Giving Drunken Sailors a Bad Name

How far out of control is spending in the Republican-controlled halls of government? In very current articles, Alan Greenspan, Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, and even local GOP shill Greg Garrison call out the Republicans on spending.

Garrison's article is largely incoherent rambling. In between, he managed to accurately sum up the thoughts of anyone who voted Republican in 2004 and isn't living in complete denial:

But his stewardship of the people's money and his vision for the role of government in our lives have left me more than disappointed with his leadership of Congress and his direction of his own administration.

Or, as Glenn McCoy's recent cartoon summed up...


The Noblesville Daily Times ran the McCoy cartoon and the Garrison article on the Viewpoint page today. The drumbeat is growing. Per Buchanan, at World Net Daily:

The Taft-Goldwater-Reagan-Helms Republicans were prepared to pay the political price for saying "No." But just as the Democrats of the 1930s found the formula for permanent power in "tax and tax, spend and spend, elect and elect," as Harold Ickes Sr. put it, the Bush Republicans and Big Government conservatives of the 1990s believe they have found an even surer formula for permanent power: "Cut taxes, spend and spend, elect and elect."

Per Novak, at Town Hall, discussing the treatment given Indiana's Mike Pence for daring to be a fiscal conservative:

Pence was far more discreet in Tuesday's session with his party's leadership, but that did not save him a going over, led by two powerful committee chairmen: Rep. Don Young (Transportation Committee) and Rep. Bill Thomas (Ways and Means
Committee). The harshest treatment of Pence, however, was administered by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who does not like his rank-and-file members depicting a free-spending Republican Party.

Even though Pence is correct, and it's absolutely true. It is incredible to think that President Bush has not used he veto power even once... until you recall and consider the formula identified by Buchanan above. Republican leaders like Tom DeLay don't want fiscal conservatives to be shown enough of the Goldwater-Reagan legacy to think carefully about it. They want fiscal conservatives to waste their votes on the GOP on the mere, fading memory of those legends, despite the reality of the spending actions of the Republican-led Congress.

Mona Charon, the American Conservative Union, Matt Towery, the Cato Institute... these aren't the liberals calling out the GOP. Five years of denial is enough for them.

The real question is: have you had enough? Isn't it enough that the GOP has ushered in more real liberalism than the Democrats could have? Isn't it enough that no Democrats had to be elected President, or gain control of Congress, in order to have their agenda so thoroughly advanced?

When you've had enough, and have decided that you are serious about smaller government, with lower spending, the only sane thing you can do is back Libertarian candidates (or become one), and vote Libertarian.

Libertarians Oppose Estate Taxes

I check the Noblesville Daily Times every day, even when I am out of town, as I am now. I found an article in the op-eds that just infuriated me. It made the assertion that planning and saving for the purpose of providing for your children and grandchildren somehow made the poor poorer.

The Daily Times ran the thing, and it deserved a response. This topic deserves a Republican response, but typically, they are absent on all things economic anymore. I submitted a Libertarian response, and NDT printed it, with a nice headline of their own:

Estate tax is unjustified government intrusion into
inheritance

The headline announcing Marian Wright Edelman's column on the estate tax, "Permanent repeal would hurt poorest", (Viewpoint, Noblesville Daily Times, Sept. 20) helps one understand the misguided economic thinking of the Left and the threat such "thought" poses to individual liberty and financial security.

Should the descendents of the person who has worked, planned, and saved for the purpose of providing for them be punished only because the offspring of the poor were not so cared for by their own? What message does the Left send in opposing estate transfers? It can only be that planning and thrift are to be discouraged at the penalty of theft, and that a lack of planning is to be encouraged and rewarded.

Your money was earned by you. It should be directed at your passing by you and you alone. The state should have no claim on the money you earned, merely because you pass away. Nor should the poor and their apologists, who would use the state as the means to steal what you earned. The well-to-do have not merely hit life's lottery. They have made the life choices that result in the creation of wealth. These choices should be encouraged by all public policy, including estate policy.

Edelman makes the assertion that working hard and saving for the purpose of ensuring a more secure future for your children and grandchildren somehow worsens another person's lot in life. In fact, the poor's lives are utterly unchanged by this action. It is absolutely true that the descendents of the person who worked, planned, and saved benefit enormously from such forethought. What makes that a bad thing? That such people will not be dependent upon the welfare state, and therefore, will have no need for the Left and their statist politicians?

Republicans should be at the fore in removing the immoral estate taxes from the books. Unfortunately, they are mired in a directionless muddle on all things economic and drifting ever leftward, moving away from their fiscal conservatism. We hear precious little from them on this subject.

Libertarians grasp these concepts completely, which is why Libertarians oppose all manner of estate taxes.

Mike Kole, Fishers

Kole is a Libertarian candidate for Indiana Secretary of State. He is the former chair of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County.

Who Causes Price Gouging?

In a few days, when gasoline pump prices soar again, the public at-large will be blaming gas retailers of 'price gouging'.

Understanding that prices are always a function of supply and demand, what happens if the public decides to stock up? That's right, the prices go up faster because the supply diminishes faster. By the way, Consumer, what you are doing is called HOARDING. From Norm Heikens' excellent Indy Star article:

Experts say gas prices could rocket above $4 a gallon, and oil refiners hope consumers won't worsen already-tight supplies by filling tanks like they did during Katrina, when demand shot up as much as five-fold at some locations, said Marathon Petroleum Co. spokeswoman Linda Casey.

Not since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had Casey seen such hoarding, she said.

Casey is at the bat. She describes the behavior correctly. Don't complain about high prices, especially if you participated in the hoarding that led to the scarcity that drove up the prices.

Greetings From Hilton Head

I am on a vacation with Isabel at Hilton Head, while Ame attends a medical conference. You gotta love the medical profession. They know where to hold a conference!

My blogging activity may be a little short, but I'm still keeping tabs on Indiana. For instance, I'll direct you to Rob Beck, who attended and testified at yesterday's hearing on Eminent Domain at the Statehouse.

Hamilton County Meeting

Hamilton County Libertarians met tonight for a business meeting at Barley Island in Noblesville. This is the same restaurant we put on the front page of the Noblesville Daily Times, thanks to our pro-restaurant/anti-tax pub crawl.

Chair Rob Place had an excellent agenda, including a focus for the 2006 ballot, a possible Fair Tax presentation & discussion, and one of our members' outreach to a significant PAC. Sheri Conover Sharlow came down from Grant County to discuss her campaign for US Representative in the 5th District. She'll be running against Dan Burton, and looking for the support of Eli Lilly employees and their families & friends.

Rob allowed me to speak about my Secretary of State campaign. The photo captures my credit card merchant's display. I let everyone know that I am serious about all aspects of campaigning, including fundraising.

Media's Blind Eye

There was plenty of media coverage for the Colts' stadium groundbreaking, and all of it extremely favorable. Not like there was much questioning of the validity of the project as a matter of public policy from the media during the mostly Republican campaign to raise taxes for this private project, but the questioning period is clearly over.

Some libertarians attempted to get the attention of the media and passersby with pickets. Here is Kevin Fleming's account:

Fred Peterson and myself stood at the corner for approximately 90 minutes. Fred's sign read "Sewers not Stadiums" and mine read "Cops not Colts". The first two reactions we got were negative. One guy wanted to debate why we were there, and another woman yelled sorry about your luck. After this the reactions were extremely positive including three passing police officers, one ambulance driver, and one water company driver giving us the thumbs up. I would say overall there were 35 to 40 thumbsup signs we received. We had three people ask why there weren't more protesters there including one woman who blocked traffic to do so.

We had our photograph taken by someone who worked for a couple of newspapers but would not say which ones. Had a reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal interview us also. Then we had a good conversation with the traffic control officer at the end, he too wondered why there were not more protesters but we found out the he too is a Libertarian and agreed with us wholeheartedly. I think Fred left disappointed because the local media ignored us, but I guess I'm used to it, so I have to say I think it was well worth the effort.

Update: The Louisville Courier Journal ran an article on a stadium proposal in that city, with the telling headline, "Arena Favored, But Not Tax Paid". I think the sentiment was identical here in Central Indiana, which is why the County Councils voted on it and not the citizens. The Libertarian position is not anti-Colts or anti-stadium. The Libertarian position is private ventures should be privately funded, and, public health and safety are top priority- especially in times of budgetary distress.

Think About It

Fiscal conservatives often have a hard time enunciating their care for fellow man while in the process of trying to guard the purse strings. This is as evident in the wake of Katrina as ever.

It's simple, though. The burden the Bush response will put onto every American for generations to come is who fiscal conservatives are looking out for. If you believe in doing best by the majority, as so many Americans do, then this should be easy logic to follow, and therefore begin to question the enormous pricetag to this bailout.

Here's a good way to understand the scope of the $200 billion Bush will spend to show that he is compassionate: That amount represents $400,000 per displaced household. $400,000!!! From Stephen Moore, in the Wall Street Journal:

Conspicuously missing from the post-Katrina spending debate is a question for some brave soul in Congress to ask, What is the appropriate and constitutional role here for the federal government? Before the New Deal taught us that the federal government is the solution to every malady, most congresses and presidents would have concluded that the federal government's role was minimal. One of our greatest presidents, Democrat Grover Cleveland, vetoed an appropriation for drought victims because there was no constitutional authority to spend for such purposes. Today he would be ridiculed by Ted Kennedy as "incompassionate."

We all want to see New Orleans rebuilt, but it does not follow that this requires more than $100 billion in federal aid. Chicago was burned to the ground in 1871; San Francisco was leveled by an earthquake in 1906; and in 1900 Galveston, Texas, was razed by a hurricane even more ferocious than Katrina. In each instance, these proud cities were rebuilt rapidly and to even greater glory--with hardly any federal money.

What's amazing to me is that the Left continues to scream about how cheap the GOP is. I know that the screaming merely reflects political strategy. It's completely disingenuous, but utterly effective. The objective of the Left is to create socialism, and as Bush & DeLay also move left with their spending, if the call is to keep moving further, Bush & DeLay merely help the Left achieve their objective without even having elected majorities. It's quite brilliant. Bad for the country, but brilliant strategy.

What point is there to electing Republicans who do little but forward the Democrats' agenda? Fiscal conservatives need to change their ways and vote Libertarian.

Anniversary of Note

The date September 9th of any year has always jumped off the calendar for me, especially seeing it noted 9/9. The reason is that on 9/9/1980, at the age of 12, I took on my first daily newspaper route. We received a weekly bill for the papers we bought and then re-sold. Every bill had the carrier's start date printed on it. My 25th anniversary recently passed, and I didn't want it to slip by without comment.

Remember the old newspaper carrier, who delivered the paper at 6am, putting it inside the box, or the screen door, per your instructions? That was me, the paperboy. We didn't toss the paper from a moving car. We walked from house to house and delivered the paper to a place convenient to the customer, even if it was a little less convenient to us.

Of course, we were hoping for tips. We made 4 cents per paper Monday through Saturday, and 20 cents per paper on Sunday. 44 cents a week was ours out of a weekly charge of $1.50 to our customers. If the service was good, I would often see a tip greater than the expected profit- $2 tendered, and I could keep the change. Today's carriers are generally adults. They take several routes and work on volume, with no expectation of tips, and moreover, no expectation of getting to know the neighbors.

It frosts me to get a wet newspaper today. The carriers wrap the paper in a plastic bag, but because they toss it from a moving car onto concrete, the bag rips open, and if its raining, the paper gets soaked and ruined. We prided ourselves on delivering dry papers without using bags, and while running through the rain. (Yes, you can begin the "It was better in my day, son!" routine now.)

I crabbed about having to get up at 5:30 every morning, but I look back fondly at the experience. I did get to know everybody in the neighborhood. I did learn how to do a job, even on the days I didn't feel like it, or when the weather was lousy. I learned how to manage purchases and inventory. I learned how to make customers happy- all at the age of 12. In sum, it was a valuable experience.

I have unfortunately learned that most morning newspapers no longer employ kids for delivery. As employers, they would rather not deal with liability and child labor issues. Parents would rather not have their kids out in the wee hours, for fear of the boogey-man.

It's too bad. As you can see, I learned very important lessons as a young independent contractor. It was better training than a fast food job, because I had to know my route. If I bought too many papers, I was cutting into my profits. Not enough, and I disappointed some customers. That's training and responsibility that mere burger flipping doesn't provide.

By the time I was 16, I also had three other part-time jobs in addition to the paper route. I loved working and making money. But the work ethic was formed on the paper route, some 25 years ago.

No More Pork?

Tom DeLay's comments that there is no fat to cut from the Federal budget have gotten the lampooning they so richly deserve. But will the mutiny by fiscal conservatives from within the GOP ever take place? Comments as absurd as these certainly should be launching some sort of overthrow from within, if it is ever to happen.

Alas. Get over it. No takeover will be forthcoming. The fact is that the Republican Party is not the party of smaller government, lower taxes, and general fiscal conservatism. That's the Libertarian Party. Fiscal conservatives need to do the reality check on themselves if they are sticking with the GOP. Wake up and smell the sodium pentathol!

Or, at the very least, take a look at The Truth Laid Bare's Porkbusters page, where you can see the pork itemized, in all its grisly detail.

Hat tip to Kevin Fleming!

Saturday's Campaign Trail Notes

Yesterday was a day that felt like a full campaign day, with two excellent events to participate in.

The first was the annual La Plaza event in downtown Indy. Ame & I have attended this event before, as we enjoy Latino culture. Conveniently, Ame was also involved with the event this year, staffing a booth for her employer, distributing new baby kits to anyone who had an infant or was pregnant.

I was glad to have former LPIN staffer Robert Butler over from Ohio to help us speak Espanol. I can get around town, ordering meals or finding the train station, but curiously enough, I cannot speak Spanish regarding politics. We'll have to remedy that. Big thanks to the Marion County Libertarians, and to former gubernatorial candidate Kenn Gividen, all of whom participated here.

The Mariachi band insisted that I take their guitar. I protested that I really only know how to play a few chords, and barre chords. They enjoyed a good laugh.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson stopped by our booth, and Sam Goldstein asked him to take the World's Smallest Political Quiz. The Mayor asked what would happen if he scored Libertarian. We told him he could bring in his $25 membership fee and attend Monday's meeting at Shapiro's. This prompted a huge round of laughs.

The second event was a radio appearance on WXNT. Guest host Andy Horning & I engaged listeners and callers in a great conversation about the role of the Libertarian Party, especially for fiscal conservative who aren't getting what they bargain for with the two older parties.

Andy Horning, as guest host fill-in for Greg Browning.

Be Careful What You Grandstand For

As always, the Law of Unintended Consequences must be considered prior to any political grandstanding.

The opponents of President Bush, in their eagerness to portray him as aloof and uncaring in New Orleans, have gotten an over-the-top response. The result will be an enormous addition to the deficit spending they had also been correctly attacking the President for. Per today's Indy Star editorial:

President Bush in his nationally televised speech Thursday night clearly was determined to prove he has empathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps too determined.

It's unusual that any newspaper suggests one interest group should do without in favor of a priority item. It's refreshing when it does.

But fiscal reality can't be ignored, and the federal deficit will soar beyond all reason without further thought about how to pay for the president's and the nation's generosity.

One cache of gold worth mining: The $286 billion highway bill that Congress approved in July. The president and Congress should insist on revisiting the legislation, packed with more than 6,300 pork-barrel projects worth $23 billion. Congress could, for example, save more than $430 million simply by canceling work on two bridges in Alaska that will serve few people and little purpose.

Back home in Indiana, Congress should tell the Indianapolis Children's Museum to no longer count on $12.5 million stuffed into the highway bill for building new loading docks and a visitors entrance. A tough loss for the museum? Sure. But it never made sense for the federal government to give a local museum money in the first place. That, and other federal handouts around the nation, can in no way be justified now in light of the massive and expensive emergency on the Gulf Coast.

How great to read the words "fiscal reality can't be ignored" in a major American newspaper! Of course, it would have been vastly better had the items identified here not been in any spending package from the beginning. Alas, this is the Federal government, as brought to you by a Republican majority in both houses, where pork barrel-r-us, Tom DeLay's recent absurdities notwithstanding.

Radio Reminder

I'll be joining Andy Horning on WXNT's Greg Browning show Saturday at 4pm. Andy's filling in for Greg Browning for the full show, from 3-6pm. Remember that if you want to listen from outside the greater Indy area, you can do so by getting the streamed signal from WXNT's website.

Our Libertarian Newspaper, II

The Noblesville Daily Times continues to be a very satisfying read, as they continue to include libertarian content. Today's edition contained Sheri Conover Sharlow's op-ed on full-day kindergarten. Excerpt:

All-day kindergarten's defenders say that its effects carry on long after the kids have turned the yarn tassels on their construction-paper mortar boards. American students'' standing among those of other countries has fallen behind, and we must do everything we can to put our kids back on top. That includes all-day kindergarten.

However, studies cited by the Goldwater Institute, Thomas Sowell and others suggest that any education advantage of all-day kindergarten disappears by middle school, even among so-called at-risk children. Besides, our nation's elementary students with only half-day kindergarten already compete on even footing with students of other nations. Our students stay near the top until middle school. Seeing as our nation's education shortcomings start in middle school, putting the burden on kindergarteners seems misdirected.

While I tend to think of it as one more year of warehousing of kids, Sheri urges flexibility and parental involvement. That latter is always the most important key to education, in my book.

Who Would Lead The Investigation?

It seems that Indiana's Attorney General Stephen Carter has issued a news release- at taxpayer expense- urging our Senators Lugar and Bayh to support the confirmation of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. Indy Star report.

Indiana ethics rules prohibit state employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or acting in an official capacity.

The news release troubled Sheila Suess Kennedy, associate professor of law and public policy at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Indianapolis.

"I don't know whether it is unethical, but I don't think it is appropriate," said Kennedy, a former Republican candidate for Congress and former director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union.

I'm with Kennedy. There's nothing wrong with an elected official having an opinion and making an endorsement, so long as the taxpayers aren't paying for it. Carter should make amends with an apology and with a reimbusement to the state from his own pocket or his political committee, which has a balance of over $68,000, according to the committee's filings with the Secretary of State.

Indy Star Asks

What is your favorite political blog? I see that this blog has been named on the Star discussion, thanks to one "Lazarus Long", and I appreciate that very much. (Lazarus Long is one of Robert Heinlein's many fictional characters.)

My favorites, at the moment:

LPIN State Chair Mark Rutherford's blog. I really enjoy being connected to the activities of my fellow Libertarians statewide. Mark shows that we are up to a lot of good. From here, I link to Mike Sylvester of Fort Wayne, and fellow Hamilton County blogger Rob Beck, among others.

Liberty For Sale. Tim West leads the discussion for an incrementalist approach. I've said many times here that if Libertarianism is to be an all or nothing proposition, we can expect to get nothing.

Reason Hit & Run. Continuously updated, and loaded with sharp wit.

Blogcritics. While I haven't contributed lately, I still enjoy popping in to get a finger on the pulse of bloggers at any given moment. Also, a strong Cleveland flavor as proprietor Eric Olsen hails from the North Coast- my former stomping grounds.

Another Radio Guest Appearance on WXNT

Greg Browning has recently returned to Indy's airwaves, on Saturday afternoons from 3 to 6. Already the guy is taking a day off. Where do I sign up?

Enter guest host Andy Horning, who asked me to appear on the show this Saturday. Tune in to WXNT 1430-am. For those outside the broadcast area, listen to the streamed signal, available on the WXNT website.

9-11 Thoughts Unchanged

I have had plenty of time to sort out my thoughts and feelings on the terror strikes of four years ago, and the rebuilding.

The Pentagon has been rebuilt. I imagine and hope that if the White House, the Capitol, Washington Monument, or any other D.C. landmark were struck (heaven forbid) that these would all be built to the original specifications, except maybe reinforced or otherwise made stronger.

Thus, my dissatisfaction with the treatment of the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers.

The following essay has been revised only slightly from my posting on Blogcritics last year. The sentiment is 100% unchanged.

My feelings about the terror attacks three years ago are as fresh as the day after. My palms still sweat when I think about it. When I saw the first images on TV, before the second Tower was struck, my mind was on the ground in Manhattan, where I had a dozen friends working and making their homes. I felt that sick choking feeling until I knew each of them was okay. Then I felt raging anger.

Even though the attacks weren't personal, I felt as though they were. My friends being in Manhattan was just part of it. The World Trade Center was a personal favorite of mine. I thrilled to the sight of them from any angle, but especially when viewed from atop the Empire State Building, or from the Statue of Liberty. I am a capitalist, and no place on earth defines capitalism better than Wall Street and southwestern Manhattan.

So, try as I might to like the proposed designs for the memorialized World Trade Center site, I still absolutely detest them. The memorials fail to memorialize what the Towers were about.

They were selected for destruction by the terrorists for being symbols of capitalism. The Twin Towers were the defining skyscrapers in the defining skyline of the world's definitive financial center. To stand today at the Statue of Liberty and look across the River is to feel the void like a lost love as much as to see the void.

There was a lot of talk in the days following the attacks that the American people must not allow the terrorists win, that we must proceed in the spirit of that hated capitalist mantra, 'business as usual'. How right that common wisdom was.

Well, THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON. It isn't that they ended business as usual. Thankfully, that has resumed. But the premier symbol of capitalism is gone and won't be replaced.

I know that the primary focus of the memorials is those who lost their lives at the site. I have every interest in the world in seeing a fitting tribute paid to them. However, I would be sure to include the spirit that was attacked.

If I was in charge of the process, I would give the greatest tribute to those firefighters who ran up the stairs and to the people who perished while conducting business as usual. I would rebuild the Twin Towers IN EXACTLY THE SAME PLACES UPON WHICH THEY ONCE STOOD, with all dimensions exactly as before save one: the buildings would finish one story higher.

To let the terrorists know that they will not win, they must be given the symbolic 'up yours' that they gave to the American Spirit. Raising the Twin Towers for all to see is the greatest pair of raised middle fingers the haters of America would ever see.

THAT would be the greatest tribute to those who died in the World Trade Center attacks. No candles or mirrors or list of names will EVER come close to honoring them- or the American Spirit- as new Towers would.

In contrast, observe the treatment given the Pentagon, the greatest symbol of the American military. While the scale of destruction visited that building was not nearly as total as that brought to the Twin Towers, what was damaged was repaired and fully operational without any hesitation or debate. Business as usual prevailed at the Pentagon.

It shows you symbolically what is sacred in our country (the military) and what is subject to demolition by group-think (capitalism).

Eminent Domain Update

While Katrina's aftermath dominates news coverage and attention spans, the fight in defense of property rights and against eminent domain abuse is advancing.

Today I received a letter from State Rep. Dave Wolkins (R-18), of Winona Lake IN. He is the Chair of the legislature's Interim Study Committee on Eminent Domain.

In the letter, Rep. Wolkins advised that the next meeting on the eminent domain issue will be held Wednesday, September 21 at 1pm in the House of Representatives Chamber, 3rd Floor, Statehouse. The agenda for the 9/21 meeting has been posted. Public comments will be taken, so I urge supporters to attend and to speak out.

Don't be afraid to drive from the remote corners of the state. At the last meeting, the first comments taken were from those who drove the furthest. I thought that was rather respectful.

Minutes from the first meeting at which I testified are available. My comments, and those of Mike Sylvester are condensed into a paragraph each in the minutes.

I urge supporters of property rights to contact Rep. Wolkins and express your support. Phone: 1-800-382-9841. Email by visiting his website. Or, write:

State Representative Dave Wolkins
Indiana House of Representatives
Room 401-8, Statehouse
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Isabel At 3 Months!

Wow. 3 Months. Almost 100 days. It's amazing how fast the time goes. I wouldn't expect it to feel that way with the sleepless nights, and yet, it goes by faster that ever.
She smiles a lot and makes lots of expressive sounds. She loves her swing and any kind of motion, especially long walks through the neighborhood. She's becoming very observant, and especially likes the ceiling fans. She's also starting to notice that some of her toys play music when she grasps them. It's fun to watch her development unfold before our eyes!

Non-Partisan Katrina Report Card

Republicans have been eager to point out New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin's failings, along with those of Louisiana governor Blanco. Democrats have been eager to point out the failings of FEMA chief Brown and especially President Bush.

Guess what? The Republicans and Democrats are correct. All of these parties failed somewhere along the line.

The best analysis I have seen so far is on RealClearPolitics.com. They cut through the partisan red herrings and lay blame where it belongs- everywhere.

Tom Bevan's conclusions:

Having said that, it's worth noting that even a more competent, experienced FEMA director wouldn't have been able to stop the flooding or most likely to have foreseen the widespread looting and violence that followed and caused such havoc with rescue efforts. In fact, short of President Bush stepping in an using executive powers to order the National Guard to forcibly evacuate New Orleans (something I'm not sure is possible), a perfectly executed post-hurricane relief plan under the circumstances in New Orleans would have sped things up by maybe 24 hours. That's a lot of time in a crisis relief situation and certainly would have saved a few lives, but I'm not sure it would have drastically changed the dynamics of what we saw unfolding in New Orleans last week.

Katrina really was a perfect storm in that she struck a city that was extremely vulnerable to flooding; a city with significant crime, drug, and poverty issues that was effectively rendered lawless for three days causing a complete social breakdown, and a city (and state) government with a long and notorious tradition for corruption and incompetence. All of the tragedy resulting from these things was compounded by a less than perfect response by FEMA.

Comparing Disasters

Jesse Walker has an interesting article comparing various disasters and their accompanying reactions by the citizenry. Says Walker, in his Reason article "Disaster in New Orleans":

The civic breakdown we've seen in New Orleans is extremely atypical, not just next to smaller-scale emergencies like 9/11 but next to some of the worst natural and technological catastrophes of recent history.

Just so you haven't thrown in the towel on the human condition, tempting though it may sometimes be.

The Colts & Government Agree

Remind me to do business with the State where I have an asset the State wants to remain in Indiana, and I could threaten to move it- especially if I can get into a negotiation with the State.

In sum, the Colts got everything they wanted. A new stadium is on its way. The Colts will get a portion of proceeds from other events that use the building they will not own. The Colts will not put a $3 tax on tickets. I just have to enter into a negotiation with the State one day!

I have been complaining on this site for two years that public saftey and infrastructure should be higher priorities than stadium building. In the wake of Katrina, economist Bill Styring offers some interesting priority comparisons between New Orleans circa 1971, and Indianapolis today. From Styring's op-ed in today's Indy Star:

New Orleans' choice in 1971 was to spend money upgrading the levees or to build a Superdome for the Saints football team. The new dome cost $134 million. In today's dollars, that's not quite a billion bucks. They chose the Superdome. True, had they opted for levees instead of the Superdome, the Saints might have left for another city. And there might also today be a New Orleans.

and

So Indianapolis is about to make the same trade as New Orleans: a glitzy new sports palace in exchange for rotting basic infrastructure.

I'd wager that if New Orleans could do it over, the Saints would be in Los Angeles and today New Orleans would be dry. Are we making the same mistake they did?

Mr. Styring, please do not overlook the notion that the new stadium could be used one day as a shelter should floods equal to those of 1913 return to Central Indiana- just as the Superdome has been recently employed. That should bring you all the comfort you need. Just ask State Senator Luke Kenley. From another Indy Star story on the stadium deal:

"My expectation is they (the authority) will not only announce it, but also approve it and move forward," said state Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, the architect of the stadium legislation and a nonvoting member of the authority board. "I feel greatly relieved -- it looks like we'll get it done and hold to the timeline of finishing by August 15th, 2008." (emphasis supplied)

It would have been a vastly nobler achievement to be regarded as the architect of a deal to make sure the sewers cease to back up with raw sewage and cease those discharges into the White River. It could have been done on the same timeline, at about the same cost.

Ah, well. A man's got his priorities.

Russmo Cartoons

I've always been a fan of political cartoons. Russmo is my current favorite. Here are two recent ones that I really like.

Price Gouging = Bad, Right?

Here are several columns on proce gouging, the mechanism of price, and general economics as related to the aftermath of any disaster.

John Stossel, from ABC News.
Iain Murray, of Tech Central Station.
William Tucker, with the American Enterprise.
Walter Williams, George Mason University.
Walter Block, Loyola University.

Everybody wants prices to be lower. Many argue that they should be lower. The question that must be asked is: who should correctly set the prices, the seller or the buyer? Those arguing for price controls is saying that the consumer is more important the the producer, and has no legitimate claim of ownership on what he produces. And we wonder why there is a struggle for property rights in this country.

If the Kelo v. New London decision angered you, for the same reasons that it did, you should not be in favor of price controls.

Also, the kook network is busy circulating emails urging a gas-out, or boycott. As usual, urban legend website Snopes sorts of these actions, and shows that they would do more harm than good. Supply and demand, as always.

Hamilton County Budget Time

I was surprised to learn today that the County Council moved their meeting to the first Tuesday of the month, whereas it is normally scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month. No matter. I attended and urged the Council to pass the most austere budget possible.

Actually, that's not much of a surprise. I always lobby for austere budgets, and local governing bodies seem to shift the days and times of their meetings regularly. Maybe this latter is why I wasn't too surprised that I was the only person who got up and spoke on the budget.

Get that.

Just me. Nobody else. It's a county of a quarter-million, and only one person gave the Council any input whatsoever.

I know that the Hurricane is on the minds of many, and is much more an issue of life or death. It's just unfortunate. The opportunity to speak up is there, and unexercised by the average citizen.

Happy Anniversary, Abdul!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the "Abdul In The Morning" show on WXNT. Congratulations go to host Abdul Hakim-Shabazz and program director Andrew Lee in bringing an outstanding talk program to Central Indiana.

Prior to Abdul's arrival, WXNT's "Morning Line" was a decent program, with fairly regular coverage of news events. Abdul took the coverage to a new level, by attending public meetings, interviewing elected officials at all levels, covering news in places long ignored and deemed too small by other media outlets, such as Lawrence and Beech Grove. And of course, I appreciate the inclusive coverage of the activities of the Libertarian Party, and being invited onto the show regularly.

Here's looking forward to several more years... or until we convince Abdul that he absolutely has to run for office as a Libertarian!

Full Weekend of Campaign Activity

The Kole Campaign was busy this weekend, making three appearances, reaching people in a wide range of the state.

Wayne County held their annual fundraiser garage sale, and I was on hand Saturday to say hello to friends, supporters, and bargain hunters alike. Chair Rex Bell and his organization raised over $2,300 on the weekend.

I discovered the joy of making cotton candy. Ame & Isabel met the cows across the fence in Rex's backyard. From Hagerstown to Greenfield as Hancock County held a tax freedom rally and cookout. Excellent fellowship with Chair Chris Ward, campaign team member Jenn Bradshaw, and all of the Hancock County folks. Labor Day weekend is a great time for a tax freedom rally. No better time to remind people that you should have the first claim on the fruits of your labor, and not the government.
This morning, I sat in with Abdul on the morning show on WXNT. Of course, most conversation centered on Katrina and New Orleans, although the passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist was discussed, and President Bush announced his move to have Roberts start his tenure on the Supreme Court as Chief.

It wasn't all Federal issues, as we did get around to talking about what the Libertarian Party has been doing lately in Indiana- mainly, providing the only consistent opposition to higher taxes.

Tune In Monday Morning!

Here's the reminder, since tomorrow won't feel like a Monday morning. Catch me on Newstalk 1430-am WXNT, from 6-9am Labor Day morning. I'll be joining Brad Klopfenstein on the popular"Abdul In The Morning" show.

The original idea was that Brad & I would fill in for Abdul so that he might take a vacation day. We've done this before. See my profile picture for an 'action photo' behind WXNT's microphone.

Since Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath are still big news, management wants Abdul on the microphone. Instead of filling in, Brad & I will Abdul's guests.

Feel free to call in, on 317-228-1430. Those outside the Indy area can listen to the streamed signal via the website. We'll give the 1-800 number during the broadcast.

Awful Scene, Awful Selective Coverage

Why is it that an important story about the horrible conditions within the Superdome immediately after the Hurricane passed is under-reported in the US? Why did I have to go to a New Zealand newspaper's site to find such a story?

It seems that a sizeable effort has been made to try to hide the facts, and probably with the major media's complicity. Why? If only that effort was more properly spent- in assisting and protecting the refugees- the situation might have been improved to the point that it would be reported on here. For my own edification, I gave up on the major media for this story and checked out New Orleans bloggers, who were on or near the scene, and who did not mince words.

Let's not hide the embarrassing stuff. Let's get it out in the open. That's the only way you can ever begin to address it.

Blog links:

The Interdictor. This is the most amazing blog I have seen since the events of September 11. The sheer volume and journalistic quality of the photographs will stagger you. Fans of historian Howard Zinn should take note. History books will one day give facts and statistics about Katrina. Anyone really wanting to get a detailed human look at humanity on the ground can already get it, first-hand. Talk about a primary source. Beware- you could spend a lot of time here. It's hard not to get caught up in the real-life drama.

Dancing With Katrina. I think the writers thought it would be cute to blog the Hurricane. Yeah, cute. It's worth reading to see reality sink in over time, and starkly depicted.

Google Earth. The satelite images of New Orleans for the days of Katrina are becoming available. You could rebuild, but why would you want to risk duplicating this mess?

New Orleans Pics

Here's a link to amazing and voluminous pictures from atop a downtown New Orleans building. Let's hear it for the digital camera, the internet, and the blog!

http://sigmund.biz/kat/index.html

More Boortz

Check in to Neal's Nuze again today. It is excellent, as it has been all week. Some of the best commentary on Katrina and its aftermath can be found there. Here are links to the Nuze from the past few days:

Thu 9/1 Wed 8/31 Tue 8/30

New Orleans Anarchy

The natural disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina has often moved me. The scope of the devastation caused by it, and especially the human misery, has often given me pause over the past few days.

However, the subhuman reaction by many in New Orleans has also given rise to anger in me. There is enough human misery there already, and no need to compound it with the general lawlessness.

AP report on general lawlessness. Unfortunately, the police are a large part of the problem. Beyond participating in the looting themselves, this quote seems to sum up their attitude:

Tourist Debbie Durso of Washington, Mich., said she asked a police officer for assistance and his response was, "'Go to hell - it's every man for himself.'"

Here, we are unfortunately seeing the result of actions by so many within a society that do not respect individual rights or property rights. These are most assuredly not libertarians looting and raping. Indeed, the justifications for the looting in particular offered by so many are classic socialism. As you can see, socialism unleashed is a frightening spectacle.

Pics from the scene. Pictures are worth 1,000 words. The one that shook me to my core is of a little girl abandoned by her family, who was overjoyed at receiving bottled water.

Let's get around to teaching property rights to the people of New Orleans once the rebuilding is reasonably completed. Natural disasters can occur at any time, and it is likely that New Orleans will again see flooding and hurricanes. The misery caused by natural disasters cannot be prevented. The misery caused by humans in the aftermath can- and should- be prevented.

As a Libertarian spokesman who often engages in debate over policy solutions, I so frequently hear that a move to a more libertarian society would bring anarchy. Well, New Orleans is experiencing real anarchy right now, and it isn't happening because there is a widespread belief that one's home is his castle, that any theft is theft no matter the reason, or that it is wrong to initiate force against another human being. Look on it well. This is the result of teaching socialism, that individual need trumps individual rights.

In fact, New Orleans could have used a libertarian mindset over the last few days.

Excellent Neal's Nuze

Every day, Neal Boortz posts his running commentary, that are equal parts show notes, mini op-ed columns, and reading assignments. Today's is excellent, and addresses many things I would like to cover in the wake of Katrina given unlimited time and energy. The following is all from Neal Boortz. I don't usually cut such large portions of other's work, but this is so good and really, I would just be duplicating him, so I may as well just step aside and give Boortz the floor and the credit.

Boortz on looting:

I saw a picture on Yahoo News yesterday. The picture showed two people wading through chest-deep water in New Orleans. The lady has some food with her. The caption says "Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana" Finding? They found the food? Sorry ... they stole it. Just because they're white doesn't mean they "found" food. Another picture on Yahoo News showed a black person with food taken from a grocery store. This person was
identified as a "looter." White, black ... whatever. It's stealing.

Fellow Hoosier Libertarian Rob Beck has excellent commentary on looting.

Boortz on gas prices:

There has never in the history of the world been a better way to allocate scarce resources than to simply allow the law of supply and demand to take its course. Whenever government steps in to interfere, shortages occur and chaos often reigns.

The way to handle the gas panic in Atlanta yesterday was to RAISE PRICES! It's not price gouging. It's the law of supply and demand at work. Today there will be people in Atlanta who might not be able to drive their own cars to work, to doctors appointments or to buy groceries who would otherwise be driving if gas stations throughout Atlanta had raised their prices in response to the increased demand and limited supply.

Let me explain:

As the panic spread, and the demand increased, the prices at the pumps were pretty much unchanged ... for a while. As a result people decided to top off every vehicle they owned .. .no matter how much gas remained in the tank. The predictable result was that stations soon ran out of fuel. The word spread, and more people hit the streets to fill more cars. Today people in Atlanta will find that many gas stations still have their pumps shut down. Throughout the night tanker trucks were busy trying to replenish the stations, but there simply aren't enough trucks to meet this demand. Another supply problem.

So .. what was the solution? For the politician the solution may have been to pander to the electorate by talking about imposing fines on gas station operators who "overcharge", whatever that means, consumers. The real solution, though, was to increase prices in response to the increased demand and limited supply. This is what the uninformed and the political class call "price gouging."

Let's take a look at what would have happened if the free market had been allowed to do what it has always done so well -- when left alone -- and that is to allocate scarce resources. If gas prices had risen strongly yesterday (as they in fact did at some stations) then people would have given a second thought to filling every car they own. If the prices were, say, $5 a gallon, consumers would have purchased what they thought they might need to get through the next few days, and would have started making plans for conservation., Certainly few people would have been shuttling back and forth filling up every car they owned. As a result, the gas that one consumer didn't pump into his second or third car because the price was so high would have been gas available for someone to put into the car they actually needed to get to work.

Keeping the prices artificially low encouraged over-consumption and hoarding.

This is why we can expect to find shortages in Hawaii, California, or any other place that puts artificial price caps on gasoline. A dear price makes you think carefully about use. This is one thing environmentalists understand about the mechanism of price when they call for artificially high prices. I hope those folks are happy now.

Boortz on "price records" and refining capacity:

At long last, we finally have a gas price record. The media has been reporting for years about "record gas prices," but they never have actually been records. The left, in their never-ending quest to demonize the oil industry, doesn't adjust gas prices for inflation. You simply cannot compare prices from one era to the next without adjusting for inflation.

So what was the record? In 2005 dollars, gasoline cost an average of $3.08 a gallon in March of 1981. It only took almost a quarter of a century to break the record. So what about bringing down prices now?

Prices have shot up in the wake of Katrina because 10% of the United States' refining capacity has been knocked out. Those refineries are along the Gulf Coast. Since there are only 149 gasoline refineries in the United States, and since none have been built in the last 30 years, knocking a few offline means supply doesn't meet demand. Thus the price goes up.

The answer is to build more refineries...and fast. If we had enough refineries to pick up the slack and continue meeting the demand, the rest of the country wouldn't be paying so much at the pump right now. So who is to blame?

Your friendly neighborhood environmentalist, that's who. It takes years to get a permit to build a refinery, if it can be done at all. We haven't built any in so long because Democratic, liberal, leftist, socialist enviro-wackos are preventing the permits from being pulled. No new refineries means every last one is running at full capacity in the summer. A hiccup of any kind means an interruption in supply. It's made worse by the fact that the oil companies have to refine dozens of special environmental blends to satisfy the politicians in various cities.

So as you fill up today and tomorrow for your holiday weekend, just know that you are paying so much because of the radical environmental movement in this country.

Thanks, Neal!

Pump Prices

Yes, it's bad. It's to where the price per gallon is where we've never seen it before- even in California! This is my photo from the local Co-Op, in Noblesville:

For perspective, gasoline pump prices are now on par with where they were in the early 1980s. Adjusted for inflation, that is. The screaming is that the prices are the highest ever. That screaming was happening a dollar per gallon ago. Now it's finally true.

So, since it is finally true, perhaps we can start to address the root of the problem- the lack of refining capacity in the United States.

Mike On The Air

Here's a reason to wake up early on Labor Day. Libertarian Party Executive Director Brad Klopfenstein will fill in on the Abdul In The Morning show on WXNT 1430-am, from 6-9am, next Monday morning. I will be Brad's guest.

If you want to listen from outside the Indy area, go to WXNT's website and pick up the streamed signal. Remember that Indiana is on Central Time right now.

Victory Viewing

The Fishers Town Council Meeting will air three times today on Channel 19 (at least on Insight cable). I'll be checking it out to see my speech. I'd love to tape it and make it available somehow. Anyhow, here's the schedule: 1pm, 5pm, and 9pm.

Update: Total rip-off!!! The one-hour broadcast just happened to conclude with the end of Scott Faultless' remarks... and just before I took the podium!

In fact, none of the remarks of anyone but Council members and the Town Manager were aired. The non-vote on the food & beverage tax was not aired. The Council members' rationales for voting against the tax were not aired. What gives?!

These programs are supposed to be a public service, not merely a propaganda service on behalf of the members of government. I'll be looking into this nonsense.

Libertarians Have Solutions

What makes the Libertarian Party of Indiana distinct from some other state parties is that we offer solutions, not merely criticism.

Margaret Fette is the Chair of the LP of Monroe County. She recently submitted a proposal for a map redistricting for Bloomington. Her map meets the requirements for distributing roughly equal populations per district, but is free of electoral bias. It lets the voters decide who will be their representative rather than the party bosses.

From the Hoosier Times:

Libertarians' map merits consideration

August 30, 2005

The Monroe County Libertarian Party, not wanting to be out of the loop in the Republican-pushed mid-decade county redistricting process, has submitted a map for new county council districts that merits serious consideration by the redistricting committee when it meets Wednesday.

and

(T)he map makes a lot of sense - more than the one the Democrat-controlled
redistricting committee and county commissioners approved in 2001.

It's not enough to criticize. Offer a counter-proposal, submit it, and stand behind it. Margaret showed that even in a fairly hostile political environment such as in Bloomington, good ideas cut through the fog like a beacon of light.

Margaret's map is an important strike against the practice of gerrymandering, which serves the major political parties well, but is a major disservice to the people in such districts, and is damaging to the democratic process by ensuring unresponsive elected officials.

Note: I would include a link to the Hoosier Times story, but it is only available to subscribers.

Good News As Bad News Letter

I submitted a revised version of my recent post "Good News That's Kinda Stinky" to the Noblesville Daily Times. It was printed as a letter in today's edition. Link to letter.

VICTORY!!!

After a lengthy campaign, the Libertarians in Hamilton County finally helped Republican Council members re-discover fiscal conservatism and defeat a tax.

Fishers Town Council voted to not vote on the proposed 1% food & beverage tax tonight, effectively allowing it to die on the vine. It was curious that they chose not to vote. You would have thougth that they would have wanted to be on record voting against a tax.

Coverage from the Noblesville Daily Times.

The Libertarian Party provided the only consistent opposition to the food & beverage tax increases. Libertarians spoke out against each tax. These were considered and passed in Hamilton County, then Carmel, Noblesville, and Westfield.

Libertarians wrote several letters that were printed in the Noblesville Ledger and Daily Times. We spoke on WXNT 1430-am. We directed an email campaign to contact the Councilors. We led pub crawls that finally gave the business owners and patrons a voice. This has all been chronicled on this blog over the last few months.

All of the Councilors on all of these bodies are Republicans. We beat them up for being tax-and-spenders. Finally, one of these bodies decided it didn't want to get beat up on this any more.

This is the value of having Libertarians on the ballot. If we weren't on the ballot here in Indiana, there would not have been any opposition to the taxes. The Republicans created them. The Democrats, such as exist in Hamilton County, stood by silently, absently. They attended no meetings.

If Libertarians didn't show up in all of these places, this tax would have passed.

After Town Council President Scott Faultless gave a powerful speech in favor of the tax, I got up to speak in opposition to the tax, but also in support of keeping my Town great, and in support of Fishers' restuarant and tavern owners.

My main points were pretty simple, and followed from what Mr. Faultless gave me. He cited the #1 statewide ranking the Town of Fishers was awarded by Money Magazine. He also cited the Town's fiscal conservatism of the recent past. He meant this latter as justification that one little tax hike now isn't a big deal. My counter was that the high ranking and the low tax rate are not inseperable. If the Town moves away from what made it great and earned the high ranking, we can only expect that ranking to slip.

Mr. Faultless cited several other targeted taxes we have in Fishers- on tobacco, on alcohol, on hotel rooms, and on a host of others. Rather than having made the case that the trend justified extending, I felt that Faultless made the opposite case, that we sure do single out a lot of little groups of people, and that's unfair. The hospitality industry shouldn't be singled out to carry the tax load.

The ordinance included language that cited the fact that restaurants were subject to the same 1% extra tax, so adding it in Fishers wouldn't put our restaurants in a comparative disadvantage. I argued that by defeating the tax, the Council could instead put Fishers restaurants at a comparative advantage compared to those in Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, and Indianapolis. I argued that the Town should always act in such a way to make Fishers more attractive to business, not less.

My arguments won the day. Of course, I was not alone. John Livengood from the Hospitality Industry spoke, as did Dave Dore of White Castle. Fishers resident Gregg Puls also spoke.

Research Results

I am currently in the draft mode for an article on the gerrymandering of districts. Think it isn't a problem in Indiana?

In 2004, there were 100 races for State Representative, as all 100 seats are contested each year. I use the word "contested" with some hesitation. 32 seats were not contested at all. Completely unchallenged. Free pass for the incumbent.

Of the remaining 69, 9 were challenged only by the Libertarian candidate. One more was contested by a write-in candidate, who received five (5) votes.

In fact, only 13 of the 100 were in any way competitive. In this sense, I define competitive as a non-blowout, where the second-place finisher was at least within 10% of the victor.

On over to the State Senate in 2004, 25 races were "contested". Here 9 seats were completely unchallenged, with the incumbent getting a free pass. 5 seats were contested only by a Libertarian candidate.

Only one race, for District 5, was competitive. Get that. Only one. 24 of the 25 races were uncompetitive, meaning, blowouts.

If you are wondering why your elected officials seem a bit aloof to your concerns, here you go. Both sides know they are going to be re-elected in certain districts because people are not willing to vote against their natural inclinations no matter how bone-headed the elected official is with policy; and, the major party opposition will not field a serious candidate with serious financial backing to honestly challenge. The reason these two statements are so is gerrymandering: The practice of creating electoral districts in such a way that satisfies electoral rules for population distribution, while creating outcome certainties so that the major political parties can largely conserve their resources.

Not exactly representative government at its finest.

This is one of two issues that will make up my main campaign platform.

Parade in Markle

Yesterday's Wildcat Parade in Markle was great fun, and a nice chance to get in front of some voters. The theme of the parade was Mardi Gras, and we gave away beads- about 50 dozen all told.Ame and Isabel look on as I untangle beads with Sheri Conover Sharlow.

Jeannette Jaquish's daughter Zephyr dressed as Lady Liberty, and led the parade. My son Alex is holding my banner as he waits for the line to start moving.

Interestingly, not all of the Democrats of Republicans were marching in the parade. Some lined the streets, probably so that they could more directly work the crowds. I made it a point to give beads to some from both parties. They were speachless, which was amusing. I wished them good luck in the elections in 2006, and finally they were able to manage weak smiles. I never understand what the constant feeling of antagonism is all about with those guys.

This was Isabel's first parade, and was not merely a spectator. Actually, as Ame pushed her in the stroller, Isabel slept. This was amazing, because we were followed by emergency vehicles that ran their sirens almost continuously. This shot is from the end of the parade, and I had given out nearly all my beads.

I remarked to the family that I may well spend every Summer weekend in 2006 this way, as the campaign gets along towards the election. We'll test that theory that everyone loves a parade.

There were people who said that they would vote for me, only because I gave their kids beads and others didn't. It's not the best reason, but it matters, and I'll take it.

GOP = Tax & Spend

I thought the time was right to compile some articles showing that the trend I have chronicled here- tax & spend Republicans- is not merely a Hamilton County phenomenon.

Item: Fox News, the conservative news channel itself, ran Radly Balko's critique on GOP spending at the Federal level. This is not Ronald Reagan's GOP anymore.

Item: Washington Post article, "In Congress, the GOP Embraces Its Spending Side".

Item: Mark Tapscott's article "Has the GOP Lost Its Soul" appears on Townhall.com, and discusses the pork-barrell spending and Bush's lack of veto.

Item: The Daily Kos describes Alabama's new governor's flip-flop on taxes. Alabama actually has a GOP chair, though, who spoke in frustration on this situation instead of toeing the line. Has three links to additional items.

The Cato Institute: Cato has about 30 or so articles on this topic. Here's the link to the main page on Federal spending. Cato's 20-page study in pdf format, "The Grand Old Spending Party".

There are hundreds more. You get the picture: The GOP has abandoned fiscal conservatism. Only the Libertarian Party opposes tax-and-spend anymore.

Colts Negotiations Failings

As someone who has conducted negotiations for a paycheck, I have marvelled for months at the tremendous gaffe the governments side has allowed to float along.

The Colts haven't signed anything.

This is Negotiation 101. One party should never begin to act and to commit resources unless and until the other side has committed to do so as well.

The government side has been so eager to act, they didn't bother getting the Colts to agree to the $3/ticket tax, or even to sign a lease. Touchdown Colts! This did not stop the Central Indiana counties from passing a 1% increase in their food & beverage taxes. Touchdown Colts!

So, the Colts are completely in the driver's seat. The governments have no leverage (Field Goal Colts!) beyond the hope that if the Colts play hardball, the public will resent it. That's a bad bet, because the governments were betting that the public would not resent a raise in taxes to support the team and a new stadium. Touchdown Colts!

In fact, the Colts never even issued the threat of leaving Indianapolis. The pols- Mayor Peterson, Governor Daniels, Senator Kenley- have all made it out that the Colts put that item on the table. Perhaps the team did behind closed doors, but no team spokesman has ever said this on the record. Touchdown Colts!

Score: Colts 31, Governments 0

Today's Indy Star report makes for amusing reading, if one is amused by three governments that fumbled into the waiting arms of team owner Jim Irsay. So, it makes for irritating reading.

Peterson said he understands the ticket tax is no longer part of the deal because the stadium can be paid for without it. Chuck Schalliol, director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget and Gov. Mitch Daniels' chief financial official, said Thursday the tax is not essential.

This is called Giving Away The Store. Had I done something like this when negotiating on behalf of utility companies, I would have been fired before the conclusion of the negotiation.

Kenley said the legislation did not fund the authority without a lease agreement to safeguard public money. Without a deadline, there would be no pressure to finish the lease, he said. Nearing construction within months of the session's May ending is extraordinary, he added.

"Why commit that kind of money without a lease?" Kenley said. "It takes all three parties to get the resources."

Why indeed, Senator Kenley! We already have committed the money without a lease. The Republican County Councilors in Hamilton and other doughnut counties have voted for the tax increases. The taxes are already being collected by restauranteurs in some jurisdictions. Bottom line: the lease should have been signed before a single tax vote was even taken. Alas.

No part of this project has yet begun to look like anything positive for this region. This is tax & spend crony capitalism at its worst, and on display for all to see.

Bus Blues Reprise

This is a re-post from 2003. My sentiment is entirely the same today.

Great gravy, has school resumed already? I've had to stop in traffic, seeing the yellow busses with the railroad crossing-quality warning signals flashing ahead, letting kids on and off.

Every year, I get to thinking about the costs of busing kids to school. This is absolutely not a complaint about desegregation busing. This is a complaint about busing kids at all.

With all of the charges of childhood obesity and poor physical condition, the bus looks like yet another enabler of that condition. Let the kids discover that they have legs, and that those things below the waist do a remarkable job of propelling from A-to-B.

With all of the budgetary shortfalls school administrators endlessly wail about, consider how many more books, computer labs, athletic items, and heck, roof repairs, could be had, if not for the expenditures related to busses:

The bus itself
Fuel for the bus
Maintenance for the bus

A bus barn
Property on which the bus barn sits
Security for these facilities

The salary of the bus driver
Benefits for the bus driver
Matching taxes- social security, workers comp., etc, for the driver
Ditto these three for the maintenance staff
Ditto these three for security

Insurance on the bus itself
On the bus barn
On the property on which the bus barn sits
On the bus driver
On the maintenance staff
On the security

I think of all of the fuel wasted in traffic as cars sit while mommies fuss one last time before the kid gets on the bus. I think of it in terms of lost money and gained pollution. I think of the time lost. I think of the lost opportunity for a nice, brisk, one-mile daily walk in the morning. I think of property released for other uses, generating tax revenues in so many ways. I think of new books, repaired roofs, new tubas, and new athletic gear. Get rid of the busses!

Certainly, the savings would be enough to put one copy Atlas Shrugged in every teacher's lounge, and a copy of The Road to Serfdom on the School Board President's desk.

Get Over It!

I was listening to Abdul In The Morning on WXNT 1430-am today, and was disgusted to hear discussion on Daylight Savings Time. Enough already! This is hardly the most pressing issue facing Hoosiers today, and yet, so many treat it as though it is.

If you're a farmer and concerned, I understand. If you own a drive-in theatre, I understand. Otherwise? Good grief! Look at this list of issues. Can you honestly tell me with a straight face that remaining outside of DST is more crucial?

Jobs
Safety Issues - Fire, Police, Emergency Response Facing Budget Cuts
Transition From Manufacturing
Fair Elections / Paper Trail Voting Systems
Ever-Higher Taxes
Competitive Elections / Gerrymandering of Districts
Methamphetamine Plague
Underperforming Educational System

Reality check, folks. If the average Hoosier put as much energy into any one of the above issues as into fighting DST, we would be on the road to a better, more secure future.

If The Dollar Store Can Do It...

... Why can't Indiana?

Leave it to our state government to fail to do what any retailer will do effortlessly: produce a receipt you take home with you.

Buy something completely innocuous- sweat socks, disposable diapers, any Al Franken book- and you'll get a receipt. You'll have eternal proof of how much money you spent, where you spent it, when you spent it, and what you spent it on.

Exercise the most precious right of American citizenship and vote, and you'll walk away empty handed, and unsure that your vote was definitively counted.

Was there petulant, ponderous resistance among retailers when the time came for them to install machines in their stores that would produce purchase receipts? Not among the intelligent retailers. These machines actually helped them track their inventory better, which allowed them to become more efficient while serving their customers better.

In the same way, intelligent governments should eagerly obtain the sort of voting machines that at once produce a detailed receipt for the voter and tally the votes.

Indiana's voting machines currently lag some 25 years behind the cash register at Wal-Mart. It's time to rectify that situation, and make a paper trail for votes as important as a paper trail for purchases of kitty litter.

Good News That Is Kinda Stinky

Congratulations to the City of Noblesville for finally landing an actual tenant in the Noblesville Corporate Campus, in the area of I-69 & SR 238. Simon will be developing an enormous shopping area in the Campus.

While that's obviously great news for Noblesville and Hamilton County, the development is also representative of a sort of failing on the part of the City.

The Corporate Campus was touted as the future key location in the I-69 "Life Sciences Corridor".

For those who need the nudging, a shopping mall is not exactly life sciences. Again- it's great news, but hardly part of the plan, which has only had false starts, and nothing in the way of results. The eager reception by the City smacks of desperation. From the Indy Star:

City Council members here smiled and nodded through a presentation Tuesday night for the Hamilton Town Center -- an expansive retail project that could become the largest open-air shopping center in the metro area.

Then council members piled on the compliments, with some proclaiming the vast retail project would forever change the historic Hamilton County seat.

The way the Campus was developed is objectionable and incorrect.

Hamilton County is not the kind of place that is desperate for development, requiring prodding and pleading in order to draw it. No, Hamilton County is the fasting growing County in the state of Indiana.

And generally, when a developer selects a location for conversion from farm ground to commercial space, the developer provides the infrastructure, building the roads and sewers, and then transfering it all as a gift to the City.

The City of Noblesville built the infrastructure here. Roads to nowhere have occupied the Noblesville Corporate Campus area for two years. Sewers conveying nothing have been in the ground for the same time. This infrastructure is not a gift to the City. It is a gift to the developers, paid for by the City. Unnecessarily. At taxpayer expense. This goes way beyond mere zoning, which tries to plan and dictate what kind of development goes where.

According to a Noblesville Daily Times article that the City has maintained on its website, Noblesville spent $60 million on this infrastructure. http://www.cityofnoblesville.org/egov/docs/1122473294_483032.pdf That's an enormous amount of money to lay out on a project that has had roads to nowhere for two years, especially in light of the budget issues area governments have faced.

Again, the Simon development will be a wonderful thing. It's just that Simon should be preparing to foot the bill for the infrastructure right about now.

One other thing reported in the Star article is noteworthy:

"Since I became mayor two years ago, I've wanted to get the Corporate Campus off to a real strong start and not just take the first business that came along," Mayor John Ditslear said. "But never did I think we'd hit a home run like this with a Simon mall."

He's right about not taking the first business to come along. This is the second. Whatever happened to Helmer? Wasn't that the start to this regional development? We haven't heard much about Helmer lately, and that is curious. The idea behind the Life Sciences Corridor was to attract excellent, high-wage jobs. Helmer's website offers no news about the creation of its new headquarters in the Corporate Campus. A shopping area is great, and has the City drooling over projected tax revenues. But as for job creation? Give me all the Helmers we can find.

Then, lets get back to letting developers be developers, footing the bill for their projects.

A Joke That Rings True

While walking down the street one day a Republican Town Councilor is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see an elected official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose were to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the Republican Town Councilor.

"I'm sorry but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a club and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. It's the Elephant Open. Or is it the Commissioner's Outing?

They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that, before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the Republican Town Councilor joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The Republican Town Councilor reflects for a minute, then answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the Republican Town Councilor. "Yesterday I was here and there was the Elephant Open... or was it the Commissioners Outing? We ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiled and said, "Yesterday we were campaigning. Today you voted. Our policies are a little different than our campaign promises."

"But you know all about that."

The next opportunity for seeing this joke played out on the people of Hamilton County comes Monday, August 29, at 7pm, when the Town of Fishers votes on its 1% food & beverage tax.

That is, unless you act to convince them otherwise. They seem not to have much in the way of principles, and open to blowing whichever way the breeze takes them. Give them a strong anti-tax gust by email or in person at the meeting at Fishers Town Hall.

A House A Mess

It's a sort of trouble in paradise for the Republican Party here in Hamilton County. On the one hand, they are the dominant party here. On the other, they are coming unglued in embarrassing ways. Matt Tully's column in the Sunday Star.

The battle is being fought by a pair of Hamilton County's top political names -- new county GOP Chairman Charlie White and longtime County Commissioner Steve Dillinger.

White calls Dillinger an annoying "Boss Hogg" who is too friendly with firms doing county business. Dillinger counters that White has betrayed former allies and doesn't have the trust of many county Republicans.

Concerns over this battle are spilling beyond Hamilton County's borders. Gov. Mitch Daniels won the GOP stronghold by nearly 50,000 votes last year, and state Republican leaders fear a party split heading into the 2006 elections.

That suits me very well. Throw in the Libertarian strategy of exposing the tax-and-spend ways of the Hamilton County GOP, and voters turning up their noses at these childish, amateurish displays, and we may well see the whole thing come apart, with voters going Libertarian.

They're only a heartbeat away right now. Certainly several small business owners -restauranteers mainly- are making the jump. That will happen so long as the GOP abandons its fiscal conservative side in favor of toeing the line for the Governor, or in balancing budgets through tax increases.

The next chance to see the GOP step on their tails is when Fishers votes on a 1% food & beverage tax, Monday, August 29.

My Local Libertarian Newspaper?

Last week, I discussed how much I was enjoying the local Hamilton County newspaper scene, and in particular, the Noblesville Daily Times. The sentiment only has grown this week.

Since my comments were posted, they ran another of my letters, which is always a wonderful thing. Yesterday, they also had an article on Social Security by Alex Epstein of the Ayn Rand Institute, and another today on the three-party political campaign dynamics by Kenn Gividen, the 2004 Libertarian candidate for governor.

My fellow Hamilton County Libertarians, I urge you to enjoy the local newspapers, and these days, especially the Noblesville Daily Times.

Gratuitous Post

This is a gratuitous post designed to drive website hits. I have to say that it pleases me already that when someone does a google search for the "Geist Annexation", this blog comes up on the first page. Likewise for "Mitch Daniels Sucks". That one's amusing because I have never actually said that, except in referrence to others doing searches on that phrase, and this blog getting hit as a result.

Anyway, I like having the blog come up high on search pages, so here goes!

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Schools Experiment

The Indianapolis Public Schools are undertaking a sweeping change- taking their five high schools and making 20+ high schools out of them. The theory is that smaller is better, that it means more attention for students, more of a community feel, and less falling through the cracks. Indy Star story.

IPS is carving its five high schools into 24 small academies in a sweeping bid to boost test scores and improve abysmal graduation rates.

The wholesale overhaul is the largest of its kind in the nation and one that state officials will watch closely as they consider similar changes for the rest of Indiana's high schools.

The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is putting up several million dollars to help fund the project. If you've ever cursed Microsoft and the wealth of Bill Gates, this is what you have cursed, by the way.

On the surface, I think it's a wonderful development. However, I am only cautiously optimistic for results in areas like graduation rates and test scores. Reason? Teachers can give students all the attention in the world, but the real issue is always parents.

If the parents do not hold the child accountable for producing good grades or completing to graduation in a big school setting, the only thing that changes here is the school setting. At the end of the day, the parents aren't changing their accountability standards.

Too many parents take the attitude that educating children is solely an educator's job, and in no way a parental responsibility. Homework isn't going to be done by children who have the distractions of the television, friends, video games, etc., if the parents fail to see to it that it gets done.

Then there's the community. If the community attitude is that brainy = geek, and D+ = cool, then no amount of time in a classroom of 12 students is going to matter. Moreover, no amount of Bill Gates' money will matter, if the parents and the community are lazy or worse.

Sadly, what I've seen of IPS students and community is laziness and worse.

When my son Alex was at IPS, he had a wonderful teacher. She had a cell phone and wasn't afraid to use it. She called me directly any time Alex was out of line. It was great, because I knew exactly what was going on, and what needed to be corrected.

I sat in her class one day, to get a feel for things. It was appalling. The teacher spent most of the time trying to gain order. At the break, I asked her why she wasn't on the phone with the parents of those couple of children who were causing disruptions. She said that she had given up on those, because their parents were unresponsive or worse. Those parents would either throw the call back in her face ("You're the teacher, so it's your job to get him to shut up.), or were resentful of her punishments ("How dare you single out my little angel!").

Where discipline is not a tool in the teacher's workbench, and where parents refuse to impose discipline, there will only be chaos.

My concern is that it will now be spread over 20+ schools instead of just 5. But hey- it's Bill Gates' money and an attempt at improvement, so let's see how it goes. I swore I would never send my son back to IPS schools, and we moved out of Indianapolis for Fishers, where the parents insist on achievement. I still think that latter will always carry the day.

Radio Appearance

I had a nice, lengthy radio interview yesterday, which Hoosier probably missed. The reason? It aired live on WRUW in Cleveland. Fortunately, you can download the streamed signal for the next few days on WRUW's website. We talked about the progress of the Libertarian Party in Indiana, the value the LP could bring to Ohio if it were on the ballot there, and eminent domain.

Big thanks the Stella, who hosts the show; and her husband AP Magee, who scheduled the interview. Thanks also to Alchemy For Dummies, who blogged the appearance and reminded me that the stream is available.

Welcome Fellow Blogger

Welcome to Rob Beck, who recently launched his blog "Shall Not Perish". Check it out.

Rob ran for Hamilton County Auditor on the Libertarian ticket, and showed very well in his debates and in the local media. I will have to invite him to lunch sometime soon, as we had great conversations over chow during his campaign.