Regulation Policy & Welfare

Legalized Immorality

by Clarence Manion October 1, 1996

It must be remembered that 95 percent of the peace, order, and welfare existing in human society is always produced by the conscientious practice of man-to-man justice and person-to-person charity. When any part of this important domain of personal virtue is transferred to government, that part is automatically released from the restraints of morality and ...

A Wrecking Ball for Your Neighborhood

by James Bovard October 1, 1996

The federal government is involved in economic blockbusting in thousands of the nation's neighborhoods. Thanks to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), welfare recipients are using government handouts to move into middle-class and upper middle-class neighborhoods. Congress created the Section 8 program in 1974 to provide direct ...

More Washington Gibberish

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 1996

That recent spike in gasoline prices provided more examples of the strange tongue spoken in the nation's capital. I call it Washington Gibberish. On the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota called the price increase a "crisis." Republican Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, sitting at his side, did not disagree. He joined Dorgan in calling ...

Section 8: A Wrecking Ball for Your Neighborhood

by James Bovard September 1, 1996

The federal government is involved in economic blockbusting in thousands of the nation's neighborhoods. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is using government handouts to allow welfare recipients to move into middle-class and upper middle-class neighborhoods. Congress created the Section 8 program in 1974 to provide direct rent subsidies to selected low-income families. Section 8 currently gives ...

Poverty Relief: Civil versus Political Society

by Doug Bandow September 1, 1996

t seems that just about everyone in Washington now believes in welfare reform. Even President Clinton, who vetoed legislation passed by the Republican Congress. But that was then. With an election fast approaching, the president is now solidly behind welfare reform. Unfortunately, he doesn't go nearly far enough. Nor do the Republicans. ...

Freedom, Not Growth

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 1996

All politicians favor economic growth. They all promise to create jobs and "grow the economy." That is a vintage Republican issue, but the Democrats aren't dummies. Many of them have learned that the old appeal to class warfare and other quasi-Marxist themes are passé. They too have thrown themselves onto the growth bandwagon. Bill Clinton's so-called New Democrats can ...

Zoning: The New Tyranny

by James Bovard August 1, 1996

Modern zoning laws presume that no citizen has a right to control his own land and that every citizen has a right to control his neighbor's land. Zoning laws have become far more invasive and restrictive in recent years. If you want to use your own land, increasingly you have to beg, bribe, and grovel to the nearest government ...

Minimum-Wage Law as Political Racketeering

by James Bovard July 1, 1996

President Clinton and many congressmen are hankering to raise the federal minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.15 an hour. The minimum wage epitomizes government pseudo-paternalism, and Clinton's proposal should receive harsh condemnations from anyone who has looked at the history of minimum-wage policies. Early in the century, after a ...

Whose Bread I Eat — His Song I Sing

by J.G. McDaniel M.D. July 1, 1996

I remember, as a small boy in knee britches, going with my father to hear an address given by the Honorable Stephen Pace, then congressman from the old Georgia 12th District. It was on the banks of the Ocmulgee River. There was a barbecue, and citizens, especially farmers, from all the counties gathered. This was before the first World ...

Repeal the Welfare System

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 1996

The presumptive Republican presidential candidate, Robert Dole, and his party are distressed that President Clinton may have preempted them on the issue of welfare reform. The GOP favors shifting welfare responsibility to the states. Just before Dole was to give a major speech on the subject, Clinton ...

The ADA: Attorney’s Dreams Answered

by James Bovard May 1, 1996

President Bill Clinton declared on July 26, 1994: "The Americans with Disabilities Act is a national monument to freedom. Contained within its broad pillars of independence, inclusion, and empowerment is the core ideal of equality that has defined this country since its beginnings." In reality, the ADA has ...

Escape from Responsibility

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1996

The welfare state teaches the implicit lesson that you are not responsible for yourself. You will be taken care of. The "safety net" will catch you if you fall. And because of that, you may be required to do certain things and prohibited from doing other things — all in the name of taking care of you and others. We ...