Archive for June 2008
Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples has called for a moratorium on new lottery outlets in her East Side district and wants the state to revamp its prize payouts, which critics say penalize poor, minority neighborhoods. (Link)
Apparently, Crystal Peoples would like the Nanny of the Year award. She doesn’t believe that people are, or should be, responsible for their own actions.
The last I checked, lottery payouts were the same regardless of the income level of the person playing the lottery. Instead of blaming the government, blame the bad judgment of the people throwing away money they can’t afford to lose.
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New York Sate is already infamous for creating a business climate that drives jobs and people out of State, resulting in draconian economic conditions. Senator Krueger has identified the problem of inequality in the workplace for women and proposes further government solutions, solutions which are completely contrary to a vibrant market economy.
Passing the Equal Pay for Equal Work Bill (S.3358). This bill, sponsored by Senator Krueger, would amend the State Constitution to require that people of comparable skill receive equal pay for equal work of comparable value, without consideration of sex, race, or national origin.
Empirical evidence has shown that when the government regulates wages, the result is higher unemployment rates. There is no way a bureaucrat can sit in an office and determine the worth a person “deserves” when it comes to employment compensation.
Creating a system of universal health care for all New Yorkers, independent of employers, so that everyone could be assured access to health care, and would not lose coverage if they temporarily lost their job.
Health care costs have risen, and access to health care has fallen, in direct proportion to increased government involvement. Liz’s solution is to screw things up even more.
Passing the Paid Family Leave Bill (S.8428), which would allow workers to take paid time off from work to care for sick family member. Employees are currently left with the choice of taking unpaid time off or going to work and leaving their family member alone without care.
Thankfully, this bill languished in the legislative session that just ended. The best outcome would be to kill it altogether. If it is eventually passed, the toll it will take on small businesses across the state will be terrible. Businesses with few employees can not afford the extra costs that will be imposed and many will close. Virtually any job that could be considered a career occupation already addresses this issue for employees through the current Family Leave Act or job benefits.
Adopting living wage legislation so that women or men who work full-time are not living in poverty and can afford basic needs like housing, food, and health care. Low wage jobs are particularly common to industries that employ mostly women, such as the field of child care workers in which the average yearly earnings for women is only $18,300.
Again, this would be harmful regulation of business costs that would hurt the economic viability of businesses in NYS. Many “non-living wage jobs” are held by students, teenagers and retirees. Many are considered entry-level positions or held by people looking for some extra pocket money. I question her figures of $18,300 for the earnings of child care workers. She is probably including part time employees and babysitters.
HT Amherst Times for highlighting this Asshat of the Month.
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The Supreme Court just struck down one of the nation’s strictest gun-control laws, according to reports from Capitol Hill.
In a decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia, SCOTUSblog says the majority ruled that individuals have the right to own firearms, meaning that it was unconstitutional for local officials to prohibit the vast majority of Washington, D.C., residents from owning handguns.
The dissent, written by Justice Breyer, is not founded in law or the Constitution. Historical documents and records from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia clearly show that the intent of the 2nd Amendment is to confer the individual right to gun ownership. Any other interpretation is the application of personal opinion lacking any logical legal foundation.
The Supreme Court wisely concluded that the level of 1st Amendment rights conferred upon a person is not contingent on the financial resources of the person.
WASHINGTON — Millionaire congressional candidates like Jack Davis cannot be treated differently under campaign finance laws than less wealthy candidates, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning.
Deciding Davis’ challenge to the so-called "Millionaire’s Amendment," which loosens fundraising restrictions on candidates facing off against self-funded opponents, the high court agreed with Davis that the amendment infringes on the First Amendment rights of wealthy candidates.
Perhaps now the rest of the discriminatory campaign finance laws will be struck down.
June 25 (Bloomberg) — Richard Grasso, the former New York Stock Exchange chairman whose $190 million pay package is under legal attack by the state, won an appeal at New York’s highest court that may make it easier for him to keep the money.
The state Court of Appeals in Albany today threw out four of six claims against Grasso filed by ex-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The attorney general isn’t authorized by state laws to sue under those claims, the court said in a 7-0 ruling.
“The plain language of these provisions reveals a legislative policy decision to provide officers and directors of not-for-profit corporations with the `business judgment’ protections afforded their for-profit counterparts,” it said.
The management of foreign relations appears to be the most susceptible of abuse, of all the trusts committed to a Government, because they can be concealed or disclosed, or disclosed in such parts & at such times as will best suit particular views; and because the body of the people are less capable of judging & are more under the influence of prejudices, on that branch of their affairs, than of any other. Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions agst. danger real or pretended from abroad.
— James Madison, Letter to Thomas Jefferson [1798]
The main reason I oppose this latest version is that it still clearly violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution by allowing the federal government to engage in the bulk collection of American citizens’ communications without a search warrant. That US citizens can have their private communication intercepted by the government without a search warrant is anti-American, deeply disturbing, and completely unacceptable.
In addition to gutting the fourth amendment, this measure will deprive Americans who have had their rights violated by telecommunication companies involved in the Administration’s illegal wiretapping program the right to seek redress in the courts for the wrongs committed against them. Worse, this measure provides for retroactive immunity, whereby individuals or organizations that broke the law as it existed are granted immunity for prior illegal actions once the law has been changed. Ex post facto laws have long been considered anathema in free societies under rule of law. Our Founding Fathers recognized this, including in Article I section 9 of the Constitution that “No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.” How is this FISA bill not a variation of ex post facto? That alone should give pause to supporters of this measure.
Statement on FISA
by Ron Paul
Sadly, this is what our country has become. A nation of sheeple.
We chant in unison with Obama that we want change, we yell “yes we can,” and then stand dumbly by as he coldly votes away our civil liberties.
George Carlin wasn’t just another funny person. He was a great advocate of freedom.
I was asked by FreedomWorks to post this information. It is vitally important for people to contact their elected officials to stop the seeming never-ending limits to our freedom.
Washington, DC - Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd’s 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill’s managers without debate this week, would require the nation’s payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
Read more details here.
Following is a video explaining this latest assault on freedom.
Not only will you be subjected to spying by the government, the administrative reporting requirements will increase the cost of doing business and amounts to a hidden tax that will be paid by consumers.
People hired by government know who is their benefactor. People who lose their jobs or fail to get them because of the government program do not know that that is the source of their problem. The good effects are visible. The bad effects are invisible. The good effects generate votes. The bad effects generate discontent, which is as likely to be directed at private business as at the government.
— Milton Friedman
Obama Camp Closely Linked With Ethanol
Mr. Obama is running as a reformer who is seeking to reduce the influence of special interests. But like any other politician, he has powerful constituencies that help shape his views. And when it comes to domestic ethanol, almost all of which is made from corn, he also has advisers and prominent supporters with close ties to the industry at a time when energy policy is a point of sharp contrast between the parties and their presidential candidates.
Reality: The Clean Energy Scam
I took a walk around the inner harbor development this afternoon. I was most impressed by the boardwalk. The development marks a good beginning, let’s hope that what follows will add some life to what has been started.
This is something that really galls me, the people buying homes near the airport knew of its existence.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has allocated a $4.65 million grant to the NFTA for its ongoing noise mitigation program for residential neighborhoods around the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The grant was secured, in part, through a collaborative effort between the NFTA and Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Here’s the topper.
The next phase includes 400 homes in both towns. In all, the NFTA will be aiding 1,700 homes, with the work to be done in phases.
Hartmayer said new allocation will help with the design phase for 80 homes, with all the noise remediation work to be completed by next spring.
We have $4.65 million of our tax dollars to “help with the design phase for 80 homes”. That is $58,125.00 per home. AND, it is not even the total cost! When I read crap like this, it really gets me worked-up. Our government, and politicians, suck! They are ruining this country with out of control spending. Hartmayer was a much better person when he was the spokesman for TOPS, now he is the spokesman for legalized theft.
Read it all from Business First.
Fundamentally, there are only two ways of coordinating the economic activities of millions. One is central direction involving the use of coercion — the technique of the army and of the modern totalitarian state. The other is voluntary cooperation of individuals — the technique of the market place.
— Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom [1962]
