One of the paradoxes of American politics is that our friends on the left (and even many on the right) are generally supportive of expansive regulatory regimes even as they rail against the evils of big business. This is a paradox because one way businesses deal with complicated and costly regulations is through consolidation. The…
USDA Demands Magician Develop "Disaster Plan" For His Rabbit
Remember that study indicating that the expansion of federal regulation has made America 72% poorer? Here’s another data point supporting that conclusion. Marty Mahane is a magician who works in Missouri. Like a lot of magicians, he has a rabbit that is a part of his act. But lately, his rabbit has been causing him…
Federal Judge Tells Obama Administration Not To Enforce Obamacare Contraception Mandate
Obama administration Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has finalized Obamacare’s mandate regulations today, and while there is included an “accommodation” for non-profit religious institutions there is no similar accommodation for for-profit organizations. But that doesn’t matter for now, as a federal judge has ordered the Obama administration not to enforce contraception mandate on lawsuit plaintiff Hobby…
Absurd Government Regulation Making Life Harder
The other day I wrote a post about a study by two economists which indicated that America is 72% poorer than we could have been thanks to overzealous government regulation. If that was a bit too esoteric, here’s a real world example of how government layering on regulation after regulation is making us poorer. A…
Study: Federal Regulations Have Made America 72% Poorer
Government up to a certain point can be a boon to an economy. Laws that protect our rights, and provide a legal process for settling disputes, allow for a stable environment in which commerce can flourish. Beyond a certain point, government is a burden. And a new study from economists John Dawson at Appalachian State…
Rep. Kevin Cramer: "I will not sit idly by and watch this President steal the jobs, hopes, and dreams of my constituents."
“I will not sit idly by and watch this President steal the jobs, hopes, and dreams of my constituents,” Rep. Kevin Cramer said today on the floor of the House of what he described as President Obama’s war on coal. “Nor will I sit idly by while he and his EPA impose their mediocrity on…
North Dakota Is Inconvenient For Obama's Politics
The New York Times has a story about festering dissent against the President in the “states that Obama forgot,” and not surprisingly North Dakota is one of them (I wonder if the Times ever described liberal angst over President Bush as “festering”?). That shouldn’t surprise us. North Dakota doesn’t get a lot of visits from…
Feds Want To Disable Your Phone While Driving To Prevent Distracted Driving
Despite the hype cell phone use while driving is given, traffic fatalities related to distracted driving due to a cell phone are less than 1% of overall US road fatalities. According to a 2012 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving accounted for 9% of all traffic fatalities in the US in…
Gun Control Not Stopping Criminals From Getting Guns
“You have this paradox in that New Jersey has arguably the toughest gun laws in the nation yet has a city within it that has gun violence at Third World country rates,” Camden County Chief of Police Scott Thomson is quoted as saying in this USA Today story about crime in the City of Camden.…
There Have Been More Than 73 Million Firearm Background Checks Under President Obama
It’s not news that there’s been a huge spike in gun sales under President Obama – Americans have been buying up guns since the earliest days of his term – but it does look as though the trend is slowing a bit towards the end of his time in office: CNS News – There have…