Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (21050)	7/29/2012 10:44:29 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 85487

Obama’s Right—in a Perverse Way—about Government Playing an Important Role for Small Businesses Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell President Obama recently got himself in hot water with his “you didn’t build that” remark, which trivialized the hard work of entrepreneurs. But he is right—in a perverse way—about government playing a big role in the life of small businesses. Thanks to a maze of regulations, the government is an unwelcome silent partner for every entrepreneur. And we’re not talking small numbers. Americans spend 8.8 billion hours every year filling out government forms. The economy-wide cost of regulation is now $1.75 trillion. For every bureaucrat at a regulatory agency, one study estimated that 100 jobs are destroyed in the economy’s productive sector. But sometimes an image helps to make things easy to understand. Here’s a chart from the Joint Economic Committee, which maps out the web of regulation imposed by Washington: This chart does more than just show sources of red tape coming from Washington. It shows that “Washington” is really several entities, such as Congress, the executive branch, the courts, and so-called independent regulatory agencies. These entities then impose regulatory burdens in various fields, such as labor, finance, tax, and environment. Keep in mind, by the way, that each small pink circle actually represents an entire field of regulation. So when you see, for instance, the “Obamacare” circle (below), what you’re really seeing is the nightmarish image of regulatory complexity. And don’t forget the role of state and local government. Last but not least, remember that each regulatory bureaucracy is capable of making individual decisions that … well, you judge for yourself: puts a store out of business for selling toy guns. adopts regulations that make it difficult for trucking firms to weed out drunk drivers. implements a year-long sting operation by the federal milk police. harasses coffee shops with bikini-clad sales staff. requires expensive safety harnesses for people working 11 feet off the ground. imposes rules for employees with “shy bladder syndrome.” elevates foreign tax law above U.S. tax law. Gee, it’s almost enough to make you think regulation might be the problem and not the solution. cato-at-liberty.org

To: longnshort who wrote (21050)	8/8/2012 7:31:36 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 85487

Malware: How Government Destroys Wealth Posted July 18, 2012 From the air, there is no indication that the state of California is in financial trouble. Flying into Los Angeles one sees the city’s immense wealth: hundreds of factories, warehouses, and stores; highways and bridges; tens of thousands of houses; countless cars and trucks. What cannot be seen from the air is the value that has been torn from all of this capital stock in recent years. Untold wealth is lost every day as the state government systematically abolishes property rights. Regulations, environmental restrictions, zoning laws, sales taxes, income taxes, property taxes combine to reduce the value of people’s land, homes, and businesses. Place enough taxes and restrictions on any asset and it becomes a liability, costing the owner more than it is worth. Move that same asset to a place where property rights are protected and the asset instantly regains its value. So, capital flees the state. Money, resources, and people are packing up and heading to those states that still respect property rights. There is nothing wrong with California’s assets–its “hardware.” It’s the software that’s broken. The rules governing the hardware are destroying its value. Under current rules, government officials regularly deny owners the right to use their property as they wish or they confiscate their property outright. Under such rules, the hardware becomes worth less and with time, worthless. Change the rules, restore property rights, and the value is restored; the hardware begins generating wealth once more. Continue the same confiscatory rules, however, and eventually the damage will become apparent even from the air. The capital stock that still retains the potential to create great wealth and lift millions out of poverty will decay, as it has in New York City where rent controls have laid waste to entire city blocks; in Buffalo, where government malware has been running and ruining the hardware for decades, and in the city of Detroit where high taxes, poor services, and little protection from criminals have driven residents away in the tens of thousands. The buildings in the pictures linked to this article were not destroyed by war. They were not destroyed by earthquakes or fire. They were destroyed by powerful and voracious governments. Look at them and mourn the ruined lives and wasted resources that each building, each dwelling, represents. Mourn as California, that once golden state, stumbles toward the same wretched, unnecessary end. thefreemanonline.org