YET MORE ECONOMICS

Federalism fights taxes:"Ronald Reagan said people vote with their feet. They choose to live where there is more freedom. This was most striking when he pointed to those fleeing communism in Cuba and the old Soviet Union. But Reagan also pointed to taxpayers moving from state to state for more economic freedom. And he was right. There has been significant migration to states without an income tax, for example. But have you ever heard of a whole town wanting to move? Welcome to Killington, Vermont."

Unfair distribution "Last week a woman ranted at me about the unequal and unfair distribution of wealth in this country. Her attitude is widely held. There are several errors in logic contained in this lament... In a way we are lucky to have lived through the century that saw such monumental foolishness exposed for what it is. Too bad some slow witted folks still don't get it."

Lord Bauer was right: "It is tempting to think that aid can be targeted to countries with good policies and have a positive impact. However, once we recognize that all aid is political, since it is government-to-government assistance, we should not be surprised that it has either no effect on development or a negative effect. Moreover, the World Bank continues to give substantial aid to countries with poor policies."

Globalization and free trade "Freedom of trade is really a very simple concept. Each individual should be at liberty to buy from and sell to whomever he wishes on mutually agreed-upon terms. Whether the partners to this trade live next door to each other or are separated by thousands of miles should make absolutely no difference to the logic of the idea."

Ignoring the fear-mongering about outsourcing: "From the way some people talk in this political season, you'd think all the good jobs are being shipped to India, leaving nothing for Americans to do but flip hamburgers and shine shoes. Don't expect to hear sensible talk about economics in an election year. It doesn't fit into sound bites."

Last week, Senate Democrats successfully filibustered the nation's most important anti-poverty measure -- welfare reform. It is thus Democrats who are effectively opposed to lifting people out of poverty and, in the process, make insulting assumptions about minorities, particularly minority women. The success of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act is now so well-established that its liberal doubters are increasingly pathetic flat-earthers. Welfare rolls nationwide have fallen by roughly 60 percent since the mid-1990s.

*****************************************

ELSEWHERE

A recent show on "Dateline NBC" called "Pattern of Suspicion" (summarized here by the Left-leaning Seattle PI) repeated the old allegations that "driving while black" is an offence in the eyes of American police. Former police officer Mike Tremoglie is something of an expert on that allegation and he emailed them as follows: "Your report - like the issue itself - was replete with fallacies and deceptions. For example, you extensively interviewed David Harris. However, you did not identify that Mr. Harris claims to be the leading authority about racial profiling YET HAS SAID HIMSELF, *** "I lack the kind of systematically gathered and analyzed data anyone making such a statement would prefer to have. This is because virtually no one . has ever kept comprehensive statistics on who police stop . there may be race-neutral explanations for the statistical pattern (racial disparity in traffic stops)" *** Since this did not comport with your preconceived notions you did not report this. As I said I have written about this issue and would be glad to provide you with more information. However, given the prejudicial tone of your report and the fact that you have a history of contrived and staged reporting ( i.e. your reports about GM gas tanks, tractor trailer drivers, and loggers in Idaho just to name a few) I do not think that is likely."

The State will protect you: "A grade 1 girl was sent home with her father just hours after he knocked her to the ground at her Brisbane school. Teachers, parents and students watched as the man struck the girl, believed to be aged five. Several blows to the face and head drove the child to the ground. A witness said the man then picked her up and hit her again. The attack was at St Edward's Catholic school at Daisy Hill in Brisbane's south on Tuesday morning. Alerted by a teacher and at least two parents who saw the incident, the school's principal Mike Norris notified the Department of Family Services and police.After interviewing the child, her father and Mr Norris, authorities ruled it was safe for her to go home that afternoon. The decision to allow the child to return to her father so soon after the attack has outraged child protection workers"

The libertarian solution -- a private army emerges in Iraq "Under assault by insurgents and unable to rely on U.S. and coalition troops for intelligence or help under duress, private security firms in Iraq have begun to band together in the past 48 hours, organizing what may effectively be the largest private army in the world, with its own rescue teams and pooled, sensitive intelligence. Many of the firms were hired by the U.S. government to protect its employees in Iraq."

An interesting comment from a reader noting that GWB's national security staff in the run-up to 9/11 were mostly holdovers from the Clinton presidency.

My recipe today is for one of my favourite foods: Spanish Paella. It takes a bit of time to cook but it is worth it. See here.

For more postings, see GREENIE WATCH and POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH

********************************

The Left have always wanted more spent on welfare and made "Fascism" a swear-word. President Bush deposed a brutal Fascist dictator and sponsored a big expansion of welfare. But instead of being admired by the Left, he is hated with a passion. What does that tell you about the Left? It tells you that they have no principles at all: That everything they have ever claimed to stand for is fake.

Three more examples of Leftist dishonesty: They blame the 9/11 attacks on "poverty" in the Islamic world. Yet most of the attackers were Saudis and Saudi Arabia is one of the world's richest countries! They also say that they oppose racism yet support "affirmative action" -- which judges people by the colour of their skin! They say that they care about "the poor" but how often do you hear them calling for the one thing that would bring about a worldwide economic boom in poor countries -- the USA and the EU abandoning their agricultural protectionism? Leftists obviously care more about conservative farmers than they do about the poor!

Comments? Email me here or here. If there are no recent posts here blame Blogger.com and visit my mirror site here or here. My Home Page is here or here.

********************************