Role of government Archives - Voice For Liberty

28

Feb

Small and weak government?

Do corporations prefer the marketplace or a large and powerful government? A letter in the Wichita Eagle criticized the marketplace and the power that corporations purportedly hold over it. (Government needed, February 28, 2016). This letter refers to an op-ed by Charles Koch (Charles G. Koch: Sanders and I agree on a few issues, February 19, 2016, originally published in the Washington Post) A few remarks: The letter-writer states: "It was also no surprise to read that his solution is very small and weak government." Reading the Koch op-ed to which the letter-writer refers, I didn't see a call for…

23

Feb

By Bob Weeks

If you can’t get a cop in Wichita

It could be that the officers are busy protecting the city from the illegal playing of poker. This is an area ripe for reform. Why is playing poker for money on east Kellogg illegal? At one time the state thought it had to protect us from gambling because it was sinful. That argument has faded as states across the nation have sanctioned casinos. Kansas is unique -- at least at the time of the start of non-Indian casino gambling in the state -- in that the casinos are actually owned by the state. So if the state of Kansas owns…

24

Jul

By Bob Weeks

Friedman: Laws that do harm

As we approach another birthday of Milton Friedman, here's his column from Newsweek in 1982 that explains that despite good intentions, the result of government intervention often harms those it is intended to help. There is a sure-fire way to predict the consequences of a government social program adopted to achieve worthy ends. Find out what the well-meaning, public-interested persons who advocated its adoption expected it to accomplish. Then reverse those expectations. You will have an accurate prediction of actual results. To illustrate on the broadest level, idealists from Marx to Lenin and the subsequent fellow travelers claimed that communism…

23

Apr

By Bob Weeks

Franklin Roosevelt, contributor to modern nanny state

If you've wondered what was the genesis of the modern nanny state, listen to this speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It's part of his State of the Union Address from 1944. The purpose of the original Bill of Rights is to protect our freedoms from government. But to provide the things Roosevelt calls for -- food, clothing, a decent home, adequate medical care, and a good education -- requires an expansive government. These rights are called positive rights because they require action by the government, in contrast to the negative rights found in the Bill of Rights. Richard A. Epstein…

16

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Like it or not, we’re coming to plan for you

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. -- H.L. Mencken We've learned that the government planners will plan for you, whether or not you want it. Despite having voted against participation, two Kansas counties are still listed as members of a regional planning consortium. Further, a month after the Butler County Commission sent a letter asking that references to its participation be removed, its name still appears. The new website thinktomorrowtoday.org promotes and supports the sustainable communities government planning process in South-Central Kansas. The planning effort has…

13

Jul

By Bob Weeks

Round table: Role of government in society

In this episode of Kansas Living, Rick Laurino hosts a round table discussion with Kansas representatives Ed Trimmer, Marc Rhoades, and Bob Weeks of WichitaLiberty.org about the role of government in society. View the second part next weekend.

21

Oct

By Bob Weeks

A second Bill of Rights, by Franklin Roosevelt

If we wonder what was the genesis of the modern nanny state, listen to this speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It's part of his State of the Union Address from 1944. The purpose of the original Bill of Rights is to protect our freedoms from government. But to provide the things Roosevelt calls for -- food, clothing, a decent home, adequate medical care, and a good education -- requires an expansive government. These rights are called positive rights because they require action by the government, in contrast to the negative rights found in the Bill of Rights. Richard A. Epstein…

01

Oct

By Bob Weeks

Things have changed at Social Security Administration

Remember when your Social Security card stated that it was not to be used for identification purposes? You'd have to be of at least a certain age to remember this, according to SSA: "The first Social Security cards were issued starting in 1936, they did not have this legend. Beginning with the sixth design version of the card, issued starting in 1946, SSA added a legend to the bottom of the card reading "FOR SOCIAL SECURITY PURPOSES -- NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION." This legend was removed as part of the design changes for the 18th version of the card, issued beginning…

09

Feb

By Guest Author

The effect of government grants

Trackside is a column written occasionally by John D’Aloia Jr. He lives in St. Marys, Kansas. TRACKSIDE © by John D’Aloia Jr. February 5, 2012 AD How do you view government grants? Are they "free" money handed out by a caring and beneficent government? My view is that government grants are funded by a forced redistribution of the resources from many people for the benefit of a few. Such grants are a means by which the grantor achieves control over the grantee. Such grants are morally and politically unacceptable. "The Eighth Commandment does not say 'Thou shalt not steal ...…

10

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Pentagon strategy blamed for Boeing Wichita closure

The fact that price was the key determinant in the decision to award Boeing the air force refueling tanker contract led Boeing to close its underutilized, and therefore expensive, Wichita plant. This is the conclusion of Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D., who is chief operating officer of the Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit Lexington Institute and chief executive officer of Source Associates. His article Viewpoint: Why Boeing's Not in Kansas Anymore appears in Industry Week. Thompson writes: "The acquisition strategy that the Obama administration put together to finally break the impasse over purchase of a new tanker was what people in the defense…