the tenet that burial occur within 24 hours of death, under the supervision of experts and the topic and perhaps a Muslim cleric. We’re told that the US Navy washed and wrapped the body in accordance with Islam, that a sailor read an Islamic prayer, which was translated into Arabic before Osama bin Laden’s body went into the ocean.

This bothers me.

Islam, or at least the branch of Islam represented by Osama bin Laden, is antithetical to everything good about human life: it’s against liberty of every sort, against democracy, against women, against rational thought; it is fundamentally evil.

Political correctness has no place in our response to bin Laden and those who think and act like him.

What purpose is served by treating bin Laden as he would have wanted to be treated following his death? Whom would we have offended by showing his body – and then cremating it? And if some Muslims would have been offended, would that be too high a price to pay for the value of the message?

Did we not by the apparently Islam-sanctioned burial at sea increase the argument that the islamofascists will make that bin Laden is a martyr, or even allow the conspiracy theories which already live in the Arab world that we didn’t actually kill him? Perhaps those who believe in the Muslim version of heaven would have thought twice about joining in terrorist actions against the US if they knew that we would treat their bodies in a way designed to ensure they never reach their 72 virgins.

The Bush Administration made a point of saying that we’re not at war with Islam. President Obama has taken that to a whole new level. He apologized around the Arab world for the United States and has now ordered that perhaps the single greatest enemy in our nation’s history (with the possible exceptions of Hitler, Tojo, and George III) be washed and wrapped in accordance with the same “law” on which that most evil of men based his murder of thousands of Americans.

I have the utmost appreciation for President Obama’s ordering a mission which not only allowed us to kill bin Laden but to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that we did so. But I would have preferred that our president didn’t yet again offer even the slightest suggestion of moral equivalence between the civilized world and the barbaric world of Islamists like bin Laden.

Treating bin Laden with respect in death, even if we killed him, is the wrong signal to send to current and would-be members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other anti-civilization Muslim terrorist groups. These enemies only understand raw ruthless power. We should show them nothing less, ever.

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative

by Joshua Sharf | 12:02 am, May 3, 2011

That was the winner in Michael Kinsley’s legendary “Most Boring Headline” contest.  Tonight, it refers to the Canadian election results, where, for the first time since 1988, the electorate has returned an outright Conservative majority.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper has governed with a minority, in coalition with the New Democrat Party, since 2006, but he [...]

CO Peak Politics: Black sites closed by Obama were source of key intel

by Rossputin | 7:25 pm, May 2, 2011

Colorado Peak Politics has this interesting and important report, “putting 2 and 2 together” in a way I haven’t seen elsewhere:

http://www.coloradopeakpolitics.com/diary/270/breaking-obama-closed-same-black-sites-that-gave-intel-leading-to-bin-laden-execution

I concur with their conclusion that President Obama deserves praise for making the decision to take out Osama bin Laden in the way it happened. But in a sense, it’s almost by accident that we acquired the intelligence, or at least it would have been a lot less likely in the world Barack Obama would like to see. (I’ll have my own further somewhat related thoughts tomorrow morning relating to bin Laden’s burial at sea.)

SOS Looks to Mitigate Burden of Campaign Censorship Laws

by Ari Armstrong | 7:17 pm, May 2, 2011

As Diana Hsieh reviews, the Colorado Secretary of State currently is evaluating rules pertaining to issue-group reporting requirements under Colorado’s campaign censorship laws. See also the Institute for Justice’s report on the court case at issue. Fo…

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