Also known as the option destroyers. After a terrorist attack, it's natural to ask: What can politicians do to keep us safe? One thing they could do is actually focus on keeping us safe rather than devoting so much time, energy and hot air to the many things government does instead of protecting lives and property. My state's politicians are ... MORE
Political nitwittery thrives in California. For years, critics of the California high-speed rail project – from government oversight agencies to transportation and engineering experts to think tanks to local grass-roots organizations to these Opinion pages – have faulted the California High-Speed Rail Authority for its overly optimistic and ever-changing ... MORE
by Victor Davis Hanson. People should be represented as well as salmon. Even the high mountain lakes and reservoirs are about empty – and equally void of vacationers who have few places to boat, fish, and ski, and are unsure where the next forest fire will break out and force evacuations on often one-lane winding mountain roads. Four years of ... MORE
by Doug Reich. [Back in 2012,] in a bizarre harangue delivered to the DNC delegates, ex-Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm hysterically chanted that hundreds of thousands of jobs were “saved” by the federal government’s bailout of General Motors. According to her, these jobs were “saved” thanks only to the largess of the Dear Leader and ... MORE
by Joe Schoffstall. Why cronyism is so entrenched. More than 400 former members of Congress have passed through the revolving door by making the move to K Street as lobbyists or as senior advisers performing similar work, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. The trend of former members, congressional staffers, and federal ... MORE
Protecting incumbent businesses from competition. Businesses are being strangled at birth and prevented from hiring workers, according to a new study looking at regulations across 215 industries. Using data on the extent of federal regulations, the Mercatus Center finds that a 10 percent increase in regulation leads to 0.5 percent fewer firm ... MORE
by Kiri Tannenbaum. Greedy gov't policy restricts competition. While the typical New York City hot dog costs about the same ($2-$3) at every street cart, the fees the vendor pays can vary wildly. Some pay just a few thousand a year, while other vendors pay the city more than $200,000 just to have their carts in the right spots. According to the New York ... MORE
by Jeffrey Dorfman. The solar industry admits it. For at least the last thirty years the alternative energy industry has been claiming they are almost ready to be economically competitive with fossil fuel. Wind, solar, geothermal, and others keep begging for government subsidies to help them stay afloat until they can reach a size at which economies ... MORE
