Category: Role of government
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I, Government
I, GovernmentPublished in The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, October 2002 by D.W. MacKenzieClick here to read the article. This article illustrates just how large government at all levels has become. Do we really want governments so powerful that they can do the things described in this article? How have we let this happen? Will we…
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The Invasiveness of Government
TRACKSIDEby John D’Aloia Jr.May 31, 2005 Trackside last discussed the use of the legislative process to feed the insatiable itch for power that overtakes elected officials. This past session a majority of Kansas state senators demonstrated the itch by passing SB45, a bill that would have given local jurisdictions the means to instantly collect past…
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The Rise of Government and the Decline of Morality
At the time when we have voted on a major issue that was framed in terms of morality, when we have prominent preachers attempting to impose their version of morality on us through the power of government, when we have a mayor who opposes certain businesses for moral reasons, and we have government at all…
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Why government spending is (mostly) bad
Government spending replaces the judgment of the market with the judgment of politicians. The judgment of the market refers to the billions of decisions that we collectively make each day, decisions that we freely make, that we believe will advance our self-interest. That is to say, the market is characterized by mutual agreement and voluntary…
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Martha, I’m Glad You’re Home
Writing from Newton, Iowa. Alan Reynolds, writing for the Cato Institute, wrote in June 2003 this: Believe it or not, the government now charges Martha Stewart with “securities fraud” during that same period because she supposedly tried in vain to prop up her own stock by denying that she was guilty of the crime then…
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End Corporate Welfare, Starting with Industrial Revenue Bonds
“While corporate welfare has attracted critics from both the left and the right, there is no uniform definition. By TIME’s definition, it is this: any action by local, state or federal government that gives a corporation or an entire industry a benefit not offered to others. It can be an outright subsidy, a grant, real…