Category Archives: Political Animals

You’re Kidding, Right?

Posted on January 12, 2010 | 2 comments

Sarah Palin, on her Fox News debut, said she thought that Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks until 2008 campaign handlers informed her otherwise.

That would be seven years after the attacks.

Not as off base as the truthers. Still jaw-dropping to read.

One wonders why Democrats put so much time and effort into attacking her. If I were a Democratic party strategist, I would be lending active support to her 2012 candidacy.

It doesn’t matter how much Ms. Palin learns about the issues between now and then. And I place no doubts on her IQ. You don’t get to be governor unless you have something going on upstairs. Sarah Palin has to be the easiest general election kill since at least John Kerry.

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Posted in Elections, Political Animals, The Partisan Mind

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This Guy Gets It

Posted on January 11, 2010 | Comments Off on This Guy Gets It

Today’s quotation of the day from The New York Times daily email:

“I’m a middle-of-the-road kind of guy. I want the Democrats out of my pocket and Republicans out of my bedroom. The one word I would use for what’s going on in Washington is embarrassing.”

RON VAUGHN, who provides health insurance to his 60 employees at Argonaut Wine and Liquor in Denver.

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Posted in Pith, Political Animals, The Partisan Mind

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Regulation of the Day 88: College Football’s Playoff System

Posted on December 21, 2009 | Comments Off on Regulation of the Day 88: College Football’s Playoff System

“College football is bringing big bucks to K Street as lawmakers take aim at dismantling the Bowl Championship Series,” says a recent story in Politico.

A six-figure sum is being spent lobbying what really shouldn’t be a government issue. Millions more are being spent on other issues affecting college sports.

There’s even a PlayOff PAC that gives money to politicians who take an active stance on college football playoff reform.

True, the BCS playoff system could definitely use an overhaul. But that’s a job for the NCAA. Not Congress.

On the other hand, legislators do considerably less harm when they spend their time on college football instead of, say, health care or fiscal stimulus.

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Posted in General Foolishness, Political Animals, regulation, Regulation of the Day, Sports

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Poll: Used Car Salesmen More Ethical than Congress

Posted on December 9, 2009 | Comments Off on Poll: Used Car Salesmen More Ethical than Congress

According to a new poll, “Congressmen were rated as having a “low/very low” ethical standards by 55 percent of 1,017 adults across the nation.”

The same poll found that 45% of 1,017 adults across the nation had either never heard of Congress, or are big believers in grade inflation.

The shocking part is that used car salesmen only out-performed Congress by four points.

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Posted in Political Animals

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Did Deregulation Cause the Great Recession?

Posted on December 8, 2009 | Comments Off on Did Deregulation Cause the Great Recession?

Over at RealClearMarkets, I explain why the answer is a resounding no:

Rep. Phil Hare argues that “reckless deregulation” is one of the causes of the current economic crisis. That isn’t actually true. This year’s edition of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Ten Thousand Commandments report found that 3,830 new regulations came into effect in 2008 alone.

Over 30,000 total new rules passed during the Bush years. Hardly any were repealed. Businesses currently dole out the equivalent of Canada’s entire 2006 GDP – about $1.2 trillion – just to comply with federal regulations.

Where is the deregulation?

263,989 people make their living working for federal regulatory agencies, according to research from the Mercatus Center. That’s an all-time high.

12,190 of them regulate financial markets from Washington. More are based in New York and other financial centers. None of these figures include state and local rules and regulators. Those cost extra.

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Posted in Business Cycles, Economics, Political Animals, regulation

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Regulation of the Day 77: Banning Toys in Happy Meals

Posted on December 2, 2009 | Comments Off on Regulation of the Day 77: Banning Toys in Happy Meals

Roberto Zabrido, a government official in Spain, is “adamant that the Happy Meal and its ilk pose a risk.”

The solution? Legislation that “would ban restaurants and food manufacturers from including toys and prizes with their products.”

If Happy Meals – Happy Meals! – are Spain’s most pressing national problem, then that country is either the most trouble-free place on Earth, or else busybodies such as Mr. Zabrido have too much money and power. My bet is on the latter.

(Hat tip: Jacob Grier)

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Posted in International, Nanny State, Political Animals, Regulation of the Day

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They Needed a Poll to Find This Out?

Posted on December 1, 2009 | Comments Off on They Needed a Poll to Find This Out?

A headline in today’s Politico reads, “Poll: U.S. too politically divided.”

How is that news? Who is going to say they don’t think the U.S. is divided enough?

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Posted in Political Animals, The Partisan Mind

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Andrew Cuomo Sues Intel

Posted on November 13, 2009 | Comments Off on Andrew Cuomo Sues Intel

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Over at the Washington Examiner‘s Opinion Zone, Wayne Crews and I explain why New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s antitrust lawsuit against Intel is a mistake.

Calling Intel’s business practices “bribery” and “coercion” is little more than argument by assertion. Rebates and exclusivity deals are normal competitive behavior. Not only is Intel facing increasing competition in its home turf, that small segment is hardly the extent of the relevant competitive market. Intel faces an uncertain future as consumer tastes shift to smaller products powered by non-Intel chips. Cuomo’s antitrust lawsuit does not stand up to scrutiny. It deserves to be dropped.

Antitrust policies thwart the competitive process whenever and wherever they are applied.

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Posted in Antitrust, Economics, Political Animals, Publications, regulation, Technology

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Unfunded Mandates

Posted on November 5, 2009 | Comments Off on Unfunded Mandates

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Today’s American Spectator Online has a piece by CEI VP Wayne Crews and I on curbing Congressional abuse of  unfunded mandates. If the term is new to you, unfunded mandates are basically an accounting gimmick that lets government understate how much it costs taxpayers:

rather than fund a new federal job training program through a Department of Labor appropriation, Congress could mandate that all Fortune 500 firms provide, and pay for, such training. The first appears on the federal budget, the second does not. For politicians, it’s the perfect scheme. The government can spend — or, rather, force other people to spend — as much as it wants without adding to the deficit.

Decency demands this trickery stop; a bill from Rep. Virginia Foxx looks like it would do some good on that front.

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Posted in Economics, Political Animals, Public Choice, Publications, regulation, Spending, Taxation

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Regulation of the Day 68: Ironing Tables

Posted on November 3, 2009 | Comments Off on Regulation of the Day 68: Ironing Tables

ironing table

Regulation begets rent-seeking. When government assumes the power to regulate imports, domestic firms will lobby to use that fact to their advantage.

Case in point: Home Products International (HPI), an American company, makes ironing tables. So does Hardware, a Chinese company. I personally have no idea which firm makes the better ironing table. That’s for consumers to decide.

Or at least it should be for consumers to decide. But it doesn’t always work that way in practice. HPI seems to have already made that decision for us.

At HPI’s request, the International Trade Administration will continue to add anti-dumping duties to the price of the Chinese-made ironing tables. That way HPI doesn’t have to worry as much about competing. Sorry, consumers.

Is this fair? Of course not. But all too often, it is how regulation works.

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Posted in Economics, International, Political Animals, Public Choice, Regulation of the Day, Trade

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