In 1844, Lysander Spooner launched a mail company called the American Letter Mail Company. Spooner’s company competed directly with the U.S. Postal Service, delivering letters and parcels between major cities in the eastern United States at a lower price than the government’s rates. Spooner’s company had offices in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, and delivered …
Category: Government’s War on the Poor
Dec 03
Socialist Venezuela Descends into Primitive Bartering
Socialism is a curse that should only be wished on a hated enemy. Any society that embraces it will eventually become sick and weak. The Miami Herald reports that the impoverished people of Venezuela–suffering from decades of socialist ‘rulership’–have developed a primitive bartering system to obtain basic goods.
Dec 03
Bankrupt Greek Government Demands that Citizens Report all Jewelry, Coins, Private Cash
Are mass confiscation raids about to be unleashed in Greece? The Greek newspaper Enikonomia reported days ago that Greek taxpayers will be forced to declare all private cash held outside the banks, and all jewelry boxes containing more than 15,000 euros or gold or other metals worth over 30,000 euros. See here. The Greek government …
Nov 22
Obamacare’s supporters drastically overestimated the number, finances, and health of new enrollees
Every government program that subsidizes heath care makes health care more expensive. Government supports subsidize demand without increasing supply, causing prices to rise. New research by the Mercatus Center (see here) shows that Obamacare’s enrollment figures fell far short of projections. By MILLIONS. Also, enrollment of “all but the near-poor is far below projections.” The …
Nov 18
More than half of American households cannot scrape together $400
Frightening statistic in a new book: “HOW THE OTHER HALF BANKS,” by Mehrsa Baradaran. Government studies show that more than half of U.S. households cannot come up with $400 to cover a medical emergency without borrowing. Almost TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS lack enough savings to get by for three months. The book details the plight …
Nov 18
U.S. is Now Fighting to Keep its Overtaxed Corporations from Fleeing High Taxes
Two years ago, Burger King merged with Canada’s Tim Hortons chain and declared its merged corporation a Canadian company. The move saved Burger King and its long-suffering shareholders many millions annually in corporate taxes. The U.S.–once the flagship of world commerce and capitalism–now has the highest corporate tax rate on the surface of the earth. …
Nov 12
Obamacare has led to fewer insurance options, fewer firms, higher costs and a need for another bailout
Just as in other heavily-regulated industries (think meatpacking), the new regulations in healthcare are causing consolidation, fewer but larger insurance companies, and much higher premium costs. Here is a summary of the situation. Dr. Mandy Cohen of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently testified that almost 700,000 Americans have lost their health coverage …
Nov 06
Medicaid patients are 13 percent more likely to die than those without insurance
A 2011 University of Virginia study found that surgical Medicaid patients are 13 percent more likely to die than those without insurance. Of the 893,658 surgical operations reviewed between 2003-2007: Patients on Medicare were 45% more likely to die than those with private insurance; the uninsured were 74% more likely; and Medicaid patients 93% more …
Oct 27
Union loudly pushes $15 minimum wage–then quietly seeks its own “exemption” from its impacts!
Socialists and trusters of central planning are notorious hypocrites. But here is a story about the AFL-CIO that “takes the cake.” The AFL-CIO loudly promotes raising minimum wages around the country. (Some 100 peer-reviewed economic studies have established that raising (or imposing) a minimum wage is linked with higher unemployment rates–especially for those at the …
Oct 20
Details Emerge Regarding Chicago Police Department’s Torture Warehouse
More details are emerging regarding the torture and interrogation warehouse used for years by the Chicago Police Department. See here. At least 6,000 “suspects” were arrested and taken to the warehouse over the years. The Chicago PD maintained NO BOOKING RECORDS at the site, and thus hid arrestees from lawyers and their families while the …
