Caleb's weblog
Posted by Caleb on 12/07/08
Since I've been on a rant lately about Protectionism, I figured I would go ahead and post a video posted today by Will Buchanan from the Walk for Liberty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKLoDLeMYLA
Categories: Media, Civil Liberties, Domestic Policy, Health Freedom, Just For Fun, Economy, Trade
Tags: , Free Trade, Walk for Liberty, Will Buchanan, Protectionism, Health Care Reform, fair trade
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Posted by Caleb on 11/29/08
The following is directly copy and pasted from the Institute for Justice's web page. (Source:
http://ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2482&Itemid=
194)
Recent events in the housing and financial sectors prompted me to reread Crisis and Leviathan by Robert Higgs. Higgs shows how throughout American history crisis has served as a catalyst or excuse for government growth and how, once the crisis ends, government does not return to its previous size. Higgs devotes considerable time to examining the Depression and New Deal. His thesis is vindicated as Roosevelt comes into office with sweeping legislative changes and issues 200 executive orders on an emergency basis in his first year in office. Rereading Higgs’ account of the Depression was sobering, but it also offered hope because as glum as things may be, we are not yet in circumstances as calamitous as the Depression, economically or politically. But if we are to avoid a similar fate, we must heed the lessons of that time.
Two lessons are most pertinent to the Institute for Justice: one comes from the courts and the other comes from public opinion. Those of you who have read The Dirty Dozen—a book co-authored by IJ board member Bob Levy and me on the 12 worst modern decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court—will recall that the New Deal was possible only because the High Court upheld key New Deal programs and in doing so effectively amended the Constitution. The Court gutted the Contracts Clause (allowing government to abrogate contracts at will), expanded the reach of federal economic regulation into the most-local of activities, ratified massive redistribution of wealth, and relegated economic liberty and property rights to second-class status under the Constitution. True to Higgs’ thesis, those powers never subsided; indeed, they grew and endure today. If the current crisis worsens, we can expect courts at all levels to be called upon to ratify even more sweeping assertions of government power.
Right now it seems that the majority of the public has accepted the government’s intervention through the recent Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. But the skepticism and lack of enthusiasm that greeted it attest to the fact that we have not yet gotten to the point where people reflexively or instinctively call for more government.
That could change.
“As you read about the clients featured in this and future issues of Liberty & Law, ask yourself what it would mean, in the midst of today’s rising statist tide, if these voices were not heard, if these stories were not told and woven together, if these battles were not fought. Where else will we hear such a counter-narrative?”
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We hear daily the drumbeat of claims that capitalism is dead and the free market discredited, that this crisis arose from deregulation and that salvation lies in reregulation. The question now is whether this narrative will take hold and become pervasive conventional wisdom.
Courts are not immune to public opinion. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately upheld the New Deal only after two swing justices permanently and aggressively voted with the liberal bloc. In many scholars’ opinion that change was attributable to the two swing justices’ reaction to the public sentiment expressed in Roosevelt’s landslide re-election in 1936. When reaction to public opinion goes that far, we have a sea change that becomes institutionalized, which is just what happened with the New Deal. As noted constitutional scholar Edward Corwin observed, “The change which the views of a dominant section of the American people underwent between 1929-1937 was nothing short of revolutionary and it was accompanied in due course by a corresponding change in attitude toward constitutional values.”
If the narrative that is being told about the cause of the financial crisis and the need for activist government takes hold, and if it spreads beyond the financial markets, our nation and way of life will be permanently transformed. Sadly, there are plenty of organizations and individuals who advocate such change.
This is where IJ comes in. We offer a counter-narrative. I don’t mean just another story, anecdote or version of events. I mean a cultural and constitutional narrative that plays out consistently and compellingly in each of our cases and in the media and activism that flow from them.
There is a reason we win cases, and it is not just because we have excellent lawyers. There is a reason we consistently get favorable media, and it’s not just because we have an outstanding media team. Each case is part of a larger narrative that confirms what people, deep down, know or want to believe about America: ours is a nation of good people trying to live peaceful, productive lives. We are a people whose courage and hard work—not government—make success possible and reaffirm the values we hold dear. And for us, government too often is the problem not the solution.
We must spread this counter-narrative ever more effectively across the nation. More than ever, we will have to make courts want to rule for our clients. We will have to make the public root for our side to win. We will have to show how the principle in one case embodies a vital principle in a much larger context. And using our time-tested approach, that is just what we will do.
As you read about the clients featured in this and future issues of Liberty & Law, ask yourself what it would mean, in the midst of today’s rising statist tide, if these voices were not heard, if these stories were not told and woven together, if these battles were not fought. Where else will we hear such a counter-narrative?
In the coming months, IJ will do its part to keep the current crisis from creating a Leviathan that grows unchecked. It will require harder work than ever before. But the magnitude of the task is in itself a call to action. We thank each of you for answering that call with us.
Chip Mellor is IJ’s president and general counsel.
Categories: Education, Media, Civil Liberties, Law, Domestic Policy, US Constitution, Executive Power, Federal Legislation, History, Current Events, Philosophy, Social Issues, Voting, Economy
Tags: , activism, Call to Action, Law, Civil Liberties, ACLU, institute for justice, ij, public interest
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Posted by Caleb on 11/16/08
"We must band together to support our new President"
Didn't we hear this from the Republicans about Dubya?
"You are either for us or against us."
Isn't this the mentality that allowed the media to become complacent on reporting anything other than the administrations talking points? Would I be too far off base if I claimed that the Patriot Act was made possible by supporting a President, when what was really needed was some good ole' fashioned political dissent?
"But things have changed", you may be saying. But have they? Pick up you local newspaper or turn on the boob tube. Almost everywhere I turn, I hear Obama supporters saying that democracy selected a new President, and that we ought to support this President - whether you agree with him or not.
Well... I say HOGWASH! America doesn't need anymore rank and file obedience to a President. We need to keep our leaders honest, and the requires that we challenge them. So the next time someone tells you to support your leader (or future leader) based simply on the fact that they are in charge... tell them to shove it!
Categories: Media, Ethics
Tags: Obama, support, Dissent
Showing comments 1—4 of 4
Posted 11/17/08
vmaxron
Hot Springs, AR | Caleb,
Not brave enough to tell a politician to shove it but I get your point.
If the devoted people in Arkansas do not get together, this budding coalition will not happen.
Lets get in touch and start fighting for liberty.
Ron Alexander |
Posted 11/19/08
Caleb
Maumelle, AR | I was actually meaning that we should tell someone to 'shove it' when they try to convince us to support a politician simply because they are our politician. And I doubt I would actually tell someone to 'shove it'. But you probably get my idea. ;)
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Posted 12/03/08
Razrback11
Ozark, AR | I come from the belief that the President has to screw up before we rail against him. I know I have a lot of ideological differences with our soon to be president, but as my President I will support him until he gives me reason not to. He hasn't had the chance to lose my support yet. I'm hoping for the best.
If he does lose my support, I will still support the office of president because he is the democratically elected leader of our country, chosen by the majority of the people. I know I currently am a part of the minority and our main focus shouldn't be on making disparaging remarks about the president, but about turning our minority into the majority the next time we get the chance to elect our leader. |
Posted 12/23/08
rpowers
Combs, AR | To Razr,
What exactly will it take for the new Prez to "lose your support"? how many campaign commitments does he have to backpeddal on before his pre-inaugural abandonment of principle is obvious?! "Change"? Ok, how is that possible when you appoint entrenched professional bureaucrats to every high-level position? "Bring our troops home from Iraq"? Well, at least a FEW of them, but mostly he'll just transfer some of them over to Afghanistan. The guy is spineless as a jellyfish and crooked as a snake. |
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Posted by Caleb on 11/10/08
Before the bailout was passed I sent an email to Arkansas' U.S. Senators and Congressmen letting them know that I wanted them to vote against it. Ironically enough, I did not hear back from them until AFTER the election ended. Here is what they've said so far...
From Congressman Vic Snyder
November 6, 2008
Mr. Caleb Norris
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Conway, Arkansas 72034-xxxx
Dear Mr. Norris:
Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. I appreciate hearing from you.
On October 3, 2008, President Bush signed H.R. 1424 into law. This law authorized the Treasury Secretary to establish a Troubled Asset Relief Program. This program will allow the government to invest in financial institution through the purchase of assets. The temporary acquisition of these assets will increase the amount credit available for loans to students, small businesses, and other individuals that may need credit.
H.R. 1424 has several provisions to protect taxpayers and ensure full repayment of taxpayer money. The law requires Congressional review after the first $350 billion is disbursed, gives taxpayers a share of the profits of participating companies or puts taxpayers first in line to recover assets if a company fails, and requires a President five years from now to submit a plan to facilitate repayment, with Wall Street making up any difference. In addition, the law establishes four separate independent oversight entities or processes to protect the taxpayer.
Sudden increases in mortgage foreclosures were part of the cause of this financial crisis. H.R. 1424 provided several provisions to help homeowners including an extension of a $1,000 property tax deduction for non-itemizing couples through the end of 2009. The law directs the Treasury Secretary to implement a plan to mitigate foreclosures and to encourage servicers of mortgages to modify loans through Hope for Homeowners and other programs. H.R. 1424 also issues a temporary increase from $100,000 to $250,000 for the amount of bank deposits insured by the FDIC.
H.R. 1424 also included several tax provisions to provide tax relief to middle class families including:
w alternative minimum tax relief for 25 million middle class families;
w a local sales tax deduction through the State for 11 million families;
w a college tuition deduction for 4.5 million families ;
w a deduction for classroom expenses for 3.4 million teachers;
w a child tax credit expansion to help the families of an additional 13 million children.
I am disappointed with the lack of oversight in American financial markets. Proper oversight may have prevented such a drastic action to stabilize financial markets. I am hopeful that we will see investigations into foul play as well as congressional hearings to determine additional steps to ensure that America does not find itself in similar situations in the future. For more detailed information about the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, please go to http://financialservices.house.gov/eesa.html.
Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely
Vic Snyder
Member of Congress
And from Sen. Mark Pryor on November 8th:
Dear Mr. Norris:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. I appreciate hearing from you and apologize for the delay in my response.
America has experienced economic turmoil not seen since the Great Depression. This economic crisis has the potential to affect every segment of our economy and for the impact to be felt by every Arkansan. I have heard from many Arkansans who do not think that the federal government should reward Wall Street for its bad decisions. They correctly point out that Arkansans did not cause problems in the financial markets and should not be responsible for paying to fix Wall Street’s mistakes. I wholeheartedly agree with that point of view, and if the effects of those bad decisions were felt only on Wall Street, I would not support efforts to use taxpayer dollars to bail them out. Unfortunately, we have recently seen evidence that the bad decisions of Wall Street are causing massive damage to Main Street. If left unchecked, this damage could cause irreparable harm to our economy. Faced with the potential of such dire consequences, I believe the government must act to prevent further harm to Arkansas families. I cannot describe my frustration and outrage with the situation we find ourselves in-that the reckless behavior of a few has endangered years of investments, retirement funds, and savings of Arkansans of all economic stripes. This must never be allowed to happen again. I certainly do not take this action lightly; unfortunately, I believe we have few options and a small window of time to take action aimed at reversing the alarming trends of the past few weeks.
I am very concerned about Arkansans keeping their jobs, paying their home mortgages, being able to get loans, and securing their retirement and savings accounts. Businesses large and small depend on credit to run their daily operations. Unless the credit market is stabilized, many small businesses will not be able to make payroll or purchase necessary equipment they need to run. Jobs could be lost and wages could fall as businesses would be forced to cut back. Eventually, money will be in short supply for Arkansas families to refinance mortgages, borrow for a car or send their kids to college, or for farmers to borrow money to plant and fertilize their fields. This decrease in credit will lead to reductions in purchases, which can lead to further job loss. Retirement savings could also be imperiled as the problems in the credit market spill over to the stock market. Taking all of this into consideration, I believed that the cost of not acting far exceeded the cost of proposals considered by Congress. For these reasons, I supported the rescue plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, with some significant changes.
First, CEO’s working for companies participating in the rescue plan will not be allowed to walk away from this train wreck with a hefty severance payment, “golden parachute,” or bonus check in hand. Second, an independent oversight board will prevent conflicts of interest, provide transparency in the spending of taxpayer dollars, and ensure proper implementation of the plan. Third, taxpayers will share in the rewards of their investment, not just the risk. Companies participating in the program must pay back funds they have borrowed with any profits until taxpayers are made whole. In addition to these three provisions intended to strengthen the Administration’s proposal, part of this plan includes help for struggling homeowners facing foreclosure. This type of help will not only act to keep families in their homes, but will also help reduce the risk taxpayers are taking with this investment.
Although the rescue plan is designed to deal with the immediate threat of a shut down in global credit markets, we must not allow the legal environment that permitted this type of risky behavior by Wall Street bankers to continue. Our current system of outdated laws and regulations must be reformed and updated to ensure this is never allowed to happen again. Next year, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to enact regulatory reform legislation so that Wall Street banks can never again place the U.S. and Arkansas economies in a financial crisis. In addition, I will insist that the Department of Justice be vigilant in probing criminal misconduct by companies at the heart of our financial turmoil. Anyone who is found guilty of criminal activity should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Thank you again for sharing your views and concerns with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me about this or any other matter of concern to you. As always, I welcome your input.
Sincerely,
Mark Pryor
United States Senate
Save money at the pump by taking the Drive Smarter Challenge: www.drivesmarterchallenge.org
Please Note, this is not a monitored email account. Due to the sheer volume of correspondence I receive, I ask that constituents please contact me
via my website with any responses or additional concerns.
So what do you think about these responses?
Categories: Action Item, Economy, Congress
Tags: , bailout, response, Vic Snyder, mark, pryor, mark pryor, vic, synder, email
Showing comments 1—3 of 3
Posted 11/10/08
Andrew Sica
Woodbury, CT | I think every single point in their response to you is fundamentally flawed, if not an outright lie. Further, much like our Congressmen in Connecticut, they appear to have not read the bailout bill (although I may be giving them the benefit of the doubt by calling them ignorant instead of identifying it as more lies).
If you would like ammo to use to respond to them, check out the mises.org bailout reader here:
http://mises.org/story/3128
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Posted 11/10/08
Andrew Sica
Woodbury, CT | Sorry if you already knew about that website! |
Posted 11/10/08
Equality 72521
Vernal, UT | I recieved a response from Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. If I can find it, I will post it. It was unbelievable to read. He made a couple points that particularly stood out:
1. Americans didn't understand the issue and that's why we were opposed to the bill
2. Nobody put forth a better plan, so he went with the best plan they had
I couldn't believe that he basically admitted that he would not be bound by his contituents and that we weren't able to understand the issue for ourselves.
Now he's out fighting to make sure rural Utahns can get TV when the nation switches to digital next year. Glad to see he's hard at work on the most important issues facing the nation. |
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Posted by Caleb on 10/27/08
For those who don't know, I co-host a radio program on 91.3 FM KUCA called Two Political Blowhards. We are on the air every Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 9am-10am.
I have arranged a phone interview with both candidates for the District 30 State Senate seat. The candidates are Sen. Gilbert Baker & Mr. Joe White. The interviews will be played on Friday's show (10-31-08).
If anyone has any questions they would like me to ask either candidate, please let me know ASAP!
Categories: Election News, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Congress
Tags: Senate, Conway, Arkansas, State, Senator Baker, Joe White
Showing comments 1—1 of 1
Posted 11/05/08
Caleb Kinley
Hot Springs, AR | I love the name of your program. Does the radio station have a website to where I can listen online? |
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