While members of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly are patting themselves on the back for their "compromise budget", no one seems to be moving on a Constitutional Amendment to ban use of eminent domain for private ends. Non-presidential candidate Fred Thompson has a blog post on the problem that’s getting lots of attention, and a Google [...]
Monthly Archives: July 2007
- Jul31
Renewable Energy: Now We’re Talking
If this story is true, there could be a renewable energy competitive with gasoline and crude. It also illustrates how we don’t need central planners, and that we don’t need agricultural subsidies, either. While I’m not sure a biomass-based system of boutique fuels would be better for the environment – particularly given the land requirements [...]
- Jul30
“One person, one vote”?
In light of the so-called "Voter-Owned Elections Act" being approved by the House over the weekend, the taxpayers of North Carolina might want a little heads up on just who is behind the nationwide movement helping to bring taxpayer subsidized campaigns to our state. One such organization is the Tides Foundation, a group that receives [...]
- Jul30
Iraq: The Petraeus Effect
Stunning article on the war in Iraq by two very prestigious Brookings wonks after a recent visit.
- Jul30
Budget Blues
The latest North Carolina budget increases spending nearly ten percent over the last. Ten percent. That is not sustainable. Say goodbye to the relative prosperity our state has enjoyed over the last decade or so. It won’t last at this rate. (Here’s a list of some of the goodies certain interests will get at your [...]
- Jul30
Illiberal Campaigns: Balfour on a Roll
Balfour’s clearly on a roll — quoted here, too, on taxpayer-funded campaigns: Hoping that doesn’t happen is Brian Balfour, a policy analyst for the John Williams Pope Civitas Institute. Balfour said public financing of political campaigns threatens free expression. He said taxpayer money could be used to fund a campaign for a politician the taxpayer [...]
- Jul30
Balfour: Econ 101
Balfour makes the case for basic economics in this N&O letter to the editor – a case that, sadly, must be made time-and-again because bureaucrats and utopia-builders are usually deranged by zero-sum thinking. A snip: "Diverting resources from the private sector into the less productive hands of government bureaucrats slows overall economic growth. A low [...]
- Jul30
Laura Leslie: How Reporting Should be Done
Laura Leslie’s reporting on the state budget has generally been excellent. Unlike most NPR material at both the local and national level (filtered, biased, and loaded as it often is), Leslie tries painstakingly to present both sides of any issue — as in this piece. While no media outlet deserves the ‘fair and balanced’ moniker, [...]
- Jul27
Pig Pickin’
In the timeless nattering of the politician (quoted from this piece by Democrat handmaidens WRAL): "Some people are not going to be happy, but they go home and say, ‘I didn’t want this, but how could I vote against my university getting a new building they so desperately needed or I supported teacher raises and [...]