Card Check: In Light of Business’ Views, Boycott Everything! – Shopfloor.org More measured commentary from The Huffington Post, in this case the long-time labor activist and writer, Jonathan Tasini… Sidewalks: Our Path to Economic Growth – Government Bytes The United States Conference of Mayors sent this porky wish list to the Hill yesterday. They’re calling it “America’s Mayors Report to the Nation on Projects to Strengthen Metro Economies and Create Jobs Now.” I’m calling it a joke… Tough Times for Housing Lobbyists – The Tax Foundation The National Association of …
A key provision of proposed legislation to bailout General Motors and Chrysler, which say they are on the brink of insolvency, may be an unconstitutional taking of private property. The Takings Clause of the Constitution has been the subject of considerable public interest since the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision involving the taking of a private residence for the benefit of a pharmaceutical manufacturer. To protect taxpayers, the legislation requires that government loans to the automakers be given priority over all other debt held by the companies. In general, when a …
Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report confirming what anyone who knows anything about how markets actually work already knew: the European Union’s cap and trade policy has been a complete failure. According to the report the “price on carbon emissions fluctuated” making the system’s “cumulative effect on emissions across the EU member states … uncertain.” Well Britain’s Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband knows exactly what to do about those fluctuations. The London Times reports: [Miliband] appeared to be on a collision course with Britain’s …
The old saying no news is good news certainly holds true in this case. With talks of an auto bailout and a certain Illinois governor entertaining bids for President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat usurping the headlines, there has been little talk of the global climate change conference in Poznan, Poland. The conference, designed to draw up an international treaty to reduce carbon dioxide, will wrap up December 12th and little progress has been made thus far. In fact, the news that has been coming out of Poland has actually been …
This June we warned you that the left, discouraged by the utter failure of Lieberman-Warner in Congress, would instead try and implement a massive new carbon tax through bureaucratic means the same way California is doing with their California Air Resources Board. Last week we detailed how President-elect Barack Obama’s EPA transition team choices signaled that Obama plans to forgo the legislative route, and instead attempt use the EPA to force cap and trade on the country using authority from the Clean Air Act. Now the Sacramento Bee reports: California’s …
At first Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she would never support an auto bailout bill that used money originally set aside to help Detroit develop fuel-efficient vehicles. But she relented. Then Pelosi claimed she wouldn’t support a bailout bill unless the Big Three promised to drop their lawsuit against California’s emissions requirements. Now Pelosi says she is willing to support the bailout without the Big Three dropping the lawsuit, but only if Republican lawmakers support the bill. Nobody should fall for Nancy’s head games. This Monday Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) …
At the height of the campaign season, House Oversight Committee chair Henry Waxman (D-CA) held a number of hearings on the burgeoning financial meltdown including investigations into the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the bailout of AIG, The Breakdown of Credit Rating Agencies, and The Role of Federal Regulators. The purpose of all of these hearings was to blame deregulation and Wall Street greed for the markets downturn. Not until the election was safely over did Waxman manage to hold a hearing on the role government intervention played in the disaster. …
A very moving film shown here at Heritage this week, Red Terror on the Amber Coast, made an important point about the Soviet need to destroy individualism in order to impose collectivization on the Lithuanian peasants. The abolition of the individual was necessary for the communist Utopia. The people of Lithuania had this forced upon them, but even in Russia and even among the true believers this individuality had to be extinguished. The people were sapped of their identities along with their property in order that they would submit to …
Just two days ago, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) stood with about 240 union members inside the shuttered factory of Republic Doors and Windows. The company had closed the factory before providing its 240 workers their due severance pay and accrued vacation time. Blagojevich was determined to bring the full power of the governor’s office to bear to make sure the union members got paid. Blagojevich threatened to stop the state of Illinois from doing all business with Republic’s creditor, Bank of America, if it did not help the laid-off …
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), champion of a federal tax holiday, faced skeptical questions today about his idea to give the economy a boost. Gohmert wants to stop collecting taxes for two months — using the unspent $350 billion from the Wall Street bailout to pay for the plan. Although his idea has gained momentum on Capitol Hill with Republican lawmakers and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, conservative and libertarian bloggers who met with Gohmert at Heritage asked tough questions of the Texas congressman. (Listen to the briefing on BlogTalkRadio.) Most wanted …
