The Future of Capitalism

A gala for Success Academy Charter Schools is the topic of a dispatch at Bloomberg News by my former New York Sun colleague Amanda Gordon, who mentions some of the numbers that tell the story of the remarkable growth spearheaded by Eva Moskowitz, the dynamic former New York City Council member. The organization is on track to have 11,500 students in 23 schools and, as Ms. Gordon reports, the gala attracted significant support from leaders in New York's financial services industry.

CAP Funders

May 23, 2013 at 11:52 am

The Nation has an article about the businesses funding the left-leaning Center for American Progress. According to the Nation article, they include Goldman Sachs, Comcast, Walmart, General Motors, Pacific Gas and Electric, General Electric, Boeing, and Lockheed.

Weiner on Regulation

May 22, 2013 at 10:17 am

The YouTube video in which the former congressman, Anthony Weiner, announces his candidacy for mayor of New York includes a shout-out to deregulation. The video shows a pizza parlor and Mr. Weiner says, "If you're trying to run a small business like this one, you're drowning in regulations that nickle and dime you to death."

Trial Lawyers Oppose Bowling Shoes Bill

May 22, 2013 at 9:57 am

The New York State Trial Lawyers Association is opposing a bill in Albany that would grant bowling alleys limited immunity from slip-and-fall lawsuits if they post signs warning customers not to wear their bowling shoes outside. The Albany Times Union reports:

those in the bowling business say slip-and-fall lawsuits roll in with regularity.
And they've become more common since New York's indoor smoking ban took effect in 2003. These days, those seeking a smoke go outside. But if it's rainy or snowy, leather-soled bowling shoes can become wet and slippery, thus the increased risk of injury.

Who knew the smoking ban would be such a health hazard?

Thanks to reader-participant-community member-watchdog-content co-creator J. for sending the tip.

Richard Epstein on the IRS Scandal

May 21, 2013 at 1:24 pm

Libertarian law professor Richard Epstein writes about the IRS scandal:

The dismal performance of the IRS is but a symptom of a much larger disease which has taken root in the charters of many of the major administrative agencies in the United States today: the permit power. Private individuals are not allowed to engage in certain activities or to claim certain benefits without the approval of some major government agency. The standards for approval are nebulous at best, which makes it hard for any outside reviewer to overturn the agency's decision on a particular application.

The IRS Versus the First Amendment

May 21, 2013 at 11:36 am

The scandal involving the Internal Revenue Service's extra scrutiny and delays in approving the applications of Tea Party and other groups for tax-exempt status is the topic of my column this week. Please check it out at the New York Sun (here), Reason (here) and Newsmax (here).

Chilling Effect

May 20, 2013 at 11:11 am

The New Yorker carries an article by Jane Mayer about the after-effects of the PBS "Park Avenue" documentary I wrote about back in November. The New Yorker article expresses concern that there will be a "chilling effect" or "censorship" of PBS's coverage of Koch Industries or of David Koch.

This is almost comical, given the surfeit of coverage of Koch, the Koch brothers, and their political and philanthropic activities. One can hardly pick up the New York Times or the New Yorker or the Nation or click on the Huffington Post without enduring some long geschrei about the Koch brothers. If there has been a chilling effect or censorship, it's difficult to detect.

Jeb Bush on Growth

May 17, 2013 at 11:41 am

An essay by the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, about focusing the conservative movement on growth and opportunity is now up online:

We have, for too long, been the party of "slow down." Today, we must be the party of "hurry up."
We must stand for radical reform and experimentation.

Disability Nation

May 17, 2013 at 7:16 am

NPR takes an extended, skeptical, and very well done look at the disability benefits system:

The federal government spends more money each year on cash payments for disabled former workers than it spends on food stamps and welfare combined….
In Hale County, Alabama, nearly 1 in 4 working-age adults is on disability. On the day government checks come in every month, banks stay open late, Main Street fills up with cars, and anybody looking to unload an old TV or armchair has a yard sale.
Sonny Ryan, a retired judge in town, didn't hear disability cases in his courtroom. But the subject came up often. He described one exchange he had with a man who was on disability but looked healthy.
"Just out of curiosity, what is your disability?" the judge asked from the bench.
"I have high blood pressure," the man said.
"So do I," the judge said. "What else?"
"I have diabetes."
"So do I."…

Richard Epstein on ObamaCare

May 14, 2013 at 8:46 am

Libertarian law professor Richard Epstein's column this week is about the difficulties in implementing ObamaCare. He writes:

In this sorry state of the world, the only short-term mechanism that could stop the general blood-letting is a much-needed reversal that pushes back all the key dates for running the plan. The respite in question should not be used only to iron out the difficulties in securing the needed coverage. It should be used to update the information base to decide whether the ACA, on which billions have already been squandered, is so unsustainable that it should be scrapped in its entirety.

Commencement Advice for the Class of 2013

May 13, 2013 at 9:09 pm

The commencement speech members of the Class of 2013 probably won't hear, but that I wish had been given when I graduated, is the topic of my column this week. Please check it out at Reason here and at Newsmax here.

Ryan's Kristol Lecture

May 13, 2013 at 3:11 pm

The chairman of the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan, gave the Irving Kristol Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute May 8. AEI has now posted Mr. Ryan's remarks as prepared for delivery, and they are worth a look for those interested in the question of the post-2012 direction of the Republican Party or the conservative movement. The talk is titled "Conservatism and Community."

Overpaid College Presidents

May 13, 2013 at 1:26 pm

An economist at Ohio State University, Richard Vedder, has an article up at Bloomberg View about how to tell if a college president is overpaid.

The New York Times has some numbers, including the $984,647 that the president of Ball State University earned.

3 Comments

A Lemon of a Bill

May 10, 2013 at 1:29 pm

Sometimes what drives legislation in Washington is not partisanship or principle but just constituent service.

An example appears to be the Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund Act of 2013. The New York Times has a glancing mention of it in an above-the-fold front-page news article today headlined "Citrus Disease With No Cure is Ravaging Florida's Groves."

The Senate bill is introduced by Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, and co-sponsored by Senators Boxer and Feinstein, Democrats of California. The House bill is sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican, and co-sponsored by 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans — all from the citrus-growing states of Texas, California, Florida, and Arizona.

IRS Apologizes For Targeting Conservative Groups

May 10, 2013 at 12:45 pm

How's this for an Associated Press/Washington Post headline: "IRS apologizes for inappropriately targeting conservative political groups in 2012 election."

Well, at least they apologized. It will be interesting to see if they will reimburse the groups for the legal and accounting and other costs of complying with the inappropriate scrutiny. Somehow I doubt it.