This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Digital Trade Version)

Why is the US Trade Representative opening the door to other countries slapping tariffs on e‑commerce that benefits American workers, American businesses, and American consumers?

https://www.cato.org/blog/why-we-cant-have-nice-things-digital-trade-version

How Rich People Create Poverty

The real gains come from people moving to where their labor is more valuable — and that’s in high-income countries like the United States. The problem is, we rich Westerners won’t let them come. We consign them to lives of low productivity and the attendant poverty by building walls and saying, “No foreigners allowed.” The kicker? We impoverish ourselves in the process. We impoverish ourselves by keeping markets from working and, therefore, keeping others poor.

https://www.aier.org/article/how-rich-people-create-poverty/

Why Is Panera Exempted From California’s New Minimum Wage Law?

Probably because Greg Flynn, who operates 24 of the bakery cafes in California, is a longtime friend of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The deeper lesson is that giving the government more power to set wages (or regulate other aspects of the economy) creates the conditions for exactly this sort of thing to happen…

And the more the government does that, the more opportunities there will be for officials to reward their friends and punish their enemies.

https://reason.com/2024/02/28/why-is-panera-exempted-from-californias-new-minimum-wage-law/

Friedrich Hayek’s Legacy for the 2024 Election

Government failures are worse than any perceived market failures. 

Taking a cue from Hayek, we should strive for more free trade agreements, especially with our allies, which means an end to all tariffs and other barriers. We should also enact market-based immigration policies that balance national security concerns with the economic advantages of attracting talent from diverse backgrounds. 

Inflation Hit Some States Harder

Inflation wiped out economic growth in most states last year. Adjusting for inflation, only five states had positive personal income growth last year: North Dakota, Delaware, South Dakota, Montana, and Alaska. Rhode Island, Oregon, DC, Mississippi, and New Hampshire all saw real personal incomes drop by more than eight percent.

State policy has a lot to do with why some states saw more inflation than others. Local land-use regulations that restrict home-building drive up the cost of housing, the largest part of the consumer price index. New Hampshire’s eye-popping inflation rate was driven by housing costs, which also rose at the nation’s fastest pace.

https://www.aier.org/article/inflation-hit-some-states-harder/

California Would Have Low-Cost Housing If Government Allowed It: The Mortenson Experiment

Inexpensive housing would be built in California if government allowed it. Instead, streets teem with 151,000 homeless people, a human and moral tragedy caused, in part, by government barriers to housing development in California.

Adam Smith Discovers the Laffer Curve

High taxes, sometimes by diminishing the consumption of the taxed commodities, and sometimes by encouraging smuggling, frequently afford a smaller revenue to government than what might be drawn from more moderate taxes.

Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations

Would certifying Issue 2 destroy Ohio values?

Would certifying Issue 2 destroy Ohio values?  No, it would not.  In fact, one could conclude that with the passage of issue 2, Ohio would return to core American values of personal freedom and responsibility.

Building on the values of our nation’s founders shouldn’t scare the citizens and families of Ohio.  After all, the values taught within your family are up to you, and not through authoritarianism of your government.  The stigma of marijuana consumptions has changed immensely over the last few decades, and the choice to consume is completely personal.  The harms of marijuana prohibition have had an enormous impact on our society and destroyed families through mass incarceration of Americans, for many times, victimless crimes.

The war on drugs has been incredibly harmful to our community.  Although I suspect it’s called the “war on drugs” to convey the image of a evil drug dealer in a crime movie make no mistake, like any war, it has impacted, and continues to impact co-workers, neighbors, and family members.  It doesn’t sound so fun to support if it’s called “the war on your uncle and cousins.”

In the year 2022 there were 208,192 people arrested for marijuana possession according to the FBI’s crime data explorer.  The real numbers may be even higher, as not all agencies throughout the country report data to the FBI.

Many of us personally know how some of the existing marijuana possession laws can cause a life to spiral and ruin family structures.  Once someone’s record is stained by drug charges, the path to gaining employment and decent housing can become nearly impossible, thus thrusting many into the black market and shadows of our society and economy beginning a horribly viscous cycle.

While I believe that there are many other factors of the drug war, and criminal justice reforms need addressed,  I hope that those who are tasked with serving and protecting their neighbors can focus on harmful and violent crimes in our communities.   I understand that issue 2 is an important step in the right direction, making a simple step forward within the constraints of a ballot initiative.

I encourage everyone to vote yes on Issue 2 on Tuesday November 7th.  Let’s make a move against the recent onslaught against our rights and take a step towards returning to American values.  Let’s take one step towards the American ideals of personal privacy, liberty, and freedom.  Vote yes!

Sincerely,

Joshua A Umbaugh

Chair

Libertarian Party of Montgomery County Ohio

https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/arrest