Free Republic

Tax hawks cooling to Norquist By Alexander Bolton Influential conservatives from an array of anti-tax groups are publicly criticizing Grover Norquist, considered President Bush’s most prominent liaison to the conservative grassroots, for being too close to the White House. While acknowledging Nor-quist’s contribution to the fight to cut the size of government as head of Americans for Tax Reform, they question whether he can continue as an effective leader of the conservative movement. The critics cite his decision not to oppose the $395 billion Medicare bill Bush signed into law last year, the cost of which has since swelled to...

One of the biggest beefs that liberals have against conservatives is that the latter are reflexively pro-business. That is, whatever the business community wants, conservatives will bend over backward to give them. This is untrue for principled conservatives. But, sadly, the Bush administration and the Republican Congress keep giving liberals ample reason to believe that the stereotype is fact. Principled conservatives believe in the free market. While this may seem to equate with a pro-business viewpoint, in fact it often does not. The last thing most businessmen want is a free market, where they must compete, slash prices, continuously innovate,...

An unfortunate consequence of learning Bastiat's "Broken Window Fallacy" is the accompanying frustration of seeing this age old economic fallacy reappear ad nauseam. One of the latest, and indeed most vocal rock throwers, is the United States manufacturing sector. Those with even a cursory knowledge of current affairs should be able to recite the recent plight of the manufacturers: Since January of 2001, 2.7 million "well paying manufacturing jobs" have been lost. Free trade with global competitors is putting American manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage. If manufacturing continues to be exported to "third-world countries," America will place itself in grave...

The Internet has been abuzz lately with arguments over free trade. This most recent outburst of scholarship was sparked by Sen. Charles Schumer and economist Paul Craig Roberts' joint article in the New York Times, "Second Thoughts on Free Trade". In this article, Roberts reiterated his position that "the case for free trade" rests on the assumption that factors of production cannot move between countries (or at least, cannot move as easily as final products can). According to Schumer and Roberts, in the modern world of multinational corporations, reduced shipping costs, and high-speed telecommunications, factors of production are quite mobile...

<p>Now that Congress has finally released the details of the Medicare prescription drug bill, it is worse than one's remotest fears. A coalition of 50 conservatives groups had opposed the bill for its $7 trillion unfunded price tag, its lack of market reforms and its incentives for employers to throw retirees on to the government plan to reduce their own costs. Well, the trillions of liability survived the final drafting and market reforms were few and mostly limited to impractical demonstration tests, but billions of new subsidies were written in at the last moment to buy off big business. Does it surprise that it takes a month after the congressional vote to know what was in the bill? One of the few truthful books on the legislative process was authored by a state senator named H.L. Richardson and called, "What Makes You Think We Read the Bills?" Of course we do not. It was generally known the drug bill would provide an employer reimbursement for 28 percent of the drug costs spent for retirees insurance plans, up to $1,330 per employee. What the midnight language added was that the subsidy would be calculated on the basis of both the employer and employee health insurance premium contribution. Get it? The employer can shift the premium costs to the employee and still receive the whole subsidy for itself — quite a deal. The tendency has already been for employers to shift costs to their retirees, but this new incentive will cause an avalanche. The Wall Street Journal reported that benefits consultants were already designing plans for the 65 percent of large firms that now pay for senior health coverage to transfer the costs to retirees and nevertheless rely upon the subsidies to build corporate profits. Employers now will have the option of taking the 28 percent subsidy without paying any of the premium costs or saving 72 percent more by throwing the retirees entirely on the government plan. Eventually, the government will pay for it all, socializing the remaining one-third of the senior health insurance market now in private hands. This is not chump change for the firms. Last week, the Financial Accounting Standards Board gave permission for businesses to book the value for these anticipated subsidies in 2003 financial statements even though the government will not pay for another two years. As a result, the Journal predicted many big companies will report big earnings gains for this past year that would not have otherwise been possible. Gainers include General Motors, Lucent Technologies, Dow Chemical and SBC Communications. No wonder these businesses and others organized the Employers Coalition on Medicare to lobby quietly for this enormous gain for their bottom line. The hope in Washington is that no one will notice. If the members of Congress did not care to read the bill, why should average voters? Most of the unpleasant provisions do not kick in until after the election, so who will know? The Democrats can hardly complain that the Republicans are subsidizing health care and forcing retirees into a government-run plan since that is their goal. And, as noted by Sen. Edward Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, they can always make it more generous later. Republic members of Congress will keep quiet since they are the ones responsible and many of their constituents think they favor private solutions rather than forcing people who want private coverage into inadequate government plans. No, the Republicans will not pay the price on this enormous rip-off bill that will force seniors with private drug coverage into a less generous government plan at higher cost to them until the 2006 congressional elections. The full plan not only kicks in then, it is the kind of issue that shows up against a legislative majority, as worked to the enormous benefit of the Republicans in 1994. Those who think the Democrats will let the GOP off the hook before then are on drugs themselves.</p>

"Manufacturing jobs" has become a battle cry of those who oppose free trade and are sounding an alarm about American jobs being exported to lower-wage countries overseas. However, manufacturing jobs are much less of a problem than manufacturing confusion. Much of what is being said confuses what is true of one sector of the economy with what is true of the economy as a whole. Every modern economy is constantly changing in technology and organization. This means that resources -- human resources as well as natural resources and other inputs -- are constantly being sent off in new directions as...

<p>An increase in spending coupled with a decrease in tax revenue caused the United States to drop among the world's freest economies, a survey released yesterday showed, but the country remains among the top 10 open economies globally. Hong Kong topped the list as the freest economy for the 10th consecutive year, while North Korea ranked last among the 155 nations polled. Singapore ranked second and New Zealand third. "The administration of George W. Bush has taken a leadership role in both free trade and reducing domestic tax rates — Overall, the United States remains one of the world's freest and most vibrant economies," said the 2004 Index of Economic Freedom, which ranked the United States 10th, down four places from last year's poll. Published each year by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, the study measures the openness of world economies according to 10 factors, such as monetary policy, government intervention in the economy and fiscal burden, which measures how much a government taxes and spends. "Domestically, the top marginal tax rates for individuals have been reduced several percentage points, and the partial elimination of double taxation on dividends leaves corporations less reliant on debt financing, and therefore less vulnerable to economic downturns," the report said. The report said nearly nonexistent inflation and low interest rates continue to help the United States to achieve a good ranking. Six European countries are among the top 10 freest economies, led by Luxembourg (fourth), Ireland (fifth), United Kingdom (seventh) and Switzerland (ninth). Germany ranked 18th; Italy, 26th; and France, 44th. "During the last seven years, countries that have done the most to improve their scores on the Index's 10 measures of economic freedom have, in general, experienced the highest rates of economic growth," a Heritage statement read. North Korea reached the last position as the most repressed economy. "Without a viable and functioning economy, the [North Korean] regime has chosen to dedicate its international trade to such illegal activities as arms sales, counterfeiting, and the traffic in drugs and human beings," said the report. It adds that this country makes more money from illegal drugs than from legitimate business. Venezuela (147th), Iran (148th) and Libya (154th) are also among the 10 most closed economies of the world. Polling in Angola, Burundi, Congo, Sudan and Iraq were suspended for this year's study because of the state of civil unrest and anarchy of these countries, the press statement said.</p>

CRAWFORD, Tex., Dec. 30 — The Bush administration's twin moves on Tuesday to ban the dietary supplement ephedra and the sale of meat from cows that appear to be sick on the way to the slaughterhouse underscores a simple White House maxim these days: with an election approaching, even a president who came to office assailing government regulation cannot do too much to protect consumers. By all accounts, there was no grand political plan to embrace government activism suddenly — events forced the administration's hand. Ephedra's fate has seemed clear since a 23-year-old pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles died after...

Prepare yourself for an unusually divisive year AND so the greatest show in modern politics rolls back into town. Four years ago, the American presidential election outdid itself in terms of spectacle. First, John McCain ran the front-runner, George Bush, surprisingly close in the race for the Republican nomination. Then, in the real election, the “50:50 nation” produced a dead heat. Finally came the drama of the Florida recount, twisting all the way up to the Supreme Court before Mr Bush was eventually declared the victor. Now 2004 promises to bring an even more combative show. A surprising number of...

Bob Barr, Civil Libertarian The right wing of the ACLU Interviewed by Jesse Walker After entering the House of Representatives in 1995, Georgia Republican Bob Barr acquired a reputation as one of the most conservative members of Congress. It was Barr who in 1996 wrote the Defense of Marriage Act, which said states didn’t have to recognize gay marriages performed in other states; it was Barr who protested when he learned the military allowed soldiers to practice Wicca. A former federal prosecutor, a firm social conservative, and a strong supporter of the War on Drugs, Barr doesn’t fit most people’s...

Where’s the Compassion? Forget the war on drugs already. By Doug Bandow On Tuesday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals barred federal prosecution of those using marijuana under a doctor's care. Smoking pot under such circumstances is "different in kind from drug trafficking," stated the court: "this limited use is clearly distinct from the broader illicit drug market." The U.S. Supreme Court recently let stand a lower court ruling barring Uncle Sam from punishing doctors who prescribe medical marijuana. California's new governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, admits to past drug use. Radio host Rush Limbaugh has sought drug treatment, forcing even prohibitionist...

One of the reasons our children do not measure up academically to children in other countries is that so much time is spent in American classrooms twisting our history for ideological purposes. "How would you feel if you were a Native American who saw the European invaders taking away your land?" is the kind of question our children are likely to be confronted with in our schools. It is a classic example of trying to look at the past with the assumptions -- and the ignorance -- of the present. One of the things we take for granted today is...

When Social Security was founded, offering a federal pension at age 65, most of the people born 65 years earlier couldn't take advantage of it. They were dead. For the lucky ones who lived long enough to collect, the new pension system, founded in 1935, was meant as a modest support in the brief span before they passed on to glory. No more. Since then, life expectancy at birth in America has increased to more than 77 years. For the majority of people, that means lots of time being supported by the government. A working life is now just a...

I'd like to enlist the services of my fellow Americans with a bit of detective work. Let's start off with hard evidence. The Federalist Papers were a set of documents written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to persuade the 13 states to ratify the Constitution. In one of those papers, Federalist Paper 45, James Madison wrote: "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the Federal Government, are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State Governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation...

Last month's passage of a Medicare prescription drug benefit that could cost $2 trillion over 20 years, after three years of sharp increases in federal spending, has provoked an unusual barrage of criticism of President Bush from conservative leaders. The Wall Street Journal editorial page accuses Bush of a "Medicare fiasco" and a "Medicare giveaway." Paul Weyrich, a coordinator of the conservative movement, sees "disappointment in a lot of quarters." Bruce Bartlett, a conservative economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis, pronounces himself "apoplectic." An article in the American Spectator calls Bush's stewardship on spending "nonexistent," while Steve Moore...

The US government has called for the elimination of all tariffs on manufactured goods under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. The plan would lead to the elimination of all tariffs on industrial and consumer goods by 2015 in an attempt to jump-start global trade talks. The proposal, unveiled on Tuesday by US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, would eliminate tariffs on $6 trillion (£3,870bn) worth of non-farm goods. But some developing countries, like India and Brazil, are worried that the plans could put severe pressure on their own manufacturing sector, before it was ready to face...

Arrived in montreal, I put aside Ann Coulter's book, and descended the gangway. At the baggage claim area I spotted a newsstand. I was drawn to the headline featuring--Ann Coulter. That day's copy of the National Post boasted Coulter at the top of the page in full color, her long blond hair southbound, interrupted only by a news headline. Alongside her picture the text was, "ANN COULTER: New York Times publisher is a traitor to U.S. Comment. A10." Her advertised finding certainly warranted immediate examination. But I did of course wonder, as I turned the pages, whether the lure of...

(CBS/AP) The U.S. Senate next week is expected to pass a massive spending bill that will bring federal spending per household to its highest level since the World War II — and do its part to promote the game of golf. Published reports indicate the $820 billion measure for funding several federal agencies has increased tensions between fiscal conservatives in the Republican party and lawmakers who support the president's expansive spending on health care and defense. It also includes millions in federal aid for a program teaching golf to kids. According to the Boston Globe, the $820 billion bill caps...

The Promised Land By DAVID BROOKS Published: November 29, 2003 The history of American conservatism is an exodus tale. It begins in the wilderness, in the early 1950's, with Russell Kirk, Milton Friedman and William F. Buckley Jr. writing tracts for small bands of true believers. Conservatives crashed into the walls of power during the Goldwater debacle of 1964, and then breached those walls with Reagan's triumph 16 years later. But even with Reagan in the Oval Office, Republicans were not the majority party. Democrats controlled the House, and few Reaganites actually knew how to run a government. In 1994,...

Presidential aspirant Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., unwittingly performed a public service in his address to the Teamsters Local 238 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last month. He revealed the true agenda behind so much of the support for minimum wages. He pledged that if he became president he'd press the World Trade Organization to establish an international minimum wage -- one that he says is high enough so that American workers are not competing with slave, sweat-shop and child labor around the world. History has seen many calls for minimum wages for the same reason -- to eliminate competition with workers...