No Faith in Freedom by Jacob G. Hornberger July 11, 2011 Why are so many people opposed to ending the welfare-state programs that have come into existence since the 1930s, especially when they see that they’re contributing to the downfall of our nation? One reason is because after years of paying taxes, they feel like they’re entitled to receive a dole from the government. But they often forget that government is just a fiction. For the government to pay a dole to them, it must first forcibly collect the money from people who are working for a living. Does the fact that people have paid taxes all their lives morally entitle them to use the government to do the same thing to other people? I can’t see how it does. How can a wrongful act morally justify another morally wrongful act? Suppose the government had spent all those tax monies over the years bombing and killing people in overseas invasions, wars of aggression, and occupations. Would people’s attitudes be different in that case? ...
Managed Trade Is Not Free Trade by Laurence M. Vance July 11, 2011 As libertarians have long pointed out, trade agreements like the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not free-trade agreements and organizations. Rather, they are managed-trade agreements and organizations that abdicate power to an international body, and in direct violation of the Constitution. As Congressman Ron Paul stated, We don’t need government agreements to have free trade. We merely need to lower or eliminate taxes on the American people, without regard to what other nations do. Remember, tariffs are simply taxes on consumers. Americans have always bought goods from abroad; the only question is how much our government taxes us for doing so. CAFTA and other international trade agreements do not represent free trade. Free trade occurs in the absence of government interference in the flow of goods. If there is any doubt about the insidious nature of “free trade” agreements and organizations, then consider the recent brouhaha in Congress over an amendment to ...
Debt-Ceiling Charade by Jacob G. Hornberger July 7, 2011 Since the debt-ceiling deadline is now only a month away, I thought I should repeat the prediction I made several months ago: The Republicans are going to cave. They will vote to lift the debt ceiling once again, confirming what a fraud the debt-ceiling is. If it’s continually lifted, then it really isn’t a ceiling. Federal spending will continue soaring and increasing loads of debt will be thrown on the backs of the American people. Let us constantly keep in mind that that’s the point of raising the debt ceiling — to enable these people to continue their massive spending, borrowing, and taxing binge. Why am I so certain that the Republicans are going to cave? Because they are as committed to the preservation, maintenance, and growth of the welfare-warfare state as Democrats are. The last thing either Republicans or Democrats are going to do is jeopardize the massive spending and borrowing that is necessary to keep the welfare-warfare programs ...
Hornberger’s Blog, July 2011 by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2011 Friday, July 29, 2011 Sharing Ideas on Liberty at Ron Paul’s Congressional Luncheon Group I had an interesting lunch yesterday. Congressman Ron Paul invited me to share libertarian perspectives on the warfare-welfare state and the debt ceiling with his private luncheon group, which consists of several of Ron’s fellow congressmen. About 8 other congressmen joined us for the luncheon meeting in ...
The Isolationist Red Herring by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2011 The media have picked up a new buzzword: “isolationist.” They jumped on it after Sen. John McCain, who seems to want the United States to be at war everywhere, said after the last Republican presidential debate, “I do want to send a message, and that is that we cannot move into an isolationist party.” He was soon joined by ...
Bathing in Irresponsibility by Rich Schwartzman June 29, 2011 To borrow from Neville Chamberlain, there is peace in our time here in Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Corbett on June 23 signed into law a bill that bans bath salts, thereby saving us from self-responsibility. The Keystone state is now the 21st state in the country to have a law prohibiting the possession or sale of these products that have been ...
Stay out of Libya by Sheldon Richman June 28, 2011 It was good to see that the Pentagon was unenthusiastic about military intervention in Libya. But that didn’t prevent President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from plunging headlong into the civil war raging there. Obama’s entry into the civil war can be criticized on many levels: the mission as explained is incoherent; Congress was not asked for a ...
The Unchanging Imperial Paradigm by Sheldon Richman June 24, 2011 Despite President Obama’s trumpeted force drawdown in Afghanistan, by the end of next summer more than twice as many U.S. troops will be fighting in that country’s civil war as there were when he became president in 2009. His soothing words notwithstanding, a force of about 70,000 will remain there at least until the end of 2014. We can ...
A Letter from Jacob Hornberger: Libertarianism and the Presidential Race by Jacob G. Hornberger June 23, 2011 Dear Friend of Freedom, With two libertarian Republicans, Ron Paul and Gary Johnson, running for president, libertarianism is certain to be a topic of political conversation in the next 18 months. The Future of Freedom Foundation is well positioned to participate in what is clearly going to be a national discussion and debate on libertarian principles and philosophy. I am ...
The Road to the Permanent Warfare State, Part 2 by Gregory Bresiger June 20, 2011 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 |Part 12 |Part 13 Kennan’s policy was based on the idea that we must “regard the Soviet ...
The War on Immigrants, Farmers, and Consumers by Jacob G. Hornberger June 20, 2011 The Los Angeles Times published an article last week about another travesty in the war on immigrants. Georgia farmers are having trouble finding people to pick their fruit crops. The likely reason is that Georgia’s new harsh immigration law, set to take effect in July, is scaring off illegal immigrants. The travesty is not a new one. A few years ago, California ...
Obama’s War Is Peace by Sheldon Richman June 17, 2011 President Obama demonstrates his utter contempt for the American people — and the law — when he says the War Powers Resolution does not apply to his intervention in Libya because, as the White House put it, “U.S. operations do not involve sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve U.S. ground troops.” Apparently ...
