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Archive for July, 2008

Mackinac Center Current Comment :: 21 July 2008

Posted in Uncategorized on 31 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Isaac Morehouse and Bruce Walker put together today’s Currrent Comment, a celebration of the ideological ties between blues, jazz, and Milton Friedman’s  economics.  Sound a bit far-fetched?  It actually makes perfect sense.  Jazz and blues are all about personal mastery and personal determination.  They hinge on the freedom [...]

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If Ludites Owned the Machinery Patents…

Posted in Uncategorized on 30 July 2008 | 3 Comments »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008
…we’d still be riding in horse-drawn carriages and wearing homespun, hand-stitched clothing.
Ever since I was a young child I’ve had little respect for the music industry. The RIAA is one of the most backwards organizations I’ve ever encountered. For years they tried to eliminate online music sharing, getting all indignant that [...]

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Mackinac Center Current Comment :: 30 July 2008

Posted in Uncategorized on 30 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Clicking on today’s Current Comment link from the Mackinac Center homepage redirects readers to the new Michigan Education Digest.  This week’s digest contains five stories highlighting some of the more interesting developments in the world of Michigan public and private education.  Perhaps the most interesting, and disheartening, of [...]

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The Bossy City?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on 29 July 2008 | 3 Comments »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008
In a study of the 35 most populous U.S. cities, Reason Magazine reports, “Chicago wins the booby prize for most meddlesome metropolis by a wide margin.” Citing such regulations as bans on guns, smoking and DWOTP (driving while on the phone), Reason supports their hypothesis.
A group of us head off to [...]

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Mackinac Center Current Comment :: 29 July 2008

Posted in Current Comment, economics, tagged , on 29 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Today’s Current Comment was written by Jack McHugh.  He writes about the tax climate in Michigan and how increasing the tax burden for an already stumbling economy is a poor idea.  Fundamentally, McHugh reminds readers that economics is the study of people and their decision-making.  So, when the [...]

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Mackinac Center Current Comment :: 28 July 2008

Posted in Current Comment, tagged on 28 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Jack McHugh writes today’s Current Comment about the proposed Reform Michigan Government Now amendment’s streamlining for Michigan’s budget.  He concludes that the amendment ends up saving the state approximately one-twentieth of one percent of its operating budget.  This amount is almost laughable compared to the hype the proposal [...]

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Today’s Unintended Consequence no. 1,920,533

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on 28 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

~LM Ruhland
Today’s NYT features an article about U.S. problems as a result of foreign fuel subsidies.  From “Fuel Subsidies Overseas Take a Toll on U.S.“:
From Mexico to India to China, governments fearful of inflation and street protests are heavily subsidizing energy prices, particularly for diesel fuel. But the subsidies — estimated at $40 billion this [...]

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Algae as fuel

Posted in Environment, tagged , on 25 July 2008 | 5 Comments »

~Lauren Ruhland, MCPP intern
Drew Thornley over at Planet Gore has a really nice examination of algal biofuel today.  A few of the biologists I know say that this will be the only economically and environmentally viable way to make a large-scale shift to ethanol, though the process is still very far from large-scale feasibility.  Unlike [...]

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“You need to be educated (gotta go to school)”

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on 25 July 2008 | 1 Comment »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008
The new education budget that passed both chambers removes Detroit Public Schools’ veto power over charter schools. A lot of people are peeved. Rep. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, claims,
Public school academies have been cherry-picking the good students … (adding to) the death spiral of the Detroit public school system.
This reminds me of [...]

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Mackinac Center Current Comment :: 25 July 2008

Posted in Uncategorized on 25 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Today’s Current Comment from the Mackinac Center actually comes from Michigan Education Report.  Vice president of public relations and government affairs for the Michigan Association of Public School Academies Gary Naeyaert writes on the need to remove the special ‘first-class district’ status of Detroit Public Schools.  The distinction [...]

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About RTW

Posted in economics, tagged , , , , , on 24 July 2008 | 1 Comment »

by Kahryn Rombach, 2008 MCPP Intern
One of the reforms that the MCPP urges be made to Michigan public policy is the enactment of Right to Work (RTW) legislation. RTW prohibits the types of agreements between unions and employers which make union membership (or financial support of the union) a prerequisite to employment with that establishment.
Until [...]

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I wish my lawn were emo…

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on 24 July 2008 | 1 Comment »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008
Let it be understood that I do not advocate violence of any sort except in self-defense and that I think all types of people should be allowed to express the lifestyle they have voluntarily chosen so long as they do not infringe on others’ same rights.
I was intrigued by this Time [...]

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Family fun with S.O.S. Now

Posted in economics, tagged on 24 July 2008 | 2 Comments »

~Lauren M. Ruhland, SET intern
As Josh Rule mentioned earlier this month, airline companies are encouraging their customers to pressure their elected representatives for an end to oil speculation.
My father is a frequent flier and was encouraged to fight oil speculation at the Stop Oil Speculation Now (SOS Now) website.  When he gave his ZIP code, [...]

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We Can Fix That Too!

Posted in politics, tagged , , on 24 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Yesterday, I wrote about the Aerolineas Argentinas, which, although privatized for nearly 20 years, is now being nationalized again.  As I wrote the article, I was thinking to myself, “Why do governments always make the mistake of getting involved in private business?  At least nothing quite so blatant [...]

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Mackinac Center Current Comment :: 24 July 2008

Posted in Current Comment, tagged , on 24 July 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Trying Liberty’s Kurt Bouwhuis wrote today’s Current Comment at the Mackinac Center, which is actually a modified version of his previous post, Thoughts of Michigan’s Unemployment Rate.  In it, Bouwhuis shows that the official explanations for Michigan’s high unemployment, an influx of young labor and high gas prices, [...]

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