Free Republic

Overregulation: Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s CEO Andy Puzder has people all in a huff over his idea to automate restaurants. But why be upset with Puzder? This is an inevitable consequence of massive minimum wage hikes by the government. “With government driving up the cost of labor, it’s driving down the number of jobs,” said Puzder. “You’re going to see automation not just in airports and grocery stores, but in restaurants.” He’s right. That’s why whenever the minimum wage rises above the market-set prevailing wage, jobs are destroyed. Who would pay someone $15 an hour to do a job that’s...

Transition: Amid the heavyweights on Barack Obama's economic team, his choice for trade rep doesn't measure up. Congressman Xavier Becerra is not only a protectionist, he would compromise U.S. moral authority.Would someone who favors tariffs, backs subsidies and opposes free-trade pacts be the best face to put forward as U.S. trade representative? Not in this case. Becerra's name has apparently been put forward for USTR as a sop to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She wants her people in the new administration, and she has always seen to it that the former congressional aide has gotten plum assignments. Becerra, whose district...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Elizabeth Edwards says avoiding the "Made in China" label on toys is not exactly child's play. With millions of recalls rolling in this year because of lead in toys, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards vowed during a debate there would be no Chinese made gifts under his Christmas tree. But, the former North Carolina senator says he immediately had to check with his wife to make sure he was right. The Edwards campaign says the kids will be unwrapping U.S.-made toys, but wouldn't get into the specifics as not to spoil anyone's gifts.

What a Waste. Steve Sailer said it all. [L]et's stop and think about what an enormous waste of six years it has been for the President, aided and abetted by the almost the entire American Establishment, to pursue his delusion of imposing his immigration obsession on the citizenry. Even leaving aside how much better the immigration situation would be if Bush had followed his oath and simply enforced the damn laws, imagine what he would have been able to accomplish legislatively in other areas without wasting time, energy, and political capital on a losing proposition like this. Well, why...

Is your job safe? Not if it can be done abroad. The only safe jobs are in domestic services that require a "hands-on" presence, such as barbers, hospital orderlies, and waitresses. For a number of years the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly payroll jobs reports have been sending US policymakers dire warnings, only to be ignored. The March report repeats the message. Ninety-five percent of the new jobs created are in domestic services. The US economy no longer creates jobs in export or export-competitive sectors. Wholesale and retail trade, waitresses and bartenders account for 46% of the new jobs. Education...

Saturday, February 25, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST "I also believe that winning the war on terror will not happen by military strength alone. This is fundamentally about America's values and leadership. . . . The idea of winning hearts and minds has been derided by some. But I don't think that we can overlook its singular importance. . ."--Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, February 25, 2004 In Mrs. Clinton's "hearts and minds" crusade, this will not go down as a good week. A United Arab Emirates government allied with America, that provides a Persian Gulf base for U.S. military operations, and...

This morning President Bush signed the Central American Free Trade Act-Dominican Republic (CAFTA) a trade agreement between the United States, and El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. Last week the bill narrowly passed the Senate after midnight-hour wrangling, threats and bribery by the Republic Party. The Communist Party, USA denounces this agreement and believes it bodes ill for the working people of the U.S. and Central America. CAFTA is modeled on the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) that has destroyed communities, labor and environmental standards, and jobs for over a decade. CAFTA will bring...

...Cafta opens the way for more U.S. products going south. The agreement also boosts intellectual property protection in Cafta countries, as well as competition in financial and other services in which the U.S. excels. American farmers alone expect to increase exports to Central America by some $1.5 billion a year. All that goes away if Cafta fails. We are also told that Cafta can't work because the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 didn't work.... Ross Perot's prediction of a "giant sucking sound" proved to be a fantasy. But what about "the trade deficit"? Well, the National Association of...

<p>Free trade and the free flow of jobs are essential to prosperity. That's why Californians ought to be concerned about attempts in the state Legislature to hinder companies who "outsource" or export jobs to foreign countries.</p> <p>A bill by Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, clearly would hurt free trade and our state. Assembly Bill 1829 would ban state agencies from contracting with companies that outsource services to other countries unless the services are "so specialized that there are not workers within the United States that are trained to perform the services," in the words of the legislative summary.</p>