This was originally posted on Live Oaks on April 26, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. In defending the highest water rate increase in the history of Houston, city officials have regularly made noises about the need to have citizens pay the full cost of delivering clean drinking water. As council member Sue Lovell said:…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on April 20, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Yesterday I looked at the moral premise that underlies the belief that taxation is necessary. Today I will look at an implication of that view–that government is a necessary “evil”. On a daily basis we can observe individuals voluntarily…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on April 12, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. We are often told that property rights must occasionally be sacrificed for the “common good”. One local blogger repeats this claim, noting that city officials must wage a constant balancing act between the two: This central dilemma is the…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on April 8, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Apparently unable to go more than two days without an editorial calling for more government intervention, the Chronicle now wants more regulations on “payday lenders”–companies that offer short-term loans at high interest rates. In recent years, the payday lending…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on April 7, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Advocates of government regulations often argue that government intervention is necessary to protect consumers from unscrupulous businesses. They ignore the many ways that individuals can make informed decisions and protect themselves from fraud and similar practices. An interesting example…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on April 6, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. In his Sunday column, Loren Steffy does something I have yet to see an elected official do: He admits that the “deregulated” electric market in Texas is heavily regulated. And, though unintentionally, he demonstrates how regulations directly harm producers,…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 26, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. I generally try to avoid listening to Sean Hannity, but I happened to catch a portion of his program the other day. A caller was frustrated over the attitude of those who have argued that we cannot claim that…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 25, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Thomas Friedman bemoans the political divisiveness that arose during the debate over health care “reform”. He fears that Democrats will lose seats in November, resulting in more gridlock in Washington. His solution: That is why I want my own…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 23, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. I have previously written that nullification–a state declaring a particular federal law unconstitutional and thereby inapplicable within that state–would ultimately lead to tyranny. But we do not need to rely solely on theoretic arguments to see the truth of…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 22, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. A few weeks ago a commenter argued that the Constitution is a “living” document. According to Wikipedia: The Living Constitution is a concept in American constitutional interpretation which claims that the Constitution has a dynamic meaning. The idea is…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 17, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Chronicle columnist Lisa Falkenberg demonstrates what happens when an individual chooses to rely on government rather than exercising his own judgment. She decries the state’s licensing requirements for day care operators: Hours required to give a manicure: 600. Hours…