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Politics, Page 137

An easy way to balance the budget without tax increases

The current deficit of the United States -the difference between the federal government’s expenditures and its revenues- is roughly 1.3 trillion dollars, according to the Department of Commerce. That’s how much the government has to borrow in order to finance crucial services, such as Barbara Boxer’s research trips. Members of the Statist Democratic Party tell us that the only way to close this deficit is to raise taxes, whether through higher levies on “the rich” (the definition of which is rather broad) or some form of a value-added tax on top of everything else, or a combination of both......   [Read More]

Nanny-stater of the month

Reason.TV’s “Nanny of the Month” award has turned a year old, and this month’s winner has a bit of an ironic twist to it. Remember how Mom (or Nanny, for those who had one) would always tell you to eat your vegetables, often invoking starving children somewhere to whom we would have gladly given our portion? Well, in this case, a man in Georgia is in trouble with DeKalb County not for refusing to eat his greens, but for growing too many of them:.....   [Read More]

Big Green and the enviro-statist agenda – updated!

Readers of Public Secrets know that I’ve been highly critical (and contemptuous and mocking) of the anthropogenic global warming movement and its silly thesis that mankind is turning this planet into a Steam Bath of Doom. But there’s a larger environmental movement than just the global warming sector, and its goals are ambitious. Far beyond what we would think of as prudent conservation and good stewardship of the land, water, and air, the broader environmental movement seeks the centralization of authority over the environment (and thus us) in Washington and in transnational regulatory agencies. It is well-funded (often with our tax dollars), it is politically powerful, and it is a danger to our prosperity and liberty......   [Read More]

How do you say “Momma Grizzly” in Norwegian?

Siv Jensen is the leader of the Progress Party in Norway. She’s also of a rare breed in Europe: a political leader who advocates small government and free markets. (In Europe, the conservatives are often not much less statist than the Left.) For her views, Jensen has been described as the “Margaret Thatcher of the North;” she’s also expressed her admiration for Sarah Palin......   [Read More]