By Andy Blom, TES Washington Editor
July 4 may be past, but it’s always a good time to celebrate Freedom and Liberty. Fortunately Free Market people are always working to help secure these precious possessions with better perspective and policy options. So for Liberty, here’s this week’s news …
- Freeing Us from the Government — 727 Waived Regulations. The pandemic is not all bad news. The Trump Administration and state and local governments have been waiving regulations like mad in the effort to fight the Coronavirus and bolster the economy. Many of the regs weren’t necessary in the first place, but if the Wuhan Flu is killing off excessive Government there is at least one thing to be thankful for. See the list at https://www.atr.org/rules.
- Freeing People from Prison…and Addiction. In an overdue effort to enact prison reform and deal sanely with the opioid crisis, the Ohio Senate has introduced SB 3, a drug sentencing reform law that makes sense. Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform explains and endorses the law for treating the problem economically, efficiently and humanely. Interesting that Republican led states like Utah, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Louisiana, have been leading on criminal justice reform, enacting sentencing reforms and changes aimed at diverting people suffering from addiction toward treatment, rather than simply punishment.
- Florida Frees Workers from Occupational Licensing Regs. Three straight pieces of good news! The state of Florida has passed legislation dramatically loosening the restrictions on occupational licensing. The bill allows reciprocal licensing from different states, helping many people who might be making the move to Florida and of special benefit to military spouses seeking to continue working when their family is reassigned. It also reduces educational requirements in some areas and eliminates licensing requirements for others entirely. A win-win for everyone from barbers to accountants, cosmetologists to boxing announcers. See more here.
- Environmental Activists Push Cap and Trade — Legislators and Voters Push Back. Green New Deal Advocates take note: people don’t want to pay more for energy. Efforts to push Pennsylvania into the RGGI, a regional cap and trade scheme, have met stiff bipartisan resistance from the Keystone State’s legislators. In New Hampshire Governor Sununu pulled his state from the Transportation Climate Initiative and other states are following suit. Voters in otherwise liberal Washington State have twice rejected well funded carbon tax ballot measures and California’s May auction of emission credits was a disaster, falling hundreds of millions of dollars below previous efforts. Activists who think the current fuel glut and Pandemic travel restrictions make this a good time to raise taxes on energy are seriously misreading the issue. The details are illuminating.
- Know Your Allies: Israel. The Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS) is an independent think tank that takes in-depth looks at the economic and social issues facing the nation of Israel. Get to know them at https://www.jimsisrael.org. And for an interesting perspective on key Middle Eastern issues, visit their blog.
- Better Cities Means Getting Back to Work. Getting Back to Work, a program of The Better Cities Project, offers a policy playbook for how America’s cities can rebound better than ever from the COVID-19 pandemic. A joint effort of Arizona State University’s Center for the Study of Economic Liberty, The Center for the Study of Economic Liberty, The Mercatus Center at George Washington University, The Pacific Legal Foundation and the Reason Foundation, the project provides thoroughly researched, practical recommendations in six crucial policy areas. Take a look at their recommendations. And you can learn more about The Better Cities Project.
- We’ve Regulated Our Way to Income Inequality. Really? Well, maybe so. It seems one of the unintended consequences of our ever increasing Government and ever increasing Government regulation has been to help exacerbate income inequality. Dustin Chambers and Colin O’Reilly of The Mercatus Center make a case for the link between Federal (over)Regulation and state income inequality here. A quick read, it’s an interesting take on a trendy topic.
- Pedal to the Metal…Will Highway Construction Speed the Short Term Recovery? Maybe not. While Federal infrastructure projects (building highways) can pump some money into the economy, improve our transportation system (and hence our lives) and create employment, none of that necessarily happens in the short term…the right now boost the economy is needing. Richard Krol of The Mercatus Center looks at the pros, and cons, of infrastructure investment spending in the COVID era here.
- Saving Our (Private) Schools. The recent Supreme Court decision in Espinoza-v-Montana-Dept-of-Revenue has added impact in this time of Coronavirus economic hardship. With lockdowns and forced closures, private and religious schools are facing possibly terminal hardships. To keep this vital part of American education viable, over 200 organizations have signed a letter to the Congressional leaders of both parties asking for help in the next Federal Covid stimulus effort. Their specific, and reasonable, requests deserve consideration…for our children’s sake.
- A Final, Fiery Love Note To Liberty… People in my neighborhood have been shooting off fireworks for seven straight days now. It seems we don’t need the Government (state, local or federal) to organize our celebration of freedom. God bless America.
Events
- LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF FUNDRAISING, Mon. – Fri, July 20-24, Munich Germany. Info at LeadershipInstitute.org/ISF.
- HERITAGE FOUNDATION offers a selection of Virtual Programming on a variety of topics, always with interesting and highly credible presenters. Check here for a complete listing.
Andresen Blom is a Washington based policy and political analyst and author who has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, and Politico.
