John's Recommended Articles

"Oil prices hit $75 a barrel last week, while gas has reached a national average of about $2.85 a gallon. The Republican response has been to put on Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi fright wigs and shout about corporate greed and market manipulation. House Speaker Denny Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist fired off a letter to President Bush yesterday demanding the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department investigate "price fixing" and "gouging." Senator Arlen Specter wants to go further and impose stricter "antitrust" laws for oil companies, as well as a "windfall profits" tax. Mr. Hastert also delighted the class warriors in the press corps by lambasting recently retired Exxon CEO Lee Raymond's pay "unconscionable."

There's been unconscionable behavior all right, most of it on Capitol Hill. A decent portion of the latest run-up in gas prices--and the entire cause of recent spot shortages--is the direct result of the energy bill Congress passed last summer.
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In short, the only market manipulation has been by politicians."

The world is getting cleaner, Al Gore notwithstanding: "Since 1970, carbon monoxide emissions in the U.S. are down 55%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Particulate emissions are down nearly 80%, and sulfur dioxide emissions have been reduced by half. Lead emissions have declined more than 98%. All of this has been accomplished despite a doubling of the number of cars on the road and a near-tripling of the number of miles driven"

Tax rates are down, but tax complexity is way up.
"Tax complexity imposes at least four costs on society. First, it creates a large and growing 'tax industry' that draws some of the nation's brightest minds into unproductive activities such as designing corporate tax shelters.
Second, tax complexity impedes efficient decision making. For businesses, complex rules for depreciation, capital gains, and other items interfere with decisions such as capital investment and mergers.
For individuals, tax complexity confuses important life choices such as saving for retirement and making the career jump to self-employment. A recent survey by tax publisher CCH found that two-thirds of taxpayers could not correctly answer basic questions about the tax rules on home sales, retirement savings, and other items.
Third, complexity promotes an invasion of privacy by the government. The IRS needs to hunt for volumes of data to enforce the rules on all of the code's special breaks, such as those for education and housing.
Fourth, complex tax rules exacerbate noncompliance with the law. A recent government report found that the gap between federal taxes owed and taxes paid is about $345 billion annually. The aggressive tax avoidance we saw with Enron and other firms is not surprising given that the corporate tax combines intense complexity with a very high tax rate.
The good news is that reducing tax avoidance, simplifying the tax code, and boosting economic growth go hand in hand."

Global-warming alarmists intimidate dissenting scientists into silence. : "Scientists who dissent from the alarmism have seen their grant funds disappear, their work derided, and themselves libeled as industry stooges, scientific hacks or worse. Consequently, lies about climate change gain credence even when they fly in the face of the science that supposedly is their basis."

heavy government hand isn't necessary for economic development.
"Economic redevelopment is a serious, complex issue, but it isn't always done this way; and Anaheim, just north of Garden Grove, is proving it. Although the community faces similar problems, its city council, led by Republican Mayor Curt Pringle, is taking a more freedom-friendly approach to revitalization: protecting property rights, deregulating land uses, promoting competition, loosening business restrictions and lowering taxes."

The GOP must not become an anti-immigration party.
: "Lawbreakers should not be rewarded with citizenship, but respect for the rule of law need not conflict with two other pillars of conservative philosophy: freedom and economic growth. A rational immigration policy that allows workers to enter and exit this country for temporary employment will make us more secure. Law enforcement will face fewer problems with undocumented workers and will be better able to focus on the true threats to our nation from criminals and terrorists.

Much of the resentment toward immigrant labor is based on the misperception that it is a drain on our economy and resources. However, researchers at the Academy of Sciences for the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform have demonstrated that immigrants add about $10 billion annually in net economic output due to the increased supply of labor and resulting lower prices. Furthermore, a typical newcomer pays $80,000 more in taxes than he takes out in benefits over the course of a lifetime.

From low-wage workers who pick oranges to high-tech workers who lend their engineering expertise to American companies, immigrant labor provides critically important human resources. Eliminating them from the labor force will not result in more Americans filling those jobs. Our nation's unemployment rate is at 4.8%, and 243,000 new jobs were created last month. Without comprehensive reform, we are likely to see Florida orange groves being sold to developers as citrus companies plant new groves south of our border, and U.S. technology companies moving employment centers from Boston and Silicon Valley to Bangladesh and Shanghai."