Friday, July 29, 2011

Local Regulations Keep You Unemployed

Local politicos and their backroom "business partners" are creating phoney licensing scams to keep you out of work. Check out your local licensing regulations and see if any of them are based in reality. Fight for your right to work!

Amplify’d from www.ncpa.org

Proponents of such requirements justify these barriers by endlessly parroting the same worn-out phrase: public health and safety.  Yet if public health and safety were truly at risk, we would expect to see florists regulated in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., not just in Louisiana as they are now.

State legislators largely seem oblivious to the counterproductive effects of the licensure schemes they create.  This spring there was a ray of sunshine in the gloom of occupational licensure when Florida's new governor, Rick Scott, proposed a list of 20 occupations ripe for deregulation.

Read more at www.ncpa.org
 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

EFF Campaign Increases the Number of TOR Relays

Amplify’d from www.eff.org
There is an acute need for circumvention technologies in authoritarian regimes - and even activists in many would-be progressive societies may feel safer if they can avoid the electronic gaze of authorities.

Our gratitude goes out to the hundreds of individuals who set up relays and donated bandwidth to help strengthen the network. They are true defenders of online freedoms.

Read more at www.eff.org
 

Monday, July 18, 2011

The Stimulus that Didn't

It should also be noted that 'official' unemployment figures ignore the completely disenfranchised who do not 'qualify.'

Amplify’d from www.ncpa.org

Myth 1: Stimulus spending can jump start the economy and fix unemployment.

  • Since the enactment of the stimulus bill in February 2009, the unemployment rate has not approached pre-American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) levels, even though $382 billion has been made available by government departments and agencies (on top of tax credits and other tax-related items).
  • In fact, unemployment recently edged up, from 9 percent in April to 9.1 percent in May.

Myth 2: Additional infrastructure spending is an effective way to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

politicians rarely include infrastructure spending in stimulus bills.
  • Instead, they spend money on items like transfers and tax cuts.
  • Only 3 percent of the last stimulus went to infrastructure.
Read more at www.ncpa.org
 

Friday, July 08, 2011

The War on Food: are we Winning or Losing?

Federal, State and Local governments continue to pour money and manpower into the War on Food, but who's winning?

Here's a brief selection of examples from 2011 to 2008:



"Government regulation ... requires costly procedures that drive small producers out of the market without necessarily improving the quality of food." http://drewt333.amplify.com/2010/12/21/get-a-taste-of-some-nutritious-freedom/



“Mandatory menu labeling did not promote healthier food-purchasing behavior.” http://reason.com/blog/2011/07/07/washington-post-food-nannyism



"Growing too many vegetables is illegal" http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/10/weird_zoning_laws



The War on Lunch: http://blog.mises.org/13894/the-great-food-truck-lobbying-race/



Hot Dog Wars http://reason.com/blog/2008/02/08/las-bacon-wrapped-hot-dog-wars



"Nationwide, fancy juices and venti mocha Frappuccinos remain almost completely untouched by sin surcharges, while a bodega bottle of Sprite brings down the wrath of the taxman. " http://reason.com/archives/2009/09/29/5-myths-we-need-to-can-about-s



Regulation and enforcement? Failed.

Minimalist "education?" Failed.

"Sin tax?" Failed.



While waving the flag of "health concerns" Federal, State and City governments grow steadily more "obese" at the tax trough while protecting their business partners.

Small business, local producers and tax-payers are not welcome at the table.

Amplify’d from www.latimes.com
America continues to get fatter, according to a comprehensive new report on the nation's weight crisis. Statistics for 2008-2010 show that 16 states are experiencing steep increases in adult obesity, and none has seen a notable downturn in the last four years.
Read more at www.latimes.com