Daily Archives: 5 August 2012

California, look to Wisconsin

Ha. Leftists would hate everything about this article. They’ll hate it the way they hate economics.

open quoteNow that three California cities have declared bankruptcy, perhaps it’s time to consider the lessons of Wisconsin.

One of the reasons Wisconsin Democrats couldn’t unseat Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the state’s recall election was that his challenger exemplified how Walker’s narrowing of collective bargaining privileges for government workers benefited the state.

As mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett had relied on Walker’s reforms to balance his city’s budget. And Barrett wasn’t alone among Wisconsin officials. Walker comfortably defeated Barrett in large part because in the 11 months that the governor’s reforms were in effect, Wisconsinites got a good glimpse of how they worked, even in Milwaukee, where the savings allowed government to remain solvent and avoid widespread layoffs.close quote (Read more)

Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by Half in Portugal

open quoteDrug warriors often contend that drug use would skyrocket if we were to legalize or decriminalize drugs in the United States. Fortunately, we have a real-world example of the actual effects of ending the violent, expensive War on Drugs and replacing it with a system of treatment for problem users and addicts.

Ten years ago, Portugal decriminalized all drugs. One decade after this unprecedented experiment, drug abuse is down by half:close quote (Read more)

American Letter Mail Company

open quoteThe American Letter Mail Company was started by Lysander Spooner in 1844, competing with the legal monopoly of the United States Post Office (USPO) (now the USPS) in violation of the Private Express Statutes. It succeeded in delivering mail for lower prices, but the U.S. Government challenged Spooner with legal measures, eventually forcing him to cease operations in 1851.close quote (Read more)