Free Republic

EPA has abandoned its duty of protecting American citizens from health hazards introduced into the environment to that of protecting the environment from American citizens' good health and welfare Some twenty states, power utilities and mining industries, having taken the hard-nosed measure of suing the EPA for destroying business, grip the edge of their seats anticipating three decisions from the Supreme Court this month. That there is need to bring suit against governmental agencies for damage incurred by overbearing regulation is wrong in itself, but the role reversal these cases exemplify is the true travesty. America has turned so upside-down...

Two young sisters with an "entrepreneurial spirit" set up a lemonade stand in Overton, Texas, to raise money for their dad's Father's day gift, their mom said. But Andria and Zoey Green's business closed abruptly Monday after police came by to tell them their stand was illegal without a city Peddler's Permit, according to Overton Police Department Chief Clyde Carter. "It's illegal to sell lemonade without a permit," Carter told ABC News today. "But we didn't tell them to shut down, we just asked them to get a permit." The girls' mother, Sandi Evans, said they went to try to...

It’s no surprise that we lead the world in incarcerations when you see that the whole process has been monetized and profitable. States of Incarceration: The Global Context http://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/ Here Are All Of The Nations That Incarcerate More Of Their Population Than The U.S. Yeah, we’re actually number one and that’s not a good thing. No country incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than the United States. At 716 per 100,000 people in 2013, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the U.S. tops every other nation in the world. Among OECD countries, the competition isn’t even close...

Why it’s absurd for conservatives to oppose a free-trade deal just because the White House wants it. As far as I can tell, there are two general objections to the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) the White House is pushing for. The first one is wrong, but at least substantive. The other, which has picked up some currency on the Right, is simplistic and partisan. So there’s something for everybody! First, some background. The Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade deal with Asian nations that the White House and congressional Republican leadership both want, would still have to survive an up-or-down House...

Having led the world in free and open markets for generations, America now faces a choice as simple as it is consequential: lead on trade, or get left behind. The decision should be clear. Congress is considering whether to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). TPA is a process between Congress and the administration for negotiating trade deals that has existed in some form for over 80 years. With TPA, Congress has greater influence over trade agreements, and U.S. negotiators hold a stronger position to secure a good deal for American producers, consumers and workers. Absent TPA, the President has the...

YOU probably haven’t heard of the BEPS project — but you soon will. Short for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, the BEPS Project is the focus of a rapidly moving effort by the Group of 20 countries to create a new set of international tax principles designed to better capture tax revenue from multinational companies like Apple, Google and Starbucks. The Obama administration signed on to the BEPS Project in the expectation that it would strengthen the American tax base and enable Washington to hold on to more corporate tax revenues. But as the project heads for its end-of-year...

Complete Headline: McDonald's Appoints Robert Gibbs as Global Chief Communications Officer; Silvia Lagnado as Global Chief Marketing Officer McDonald's Corporation MCD, -0.54% today announced the appointments of Robert Gibbs as Executive Vice President, Global Chief Communications Officer and Silvia Lagnado as Executive Vice President, Global Chief Marketing Officer. Both will report to McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook. [Snip] In his new role, Gibbs will lead McDonald's corporate relations group, which manages internal and external communications and government and public affairs. He will lead McDonald's in communicating clear, coordinated messages to internal and external constituencies, enhancing the brand and supporting...

OK campers, back home in Texas still thinking of yesterday's big get together w/ the grandkids where I got to show how to make their own rainbow in the backyard sun w/ a garden hose and now helping my daughter & son'n'law move to DC which is probably why I just woke up out of this goofy dream where we walked over to my daughter's really neat friend's house to see the grandkids in the basement and I was going to show how it was possible to make a spoon stick to my cheek and the tray had all kinds...

In my decades in the investment business, I've never seen a market with no inclination to decline in the face of numerous potential adverse outcomes and strong secular headwinds. (I recently highlighted 13 big-picture factors that could weigh on markets and the economy and markets in "Short in May and Go Away.") As Jim "El Capitan" Cramer wrote in "Gulf Widens Between Haves and Have Nots": "The dichotomy between what is working and what isn't working has grown gigantically." The rotation within groups and sectors is fast and furious -- maybe the most vicious I've seen in my investment career....

A team of researchers at the Federal Reserve are pointing fingers at more than a handful of states they say are actively undermining the government's attempts to curb income inequality. According to a new paper, the federal tax code works to compress income inequality across the U.S., a problem that has been growing since 1980. The general idea is that high earners should be taxed at higher rates, allowing a good portion of that revenue to go into programs that help lower-income people. In contrast, some states have instituted "regressive" tax policies that offset federal taxes and widen the growing...

In a move that shows commercial space exploration is not just possible, but probable, the United States House of Representatives just passed the SPACE Act in order to lay down some general guidelines in case you want to, you know, start a mining operation in space. While private charters like Virgin Galactic, and colonization missions to Mars by the likes of SpaceX are all the rage these days, the bill would suggest that enough private organizations have an interest in mining valuable resources from space that the need for legislation is necessary. Bear in mind, not a single private company...

But it ought to be pointed out that not only were Warren’s actions counter to her stated principles – they mimicked those of the private equity companies and other financial institutions that she has spent her entire public life railing against. What private equity professionals like Mitt Romney, and investors in general seek to do is “buy low and sell high.” Firms like Romney’s Bain Capital scour the market for businesses they believe are undervalued and/or have significant growth potential. They seek to buy these businesses at a low price, and grow them while making them more profitable and efficient...

If man is not to do more harm than good in his efforts to improve the social order, he will have to learn that in this, as in all other fields where essential complexity of an organized kind prevails, he cannot acquire the full knowledge which would make mastery of the events possible. He will therefore have to use what knowledge he can achieve, not to shape the results as the craftsman shapes his handiwork, but rather to cultivate a growth by providing the appropriate environment, in the manner in which the gardener does this for his plants.Friedrich Hayek, The...

Opposition to the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) is now at the point where the bank’s reauthorization is genuinely in doubt. Spurred by accusations of corporate welfare, crony capitalism and outright corruption, opponents believe the Ex-Im Bank’s palpable violation of free-market principles fully warrants its early demise. The Ex-Im Bank’s critics have their economics entirely correct, but they have their geopolitics wrong. Their solution — simply terminating the bank — is appealing but counterproductive. What America should do, under a president with the wit to do it, is negotiate the global elimination of “export credits” (as these subsidies are generically known)....

The New Hampshire House Business Caucus, in partnership with the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, will host its fourth in a series of business roundtables with presidential candidates, on Monday, June 1, at 9 a.m. at The Draft restaurant, 67 South Main St. in Concord, according to a press statement. The featured speaker, and declared presidential candidate, will be Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. “The momentum continues to build as we have more and more candidates take part in this series. We have had a terrific response and level of interest from the business community, the candidates, and state elected...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Alarmed about cities trying to outlaw plastic bags, the director of the Missouri Grocers Association decided to do something about it. So Dan Shaul turned to his state legislator- himself - and guided a bill to passage barring local governments from banning the bags. Shaul's dual role in state government and business may be a bit out of the norm. Yet his actions are not. In capitols across the country, businesses are increasingly using their clout to back laws prohibiting cities and counties from doing things that might affect their ability to make money. In...

Damage is estimated at $9 million for the destruction of hundreds of businesses and two homes during the recent unrest in Baltimore — with at least 30 sustaining major damage, according to information released Wednesday. The Small Business Administration estimated the damaged at about $8.9 million to 284 business and $60,000 to two houses, officials told The Baltimore Sun. U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, along with other Maryland Democrats, called for Small Business Administration to assist with the creation of disaster centers in the city and a plan to inform business owners who are eligible for benefits about how to...

International trade is a job creation engine that supports more than one in five jobs nationwide. Every state benefits from exports, and Texas, California and New York have the highest export revenues. Even states earning less than the top three states receive billions of export dollars. The United States is in the midst of negotiating three major trade frameworks (Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP], Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership [TTIP] and Trade and Investment Services Agreement [TISA]) that will be difficult to conclude without trade promotion authority (TPA). Trade Promotion Authority – The States Are Stakeholders provides background on TPA and the...

Baltimore Is Not About Race Government-induced dependency is the problem—and it’s one with a long history. By William McGurn May 4, 2015 For those who see the rioting in Baltimore as primarily about race, two broad reactions dominate. One group sees rampaging young men fouling their own neighborhoods and concludes nothing can be done because the social pathologies are so overwhelming. In some cities, this view manifests itself in the unspoken but cynical policing that effectively cedes whole neighborhoods to the thugs. Opinion Journal Video Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Jason Riley on what prompted the violence and what comes next....

Sanctions are an ineffective tool on their own for achieving complex geopolitical objectives For those who believe that sanctions on Iran have made substantial progress towards their stated goals, a recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) is illuminating. The report reviews the sanctions applied against Iran by various entities and then critically examines their actual impacts. The results are not promising for those who believe sanctions are an effective tool with which to exert serious geopolitical pressure. The report acknowledges that “Iran’s acceptance of the JPA [Joint Plan of Action; the interim nuclear agreement that has been in...