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https://www.mpp.org/takeaction/actions/ohio-ask-your-lawmakers-to-respect-voters-legalization-law/
Category: Regulation
Posts about government regulation
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
Valuable Mercatus Center Study Surveys Progress and Setbacks in the Struggle Against Exclusionary Zoning
Exclusionary zoning is the most important property rights issue of our time, a stifler of economic growth, and a major obstacle to opportunity for the poor and disadvantaged. While liberals, conservatives and libertarians all have compelling reasons to oppose it, there are also powerful NIMBY factions on both right and left defending it.
Did Drug Decriminalization Cause a ‘Catastrophe’ in Oregon?
Many of the problems the state is experiencing are caused by the continuing impact of prohibition.
It is important to keep in mind that Oregon’s Measure 110 did nothing to address the supply of illegal drugs, which remain just as iffy and potentially deadly as they were before the initiative was approved. Decriminalization was limited to drug users, and it was based on the premise that people should not be arrested merely for consuming forbidden intoxicants. This distinction between drug users and drug suppliers is similar to the policy enacted during Prohibition, when bootleggers were treated as criminals but drinkers were not.
https://reason.com/2023/08/03/did-drug-decriminalization-cause-a-catastrophe-in-oregon/
Anarchy in Central Park
New York politicians got out of the way for once, and something beautiful happened.
Politicians usually want to control more things. My town has been the worst example of that. Progressive politicians add so many rules they make it nearly impossible to do anything new.
Foster-Parent Red Tape Hurts Families and Taxpayers
Foster parents face state regulations that go far beyond preventing abuse and neglect.
Recruitment of foster parents is at an all-time low, partly because people are fed up with this onerous licensing process. Meanwhile, children languish in institutions or on the floors of child welfare office lobbies—the result of low relative placement and a shortage of non-kin foster homes.
https://reason.com/2023/07/23/foster-parent-red-tape-hurts-families-and-taxpayers/
303 Creative Preserves Entrepreneurial Spirit of Private Enterprise
The case was only incidentally about LGBTQ+ issues. This case is not about a Christian who wants to express her beliefs in the way she conducts her business. On the contrary, what is at stake is not whether a government can compel business owners to conduct their business in service to serve the state’s interests.
Where Have All the Workers Gone? Zoning and Its Unintended Consequences.
Zoning laws squeeze out opportunities for lower-income workers to enjoy the same beauty and experiences of living in small-towns like Great Barrington. Instead, they must spend up to 2 hours a day commuting from far-away towns, taking away from their quality of life.
Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Boulder saw rent increases between 27-53 percent between 2017-2023 and have allowed very little housing to be built. In contrast, cities like New Rochelle with more relaxed zoning laws have enjoyed far smaller rent increases in the single digits.
Cash, Crime, Minimum Wage, and Unintended Consequences
Government regulation is often seen as the savior to problems that arise in the market economy, such as giving the poor fewer payment options for consumer goods. However, laws frequently focus on a single issue arising in markets without considering that the underlying cause may be the unintended consequences of other public policies.
https://www.aier.org/article/cash-crime-minimum-wage-and-unintended-consequences/
Issue 1 aims at the heart of Ohioans’ citizen initiative powers. Here’s how we won them
Despite Ohioans’ good judgment, today’s legislative supermajority – already drunk on power – seeks to amass more power by stripping voters of their most potent tool for holding lawmakers accountable.