Quote of the day: Are there two reactions for every government action?

“Who can now doubt that, as Professor Mises pointed out thirty years ago, every intervention by a political authority entails a further intervention to prevent the inevitable economic repercussions of the first step from taking place?" --Ludwig Lachmann, Ph.D., in his essay "The Market Economy and the Distribution of Wealth," 1956

Do you want to help fight corruption in government?

Do you trust your government?

A new Rasmussen poll claims that 46% of likely U.S. voters think most members of the United States congress are corrupt and an ever larger number think they seek office to further their own careers rather than defend the Constitution and take up for their constituents.

46% is a pretty big chunk, no?

At the Bluegrass Institute, we shine the light on corruption in government through transparency and accountability. We expose corruption and hold elected officials' feet to the fire. Help us keep an eye on YOUR government with an online recurring donation of $5, $20 or even $50!





Will you help us fight corruption in Frankfort?

A Tea Party plan to put "Big Government' on a diet

Homeowners and employers are downsizing. Why shouldn’t government, too?

Click here to read the latest Bluegrass Beacon.

Watch KET's 'Kentucky Tonight' discussion about the debt limit

Bluegrass Institute adjunct scholar John Garen took part in a panel discussion last night about the United States debt limit and the size/scope of government.

You can watch it here!

Lawmakers get credit — for bad credit ratings

Government may not be a business. But ''when government operates like a successful company, it works a whole lot better -- and costs a whole lot less,'' writes Jim Waters in his latest Bluegrass Beacon column.

Click here to read the latest Bluegrass Beacon.

Quote of the day: Whose fault is it, anyhow?

"Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them." --Charley Reese in a column written for the Orlando Sentinel in 1985 entitled "The 545 people responsible for all of America's woes."

It would be worth your time to read this short column in which Reese expresses little tolerance for politicians who blame "special interests" or "lobbyists' or "disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' inflation,' or 'politics.'"

A government of enumerated, and therefore limited, powers

I spoke with Utah's new U.S. Senator Mike Lee yesterday and asked him what federal spending is beyond the proper scope of federal involvement. His answer is worth hearing.

Frankfort should stay out of the payday lending business

The "government-can-solve-every-problem-we-have" crowd was out in force at the Capitol today.

Only those who don't understand that just about everything government tries to take away from the private sector winds up making the problems worse would vote for House Bill 182, which would cap interest rates charged by payday lenders.

No candidate who claims to adhere to TEA party principles will dare touch this.

If state government does this, when will there will be a bill introduced that caps the amount banks can charge for overdrafts or bars can extract for admittance?

Big-government shades blind the big picture

Does the federal government have the power to require all Americans to purchase health care?

A recent article in The Kentucky Gazette, by Michael Maharrey of the Kentucky Tenth Amendment Center, says "no."

The article says that health care is a states' rights issue, noting that the 10th Amendment says "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

No power granted in the Constitution, no right to regulate.

But some Washington politicians with their big-government shades get hung up on Constitutional provisions that have nothing to do with health care, like the commerce clause and taxing authority.

Maharrey points out that the commerce clause emerged as a means of preventing states from imposing tariffs on each other. The word "commerce," as the framers intended, only refers to trade.

The other flawed argument lies in Congress's taxing authority found in Article I of the Constitution that permits it to collect taxes for the "general welfare" of the people. But one need look no further than the words of James Madison to clear up any confusion:

"With respect to the two words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the details of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character...not contemplated by its creators."

Maharrey's argument is right in line with the Constitution. The same cannot be said about the federal government's health care mandate.

Mercatus employment changes graph, very telling

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has released a some very telling data - take a look..

 

Imagine that, total employment and private employment seem to be closely tied.  More proof that bigger government is not the answer to creating jobs.

Can you hear us now? Part 3...

This is the third part in our series interviewing Kentuckians about their representatives and what they want to see different about their government.


Can You Hear US Now? (part 3) from freedomky on Vimeo.

Can You Hear US now? Part 2

Here is the second installment of "Can You Hear US now?", citizens speaking out about what they want to see their government do differently!


Can You Hear US Now? from freedomky on Vimeo.

Can you hear us now?

We hit the pavement and asked Kentuckians want they want to see different about their government.  This is what they had to say (part 1)...


Can You Hear US Now? from freedomky.

Jim Waters speaks about liberty, big government, and the need for change

Jim Waters, Frankfort July 2010 from freedomky on Vimeo.

You know what time it is...Wednesday links!

• Washington's Parasites Take Aim at Apple - government take-over of the car industry, regulation of soft-drinks, tobacco bans...yes, government intervention is getting out of control but don't mess with my Apple!  The Cato Institute takes a look at being penalized for success.
• FreedomKentucky.org - just a little plug for our government transparency site.  We are nearing a million visits and with each day our database of information becomes more and more robust.  Spread the word about this site and if you're feeling particularly saucy, maybe you can contribute some of your knowledge to help the cause!
• Followthemoney.org - if you haven't visited this site, you are missing out on a great resource.  There are so many things you can track here it's almost not worth listing them...just go check it out!
• Superintendent Reviews Update - we have continued posting superintendent reviews, check and see if your district is listed.  You may find the reviews to be surprisingly...well...glowing.
• Federal money, local jobs? - This CafeHayek piece is a good follow up to a blog I posted yesterday about the creation of "energy-manager" positions for school districts.

Quote Of The Day

Question: Your essay offers parallels between Brooklyn busybodies and Taliban oppressors. How does the nanny state resemble totalitarian theocracy?

Answer: Consider ice cream: Even a single scoop of vanilla was forbidden to women in pre-war Afghanistan, lest they become decadent and Western. In Brooklyn, moms try to force ice cream trucks out of parks, thus eliminating the temptation to consume fat and sugar. The magnitude of interference is different, but both are looking to the state to protect the people from their worst selves.

Reason magazine's contributor to New Threats to Freedom, Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward

Scary tax ad: This doesn't seem right

Does this seem like a government that serves the people? Hmm.


This ad is truly scary. The language and attitude of this reminds me of the scene in the Godfather where the mob threatens the movie producer and they end up cutting off the head of his prized horse and putting it in bed with him.

The concept of "Big Brother" is exemplified here.

Big government loves to pick on tobacco

Don't let this happen in Kentucky!

Close call in Florida, though. The Brooksville, Florida city council decided not to go ahead with a comprehensive smoking ban for all city employees. This would have restricted all city employees from smoking - even during non-work hours, in their free time. The ordinance attempted to deny job applicants who admitted to using tobacco and force current employees to quit using tobacco or risk losing their job.

This is scary and a perfect example of the slippery slope of big and intrusive government. We can be thankful that intrusive government was stopped in this instance but be on the look out! This type of government action could be headed toward you soon!

Kentucky American Water and LFUCG at odds...again

This week the LFUCG is considering a proposal to require Kentucky American Water to appear before the council and explain a price increase upwards of 30%.  That's pretty steep.  The council is allegedly doing this to protect the local Lexington customers.

Here's a suggestion, LFUCG: If you are really concerned about the amount of money citizens are spending on utilities, why don't you cut the taxes you impose on those same utilities.  I would rather pay money to a private business to improve the product I am purchasing rather than fork over money to a local government that has nothing to do with that product.

It seems a bit disingenuous to talk about preserving utility costs while at the same time increasing taxes on those same utilities.