Part of the argument against Obamacare is how terrible and freedom-hating and un-American the insurance mandate is. I mean, being forced to pay for something you don’t want, or don’t need? Being forced to enter into a contract? Ridiculous! Inconceivable! If the government can mandate paying for that, what can’t they mandate paying for? Ad… Continue reading On Mandates
Category: Politics
The Fundamental Role of Reality
If you listen to the pundits, the 2012 election represents a referendum on “the fundamental role of government” (see this from one of my more favorite conservative publications, for example; Google the phrase itself and you will get thousands of hits). On one side, we have the Obama administration, which wants more taxes, more spending,… Continue reading The Fundamental Role of Reality
Falling Apart
The federal gas tax has not been increased since 1993. It’s a fixed per-gallon tax, not a percentage of the price of gasoline like a sales tax, so as gas prices have gone up, this hasn’t led to increased gas tax revenues. On the contrary: higher gas prices and more fuel-efficient cars are leading to… Continue reading Falling Apart
Legislating via amendment
There are a lot of reasons why the photo ID constitutional amendment is a bad idea (it was sent to the house floor today), but I’m going to ignore all the policy for now and focus simply on the mechanics. No matter what you think of the concept, putting it in the constitution could make… Continue reading Legislating via amendment
Fair and Balanced
What’s wrong with journalism today? Look no further than this article in today’s New York Times about voter ID laws. Specifically, this paragraph: Supporters argue that the restrictions are necessary to prevent fraud. Critics say there is no evidence of significant amounts of in-person voter impersonation fraud — the kind addressed by photo identification requirements… Continue reading Fair and Balanced
Stadium Angst
I know there’s a “stadium deal” in the works, but there are deals, and then there are deals. The current plan is not going to survive either the Legislature or the Minneapolis City Council, so the real question is what the end product, if any, will look like. I have my desires; we’ll see if… Continue reading Stadium Angst
More pointless health accounts
Two Republicans in the state legislature have an idea to make health insurance more affordable. No, it’s not health care exchanges. No, it’s not universal coverage. Instead, it’s a plan to create a “personal health premium account” for paying for health insurance. They say people could use it to pool money from employers, family members,… Continue reading More pointless health accounts
Simple answers to simple questions
Borrowing from Duncan Black, we have a simple answer to a simple question. Bob Collins asks if we should give citizens the ability to put measures on the ballot. No. This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.
All Apologies
I really shouldn’t be surprised that Republicans are ranting and raving about the fact that President Obama apologized for the fact that soldiers accidentally burned copies of the Qur’an in Afghanistan. It’s an election year. Foreign policy is at stake. People who need to make money being talking heads need to make money. Realities like… Continue reading All Apologies
E-Fairness
Long before I started working in the retail industry, I supported tax fairness for e-commerce. I buy plenty of things online: the amount of money I’ve spent over the years at Newegg is pretty impressive. At the same time, though, I don’t think that online businesses should have the advantage of not being required to… Continue reading E-Fairness