Editorial in Daily Times

Salisbury has two issues that need to be addressed in the near future. They are compensation for elected officials and reviewing the municipal election cycle. Common sense and levelheaded discourse will bring consensus on a solution.

With the recent controversy over Health Benefits for elected officials the problem is, this is not included in the Municipal Code as a part of the compensation package. Historically this has been offered to elected officials and was simply added in the budget, hence the precedent and policy argument. The problem is the Municipal Code and the Salary Review Committee never offered Health Benefits as part of the compensation package.

The benefit as used by Council Members is worth over $7,000 making total compensation for those who use it at $17,000. The Salary Review Committee should review it this year and make a recommendation that is codified if they opine it should be added to the compensation package.

Next, I believe the Municipal Election Cycle should be returned to the fall with the national and state elections. First this will increase voter turnout and reduce another election cycle. Second this will allow a newly elected Mayor time to settle in and execute priorities with his/her own budget in the spring when that is submitted.

This was changed several years ago due to concern local candidates were lost in the shuffle, the consequence has been less participation at the polls.

Thomas Jefferson Quotes That Ring True Today

"The care of every man's soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or his estate, which would more nearly relate to the state. Will the magistrate make a law that he not be poor or sick? Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves. God himself will not save men against their wills."

Thomas Jefferson

Sunday Truth

"Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program."

Milton Friedman

Wal-Mart Workers on Welfare? Let's Look for the Spin.

This was posted on the Great Divide.
Wal-Mart Workers on Welfare? Let's Look for the Spin.

This has been a hot topic over the past few years and specifically when Maryland passed legislation to require companies with over 10,000 employees to spend a certain amount on Health Benefits. The Law was of course targeted at Wal-Mart which already exceeded the requirement. Surprising the Maryland General Assembly would an unnecessary law.

Many of these individuals that are on state assistance come to Wal-Mart already on it. Expecting to people to make $60,000 a year off the bat at new job is ridiculous. You have to work your way up to get the proper promotions and raises, just like any other job.
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Sunday's Libertarian Sermon

"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."

Daniel Webster

Libertarian Quote of the Day

"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle."

Winston Churchill (1903)

What The Bailout Really Means

Delaware's Medicaid The Future for Heathcare?

Walgreens has announced they will no longer accept Medicaid for prescriptions in their pharmacies (which also include Happy Harry’s), citing the payout from the State of Delaware is not cost effective for filling prescriptions. This has put many citizens in Delaware in a situation where they have to find a new pharmacy to fill their prescriptions.

Now that national health care appears to be the next big issue, is the Walgreens situation going to be a precursor to a struggle between the private sector and government? Businesses need to have a certain gross profit margin to successfully pay employees, taxes, bills, and maintain cash on hand to successfully manage other aspects of their business. When the government on one hand demands you pay your taxes, yet with other hand gives you the short end of the stick when they do business with you. One could understand why a business would end that relationship with the government.

Could this be the situation if Health Insurance in Nationalized? A situation where businesses will not honor prescription cards from the government because they will lose money could be the future in America. Would legislation require and force businesses to accept the government health insurance and prescription cards? Will they institute price controls, production requirements, and other tedious mandates to hinder businesses? Why not just open up government pharmacies beside the future government doctor offices and eliminate the need for the private sector to worry about offering these services?

The most important thing is to first get government out of health care. When legislators and bureaucrats feel their relevance hinges on how complicated laws and regulations are, indicates to me that we no longer need those individuals.

Libertarian Quote of the Day

"When important issues affecting the life of an individual are decided by somebody else, it makes no difference to the individual whether that somebody else is a king, a dictator, or society at large."

James Taggart (1992)

Friday's 2nd Amendment Quote

"I say that the Second Amendment doesn't allow for exceptions – or else it would have read that the right "to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, unless Congress chooses otherwise." And because there are no exceptions, I disagree with my fellow panelists who say the existing gun laws should be enforced. Those laws are unconstitutional [and] wrong – because they put you at a disadvantage to armed criminals, to whom the laws are no inconvenience."

Harry Browne, meetings with NRA's EVP, Wayne LaPierre and other panelists at a gun rights rally in Hot Springs, AR, 8/8/2000

Libertarian Quote of the Day

"There is no virtue in compulsory government charity, and there is no virtue in advocating it. A politician who portrays himself as "caring" and "sensitive" because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to try to do good with other people's money. Well, who isn't? And a voter who takes pride in supporting such programs is telling us that he'll do good with his own money – if a gun is held to his head."

P.J. O'Rourke

How Obama Will Ruin Healthcare

Libertarian Quote of the Day

"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

Mark Twain

D-Day for Health Care | Red County

Michael Swartz does it again. Check out his article on Healthcare.

He also got featured on Red County.

D-Day for Health Care | Red County

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Dick Morris on Obama's Policy Towards Israel

Wisdom from Milton Friedman

"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 marketplace."

Milton Friedman

Wednesday's Hump Day Bonus Quote

"First they came for the Jews, but I did nothing because I'm not a Jew. Then they came for the socialists, but I did nothing because I'm not a socialist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I did nothing because I'm not a Catholic. Finally, they came for me, but by then there was no one left to help me. "

Pastor Father Niemoller (1946)

They Sure Do Make Things Like They Used To

A couple of months ago I purchased this Bluetooth Headset. It is the Plantronics Explorer 233 and it cost me $30.00. I have been very happy with it and works much better than a Motorola I purchased last year for twice as much.

This past Sunday I had it with me and after I finished using it I put it in my shorts cargo pockets. I changed clothes and placed my shorts in the hamper and when my wife washed clothes on Monday, my headset was still in my shorts. She discovered it and apologized to me.

Later that evening I thought I would try just to see if it still worked. Low and behold it works perfectly fine. This Bluetooth Headset was washed and dried and still works. I could not believe it, I still don't believe it.

Libertarian Quote of the Day

"Can our form of government, our system of justice, survive if one can be denied a freedom because he might abuse it?"

Harlon Carter

Dick Morris on How Obama Paralyzes Recovery

New Socialist Society

Now that the "People" are majority shareholders of GM I say welcome to the Fourth Riech comrade.

Republican Senators neuter Federal Reserve Transparency bill

posted by Austin Petersen on Jun 01, 2009

It’s time to pick sides…

While the world watches Susan Boyle lose the top prize and cowers in the wake of the dreaded swine flu, the world financial crisis deepens and worsens. The American people are slowly waking up to fiscal realities as our iconic car dealerships and banking establishments flounder in an ocean of red ink. Everywhere we turn something else blows up, and we can’t seem to find a bottom to the stock market. Prices seem inflated much beyond what government measurements are reporting.

As you are reading this, our entire financial system is being restructured. Now is the time for the American people to wake up and check their premises. We have a golden opportunity now that has not existed for 100 years since the inception of our Federal Reserve System. We can at last open up the books with HR 1207 to audit the monetary base. This would be extremely enlightening as to the depth of the financial crisis the country is in.

Click Here to Read the Rest

Your (Belated) Monday Message: Alan Grayson's latest "Mickey Mouse" idea

posted by Donny Ferguson on May 26, 2009

Dear friend,

I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day holiday, but should vacation be enforced by the government?

You may remember Congressman Alan Grayson as the camera-loving Florida Democrat who became a YouTube sensation after he was hammered in a nationally-televised interview for proposing a bill giving Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner sole power to decide for himself when private sector employees earned “unreasonable” paychecks and to confiscate the money -- and claiming such authority could be found in the Constitution.

Think of him as Joe Biden without humility, weighty intellect or quiet restraint.

Well, now he’s back with yet another economically illiterate bill that once again has the federal government micromanaging the business practices of private employers.

His newest power grab, H.R. 2564, The Paid Vacation Act, forces every private business in America with more than 100 employees to give everyone a free week of paid vacation. That government mandate increases to two weeks in subsequent years.

You may reach his office at 202-225-2176 to let him know what you think of forcing expensive new mandates on struggling employers during a recession.

You don’t need to conduct a study to see what havoc such laws wreak on the economy because they are already in force countries like France, where then-ruling Socialist Party lawmakers long ago instituted “free vacation” proposals like Grayson’s.

In case you’re not aware, France suffers from higher unemployment, slower job growth and a slower economic recovery than the United States. The shortages of jobs have even led to deadly riots in Paris.

Even more disturbing than Grayson’s belief that the same people who brought us the IRS, Indian reservations and the Hurricane Katrina response are fit to centrally plan the economy is what inspired him to propose the legislation.

Grayson tells The Politico he got the idea for the bill while visiting Disney World, and deciding the government should let everyone join him.

“There’s a reason why Disney World is the happiest place on Earth: The people who go there are on vacation,” said Grayson.

Really. He decided to try and force struggling employers to lose more money in a recession because he thinks the government should make sure we all spend more time in a children’s amusement park. Again, he can be reached at 202-225-2176.

While I’m sure we’d all like a free week at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” most people realize not only is his scheme “goofy,” but it would push already high unemployment even higher and thwart economic recovery.

It’s also a little troubling when a member of Congress looks to a fictional cartoon mouse for economic policy. No word yet as to whether he’ll file banking reform legislation based on an old episode of “DuckTales.”

Actually, the inspiration for this slump towards socialism may be a bit more cynical than Grayson’s stated desire to ride in oversized teacups at someone else’s expense.

Grayson represents the Orlando area, where the local tourist-reliant economy is taking a quite a hit in the current recession. Coming up with some way to get more people to visit vacation spots would be a nice way to buff those re-election credentials.

So just how do you get more people traveling and pumping money into tourist havens when the economy just doesn’t allow it? The best and proven way would be to lower taxes and curb government spending, and then grant regulatory relief.

But that’s hard. It also prevents you from buying really cool stuff with other people’s money and you can’t take personally credit for it. That’s why you just threaten employers with the force of government if they don’t pay for everyone to have a free vacation.

The tourism industry is already on board. Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski tells The Politico the U.S. Tour Operators Association and the Adventure Travel Trade Association are both on board. Other tourism and, unsurprisingly, labor groups are expected to sign on in the coming days.

As you can imagine, while dictating “free vacation” policies to an entire nation would drive down productivity and economic growth and spike unemployment as more struggling employers are pushed into bankruptcy, all that “free” vacation money would work out quite well for a few tourist havens.

At least for a little while.

As Margaret Thatcher brilliantly pointed out, the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money. While Grayson’s socialist ideas may do a passable job of redistributing other people’s wealth to his district for the short term, the large-scale economic rot will eventually spread to Orlando as more and more employers are forced out of business by the rising costs of regulation.

Few industries bear the brunt of economic slump worse than the tourist industry. Foreclosure, unemployment and “underwater mortgage” rates are often higher in hurting communities like Orlando and Las Vegas.

But while any possible short-term spike may help in the current economy, Grayson’s socialist policies will leave the Orlando area reeling as the national economy looks more and more like the French model he seeks to impose by force – high unemployment, little innovation, large job losses, frequent strikes and deadly riots and even slower recovery to downturns. It also thwarts efforts underway in many tourist-reliant communities to diversify the employment base and create jobs that aren’t as easily buffeted by economic spikes and slumps, hurting residents in places like Orlando.

The Society for Human Resource Management has already responded with a warning that “a one-size-fits-all, government-imposed mandate is not the answer,” The Politico reports.

National Small Business Association also warns of indirect consequences, pointing out companies will realize a few employees over the 100-employee mark will burden the company with massive personnel costs – and simply stop hiring.

Now I’m not sure whether Grayson looked at a country where workers spend more time turning over burning cars than turning out products and said to himself “we can do that,” or whether he gets his ideas from a talking mouse who wears a shirt with no pants, but both lead to economic suffering for all Americans, including his own district. If you’d like to know which, you may reach his office at 202-225-2176.

Real prosperity comes from an economy where employers, entrepreneurs and innovators are free to create widespread wealth and jobs without government interference. Economically underperforming European socialist states – or fantasylands inspired by children’s fiction – are no place to come up with more already-failed policies that compound human suffering by forcing more and more currently struggling employers out of business.

With optimism,

Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian Party
Donny.Ferguson@lp.org

Libertarian Quote of the Day

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible to live without breaking laws."

Ayn Rand

GM - Government Motors

The Obama Motor Co.

posted by Donny Ferguson on Jun 01, 2009

Today's Wall Street Journal editorial. You may read it in its entirety here or by picking up a copy of the Journal.

Back in December, in an economy far, far away, then-CEO Rick Wagoner tossed out the scary cost to taxpayers of $100 billion if General Motors wasn't saved by the government. Well, GM was saved in December and again in March, and as early as today the feds will rescue it a third time in a prepackaged bankruptcy that is already costing at least $50 billion, and that's for starters. Welcome to Obama Motors, and what is likely to be a long, expensive and unhappy exercise in political car making...

...Every decision the feds have made since December suggests that nonpolitical management will be impossible. First they replaced Mr. Wagoner -- whom they are nonetheless still paying -- with the more pliable Fritz Henderson as CEO and Kent Kresa as Chairman. The latter are good at playing Washington but unproven in making popular cars. Then Treasury bludgeoned the bond holders in both Chrysler and GM to take pennies on the dollar, which will not make creditors eager to lend to the companies in the future.

There's also the labor agreement that the UAW approved last week, which goes some way toward reducing costs but probably not enough to make the new, smaller GM competitive. The new agreement simplifies some work rules and job descriptions but makes no reductions in hourly pay, pensions or health care for active workers. The agreement must also be renegotiated in two years by an Obama Administration running for re-election and weighing the need to keep Big Labor happy against the risks to taxpayer-shareholders. Who do you think wins that White House debate?...

...Mr. Obama likes to say he's a pragmatist who only prefers a government solution when it will work. But in resurrecting an industrial auto policy that even the French long ago abandoned, the President has made himself GM's de facto CEO. Our guess is that he'll come to regret it as much as taxpayers will.

Impact fees on table again

From the Daily Times
SALISBURY -- The time may soon come when growth has to pay its own municipal burden in Salisbury. But for many, the implementation of a fee structure to do so will come too late.

The Salisbury City Council is expected to bring impact fees to the table again today during a work session and could push legislation forward for a public hearing.

Impact fees are one-time payments used to construct system improvements needed to accommodate new development and can only be used for capital improvements. In Salisbury's case, that includes a fire house, police station or public park.

Councilwoman Debbie Campbell said she's heard murmurs of an impact fee ordinance since she's been on council -- five years -- and recently elected Mayor Jim Ireton, who touted growth paying for growth in his campaign, said heavy growth has already taken its toll on area resources, and it may be too late to stem it with impact fees. click here to read More

**** My View****
I do not support impact fees or anything else that is going to hinder economic growth. Salisbury is already an unfriendly place to businesses. One more obstacle is not what we need in these tough economic times. We need to accommodate businesses who are willing to invest and create jobs in Salisbury.

Keynesian Economics Is Wrong: Bigger Gov't Is Not Stimulus

The fallacy of Big Government proponents.

Monday's Prohibition Quote

"Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?"

Martin Luther

Libertarians: “Cap and tax” destroys jobs, punishes working families

House Energy and Commerce Committee warned to defeat Waxman-Markey

WASHINGTON -- America’s third largest party warned the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday to not approve H.R. 2454, a “cap and tax” bill levying billions of dollars in new job-killing taxes on American businesses.

“Cap and tax legislation is the offspring of bad science and bad economics,” said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman. “Imposing massive new taxes on carbon production destroys jobs and drastically increases consumer prices with no proven effect on global temperatures.”

“Cap and tax compounds the suffering of so many in this economy, with no scientific evidence whatsoever it helps the environment.”

The legislation, sponsored by Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Energy and the Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA), taxes carbon dioxide by imposing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and creates a complex system for employers to buy and sell credits allowing them to create carbon under the cap. As the cap lowers each year, employer can exchange allowances in a complicated auction market. Speculators, such as hedge funds, can purchase credits to sell.

“The research is in and the economic toll of cap and tax is inescapable. With cap and tax, job losses will rise by an additional 1,105,000 Americans each year. In the worst years, 2,479,000 will lose their jobs annually under cap and tax,” said Redpath, citing research from the Heritage Foundation.

“Electric bills could rise by an inflation-adjusted 90 percent. The price of gasoline could rise by an inflation-adjusted 74 percent. It adds $1,500 to the average family’s annual energy bill, which hits the poor and the elderly the hardest. The increased costs of energy also force any business using energy to raise their prices, making food, medicine and other essentials more unaffordable,” said Redpath.

“There is never a good time to impose billions of dollars in new taxes on job creators that send consumer prices skyrocketing and job prospects plummeting,” said Redpath. “But in this economy, voting for cap and tax is an easy way to send a member of Congress to an early retirement.”

“Even worse, it has virtually no effect on the environment. Climatologists calculate the full bill reduces temperatures only five one-hundredths of a degree in 2050 and no more than two-tenths of a degree at the end of this century – and even that’s based on the assumption man-made carbon dioxide can change the climate of an entire planet,” said Redpath.

“Members of Congress should be on notice. Anyone who supports this bill will face angry voters in 2010, because we’re going to let them know you’re working to eliminate their jobs, make their groceries more expensive and raise their energy bills,” said Redpath.

“The Libertarian Party is a fearless defender of small businessmen, workers and families. That is why we not only oppose this disastrous cap and tax legislation, but we will work to defeat anyone who supports it,” said Redpath.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.

The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

Libertarian Quote of the Day

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

Ronald Reagan (1986)