What Is “Middle Class”?
This week’s Rolling Stone has an article on the “sharp, sudden decline of America’s middle class.” The only problem is that few if any of the people discussed in the article are in the middle class; instead, they are working class. As the Antiplanner has noted elsewhere, Americans often pretend to ignore the line between […]
More Evidence That Portland Is Nuts
TriMet, Portland’s transit agency, has made the largest cuts in its history, including reductions in bus service, fare increases, and elimination of free rail rides in downtown Portland (the free bus rides were eliminated last year). Meanwhile, it is using nearly $10 million of money supposedly dedicated to the Milwaukie light-rail line to remodel its […]
New “how to” paper on proposing constitutional amendments by convention
The Independence Institute has published my new Issue Paper, Amending the Constitution by Convention: Practical Guidance for Citizens and Policymakers. It explains the basic rules and makes recommendations for those seeking constitutional reform in a way that avoids congressional obstruction. This work is an updated version of my earlier version, published last year by Arizona’s […]
If ObamaCare survives the Supreme Court, legal battle has just begun
Under the guise of implementing the law, the IRS has announced it will impose a tax of up to $3,000 per worker on employers whom Congress has not authorized a tax. … If the IRS doesn’t impose that unauthorized tax, the whole law could collapse. Continue reading
Clinically Dead
California’s high-speed rail project seems to be dead. At least, that’s the conclusion of a Washington DC writer commenting on a report that Governor Brown has given up on the idea of exempting high-speed rail from environmental reviews. Without that exemption, the writer thinks, the state will never be able to build the line. However, […]
High Rate of Colorado Pleas Undermines Right to Trial by Jury
by Ari Armstrong Californian Brian Banks wanted to pursue a professional football career. Instead he spent six years in prison for a crime he did not commit. After he was accused of rape and kidnapping in 2002, reports ABC News, “his attorneys encouraged him to plead no contest instead of going to trial before a […]
Cancer Risk From Fracking Chemicals Needs Some Perspective
By Donovan Schafer The Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) at the University of Colorado recently published an article in Science of the Total Environment presenting results from a study on air pollution due to oil and gas development (including hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”) in Garfield County. Benzene and other ”potentially toxic” chemicals were found […]
Life after Supreme Court Health Care Ruling
The New York Times asks: “What would the future hold if the Supreme Court strikes down the most controversial part of the health care law, the individual mandate?” The Times published responses from two free-market health care advocates: Michael Cannon (Cato) & Grace-Marie Turner (Galen). Continue reading
Back in the Air Again
Tonight, the Antiplanner will speak in Camarillo, California (some 40 miles west of Burbank) about smart growth and high-speed rail. If you are in Ventura County, I hope to see you there. This short trip will be a relief after a rather grueling schedule last week (which included a trip to New York City on […]
Thank goodness for the First Amendment
We just returned from Britain, where there is chilling discussion about imposing more regulation on the press. The occasion is a probe into reporters’ news practices and relationships between particular politicians and the media. The entire series of events demonstrates why our First Amendment guarantee of press freedom is so important. The probe resulted from […]
OSHA Targets Shooting Range
Originally published on Volokh.com The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a citation, along with a proposed fine of $111,000 fine (OSHA press release here), against Illinois Gun Works–a gun store and gunsmith business which has a shooting range and teaches safety classes. HT Instapundit and David Codrea. In a November 2009 article for […]
“Environmental Justice” Is Neither
When Congress created the New Starts fund for new rail transit projects in 1991, it required that the grants be awarded to projects that were “cost effective.” This same requirement was applied to the small starts fund, for transit projects costing less than $250 million, which Congress created in 2003. The Obama administration, however, is […]
