Jun 15

Illinois government nears bankruptcy, halts almost all payments for road construction

THE STATE NOW SPENDS MORE ON ITS UNIVERSITY PENSIONS THAN IT DOES ON ITS UNIVERSITIES

Socialism is a curse that should be wished only on a hated enemy.

A generation ago, Illinois was known for farm and manufacturing production, and was one of the wealthiest areas of the United States.

But years of political domination by government supremacists and central planners has left the State reeling from one financial crisis to another. Like many States run by pro-government extremists, Illinois makes its government employees and officials wealthy beyond imagination while impoverishing the vast majority of its subjects. See here.

Here is a graph of Illinois State spending on its “higher education system.” Notice that Illinois now spends more on the PADDED PENSIONS of retired faculty, staff and administration than it does on its actual college operations.

Jun 14

Visitor Center at Glacier National Park contains panorama claiming all glaciers will be melted by 2020

On June 12, 2017 Lysander Spooner University was on the ground at Glacier National Park where President Roger Roots and a small team of intrepid researchers inspected the St. Mary Visitor Center.

The official visitor center contains a panorama of the Park’s mountain peaks. The panorama has an interactive light display depicting locations of glaciers in various years (beginning in 1850). (Each light supposedly represents a glacier.)

The lights steadily go out as viewers ponder the past 170 years of glacier melt. Astoundingly, the lights go completely dark in the year 2020 (showing all glaciers gone as projected by the NPS).

Thus the official position of the government, on display at the St. Mary Visitor Center, is that there will be no glaciers left in Glacier National Park in only 2-1/2 years.

Of course it is only a matter of time before the government removes or alters its exaggerated claims. The question is not if; it is when.

The most recent winter has seen record or near-record snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Range and many ranges in the Rockies.

Jun 09

Idaho government continues to ban unlicensed makeup artists

Governments everywhere demand that people get government licenses before engaging in certain businesses.

Most States require that those who cut hair, perform manicures or help others with makeup must first go through hundreds of hours of government-approved ‘training’ before doing so.

Such licensing laws keep poor people down by preventing them from starting businesses or launching careers.

Typically, state licensing schemes place a group of entrenched ‘good ol’ boys’ as ‘commissioners’ or members of a ‘board of cosmetology’ (or ‘board of outfitting,’ ‘board of transportation,’ etc). Thus, the very people who have an interest in keeping newcomers out of their fields are placed in gatekeeping positions.

Reason Magazine features the story of Japhet, a Boise makeup artist who recently tried to get the Idaho governor to deregulate the State’s ridiculously overregulated cosmetology industry. See here.

“Idaho requires 467 days of training in makeup and hair-styling for a license (and an even more insane 630 days of training to be a barber), even if an applicant doesn’t have any interest in doing hair-styling, which is why Japhet says she’s never sought a license.”

Japhet recently boycotted the governor after the governor refused to support licensing reform.

Jun 09

Thailand government orders man jailed for 35 years for insulting the monarchy

Every government ultimately comes for all freedom, all property, all money, and to kill all who resist.

Statistically, the average person in the world is more likely to be killed by his own government than by any foreign government, any terrorist, or any criminal.

Now a man in Thailand has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for posting 10 messages on Facebook that supposedly insulted the monarchy.

(The Defendant was initially sentenced to 70 years, but he groveled and pled guilty to several counts to get his sentence reduced to just 35 years.) See here.

Jun 08

Police search and pat down EVERY STUDENT at one “public school” in drug search

America’s government youth concentration camps (er, . . . ‘public schools’) have become prisons for both the body and mind. Metal detectors are found at many entrances and students are subjected to a steady stream of pro-government indoctrination.

Now there is news that police in one Georgia public “school” patted down and searched EVERY SINGLE STUDENT without warrant in a search for . . . ‘drugs.’ See here.

Jun 06

Hartford, Connecticut government approaches bankruptcy despite extracting some to the nation’s highest property, income and sales tax rates

Hartford, Connecticut is typical of eastern cities in that its voters have placed great trust in government management.

Connecticut is a wealthy state with thousands of high-earners who work in the insurance industry, and in the greater New York City area. But the State’s tax rates are among the nation’s highest.

Hartford, the capitol city, has the highest property tax rates in the state, but the city government cannot pay its bills and is approaching bankruptcy. See here.

The Wall Street Journal reports that “Half of the city’s properties are excluded from paying tax because they are government entities, hospitals and universities.”

Jun 03

After years of overtaxing the rich, Connecticut tax receipts decrease and Connecticut’s richest citizens flee to other states

Connecticut income-tax collections declined last year for the first time since the recession due to lower earnings of wealthy residents. Many of Connecticut’s millionaires have fled for lower-tax states.

In the past five years 27,400 Connecticut residents have moved to no-income-tax Florida.

According to the Wall Street Journal, one of Connecticut’s largest companies, Aetna Insurance, is preparing to leave the state. Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini says that Connecticut Governor Malloy “has spent two terms treating business as a bottomless well of cash to redistribute to public unions.” See here.

Jun 02

Socialist Venezuela is a paradise for government: officials live like kings among the starving

Wherever socialism takes hold, society spirals downward into poverty, dependence, sickness and weakness while elitists in government prosper.

In modern Venezuela, the people dive through trash for food, eat pigeons, cats and dogs for food, and die in knife fights on the streets over dollar bills.

Meanwhile the elitists and government officials in the socialist state travel in private jets and shop in luxurious jewelry stores in Europe and Asia. See here.

The billionaire daughter of Hugo Chavez is reportedly the wealthiest person in Venezuela (although she spends most of her time outside the country). Meanwhile thousands starve on the streets and go without lifesaving medicines.

Jun 02

Police now pulling over vehicles for “firewood checks”

The police state expands.

Police in a number of jurisdictions are reportedly pulling over vehicles for “firewood checks.”

The stated reason is to prevent cars from transporting firewood containing improper weeds, seeds, insects or invasive species. See here.

Jun 02

Almost half of Americans die broke in response to government policies

Years of government policies which punish saving, investing and working have taken their toll.

USA Today reports that 69% of adults have less than $1,000 in the bank, and 34% said they actually don’t have any savings at all.

And a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that almost half of Americans die nearly broke. That number climbs to 57% among retirees who are single.

Only 37% of seniors 65 and older claimed to have $1,000 or more in the bank. See here.