Libertarians vs. Statists by Jacob G. Hornberger September 29, 2008 It’s not surprising that many conservative House Republicans, after railing against socialism and interventionism, are caving in and embracing the $700,000 billion (probably more like $1.5 trillion after all is said and done) bailout of their Wall Street friends and cronies who fund their campaigns and political party. Isn’t this what conservatives have done ever since the New Deal? ...
The Market Has Its Own Regulators by Jacob G. Hornberger September 26, 2008 Ever since the dawn of the New Deal in the 1930s, statists have told us that government regulators are needed to “stabilize free enterprise” and protect depositors and investors. Thus, for the last 80 years or so, we’ve lived under a regime in which there is an army of government bureaucrats for the banking industry and the financial industry. ...
Crony Socialism by Jacob G. Hornberger September 25, 2008 You’ve got to hand it to Bush and Cheney. They are loyal to their friends. They commuted Scooter Libby’s prison sentence after a jury convicted him of perjury and obstruction of justice. They secured criminal immunity for federal agents who tortured or sexually abused people. They secured civil immunity for the telecoms who served as illegal snitches ...
The Statist Impulse to Avoid Responsibility by Jacob G. Hornberger September 24, 2008 One of the characteristics of the modern-day welfare state is the refusal of statists to take responsibility for the damage and destruction their philosophy has wrought on the people of the world. Consider Iraq. How many of the statists take responsibility for the million or so people who are now dead and for the chaos ...
The Looming Threat of National Bankruptcy by Jacob G. Hornberger September 23, 2008 During the recent crisis in Georgia, conservatives reveled in comparing Russia’s actions to those of the former Soviet Union. But did you notice that not once did they remind people of how Ronald Reagan supposedly brought down the Soviet Union? Reagan, they used to unceasingly remind us, caused the Soviet government to spend the ...
An Interventionist Crisis by Jacob G. Hornberger September 22, 2008 It’s amusing to see liberals exclaiming against the bailout of the Wall Street big wigs. After decades of using government to take from the rich and middle class to give to the poor, did they honestly believe that politicians and bureaucrats would not use their welfare-state powers to take from the poor and middle ...
The Liberal and Conservative Box by Jacob G. Hornberger September 19, 2008 Liberals who have operated under the quaint notion that the welfare state is only for the benefit of the poor, needy, and disadvantaged have had a rude awakening during the past week. With the bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and undoubtedly more to come, liberals have learned that the welfare state exists ...
Just Blame the Crises on Freedom by Jacob G. Hornberger September 18, 2008 The amusing part of the current financial crisis is how liberals are blaming it all on “the free market” or on “unfettered capitalism.” Not surprisingly, their solutions call for socialist and interventionist measures, in order to “save freedom and free enterprise.” The liberal attitude toward the financial crisis is really no different from the conservative attitude toward the terrorist crisis. ...
Praise the Price-Gouger by Jacob G. Hornberger September 17, 2008 It must be hurricane season because we’re once again being subjecting to complaints about price-gouging. In the finest communist and socialist tradition, some Americans are turning in businesses to the state that significantly raise prices of essential items, such as gasoline, water, or ice, in the midst of a hurricane. As always, state officials ...
Freedom, Socialism, and the Truman Show by Jacob G. Hornberger September 16, 2008 In my September 10, 2008, blog post, I explained that one of the great benefits of public (i.e., government) schooling and government-approved schooling is the political indoctrination to which most children in society are subjected. The indoctrination is so effective that it sometimes lasts throughout a person’s life. The indoctrination, however, is not ...
The Drug War’s Attack on Freedom by Jacob G. Hornberger September 15, 2008 Mackenzie Phillips, daughter of the founder of the Mamas and Papas pop group and a former star in the television sitcom “One Day at a Time,” was arrested last week and charged with possession of narcotics. The arrest took place while Phillips was going through the security screening at Los Angeles International Airport. There are ...
Debating Lipstick and Pigs by Jacob G. Hornberger September 12, 2008 While people in the McCain camp are on the attack over Obama’s comment about lipstick and pigs, some of the mainstream pundits are asking why so much time is being spent on what seems to be a rather silly issue. Why not spend time focusing on the important, burning issues of our time, they’re asking? The ...
