This column was written while sitting on a tarmac in Philadelphia for three hours waiting for my plane back to Detroit to get de-iced. Top it off with a stomach ache and a project due the next afternoon that was half done, let's just put it this way: I was an unhappy camper. Yet I tried to stay positive, and here is what my inner-nerd came up with.
Paul Ryan's Roadmap 2.0: Anyone who wants smaller government has every right to cheer the demise of the Democratic health care bills, which by and large seek to solve our looming entitlement crisis by expanding entitlements and making health care more expensive. However, the status quo is simply unacceptable. Without some sort of reform, government's share of the health care market will continue to skyrocket. Fortunately, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Ranking Member on the House Budget Committee, recently released the second version of his Roadmap for America's Future, a comprehensive bill which shatters the status quo. Washington's scorekeeper, the Congressional Budget Office, recently estimated that Ryan's plan would cancel out the national debt by 2080 without letting taxes get above 19 percent of GDP. A major part of the plan changes Medicare and Medicaid to a voucher program, which gives individuals and families the power to control their own health care decisions, and purchase a plan in whatever state suits them best. Republican leaders could do themselves a favor by embracing Ryan's plan.
Craig Becker: The Senate failed to confirm Craig Becker, a Democratic nominee for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the entity which resolves disputes between labor unions and employers. Becker is a well-known and extremely smart labor lawyer, but some of his past work raises the question of whether he believes NLRB can institute sweeping changes to labor law without the approval of Congress, such as parts of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Becker's defeat does not bode well for EFCA (nor does newly-minted Senator Scott Brown), a bill which would effectively eliminate the right for workers to have a private vote when they are voting whether or not to unionize at the workplace. An honest discussion should be had about labor law, but passing EFCA with or without Congress' stamp of approval is a truly bad idea when the economy is sagging.
Wolverines as Candidates: The prospect of Michigan alum and current State Representative Justin Amash running for Congress in Michigan's 3rd Congressional District is very exciting. In his first term as a state rep., Amash has proven to be a principled defender of individual liberty, even in the face of a Republican leadership that sometimes takes the easy way out. Amash is running to replace Congressman Vern Ehlers, and if he wins the primary, the seat is all his. Other Wolverines running for public office in
Student Activism: The International Students for Liberty Conference (see story in this issue), held last weekend at American University, made it clear that student activism is in no way confined to the left. Students from all over the world gathered to discuss best practices for organizing on campus, politics, and of course, have fun. Whether you are a black flag-carrying anarchist or a SDS-nostalgic socialist, take advantage of college-oriented political conferences while you can.
Moral of the story: Don't fly US Airways.
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