Under the Government’s Wing

Marketing-Consultant-In-Chief?

By Monique Chartier | May 18, 2009 |

Courtesy the CBS blog Econowatch. The Obama administration appears to have reminded Chrysler about the cost of accepting government bailouts: with federal funds comes federal control. A report this week in Advertising Age said that Chrysler wanted to spend $134 million in advertising over the nine-week duration of its bankruptcy. But Mr. Obama’s auto-industry task…

A Broader Application than Broadband

By Justin Katz | May 11, 2009 |

It seems to me that Frank Rizzo’s reasoning in deciding that government-run broadband Internet is a bad idea applies pretty much across the board for possible government actions beyond a limited set of activities: At the heart of the problem is this: The economics simply didn’t work [in Philadelphia]. To come close to breaking even,…

The Fire Code Strikes Again

By Justin Katz | May 8, 2009 |

And the squeeze on non-governmental services — most notably from the Roman Catholic diocese — pushes another one over the edge: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence has told a state nursing home association that it is closing St. Francis House, its assisted-living center at 167 Blackstone St. later this year, a spokeswoman for the…

Regulations Are Like Taxes

By Justin Katz | May 5, 2009 |

Although he isn’t speaking solely about our state, Theodore Gatchel’s op-ed, Sunday, presents a worthy reminder that taxation is not the only government burden that must decrease in Rhode Island: The idea held by many politicians and government bureaucrats that simply passing a new law or issuing a new regulation will solve a problem is…

Remote Control: Good for televisions; Not So Good for the Internet

By Monique Chartier | April 8, 2009 |

Computer and internet tech stuff is not my forte. But wouldn’t it be far more effective to build (or bolster as needed) protections and barriers into critical computer infrastructure – electric, water, banking – rather than create a shut-down switch to be operated remotely and, most likely, after the infrastructure has been attacked and damaged?…

Pay for Performance: the Logical Extension

By Monique Chartier | March 31, 2009 |

Thanks to WPRO’s Matt Allen for the heads-up about the “Pay for Performance Act of 2009” bill that got voted out of Elmer Fudd’s … er, Barney Frank’s committee last week. Byron York at the Washington Examiner reports. But now, in a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has…

Experience with the Darker Side of Employment

By Justin Katz | March 10, 2009 |

You may have noticed that my posting has been sporadic, of late. I’ve been going through the sort of experience that all government meddlers ought to have, and it’s proven not only time consuming, but apt to scuttle deeper thoughts. I read, somewhere, that new regulations are set to take effect that will help the…

Censorship, a.k.a. the “Fairness” Doctrine, is Nothing to Laugh at but …

By Monique Chartier | February 17, 2009 |

… did anyone else get the giggles when they heard who is now promoting it? “Essentially, because there’s always been a lot of big money to support the right wing talk shows and, let’s face it, Rush Limbaugh is fairly entertaining even when he’s saying things I think are ridiculous,” Clinton said. “I think the…

Milestones on the Road to Serfdom

By Justin Katz | February 16, 2009 |

Linking to an illustrated Road to Serfdom, Instapundit Glenn Reynolds conveys a reader’s question about what page we’re currently on. Of course, one must take into consideration, as Michael Ledeen does, that American fascism is likely to have some significant differences in character from that described by Hayek, but I’d suggest that we’re somewhere around…

Welcome to the Era of Dependency

By Justin Katz | February 15, 2009 |

I have a question. Once the dust settles on the big grandchildren’s money drop heading the states’ way, how is our failed public finance system going to maintain all of this on top of the infrastructure and assets that it currently struggles to keep in one piece? To Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, new federal…