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• Windfall-Profits Tax Falls Short in Senate
  fee.org > resources > windfall-profits-tax-falls-short-in-senate
  FEE.org Web Bot | Wednesday, June 11, 2008
  “Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a proposal to tax the windfall profits of the nation's biggest oil companies and eliminate some of the firms' tax breaks, rejecting Democratic claims that the measure would help assuage consumer anger over $4-a-gallon gasoline…. The 51-43 Senate vote fell nine short of the 60 required to proceed to debate on the Democrat-sponsored energy measure, which would have erased $17 billion in tax breaks for oil companies over 10 years. It also would have created a levy on 'unreasonable' profits collected by the five largest U.S. oil companies.” (Chicago Tribune, Wednesday)
  
  Giving politicians money is no way to increase the supply of gasoline.
  
  FEE Timely Classic
  “Hands Off Windfall Profits” by Sheldon Richman
• President Can Offer No Immediate Help on Gas Prices
  fee.org > resources > president-can-offer-no-immediate-help-on-gas-prices
  FEE.org Web Bot | Monday, June 9, 2008

  “Before departing the White House early Monday for a farewell tour of Europe, President Bush stole a page from his predecessor and suggested he feels American consumers' pain. 'A lot of Americans are concerned about our economy,' Bush said. 'I can understand why. Gasoline prices are high, energy prices are high. I do remind them that we have put a stimulus package forward that is expected to help boost the economy. And of course, we'll be monitoring the situation.' ” (CNN, Monday)

  When he says “monitoring”, he means “meddling”.

  FEE Timely Classic

  An Unstimulating Idea, by Sheldon Richman

• Problems Making Bread in Cairo
  fee.org > resources > problems-making-bread-in-cairo
  FEE.org Web Bot | Friday, June 6, 2008

  “. . . Egyptians are living through the worst food crisis in a generation, caught in a storm of stagnant wages, rising global food prices, rampant corruption, and a quickly advancing inflation rate that hit 16.4 percent in May. The price of basic commodities like bread, wheat, rice, and cooking oil has doubled since this time last year–prompting bread riots. . . . While [Egyptian President] Mubarak pushed for changes abroad, his government struggles to meet the basic needs of Egyptians.” (Christian Science Monitor, Friday)

  Who would've thought–a government not making things better for its people!

  FEE Timely Classic

  “Reducing Poverty through Economic Freedom” by Kimani S. Njoroge

• Big Brother Is Watching as He's Never Watched Before
  fee.org > resources > big-brother-is-watching-as-heaposs-never-watched-before
  FEE.org Web Bot | Wednesday, May 21, 2008
  The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently installed millimeter-wave scanners at checkpoints in Los Angeles International Airport and New York's JFK. It already uses the technology at Sky Harbor in Phoenix, and it's threatening to add more machines not only at those terminals but in others, too. Millimeter waves bombard passengers with beams that penetrate clothing to show the body beneath. Victims don't undress: the rays do it for them. More . . .
  
  

  A NEW article by Becky Akers

  
  

• Efficacy of Homeland Surveillance Questioned
  fee.org > resources > efficacy-of-homeland-surveillance-questioned
  FEE.org Web Bot | Monday, May 12, 2008
  “The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court — one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing — has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously. The trends, visible in new government data and a private analysis of Justice Department records, are worrisome to civil liberties groups and some legal scholars. They say it is further evidence that the government has compromised the privacy rights of ordinary citizens without much to show for it.” (Los Angeles Times, Monday)
  
  Crises bring leviathan.
  
  FEE Timely Classic
  “Who's Calling?” by Becky Akers
• New York Control Panel Angers Renters
  fee.org > resources > new-york-control-panel-angers-renters
  FEE.org Web Bot | Tuesday, May 6, 2008
  “The Rent Guidelines Board gave preliminary approval Monday night to a sharp rent hike for the city's 1 million stabilized tenants — raising one-year leases by up to 7%…. That provoked outraged cries from dozens of spectators at the Cooper Union auditorium who said people on fixed incomes had no way to pay for such an increase and stay in their homes.” (Daily News, Tuesday)
  
  Yes, New York still has rent control.
  
  FEE Timely Classic
  “Roofs or Ceilings? The Current Housing Problem” by Milton Friedman and George J. Stigler
• The Goal Is Freedom: Government Schools and the Housing Mess
  fee.org > resources > the-goal-is-freedom-government-schools-and-the-housing-mess
  Sheldon Richman | Friday, May 2, 2008
  The Law of Unintended Consequences is a fascinating thing. You can never be entirely sure what the second-, third-, etc. -order effects of any action will be. This is especially so with government policy because centralized decision-making can do so much damage to so many people. That ought to humble the politicians and bureaucrats, but it never does. Take the possible connection between the “public schools” and the current housing and mortgage woes. More . . .
  
  

  A NEW article by Sheldon Richman

  
  

• Economic Nationalism Rears Its Head
  fee.org > resources > economic-nationalism-rears-its-head
  FEE.org Web Bot | Monday, April 28, 2008
  “The global economy appears to be entering an epoch in which governments are reasserting their role in the lives of individuals and businesses. Once again, barriers are rising. Call it the new nationalism.” (Wall Street Journal, Monday)
  
  Just what we don't need.
  
  FEE Timely Classic
  “Economic Nationalism, Enemy of the People” by Sheldon Richman
• “Foreclosure” Bill Loaded with Business Goodies
  fee.org > resources > foreclosure-bill-loaded-with-business-goodies
  FEE.org Web Bot | Wednesday, April 16, 2008
  “The Senate proclaimed a fierce bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help American homeowners in danger of foreclosure. But while a bill that senators approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal, it would also provide billions of dollars in tax breaks — for automakers, airlines, alternative energy producers and other struggling industries, as well as home builders. The tax provisions of the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which consumer groups and labor leaders say amount to government handouts to big business, show how the credit crisis, while rattling the housing and financial markets, has created beneficiaries in the power corridors of Washington. It also shows how legislation with a populist imperative offers a chance for lobbyists to press their clients interests.” (New York Times, Wednesday)
  
  Washington will be Washington.
  
  FEE Timely Classic
  “The Rent-Seeking Habit” by Sheldon Richman
• Feds Insist on State Compliance with Driver's License Rules
  fee.org > resources > feds-insist-on-state-compliance-with-driveraposs-license-rules
  FEE.org Web Bot | Monday, March 24, 2008
  “Millions of residents of three states will soon face tougher and longer screening at airport checkpoints if their governors defy a federal law requiring new, more-secure driver's licenses. Maine, New Hampshire and South Carolina have until March 31 to say whether they plan to comply with the law, which they say is costly and will inconvenience residents by forcing them to get new licenses. If the states don't comply, the Homeland Security Department will bar travelers from using those state's licenses and ID cards to board airplanes starting May 11.” (USA Today, Monday)
  
  All power to Washington.
  
  FEE Timely Classic
  “Putting Security Back on Track” by Becky Akers