Obama’s Global Tax Proposal Up for Senate Vote

A nice-sounding bill called the "Global Poverty Act," sponsored by Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama, is up for a Senate vote on Thursday and could result in the imposition of a global tax on the United States. The bill, which has the support of many liberal religious groups, makes levels of U.S. foreign aid spending subservient to the dictates of the United Nations. — aim.org

We're #5! We're #5! We're #5!

In the WSJ, Mary Anastasia O'Grady replicates the 14th edition of the Index of Economic Freedom (researched and produced by the WSJ and the Heritage Foundation)-- and discusses the connection between economic freedom, productivity and prosperity...

Are the world's impoverished masses destined to live lives of permanent misery unless rich countries transfer wealth for spending on education and infrastructure?

You might think so if your gurus on development economics earn their bread and butter "lending" at the World Bank. Education and infrastructure "investment" are two of the Bank's favorite development themes.

Yet the evidence is piling up that neither government nor multilateral spending on education and infrastructure are key to development. To move out of poverty, countries instead need fast growth; and to get that they need to unleash the animal spirits of entrepreneurs.

Empirical support for this view is presented again this year in The Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom, released today. In its 14th edition, the annual survey grades countries on a combination of factors including property rights protection, tax rates, government intervention in the economy, monetary, fiscal and trade policy, and business freedom.

The nearby table shows the 2008 rankings but doesn't tell the whole story. The Index also reports that the freest 20% of the world's economies have twice the per capita income of those in the second quintile and five times that of the least-free 20%. In other words, freedom and prosperity are highly correlated.

The 2008 Index finds that while global economic liberty did not expand this year, it also did not contract. The average freedom score for the 157 countries ranked is nearly the same as last year, which was the second highest since the Index's inception. This is somewhat of an achievement considering the rising protectionist and anti-immigration sentiment in the U.S., the uncertainty created by spiking global energy prices, Al Gore's highly effective fear mongering about global warming, and the continuing threat of the Islamic jihad....

Although overall global economic liberty did not expand, there were a few stars. Egypt was the most improved economy in the world, implementing major changes to its tax policies and business regulation environment and jumping to number 85 from 127th place last year. Mauritius was the second-best performer, moving into the top 20 from No. 34 last year. Trade liberalization and improved fiscal policies, including a flat tax, made Mongolia the third-best performer, and put it in the category of "moderately free" economies....

protectionism and bullying

Steven Landsburg on free trade and protectionism in the New York Times (hat tips: Melanie Hughes and Linda Christiansen)...

Landsburg is the author of two popular-press books I use in my Econ courses: The Armchair Economist and Fair Play-- provocative books on the "economic way of thinking"...

In the days before Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary in Michigan, Mitt Romney and John McCain battled over what the government owes to workers who lose their jobs because of the foreign competition unleashed by free trade. Their rhetoric differed — Mr. Romney said he would “fight for every single job,” while Mr. McCain said some jobs “are not coming back” — but their proposed policies were remarkably similar: educate and retrain the workers for new jobs.

All economists know that when American jobs are outsourced, Americans as a group are net winners. What we lose through lower wages is more than offset by what we gain through lower prices. In other words, the winners can more than afford to compensate the losers. Does that mean they ought to? Does it create a moral mandate for the taxpayer-subsidized retraining programs proposed by Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney?

Um, no. Even if you’ve just lost your job, there’s something fundamentally churlish about blaming the very phenomenon that’s elevated you above the subsistence level since the day you were born. If the world owes you compensation for enduring the downside of trade, what do you owe the world for enjoying the upside?

I doubt there’s a human being on earth who hasn’t benefited from the opportunity to trade freely with his neighbors. Imagine what your life would be like if you had to grow your own food, make your own clothes and rely on your grandmother’s home remedies for health care. Access to a trained physician might reduce the demand for grandma’s home remedies, but — especially at her age — she’s still got plenty of reason to be thankful for having a doctor.

Some people suggest, however, that it makes sense to isolate the moral effects of a single new trading opportunity or free trade agreement. Surely we have fellow citizens who are hurt by those agreements, at least in the limited sense that they’d be better off in a world where trade flourishes, except in this one instance. What do we owe those fellow citizens?

One way to think about that is to ask what your moral instincts tell you in analogous situations. Suppose, after years of buying shampoo at your local pharmacy, you discover you can order the same shampoo for less money on the Web. Do you have an obligation to compensate your pharmacist? If you move to a cheaper apartment, should you compensate your landlord? When you eat at McDonald’s, should you compensate the owners of the diner next door? Public policy should not be designed to advance moral instincts that we all reject every day of our lives.

In what morally relevant way, then, might displaced workers differ from displaced pharmacists or displaced landlords? You might argue that pharmacists and landlords have always faced cutthroat competition and therefore knew what they were getting into, while decades of tariffs and quotas have led manufacturing workers to expect a modicum of protection. That expectation led them to develop certain skills, and now it’s unfair to pull the rug out from under them.

Once again, that argument does not mesh with our everyday instincts. For many decades, schoolyard bullying has been a profitable occupation. All across America, bullies have built up skills so they can take advantage of that opportunity. If we toughen the rules to make bullying unprofitable, must we compensate the bullies?

Bullying and protectionism have a lot in common. They both use force (either directly or through the power of the law) to enrich someone else at your involuntary expense. If you’re forced to pay $20 an hour to an American for goods you could have bought from a Mexican for $5 an hour, you’re being extorted. When a free trade agreement allows you to buy from the Mexican after all, rejoice in your liberation — even if Mr. McCain, Mr. Romney and the rest of the presidential candidates don’t want you to.

trade, trade, go away-- come again, some other day?

John Harwood in the WSJ on diminishing support for "free trade" among Republican voters...

That's not good...

By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president....

Six in 10 Republicans in the poll agreed with a statement that free trade has been bad for the U.S. and said they would agree with a Republican candidate who favored tougher regulations to limit foreign imports. That represents a challenge for Republican candidates who generally echo Mr. Bush's calls for continued trade expansion, and reflects a substantial shift in sentiment from eight years ago....

The new poll asked a broader but similar question. It posed two statements to voters. The first was, "Foreign trade has been good for the U.S. economy, because demand for U.S. products abroad has resulted in economic growth and jobs for Americans here at home and provided more choices for consumers."

The second was, "Foreign trade has been bad for the U.S. economy, because imports from abroad have reduced demand for American-made goods, cost jobs here at home, and produced potentially unsafe products."

Asked which statement came closer to their own view, 59% of Republicans named the second statement, while 32% pointed to the first....

With numbers like that-- among Republicans-- is it time for a Ross Perot/Pat Buchanan redux?

what does God think about work and entrepreneurship?

Scripture gives us a strong indication. Genesis 2 is most famous for its description of marriage. But what preceded that? Work. We learn that work without relationship is not fulfilling, but that our Kingdom work precedes even marriage. In Genesis 1, we’re told that we’re made in the image of a Creator God—and thus, we are built to work, to create, to be “entrepreneurial”, and so on.

Unfortunately, society and some within the Church are neutral or even hostile toward those who are productive, those who operate businesses, and those who take risks within the economy.

On Saturday February 23^rd at 8:15 AM, following the Saturday Morning Men’s Bible Study at Southeast Christian Church, I’m going to host a showing of the Acton Institute’s movie “The Call of the Entrepreneur” in the Fireside Room—a movie about a farmer, a banker, and a Chinese businessman. After the 58-minute movie, we’ll have a panel discussion about work, wealth, and entrepreneurship within a Christian worldview—with Doug Cobb, Bill Heinz, and me.

The movie has a light Christian touch—and so it’s ideal for people who might have mild to significant allergies toward the Church. We hope to see you there—and hope that you know people who would benefit from the movie and our discussion.

You can view the movie’s trailer at: http://www.calloftheentrepreneur.com/trailer/.

AFAI launches radio campaign; promotes SJR7

From Micah Clark:


(Indianapolis) - The American Family Association of Indiana PAC has launched a groundbreaking radio ad campaign urging Hoosiers to contact their legislators in support of traditional marriage. The ad titled "Confused Children" features children questioning the implications of same-sex marriage in Indiana.



These powerful new 60-second spots are, have or will air on radio stations in the following cities across Indiana:

Anderson
Booneville
Elkhart
Evansville
Franklin / Greenwood
Greenfield
Fort Wayne
Indianapolis
Michigan City
South Bend

The ads are appearing on talk, country and Christian formats on both AM and FM bands.
More ►

Mike Pence: Democrat rewrite will destroy successful HIV/AIDS program

Members of Congress and community leaders will hold a press conference 90 minutes before the House Foreign Affairs Committee mark-up of legislation to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The conference will underscore the importance and success of the current PEPFAR policy programs and highlight provisions in the Democrat rewrite that threaten to destroy the popular, successful HIV/AIDS program.

Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Representative Joe Pitts (R-PA)
Representative Mike Pence (R-IN)
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
Represenative Don Manzullo (R-IL)
Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH)
Representative Marilyn Musgrave
Rick Warren, Senior Pastor, Saddleback Church
Chuck Colson, Founder, Prison Fellowship
Bishop Harry Jackson, Chairman, High Impact Leadership Coalition (HILC)
Wendy Wright, President, Concerned Women for America
Dr. Ezra Suruma, Minister of Finance, Uganda
Dr. Obi Ideh, OB/GYN, Lagos, Nigeria
Day Gardner, President, National Black Pro-Life Union

Thousands sign marriage protection petitions

Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana says nearly 8,000 Hoosiers have signed petitions asking Scott Pelath (D - Michigan City) to allow a committee hearing, a vote and to support SJR 7: the Marriage Protection Amendment.

“Rep. Pelath is the one person now standing in the way of allowing Hoosiers to have a voice on the issue of same-sex marriage in Indiana. Rep. Pelath’s decision to allow SJR 7 to go to the full House floor, or to block the measure will determine if two million Hoosier voters, or a lone unelected judge, will decide the future of marriage in Indiana,” said Micah Clark, Executive Director of AFA of Indiana.

Same-sex marriage advocates want to use the courts to force society, including schools and churches, to embrace homosexual or polygamous relationships as the moral and legal equivalent of a married husband and wife.

Currently, Iowa, a state where its House passed an amendment in 2005 but the Senate refused, is embroiled in a legal battle after a judge overturned Iowa’s 1998 DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) in favor of same-sex marriage.

Around a dozen states have had legal challenges to their marriage statutes from homosexual activists seeking to redefine marriage. Thirty states have protected their marriage laws from similar lawsuits with constitutional amendments. — AFAI

Senate looks to extend bogus stimulus package

From the C-J, an update from Julie Davis on the Senate's version of the stimulus plan (a topic I have addressed quite a bit elsewhere)...

In a blatant attempt to buy our votes with our own money-- or more properly, the next generation's money-- the Senate is now looking to pass a $200+ million stimulus package.

The House proposal now looks like it was put together by cheapskates. Usually, the Senate is more circumspect, but here they're even more profligate.

An economic aid plan to send rebates of $600-$1,200 to most taxpayers passed a key test Monday in the Senate, where Democrats are pushing to add more than $40 billion in help for seniors, disabled veterans and the unemployed.

Democrats were ratcheting up pressure on Republicans to support the add-ons, part of a proposal to pump $204 billion into the economy over the next two years. The House passed its $161 billion economic stimulus package last week with overwhelming backing from both parties.

The Senate voted 80-4 Monday evening to advance that package, setting the stage for a test-vote as early as Wednesday on Democrats' much larger proposal.

The Senate measure would send $500-$1,000 rebates to a wider group of people than the House measure covers, add $14.5 billion in jobless benefits and include $5.6 billion in renewable energy tax breaks over the next 10 years. The rebates would extend to 20 million senior citizens and 250,000 disabled veterans left out of the House bill because they don't earn enough to qualify....

"All Americans should know that their rebate checks will not be delayed a single minute as a result of our debate," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV said.

This pandering is going to make me violently ill...

Drew Carey on the "struggling" middle class...

There are certainly policies which do unnecessary economic damage to the middle class, the lower-middle class, and the working poor-- most notably, our government's insistence on monopoly provision of educational services, Social Security, and payroll taxes.

But Drew makes a wonderful set of points in this ReasonTV production-- with quite a bit of help from Michael Cox-- with research from his book with Richard Alm, Myths of Rich and Poor.

enjoy!

if I hear one more person say...

This or that candidate knows how to "run the economy"...

It's most often said of supporters of Romney who has the strongest business background, but I've heard it debated among those in the Romney, McCain and Huckabee camps. (No one in the Paul camp would make such an error!)

This is not a centrally-planned economy. So, the President will not run the economy. In fact, he (or she) probably won't influence the day-to-day economy all that much-- other than, perhaps, trying to run it into the ground.

Is having a business background preferable? Perhaps. But keep in mind that being "pro-business" is not the same thing as being "pro-market". Often, business leaders seek anti-market measures in trying to enrich themselves at the expense of the general public.

Walker honors Stewart

State Sen. Greg Walker (R-Columbus) joined others, Monday, in presenting a resolution he co-authored honoring Tony Stewart during a ring ceremony on the floor of the Indiana House of Representatives. Stewart received his 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard champion’s ring from Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George after the resolution was read.

Thanks, Kevin

WCSI News Director, Kevin Keith, is moving up and out of his current position at the Columbus-based radio station.

Kevin has been a genuine champion of fair-and-balanced news reporting.

During his tenure he has interviewed a number Indiana Libertarian candidates along side Republicans and Democrats. Dr. Eric Schansberg, Mike Kole, myself and others have been honored to sit at the microphone at WCSI's studios — thanks to Kevin Keith.

Kevin's last day will be Friday, February 1st.

He will be missed!

Rights vs Liberties

Question for Indiana Libertarians and conservatives:

One year in jail + $10,000 fine for speaking one's mind.

Is this "social tolerance"?

Watch 2-minute video, then answer.



HB 1076 would provide a greater penalty for insulting a homosexual outside a gay nightclub than punching an elderly grandmother outside a hospital (unless the grandmother happened to be a lesbian).

By specifying specially protected persons against bias (such as national origin) it excludes others (such as state origin) by default. Calling someone a dumb Mexican will be constituted a hate crime. Calling someone a dumb New Mexican will not be constituted a hate crime.

While Libertarians are to be praised for their support of human rights, they should object when those "rights" replace liberties.