What the politicians promise, HSAs deliver :: Liberty Maven

"This doctor was willing to order the test when he thought someone other than the patient would pay for it."

What the politicians promise, HSAs deliver :: Liberty Maven

CARPE DIEM: Profit Margin: Health Insurance Industry Ranks #86

Profit margins for health insurance industry rank 86th among American business sectors.

CARPE DIEM: Profit Margin: Health Insurance Industry Ranks #86

The Federal Pledge | 10-4: The Tenth Amendment Center Pledge

This looks great. Will be asking legislators and candidates in my area if they will take this pledge.

The Federal Pledge  | 10-4: The Tenth Amendment Center Pledge

A Tale of Two Shortages - Doug French - Mises Institute

Venezuelan coffee and United States health care -- unfortunate parallels.

A Tale of Two Shortages - Doug French - Mises Institute

What ‘right’ to health care? - The Boston Globe

"Happily, there is no better system for achieving the widest possible access to health care - or any other good or service - than the one that requires the least degree of political interference: the normal interplay of supply, demand, and competition. Health care is too important to be left to the market? No, it is too important not to be."

What ‘right’ to health care? - The Boston Globe

ObamaCare: Status Quo on Steroids | Foundation for Economic Education

Excellent explanation of how companies and governments got involved in health care and insurance, and why it would be better for the consumer (but worse for the insurance companies) to get them out.

ObamaCare: Status Quo on Steroids | Foundation for Economic Education

Obama Attacks Tire Buyers « LewRockwell.com Blog

Silly government. Tariffs steal from the consumer to shelter the protected domestic industry from competition.

Obama Attacks Tire Buyers « LewRockwell.com Blog

Municipalized Trash: It's Uncivilized - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute

Excellent arguments for separation of trash pickup and State.

Columbus, Indiana: Anybody listening?

Municipalized Trash: It's Uncivilized - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute

Scratching By: How Government Creates Poverty as We Know It | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty

Excellent analysis of the ways supposed well-meaning government policies lock people into poverty.

Scratching By: How Government Creates Poverty as We Know It | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty

The Worst Economics Article Ever? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Institute

Some common-sense arguments from Robert Murphy against the "eating local" hype.

The Worst Economics Article Ever? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Institute

Anti-Big-Government DC Demonstration Draws Huge Crowd: “Don’t Tread on Me” | The Beacon

People are getting fed-up with out-of-control big government.

Anti-Big-Government DC Demonstration Draws Huge Crowd: “Don’t Tread on Me” | The Beacon

Is Obama's Speech Indoctrination? by Jacob G. Hornberger

I like Jacob Hornberger's take on the president's speech to children in government schools.

"Is counter-indoctrination the solution? No. The solution is a separation of school and state, an end to all governmental involvement in education. Don’t count on President Obama to share that idea in his speech to the public-school children of America."

Is Obama's Speech Indoctrination? by Jacob G. HornbergerI

The Intellectual Paralysis of Statists by Jacob G. Hornberger

Hornberger nails it. "Having grown accustomed to “debating” which form of statism Americans should embrace, the statists simply lack the competence and expertise to defend their statism against the free-market arguments presented by libertarians, both at the moral level and the practical level."

The Intellectual Paralysis of Statists by Jacob G. Hornberger

The Intellectual Paralysis of Statists by Jacob G. Hornberger

I agree.

"The problem we face in our day is not only economic and political in nature but also psychological in nature. To get our nation back on the right track, we libertarians have the task of not only showing people that economic liberty and free markets are moral and that they work, we must also inspire people to restore their faith in themselves, in others, in freedom, in free markets, and in God."

The Intellectual Paralysis of Statists by Jacob G. Hornberger

Daniel Griswold: Main Street should embrace globalization | Washington Examiner

Imposing steep tariffs on imports would punish millions of American consumers through higher prices.

Daniel Griswold: Main Street should embrace globalization | Washington Examiner

Whose children are they? | Christine Smith's Blog

"The controversies will come and go… until the real problem, government provided education, is widely exposed, challenged and abolished."

Whose children are they? | Christine Smith's Blog

How 9/11 Should Be Remembered by Tom Engelhardt -- Antiwar.com

Good perspective on 11 September 2001.

How 9/11 Should Be Remembered by Tom Engelhardt -- Antiwar.com

Six Theses of Libertarian Rhetoric

Good food for thought for libertarians, liberals, and conservatives.

Six Theses of Libertarian Rhetoric

74 Years Ago, Henry Ford Predicted Hemp Cars Powered by Biofuels « HempNews

Too bad our economy is hamstrung by the prejudice against hemp products.

74 Years Ago, Henry Ford Predicted Hemp Cars Powered by Biofuels « HempNews

A Politically Incorrect Guide to Antitrust Policy - D.T. Armentano - Mises Institute

Dr. Dominick T. Armentano hits the nail on the head. "Antitrust theory and history are both a myth and a hoax. The laws were never intended to help consumers... and their long historical track record is that they have not helped consumers. They have, instead, punished innovative and efficient business organizations while protecting less efficient competitors and every state-sanctioned monopoly. They have tended to make consumers poorer and the overall economy less efficient and they deserve to be repealed, not reformed."

A Politically Incorrect Guide to Antitrust Policy - D.T. Armentano - Mises Institute

Watch Out Google, Obama’s Antitrust Chief Is Looking To Make An Example Out Of You

Erick Schonfeld gets it right. The market will always do a better job undermining monopolies than the Justice Dept will.

Watch Out Google, Obama’s Antitrust Chief Is Looking To Make An Example Out Of You

The only kind of monopoly to be feared is one imposed with the help of government favoritism and other sorts of interference in the free market, or operated by the government itself (e.g., U.S. Postal Service).

A Politically Incorrect Guide to Antitrust Policy - D.T. Armentano - Mises Institute

The war on drugs has failed. Now we need a more humane strategy | Comment is free | The Observer

Ex-president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, writes, "Repressive policies towards drug users are firmly rooted in prejudice, fear and ideological visions, rather than in cold and hard assessment of the realities of drug abuse."

The war on drugs has failed. Now we need a more humane strategy | Comment is free | The Observer

Prohibition's failed. Time for a new drugs policy | Editorial | Comment is free | The Observer

Good recommendation.

"The entire framework of the debate must change. In Britain, we operate with laws that start from the premise that drug use is inherently morally wrong, and then seek ways to stop it. Instead we must start by evaluating the harm that drug use does, and then look for the best ways to alleviate it; and we must have the courage to follow that logic wherever it leads."

Prohibition's failed. Time for a new drugs policy | Editorial | Comment is free | The Observer

Unfair, unbalanced, but free - Washington Times

Jacob Sullum writes, "The government cannot create a pure, balanced, undistorted political debate; all it can do is introduce new distortions. And as bad as distortions caused by wealth (or visibility or good looks or charisma) might seem, distortions imposed by force are worse, which is why the Constitution forbids them."

Unfair, unbalanced, but free - Washington Times

U.S. health care costs too high? Compared to what?

I just got an e-mail from Indiana's junior U.S. senator, Evan Bayh. He was replying to an e-mail I sent him recommending that we return to more of a free-market in health care to reduce cost and increase quality and availability.

Senator Bayh wrote me, "A growing threat to our economy is the skyrocketing cost of health care. The U.S. system is the world's costliest; the country spends some $2.4 trillion a year on health care."

That is a hard number to put in perspective, so I did a little math on it. A Google search tells me that the U.S. population is about 304,059,724 (as of July 2008). Dividing this figure into $2.4 trillion, it works out that the average annual health care cost per person is just under $8,000. Of course a lot of that is hidden in the money that employers pay to provide health care insurance for their employees.

Meanwhile, I see here that the average annual cost to send one student per year to Washington DC government (i.e., public) schools is $24,600.

The Real Cost of Public Schools | Cato @ Liberty

Why is $8,000 per person for health care such a national emergency, but exorbitant costs for public / government schools are apparently not so much?

This article also points out that the cost for the government option in education is about 68 percent higher than the cost of private education.

Is the same sort of surcharge the politicians are proposing that we pay for a "public" health care option?

Group making push for Ind. switch to Central time -- chicagotribune.com

I'd like to see Indiana all back on central time. The natural boundary between eastern and central runs north-south through the middle of Ohio. Wonder who ever thought it was a good idea to split Indiana into two zones in the first place. Indiana was entirely in the central zone until early 1960s.

Group making push for Ind. switch to Central time -- chicagotribune.com

Who Won World War II? by Jacob G. Hornberger

"Being saved from Hitler and the Nazis only to be turned over to Stalin and the communists was no victory, at least insofar as the Poles were concerned."

Who Won World War II? by Jacob G. Hornberger

Arizona dust-up demonstrates why campaign finance rules threaten free speech

I agree with J.D. Tuccille.

Regulating speech to guarantee "clean elections" is nothing more than censorship to muzzle non-politicians. No matter the supposed risks of respecting free speech, regulating political speech is enormously dangerous.

Arizona dust-up demonstrates why campaign finance rules threaten free speech

EDITORIAL: False reports about guns - Washington Times

"MSNBC misrepresented a black man carrying a gun as a white man to invent a racial dynamic that didn't exist."

EDITORIAL: False reports about guns - Washington Times

Generation Sloth - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute

Good article on the unintended consequences of government interference with the free-market pricing for labor.

Generation Sloth - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute

John Stossel : Clunker Legislation - Townhall.com

Stossel is right.

"Finally, there is something revolting about the government subsidizing the destruction of useful things. It reminds me of the New Deal policy of killing piglets and pouring milk down sewers to keep food prices from falling. Leave it to politicians to think we can prosper by obliterating wealth."

John Stossel : Clunker Legislation - Townhall.com

Campaign For Liberty — Publik Edumacation Яefermation | by Jerry Salcido

Excellent and thought-provoking article on the moral problem with government-run education that is based on force and coercive funding.

Campaign For Liberty — Publik Edumacation Яefermation   | by Jerry Salcido

Campaign For Liberty — The Fed on the Defensive | by Gary North

"The FED has never had to play defense. It has had a free ride. The free ride is over. The general public has still not heard of the FED. The FED still has the advantage of invisibility. But it is losing that invisibility."

Campaign For Liberty — The Fed on the Defensive   | by Gary North

‘Baron’ is merely your *name*, Rep. Hill (D, IN-09). - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState

Great reminder to another politician of who works for who.

‘Baron’ is merely your *name*, Rep. Hill (D, IN-09). - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState

The Post & Mail - Group pushes for Central Time Zone

I'd certainly be in favor of Central Time for Indiana.

Shifting 45 minutes of daylight from morning to evening in the DST months, as Central Daylight Time would do, has always seemed a whole lot more reasonable to me than the 1 hour 45 minutes we get from Eastern Daylight Time in Indiana.

The Post & Mail - Group pushes for Central Time Zone

Circumcision for All; Free Choice for None by Stephanie R. Murphy

"To be perfectly blunt, I do not see any justification for removing a part of a baby boy’s body without his consent."

I agree.

Circumcision for All; Free Choice for None by Stephanie R. Murphy

A Need for Some Soul-Searching by Jacob G. Hornberger

Great article by Jacob Hornberger. He reminds us:

"The political and economic solution to America’s woes lies in abandoning socialism and imperialism and restoring a free-market, limited-government republic to our land. More fundamentally, however, the solution involves a restoration within the American people of faith in themselves, in others, in freedom, and in God."

A Need for Some Soul-Searching by Jacob G. Hornberger

Selling Short the Short-Seller by Gregory Bresiger

Good little lesson on short-selling.

He does not point out explicitly that short-selling helps to warn would-be investors of risky companies. Short-selling provides non-governmental regulation of the investment market.

Selling Short the Short-Seller by Gregory Bresiger