Monthly Archives: August 2008

Glenn Puit: Fear Mongering in Whitewater

Posted on by razma766
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Originally posted on the PRN BLog.

Kurt Bouwhuis, Mackinac Center Intern

The text above is the title of an article I read this morning.  The author, Glenn Puit, critiques a speech given by my boss, Bruce Walker.  I have a copy of the speech given by Bruce in my possession, and found that all of the “direct quotes” from Glenn Puit’s article are inaccurate.  This makes sense considering Glenn posted this article close to three months after Bruce’s speech was given.

The majority of Glenn’s piece appears to be his opinion being portrayed as fact.  There are many problems with this piece, but I will stick to covering the major issues.  The following are actually direct quotes from Glenn’s article:

“Usually, when a government exercises eminent domain, it does so to advance a vital public interest.” — What does he mean by usually?  What happens when eminent domain and regulatory takings exist without a vital public interest?  Are there repercussions for these actions?  It seems as though he is admitting such situations exist. Continue reading →

Talk about “Complete Control”– Cuban punk dissident jailed

Posted on by lmruhland
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Lauren M. Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern

Spotted on Drudge:

HAVANA (AP) – Cuba has ordered jailed punk rocker Gorki Aguila, an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro and the communist government, to stand trial on Friday for “social dangerousness,” a charge that could carry up to four years in prison.

Authorities arrested the 39-year-old lead singer of Porno para Ricardo at his Havana home on Monday, shortly after the band had completed work on a new album. Cuban law defines “social dangerousness” as behavior contrary to “communist morality,” and police use it to detain offenders before they have a chance to commit a crime.

First thought:  There’s a Cuban punk scene?  And a band named “Porn for Ricardo?”  Whose dissident lead singer seems to be named after the founder of socialist realism?  That’s amusing!  (I suppose it could be a stage name, but I encountered quite a few similar Soviet namesakes when I visited formerly socialist Nicaragua a few years ago.)

According to his Wiki article, Águila attracted the attention of authorities in part because he told CNN that communism is “a failure. A total failure. Please. Leftists of the world — improve your capitalism.”  Porno para Ricardo was in the midst of finishing up their fourth album, though the Cuban government has banned their music from state radio and forbidden them from performing in public.  This makes the Clash complaining about the oppressive record industry seem a little trivial.

Kudos to the Babalu Blog–”an island on the net without a bearded dictator,” acording to its tagline–for helping get the story out.  If you’d like to hear some of Porno para Ricardo’s music (be warned, it’s en español and may be offensive even to non-Communist sensibilities), check out the video for their song “el Comandante” here.

King of the Wind Farms Continued

Posted on by razma766
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Originally from the PRN Blog.

Kurt Bouwhuis, Mackinac Center Intern

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy went to Macomb Township to conduct an interview with the parties involved in the Michael’s case.  Both Dolores and Ron Michaels were thrown in jail for 6 days, and were recently released.  They were jailed because of “noncompliance” on a consent agreement.  Our first interview was with Dolores Michaels and her attorney, Cindy Victor.

The Michaels claim they did comply with the consent agreement, while township thought otherwise.  We discovered that the judge (the only person that had the power to release the Michaels from prison) happened to be on vacation the week the Michaels went to jail.  Macomb Township did not accept legal documentation from Cindy Victor which would keep the Michaels out of jail until the judge returned.  Cindy was willing to pay the filing fee, yet Macomb Township would not accept the paperwork.  (By law, Macomb Township must accept all requests as long as the citizen is willing to pay the filing fee.)

While in Jail, the Michaels were held in “lock down”, which means they could not accept any visitors, including their lawyer.  Ron Michaels just recently had surgery and had a catheter.  Due to his health condition, he was held in the infirmary for the majority of the time, where he contracted a urinary track infection.  Dolores Michaels lost weight and had numerous bug bites all over her body.

After the interview with Cindy and Dolores, we went to interview Lawrence Dloski, who is the township attorney.  He stated Macomb Township never wanted to throw the Michaels in jail, yet he did not hesitate to throw the Michaels in jail while the judge was on vacation.  He also seemed to think that a license plate qualified as compost.

We talked to Patrick Wright, the Mackinac Center’s Senior Legal Analyst about the outcomes of the Michael’s case.  He stated that there was nothing legally binding Macomb Township to throwing the Michaels in jail.  The township could have easily issued a $7500 fine, which would have helped avoid throwing a non-violent, 60-year-old couple in jail.  This also would have granted the Michaels the ability to clean their property to Macomb’s standards.  Instead, the Michaels sat in jail while friends and family desperately cleaned up the lot.

A link to the new Michaels video will be provided shortly.

2008 Elections

Posted on by razma766
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Kurt Bouwhuis, Mackinac Center Intern

Politician can truthfully promise you one of two things:
1. Increase government services and increase taxes
2. Decrease government services and decrease taxes

Despite the truth, we generally see politicians promise:
1. Increase government services and decrease taxes
2. Decrease taxes and do nothing to decrease spending

These are a couple ideas to keep in mind for the upcoming election.

Worth its weight in gold? Find out!

Posted on by lmruhland
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Lauren Ruhland, MCPP Intern

From Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories:

The Monetary Density of Things

It’s a common figure of speech to say that x is worth its weight in y, where y is usually (but not always) gold. But most of us don’t buy and weigh gold very often, so how do you connect that to real life? Does “worth its weight” in pennies or $100 bills make any more sense?

We have collected here a bunch of examples for different things that represent a wide range of monetary value per unit weight, in what might make a useful calibration chart for your future idiomatic usage.

Among many other observations:  whale bile (as ambergris) is more value dense than peacock feathers, but they’re both worth more per pound than human blood.   Read the whole thing for fun charts and graphs!

Chinese Director: “human rights” interfere with Westerners’performances

Posted on by lmruhland
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Lauren Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern

A decade ago, director Zhang Yimou’s films were acclaimed in the West but frequently censored in his native China. Since then, he’s fallen back into favor with the Chinese government and directed both the opening and closing ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics.  He told the Chinese press that the Beijiing ceremonies will be difficult to top by Western performers, because their pesky human rights keep getting in the way.  As reported in the Times of London, his experience with Westerners leaves him thinking them lazy and disorganized, because they aren’t willing to sacrifice themselves to the “uniformity” that “brings beauty” to his work:

“It was so troublesome,” he said. “They only work four and a half days each week. Every day there are two coffee breaks, and no-one can suffer any discomfort because of human rights.

…

“You couldn’t criticize them either. They all belong to organizations – some kind of institutions, unions. We do not have that. We can work very hard, and can put up with a lot of pain.

It was hard to pull out selections of Zhang’s interview, because it’s really the whole thing that’s so unnerving.

I’ve only seen one of Zhang’s films (1994′s To Live), but I thought it was a tragicomic indictment of the Cultural Revolution.  (So did China’s censors– the film was banned there.) The venue where I saw it explicitly included it because of its criticism of Chinese bureaucracy.  It was aesthetically pleasing and featured a beautiful story, but Zhang’s comments here are going to color my perspective of it forever.

Canadian Carpool Outlaws

Posted on by lmruhland
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Lauren Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern

Carpooling is a favored method of transit among poor college students, and gives consumers a way to minimize their carbon footprint and save money.  The clever guys at PickUp Pal decided to capitalize on this by offering an easy venue for would-be ridesharers to advertise their transportation need or availability. Their organized system has the added bonus of reputational ratings, which offer accountability not afforded to the hitchhiker with a “California or Bust!” sign.

“It is hard to see how such a thing could be anything less than a nifty social benefit of the Internet,” reads an editorial in Canada’s National Post, “but in Ontario, it is considered illegal.”  That’s right– carpooling in Ontario is only legal if it involves commuting from the suburbs to the city for work purposes, according to the Ontario Highway Transport Board’s curious definition of “public vehicle.” You see, public vehicles must be operated only by specially licensed individuals. The driving force behind the broad definition? Bus operators who fear competition!

Now PickupPal, which has an estimated 15,000 registered users in Ontario, has become popular enough to attract the attention of intercity bus firms. They claim that allowing money to change hands between consenting individuals for inter-municipal trips makes the site illegal — in essence, that it makes PickupPal a bus service.

Lest you think such silliness is confined to our neighbor to the north–think again.

Hat tip to Janet Neilson, though it’s not on her blog.

Want world peace? Support free trade.

Posted on by wfreeland
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William Freeland, Mackinac Center Intern

An outstanding article on the pacifying effect of trade by Donald Boudreaux  of George Mason Univerity and Cafe Hayek blogger. This from the November 20, 2006 edition of the Christian Science Monitor.

(Cross-Posted at Michigan SFE Blog)

By Donald J. Boudreaux 
FAIRFAX, VA.

Everyone knows that a key to the Democrats’big electoral win was their opposition to the Iraq war. But also, as the Wall Street Journal reported recently, “Democrats’stances against free trade helped build the party’s success at the polls and could tip the balance on trade matters. The new dynamic could put a definitive end to the already troubled effort to reach a global agreement to reduce tariffs and open markets….”

Protectionists (of whatever party) believe that consumers who buy goods and services from foreigners cause domestic employment – and wages – to fall. Economists since before Adam Smith have shown that this belief is mistaken, largely because foreigners sell things to us only because they either want to buy things from us or invest in our economy.

These activities employ workers here at home and raise their wages. Mountains of empirical evidence show that protectionism is economically destructive. The facts also show that protectionism is inconsistent with a desire for peace – a desire admirably expressed by many Democrats during the recent campaigns.

Back in 1748, Baron de Montesquieu observed that “Peace is the natural effect of trade. Two nations who differ with each other become reciprocally dependent; for if one has an interest in buying, the other has an interest in selling; and thus their union is founded on their mutual necessities.”

If Mr. Montesquieu is correct that trade promotes peace, then protectionism – a retreat from open trade – raises the chances of war.

Plenty of empirical evidence confirms the wisdom of Montesquieu’s insight: Trade does indeed promote peace.

Continue reading →

Are the Olympics fair?

Posted on by razma766
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Kurt Bouwhuis, Mackinac Center Intern

After watching the Olympics, I was blown away by the performances of the athletes from around the world. World records were broken and individual athletes brought home multiple medals.

I do, however, feel that in the presence of all these accomplishments, we may be overlooking something. What about all the countries that brought home only a few medals. Is it fair that some countries win so many medals, while others win so few? What are these successful countries going to do with all the medals? Why not allocate the medals to those who won less? Can you imagine being a country that received the least amount of medals?

Continue reading →

Challenging the Airlines on Oil Speculation

Posted on by lmruhland
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–Lauren Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern

The Stop Oil Speculation Now! movement has some competition– a new organization called The Airline Oil Spin.  From their site:

The U.S. Airline Industry is wracked with problems. And the airline industry is working hard to pin all of those problems on “oil speculators,” by creating pseudo-grassroots campaigns like their recent effort to push legislation to stop some kinds of oil speculation.

I have a trade deficit with Apple Inc., what should I do?

Posted on by razma766
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Kurt Bouwhuis, Mackinac Center Intern

I’ve always wondered why the words “trade deficit” carry a negative connotation. What it usually implies is that one party, through the coarse of a series of transactions, has acquired more or less monetary value (money) than it has received in goods and services.

When looking at a nation’s trade deficit, people tend to get concerned when more goods and services are acquired than monetary value. Look at the United States for example. People are concerned that the USA imports more than exports. This means that we have given foreigners paper, and in return have received goods and services such as food, gas, and cars.

Why choose geography as a determining factor in calculating trade deficits? What if we broke trade deficits down to into individuals or households? I bet individuals have trade deficits with other individuals, businesses, banks… Households have trade deficits as well. I would also bet that towns, cities, counties, and states have trade deficits. Is this really a problem?

I personally have a deficit with Apple Inc., which has been generated within the past two years. I have purchased two iPods valued at $600. I have also purchased a laptop valued at $2200. I have spent $2800 more dollars on Apple than they have spent on me. I have no problem with my deficit. In fact, I plan on increasing my deficit with Apple in the future.

Check and double-check

Posted on by lmruhland
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–Lauren M. Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern
Note to self: When setting up a business in Canada, check background of any accountants encountered through state-subsidized employment programs.

Gwen Patrick did all the accounting for Falcon Compressors Inc., the company she owned with her husband Dennis, until a medical emergency left her in a coma.  After her recovery, the couple faced no choice but to hire out their books, and they turned to a government-subsidized employment agency for assistance.

Unfortunately for Falcon, the person referred to them a year ago was Kathleen Holyoak-Marion, 36. Operating for years under a number of aliases, Holyoak had a long criminal record for fraud-related activity.

The Windsor woman had been barred by a judge’s order at the time of her Falcon hiring from holding any job involving corporate bookkeeping or accounting, part of her bail terms of release pending the latest fraud charges she was facing.

Holyoak-Marion wrote herself 111 checks and has been ordered to pay the Patricks and their clients more than $100 thousand in restitution should she ever find legitimate income, in addition to her 12-month jail sentence.

As to why the Patricks hired her in the first place:

“I was stupid. I trusted this government program,” Patrick replied.

Petition of the Candlestick Makers

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A PETITION From the Manufacturers of Candles, Tapers, Lanterns, sticks, Street Lamps, Snuffers, and Extinguishers, and from Producers of Tallow, Oil, Resin, Alcohol, and Generally of Everything Connected with Lighting.

To the Honourable Members of the Chamber of Deputies

Gentleman:

You are on the right track. You reject abstract theories and little regard for abundance and low prices. You concern yourselves mainly with the fate of the producer. You wish to free him from foreign competition, that is, to reserve the domestic market for domestic industry.

We come to offer you a wonderful opportunity for your — what shall we call it? Your theory? No, nothing is more deceptive than theory. Your doctrine? Your system? Your principle? But you dislike doctrines, you have a horror of systems, as for principles, you deny that there are any in political economy; therefore we shall call it your practice — your practice without theory and without principle.

We are suffering from the ruinous competition of a rival who apparently works under conditions so far superior to our own for the production of light that he is flooding the domestic market with it at an incredibly low price; for the moment he appears, our sales cease, all the consumers turn to him, and a branch of French industry whose ramifications are innumerable is all at once reduced to complete stagnation. This rival, which is none other than the sun, is waging war on us so mercilessly we suspect he is being stirred up against us by perfidious Albion (excellent diplomacy nowadays!), particularly because he has for that haughty island a respect that he does not show for us.

Continue reading →

Granholm and MEGA Announce 9,495 New Michigan Jobs

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Kurt Bouwhuis, Mackinac Center Intern

Yesterday, I came across this headline while reading a blog. The author of the blog post was so proud of the Gov. Jennifer Granholm for bringing all these great jobs to Michigan. I have no problem with attracting new jobs to Michigan, as long as no coercion involved. Sadly, in this instance, the government arbitrarily taxes businesses at different to create an uneven playing field.

Why allow government to decide which businesses will develop in Michigan? Why not allow the market and entrepreneurs decide? It seems odd that we accept the notion of allowing government to manipulate the business playing field, offering unfair advantages to selected businesses.
Continue reading →

RMGN declared unconstitutional

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–Lauren Ruhland, MCPP intern

Many of us intern bloggers are returning back to school as summer winds down, but after Josh’s fantastic coverage of the RMGN proposal (not to mention Jim’s amazing initial PowerPoint discovery) I don’t think we can ignore this:

Detroit Free Press:  “Attempt to change much of Constitution fails court test“

Detroit News: “Reform ballot proposal rejected“

AP (via Booth Newspapers’MLive): “Appeals Court says Reform Michigan measure can’t go on ballot“