USD College Republicans

Government-enforced hygiene

A Minnesota lawmaker wants to control kids' hygiene.

Rep. Karen Clark wants to enforce "scent-free schools" because a minority of children are asthmatic or have other respiratory problems. This seems a total overreaction. Instead of urging parents to teach children proper hygiene, Clark thinks that the government needs to regulate hygiene.

Like opponents to the bill, I think that a voluntary program would be good. Or, at most, a short instruction in personal hygiene could be held. This is as far as the government should get into the personal business of citizens.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 12:28PM Mar 11, 2008 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[2]

The government as Robin Hood

Take a gander at my most recent Volante column.

It discusses the problem with social programs from a libertarian perspective.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:11PM Mar 09, 2008 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[0]

The Age of Milton Friedman

From Mankiw's blog- this past century should be called the "Age of Milton Friedman."
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The last quarter century has witnessed remarkable progress of mankind. The world’s per capita inflation-adjusted income rose from $5400 in 1980 to $8500 in 2005.Schooling and life expectancy grew rapidly, while infant mortality and poverty fell just asfast. Compared to 1980, many more countries in the world are democratic today.

The last quarter century also saw wide acceptance of free market policies in both rich and poor countries: from private ownership, to free trade, to responsible budgets, to lower taxes. Three important events mark the beginning of this period. In 1979, Deng Xiao Ping started market reforms in China, which over the quarter century lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. In the same year, Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister in Britain, and initiated her radical reforms and a long period of growth. A year later, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, and also embraced free market policies. All three of these leaders professed inspiration from the work of Milton Friedman. It is natural, then, to refer to the last quarter century as the Age of Milton Friedman.
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This comes from a new paper by Andrei Schleifer of Harvard University

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 10:50AM Feb 21, 2008 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[2]

The UK dislikes smokers; freedom

The UK's leaders obviously have no concept of freedom.

"Smokers could be forced to pay £10 for a permit to buy tobacco if a government health advisory body gets its way."

Their arguments for partially rescinding the freedom to smoke? Ask Professor Le Grand, a former adviser to ex-PM Tony Blair.

1) " He said it was the inconvenience of getting a permit - as much as the cost - that would deter people from persisting with the smoking habit.
"You've got to get a form, a complex form - the government's good at complex forms; you have got to get a photograph.
"It's a little bit of a problem to actually do it, so you have got to make a conscious decision every year to opt in to being a smoker."

2) "He added: "70% of smokers actually want to stop smoking. "So if you just make it that little bit more difficult for them to actually re-start or even to start in the first place, yes I think it will make a big difference."

My rebuttal to 1) The cost and inconvenience of getting a permit may stop people from smoking. However, why impede someone's free choice? Suppose I have a habit of eating a bowl of ice cream each evening after dinner. Should the government impede my freedom to eat unhealthy food? Of course not.

My rebuttal to 2) Suppose I actively want to quit my habit of eating that extra bowl of ice cream. This is my choice. The government has no right- or obligation- to step in and "help" me kick the habit.

Le Grand's bragging that he wants to increase bureaucracy in the UK makes me happy that I don't live there- and that I don't smoke.
Let's hope that this needless red tape and regulation is voted down- for the sake of the freedoms of all citizens of that nation.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 06:07PM Feb 16, 2008 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[2]

Pro/Con HB1086 debate in today's Argus Leader

In today's Argus Leader, USD Dems' Ryan Cwach and myself have a pro/con debate about HB1086, a proposal to ban firearms from college campuses.

You can find my con HERE

You can find Ryan's pro HERE

To be sure, this is an interesting argument. Both sides have valid arguments. I won't write any more here, just read both columns and you'll have an idea.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 10:14AM Jan 19, 2008 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[0]

Europeans dislike new "nanny state" laws

Europe's governments have gone crazy. They've been over-regulating for a while, but this takes the cake.

It seems that their citizens, by and large, hate the new, invasive laws they've created
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While many accepted the new rules as reasonable measures in the name of public health, some bristled at what they called the state's overreach and the creeping end of the European way of life.

"I will not let anyone stop me from smoking at my own business," Ali, owner of the Westend Pinte bar in Berlin, told Germany's mass-market Bild newspaper.

"I've been smoking 40 cigarettes a day since I was 12 -- I can't quit now."

Anne Cicek, manager of the Bier Bar in east Berlin, told the daily Berliner Zeitung that she would defy the rules: "We are not little children who need to be told what we cannot do."

The conservative newspaper Die Welt noted that 19th century revolutionaries in Berlin had waved the banner for, among other civil liberties, the right to smoke wherever they pleased.
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If a Democrat is elected this year, and Democrats control the house, you can expect similar government freedom-grabs.

-Matt Hittle

Posted at 11:38AM Jan 03, 2008 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[0]

Free market think tanks all the rage in Europe

John Fund has an interesting op-ed in the Wall Street journal today.
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It seems that Europe and developing nations are seeing an explosion in the number of free market think tanks.
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"The Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, the American Enterprise Institute and other free-market Washington think tanks are known to many Americans. What isn't generally understood is that there has been an explosion of free-market think tanks around the world that are increasingly challenging the conventional view that government is the solution to society's problems.

Last week the Stockholm Network, an umbrella organization for European free-market think tanks, held its first annual award ceremonies to honor the groups that have been most effective in informing policy makers and the general public about policies like school choice, portable pensions and decentralized approaches to delivering health care. The Wall Street Journal was a co-sponsor, in line with its adherence to an editorial philosophy of "free markets and free people."

In 1997, the Stockholm Network had five members; it now boasts more than 130 affiliated groups, stretching from Iceland to Armenia. In Bulgaria, the Center for Market Economics has played a major role in building support for the country's adoption of a 10% flat-rate income tax, effective Jan. 1. "Watch Bulgaria," says Steve Masty, an economic development specialist based in London. "The intellectual light bulbs that have been switched on there are now having real-world results." "
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This is certainly a large step for freedom. However, Fund makes sure to caution readers:
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"While the Stockholm Network dinner was held in a celebratory mood, several speakers reminded the audience illiberal notions like protectionism are making a comeback in many countries, and that global warming has become a pretext for those advocating draconian limits on economic growth.

Such wrongheaded ideas are also on the march in America. Everyone seems focused on which party will control the White House and Congress after next November's election. But regardless of who wins, real changes in the public-policy landscape are likely to come only if those who hold political power also have won the battle for their ideas. That's why, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on the 2008 election, advocates on both the left and right are also pouring money into think tanks. They are preparing for the day when those ideas can be taken off the shelf and put to the test."
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 02:54AM Dec 10, 2007 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[0]

Freedom prevails in Venezuela!

The Venezuelan people scored one for freedom over the weekend as they defeated President Hugo Chavez's attempt to modify the constitution. The modifications would have allowed Chavez to occupy the office for life.
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"Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight - with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.
Some shed tears. Others began chanting: "And now he's going away!"
Without the overhaul, Chavez will be barred from running again in 2012.
Foes of the reform effort - including Roman Catholic leaders, media freedom groups, human rights groups and prominent business leaders - said it would have granted Chavez unchecked power and imperiled basic rights."
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:34AM Dec 03, 2007 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[0]

More evidence that Russia is going down the tubes...

The Economist reports that Putin is destroying democracy in Russia.
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"Only candidates approved by the Kremlin are allowed to take part. Besides United Russia, which could secure 70% of the vote, these include the toothless Communist Party (which may get 12%) and the Liberal Democratic Party, a clownish far-right party set up in the late 1980s with the help of the KGB.

The results were fixed months ago, when the Kremlin changed the rules. To keep the opposition out of parliament, the Kremlin raised the threshold for seats to 7%, and banned small parties from forming coalitions to meet this requirement. The minimum turnout rule was abolished, as was the option to vote against all candidates. Regional parties and single-mandate seats that let in independent deputies were scrapped. Opposition leaders have been harassed or arrested and their financing blocked. Television has given blanket coverage to United Russia and dished dirt on all opposition."
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Why is all of this happening?
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"Why have a people used to Soviet elections, when they had only one candidate, found the Kremlin's machinations so palatable? One reason is that Russian economic growth, sparked by the privatisations of the 1990s and kept going by the oil-price boom, has brought rising living standards and a new sense of stability. This, as well as his control of television, has made Mr Putin genuinely popular."
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What will this lead to? A new Cold War perhaps?
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 06:46PM Dec 01, 2007 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[0]

FDA and the Nanny State

The Washington Post has an interesting article today on salt consumption (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902080.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter)
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Apparently, someone's putting too much salt in their food.
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"The government has long placed salt in a "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS category, which grandfathers in a huge list of familiar food ingredients. But in an FDA hearing yesterday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) urged the agency to enforce tougher regulations for sodium."
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I'm all for saving lives. However, it's not the government's place to tell consumers what is good and bad for their bodies. Consumers should take the initiative to check food labels. If there's too much salt, DON'T EAT IT.
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I guess the salt industry agrees with me:
"How best to cut sodium in the American diet is greatly debated. CSPI advocates more federal regulation. Industry groups want reductions to be voluntary."
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Why does the CSPI want regulation? Because regulation is its JOB! If you were able to make a decision about your food, like a rational human adult, they'd be out of business. Ignore the interest groups- make your own decisions.
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 08:20AM Nov 30, 2007 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[1]

Venezuelans fight against extreme nationalization

Venezuelans are fighting against their insane dictator's plan to eliminate his own term limits, (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T7H9BO0&show_article=1)
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With America traveling happily down a populist road, the average voter would do well to note the effects of too much nationalization in Venezuela!
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Elias Matta, former Venezuelan lawmaker, says:
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"This is a movement by those of us who oppose a change to this country's way of life, because what (the referendum) aims to do is impose totalitarianism," said former lawmaker Elias Matta. "There can't be a communist Venezuela, and that's why our society is reacting this way."
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Of course, the Man himself denies those claims:
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"Chavez denies that the proposals are a bid to seize unchecked power, saying the constitutional overhaul is necessary to give more of a voice to the people through community-based councils."
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-Matt Hittle

Posted at 07:34AM Nov 30, 2007 by College Republicans in Freedom  |  Comments[0]