The Freedom Minute

Health Care Reform – Introduction

I considered avoiding this topic since there’s so many others writing and talking about it, but with all the misinformation on all sides of this issue, I feel I need to bring some sanity to the conversation. Health care reform is a complicated issue and there’s no way I can cover everything that needs to be said about it here at the Freedom Minute. Countless books, research papers, college courses and articles provide volumes of information for anyone who wants to look for it. Yet most people don’t look for it. They continue with their pre-conceived ideas, certain in the correctness of their “facts”. I’ll attempt to distill down the vast amount of information available and present it in a clear and concise manner, free as much as possible from ideology and rhetoric.

I’m going to divide this up into a bunch of different posts, partly because I don’t want to have to write it all at once and partly because dividing it up will make it easier to follow. Much of what follows is not simply my opinion, but rather the result of countless hours of research and investigation. I use mostly verifiable, independent, peer-reviewed sources and if I make an assertion, I’ll attempt to cite those sources so you can check them out yourself. Mostly I’ll be paraphrasing the relevant data, but when I quote another source directly, I’ll use italics so you know when that’s happening.
Continue reading “Health Care Reform – Introduction”

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

Cash for Clunkers: Success or Failure?

As the “cash for clunkers” program came to a close this past week, government officials fell all over themselves declaring what a huge success the program has been. “This is one of the best economic news stories we’ve seen, and I’m proud we were able to give consumers a helping hand,” gushed Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The positive spin is certainly not surprising considering the federal government just spent $3 billion of your tax dollars (or more correctly, added $3 billion to the national debt which will have to be paid back, with interest, from future tax revenues). And when they pony up that kind of coin, we’re certainly not going to hear anything coming from Washington other than the sound of our elected officials patting themselves on the back. True, if you’re one of the roughly 700,000 who were able to take advantage of the government’s largess, it’s likely you consider the program a success as well. And who’s to blame you. It’s not often you can get the government to reallocate $4500 of someone else’s money to you so you can buy a new car.

But those of us who understand that there is no free lunch realize that when the government engages in this kind of economic sleight of hand, there is always something on the other side of the equation, hidden from view, which balances out all the “benefits”. Plus, we’ll have to deal with all those pesky unintended consequences which always occur. So let’s take a look at the entirety of the cash for clunkers program and see whether or not it really was a good deal for America.
Continue reading “Cash for Clunkers: Success or Failure?”

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

A Little Less Hypocrisy Please

As the debate on health care reform heats up, a familiar tactic is once again at the forefront. Rather than taking a principled stance against an opponent’s arguments and countering with reason and logic, an attempt is made to marginalize them by accusing them of being kooks, racists, hate mongers or pawns of the special interests.

So it’s a bit amusing to watch republicans/conservatives getting all apoplectic over being labeled in this way as they voice their opposition to the Democrats’ proposals. “Unfair!” they claim, “We’re not all shills for the insurance lobby and big pharma. We don’t oppose the President simply because he’s a Democrat and we want him to fail. We have real, valid concerns that need to be heard”. And in all fairness, their outrage at the Left’s tactics are generally valid. Being the target of demagoguery is never a fun position to be in.

Yet I do love irony… and this situation certainly qualifies. Aren’t these the same people who used these very same tactics against those that opposed the Iraq war, or the Patriot Act, or various other abuses of power by the Bush administration? False claims of anti-Americanism and unpatriotic behavior came fast and loose. They told disenters to shut up and support the President’s policies. They accused them of “giving aid and comfort to the enemy”. And now the shoe is on the other foot. And these folks don’t like it very much. Though I doubt they can see their own hypocrisy. Hypocrites rarely can.

But let’s not let the other players in this political battle off too easy. The democrats/liberals are just as bad. They certainly felt it unfair to be falsely labeled as unpatriotic for questioning the deeds of the Bush White House, yet they seem to have no problem demonizing their opponents this time around. For example, last week on “Hardball,” Chris Matthews painted town hall protesters as racist by opining, “I think some of the people are upset because we have a black president.” One universal truth about hypocrisy is that it’s not the domain of any one group.

So if, let’s say, you’re considering boycotting Whole Foods because you didn’t like the CEO, John Mackey, giving his honest opinion about the best way to reform our health care system, if you think he betrayed his customers because he doesn’t support the Democrats’ plan, try to remember how the Dixie Chicks were treated when they spoke out against George Bush. Try to remember how they were vilified and their concerts boycotted simply because they dared to publicly express their opinion. Try not to be a hypocrite too.

And if you were one of those people who criticized the Dixie Chicks as un-American or felt that those opposed to GW Bush and his policies were just a bunch of left wing wackos, try to remember how it feels to be derided and marginalized simply because you don’t agree with those in power. Try not to be a hypocrite the next time you’re tempted to do the same.

So to anyone who engages in this type of behavior, but then complains when it’s done to them, let me simply say this — a little less hypocrisy, please.

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

Wrong Again, Michael Hiltzik

In his column in Thursday’s LA Times, Michael Hiltzik attempts to draw some conclusions about the voters’ rejection of Props 1A-E while again extolling the virtues of higher taxes. Unfortunately for Mr. Hiltzik, as usual, he’s wrong about virtually everything. This doesn’t particularly surprise me considering my critique of his previous column where he couldn’t keep his facts straight. This time around, Hiltzik draws the wrong conclusions and uses specious statistics to back up his argument.

Are Californians Highly Taxed?

Hiltzik claims that it’s a lie that Californians are burdened by the highest state taxes in the nation. To prove his point, he writes,

The truth, according to 2006 figures derived from the U.S. census, is that, as a percentage of all personal income, California’s tax and fee schedule ranks 18th in the country.

But that’s a misleading statistic. The reason that California comes out 18th, is that we have a few very wealthy citizens and a large percentage of our tax revenue comes from the sales tax which is a flat tax on purchases. This skews the ranking, because when you calculate taxes as a percentage of personal income (taxes divided by personal income), the incomes of our wealthy citizens increases the denominator and lowers the overall percentage. In low income, sparsely populated states, it takes a higher proportion of their incomes merely to provide a basic level of government and infrastructure. More densely populated and higher income states, like California, spread those costs over a greater tax base, allowing the appearance of a lower tax burden. So why use this one statistic to determine whether Californians pay the highest taxes in the nation? I suspect Hiltzik chose this number because it seems to prove his overall point that Californians aren’t taxed enough. However, Hiltzik ignores other, more valid statistics that prove him wrong. For example, in the same report referenced in Hiltzik’s column, California ranks 11th in per capita taxes (total taxes divided by the number of people). Again, this statistic may or may not tell us anything about our personal tax burden, for if there are a large number of people who pay little or no tax, then those that do pay taxes might pay a lot, but the per capita tax rate is lower. Furthermore, it’s unclear whether the above numbers include such things as local levies or other fees imposed on the populace. The point is, measuring the tax burden as a percentage of personal income is only one consideration of the tax environment for any jurisdiction, and not a particularly good one at that. Taking this one statistic out of many and using it as the sole evidence to prove your point is intellectually dishonest and I’m sure Michael Hiltzik knows it.

So let’s set the record straight about how heavily Californians are taxed. California has the highest state sales tax in the nation, the highest tax on motor fuels, one of the , highest corporate tax rates in the country, the second highest top income tax rate (Hawaii just jumped to #1, but not by much) and higher personal tax rates that kick in at some of the lowest income levels. For example, California imposes a 9.55% income tax on individuals earning over $47,000. No other state has such a high rate for those earning such a low salary. Finally, according to the Tax Foundation, for 2008, California ranked 6th highest in the nation in overall state tax burden. And in their 2008 report, the Pacific Research Institute ranked California 47th in overall economic freedom. Considering these numbers, Californians appear to shoulder a very high tax burden as compared to residents of other states. I leave it to the reader to decide whether we should be paying more as Hiltzik suggests.

Continue reading “Wrong Again, Michael Hiltzik”

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

Recommendations for May 19th Special Election

Local Races

City Attorney – Vote for Carmen Trutanich. His opponent, Jack Weiss, was our council member and was pretty much the worst representative you could imagine. He’s in bed with all the political elites in City Hall and has waged a deceptive smear campaign against Trutanich. Don’t reward him. Trutanich will be an independent prosecutor and work best for the people of Los Angeles.

Council District 5 – Vote for David Vahedi. Between Vahedi and his opponent Paul Koretz, there is no doubt that Vahedi is the better choice. Koretz is a career politician and would simply be a continuation of the status quo. He moved into the district just so he could run for the open council seat being vacated by Jack Weiss. I’ve listened to both men at various candidates forums and I’m convinced that Vahedi will be a much more independent voice and bring the possibility of real change. I also believe he will be more open to input for the constituents. He’s also a real grass-roots candidate having served on his local neighborhood council for many years.

Here’s what you need to know about the Propositions
Continue reading “Recommendations for May 19th Special Election”

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

Why Can’t LA Times Columnists Get it Right?

In a recent column entitled, “California Budget Fixes On May 19 Ballot Are Mostly Shams and Frauds”, Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times rails against the six propositions, 1A through 1F, that will appear on the ballot for the May 19th special election. He’s right that the propositions are all fraudulent and misleading. They deserve to go down in defeat. But Hiltzik’s column is mostly wrong as to his analysis of our current budget crisis as well as what’s actually contained in the propositions themselves.

First, Hiltzik gets the facts wrong about Proposition 1A’s effect on the budget. He wrongly states that 1A “limits budget growth to a formula based on population growth and inflation”. If only this were true. Unfortunately it’s not. Prop 1A limits future spending to historic revenues and economic growth. This means that there really is no spending limit, because all the legislature need do to continue their runaway spending is continue to increase revenue, i.e. increase taxes. That’s a big difference from limiting spending to population growth and inflation. One would think that a columnist for a major newspaper would be able to get this simple fact right. Granted, the actual text of the proposition is so convoluted as to be almost incomprehensible, but all Hiltzik had to do was read the analysis written by the state’s independent legislative analyst which appears here, just like I did. But perhaps that was just too much trouble.

Or perhaps Hiltzik simply likes tax increases so much that he’s intentionally misleading his readers. What other explanation could there be when he calls the largest state tax increase in the history of the United States, “modest tax increases”. Or when he suggests that California’s budget woes come not from legislative over spending but rather from the 2/3 supermajority requirement for budget bills, which is pretty much the only thing standing in the way of even greater state fiscal irresponsibility. In fact, Hiltzik goes so far as to claim that eliminating this 2/3 supermajority requirement will somehow magically solve all our budget problems. Of course that’s only true if you believe we can simply tax our way out of this mess and “a tiny cadre of legislators”, as Hiltzik calls them, are standing in the way. But anyone with even a basic knowledge of economics knows this to be a fallacy. Ever increasing spending coupled with ever increasing taxes to pay for it, drives away the tax base, reduces revenue in the long run and eventually destroys an economy. Not to mention, it’s inherently unfair. But again, Hiltzik disagrees since he believes “there’s nothing inherently wrong with tobacco taxes or surcharges on the wealthy”. With an attitude such as this, it’s no wonder Hiltzik didn’t bother to do his homework.

But, Michael Hiltzik’s most egregious error is that he fails to mention anywhere in his analysis of the propositions that if 1A passes, the massive tax increase recently passed by the legislature will be extended an additional one to two years. That translates into an additional $16 billion in taxes levied on the people of California. But apparently, Michael Hiltzik didn’t think this fact important enough to make anything more than an obscure tangential reference buried deep in his text. Nor did he, in a column about the propositions being “shams and frauds”, mention that 1A’s official title and summary, written by our illustrious elected officials, as well as the TV and radio ads promoting its passage, also fail to mention this important fact. And that’s the biggest sham and fraud of all.

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

What Should I Ask the President?

Just got word from the White House that The Freedom Minute will be attending the Obama townhall meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday. I’m hoping to get a chance to ask a question, but either way, you can be sure I’ll be posting about my experiences and candid impressions. Stay tuned…

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

Jury Duty – Part 1

I had meant to get this post up last week, but many other projects got in the way.

Two weeks ago I had jury duty and I thought I’d share some of my perspective on this experience. This was the first time I’ve ever been called to serve, and to tell the truth, I was kind of looking forward to it. That may seem strange, but I’ve always been intrigued by the workings of our legal system and almost chose to attend law school. I also think that serving on a jury is one of the responsibilities we have as citizens. It’s one of the few instances where the government cedes back to the people the power to make important decisions – sometimes life and death decisions. And the alternative – ceding to the government all power to arrest, try, and convict citizens for alleged breaches of the law – is not a pleasant prospect. I therefore didn’t offer any excuses trying to get out of the obligation.

Continue reading “Jury Duty – Part 1″

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

Tax Revolt 2009

Attended the anti-tax rally in Fullerton Saturday sponsored by KFI-AM’s The John & Ken Show. This is the first time I’ve been to something like this and I have to say I was very impressed. Thousands of people turned out and it was a fun couple of hours. John & Ken were broadcasting live, but the best part was interacting with the people in the crowd. This was certainly not some fringe group of crazy tax protesters. Rather, it was an amazingly diverse group of average citizens, many for whom this was also their first foray into activism of any kind. I saw all ethnicities, young, old, families, people with an agenda, and those who were simply fed up with the lies from those in power. I was heartened to see so many people who were so motivated by their outrage at our political leaders that they would give up their sunny afternoon and brave the crowds and traffic to make their voices heard. I’m not sure anyone is listening yet, but make no mistake, these voices will just grow louder. If you get a chance to attend one of theses, I urge you to do it. It may restore your faith in the idea that individuals, acting together, can make a difference.

I want to also give a special shout out to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association who passed out some 5000 NO on Prop 1A bumper stickers. (See related post) The HJTA is the granddaddy of the California grassroots taxpayer watchdog groups. Visit their site for lots of great information.

Oh, and here’s a couple of pictures I took. Continue reading “Tax Revolt 2009″

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment

Fool Me Once, Twice, Three Times…

Unless you’ve been under a rock these last few weeks, you probably already know that thanks to our Governor and the Republicans in the legislature who all went back on their promise not to raise taxes, Californians will be hit with the largest single state tax increase in the 232 year history of the United States. What you may not know, is that as part of this budget deal, a ballot measure known as Prop. 1A will appear on the ballot in the May 19th statewide election. This measure pretends to be a spending cap, but in actuality will extend the recent tax increases an additional two years. Of course, the politicians who wrote this measure don’t want you to know that, so they omitted this little tidbit from the title and the summary you will see in the voter guide and on the ballot. They’re hoping you’re too stupid or ill-informed to realize. A lawsuit was filed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to force the politicians to change the wording to reflect the true nature of the ballot measure, but a judge ruled that voters don’t need to be told the truth up front as long as the politicians bury the information deep in the text – you know, the part nobody reads.

In addition, the “spending cap” isn’t even a real spending cap, because the way the law was written, the “cap” is tied to prior revenue, so as long as they keep raising taxes, the “cap” will keep increasing. This is the height of hypocrisy, especially for the republicans who almost unanimously voted to put this piece of horse s@#t on the ballot. If they were really against a tax increase, they would never have allowed this ballot measure to be worded in this way. Which just goes to show, that neither party has your best interests at heart.

Don’t be fooled again. And inform everyone you know in California that on May 19th, they should vote NO on 1A. The politicians are well funded with your tax dollars which they will use for TV ads promoting this deceptive ballot measure and certainly Arnold the Liar will be going around the State deceiving the public about it as well. The only chance we have to defeat this is to get the word out ourselves. Email is free, ignorance will cost you dearly.

September 30th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government, Health Care, Libertarian Philosophy | one comment