Under the Government’s Wing

The Green Religion and Expensive Government

By Justin Katz | November 22, 2009 |

Just wanted to mark this final stage in the incremental establishment of the green religion as the official doctrine of the land: New major public projects and building renovations in Rhode Island, including schools, must be designed and constructed in conformance with high-performance green-building standards, according to legislation signed by Governor Carcieri. The law applies…

The End of the Entitlement Road

By Justin Katz | November 20, 2009 |

Is this astonishing video of a protest turned near riot related to a wrongfully imprisoned innocent, wanton murder of grandmothers, or government confiscation of children? Nope. It’s over a proposed 32% tuition increase for the University of California system. It’s a symptom of the inevitable collapse of a society built on an entitlement mindset. Don’t…

Backfilling the Stimulus Spending; “Who really knows?”

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2009 |

And in a sentence, posted by Kevin Boland, we have the perfect summary of the government stimulus program: Ed Pound, the director of communications for the Obama Administration’s “stimulus” website (recovery.gov), dropped a bombshell in interview with the New Orleans Times Picayune, stating that the Obama Administration has no idea how phantom congressional districts –…

Could Have Been Worse, Will Not Be Better

By Justin Katz | November 3, 2009 |

Unsurprisingly, Kate Brewster, of Poverty Institute fame, is inclined to cheerlead for stimulus money: “It could have been worse” might not be an inspirational slogan, but it aptly describes the situation in Rhode Island and other states thanks to unprecedented federal efforts to fight back against one of the worst recessions in memory. She goes…

What a Scam

By Justin Katz | October 31, 2009 |

Here’s the stimulus story in a sentence: The government — in which I’m including the entire structure from the town to the nation — insulated itself from the souring economy and is now attempting to justify and perpetuate the scam by touting its own health. A little bit of basic math puts this in perspective:…

An Argument for the Second Amendment

By Justin Katz | October 23, 2009 |

Sometimes news out of Europe suggests the possibility that another revolution may be coming, such as this story from England: On Monday afternoon, the mother gave birth to a girl by Caesarean section. And 28 hours later, social workers arrived at the maternity ward to take the baby into care, after serving child protection papers…

Michigan: No Free Babysitting allowed!

By Marc Comtois | September 30, 2009 |

Common-sense government at work: Each day before the school bus comes to pick up the neighborhood’s children, Lisa Snyder did a favor for three of her fellow moms, welcoming their children into her home for about an hour before they left for school. Regulators who oversee child care, however, don’t see it as charity. Days…

Hints of Things to Come with Public Healthcare

By Justin Katz | September 30, 2009 |

An interesting find by Joseph Bottum. Belmont Abbey College, an institution sponsored by Catholic monks, opted to remove provisions for abortion, contraception, and sterilization from the healthcare plan that it offered employees, as it must do as an institution run by believing Catholics. The matter will end up in court, but the Equal Employment Opportunity…

Vlog #8: What They Want to Suppose

By Justin Katz | September 29, 2009 |

My vlog, this week, addresses a thread through our Congressional delegation’s healthcare forums, indicative of their worldview and illustrative of the problem with with progressive thought, generally: I’m curious how many people could explain the vlog’s title without watching to the end. (Actually, probably only those within a pretty narrow range of television experience will…

The Public Sector Can’t Have It All

By Justin Katz | September 28, 2009 |

Comment-section conversation to the previous post, and to the prior post on the same op-ed, brings to mind the basic philosophical problem with public-sector labor, these days. It was once cliché to think of government jobs as akin to government bonds. The work (or the investment) isn’t going to make one rich, but it is…