Big Brother Is Here to Help: California Rolls Out More Stupid Laws in July

Posted on Sunday, July 3, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

On July 1st, California launched a number of laws designed to protect Californians from…well…themselves. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, California, Education, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Humor, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Jerry Brown’s Shakedown: Californians to Pay More, Get Less

Posted on Saturday, July 2, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Last week, Jerry Brown signed a law earlier this week that will force Californians to pay even more taxes than they already are. The law will require online retailers like Amazon.com to collect sales tax on all purchases made by California residents.

As a result, Amazon cancelled contracts with 10,000 California-based Amazon Affiliates’ participants.

As fate would have it, I am among those 10,000. Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Business, California, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Raise My Taxes, but First…

Posted on Saturday, July 2, 2011 by Chris Ladd

Right from the beginning, I’ll be clear how I feel about the debt ceiling negotiations.  I’m ready to write a check to help fix America’s financial problems.  That’s right, I’ll do it, but…

Some of my more zealously Republican readers might be tempted to stop right there, and go spray Bactine in their now-contaminated eyes- but I mean it, and I bet I have company.

However, there are conditions. Continue reading →

Posted in Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cyber War: Why “Click and Kill” Is the Next Threat to Modern Civilization

Posted on Friday, July 1, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

©2011 Reflections of a Rational Republican

Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do about It is Richard A. Clarke’s and Robert A. Knake’s all-encompassing tome on current and future cyber security threats. The authors wrote the book in a clear and concise manner so that anyone can quickly see how vulnerable modern society is to this emerging threat. This book is a must read for laymen, technologists, and national security practitioners.   Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Business, China, Defense, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, International Security, Mathematics, Media, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Science, Smart grid, Technology, Terrorism, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Romneycare: Pros and Cons

Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

The Economist published an interesting article recently that laid out the pros and cons of Mitt Romney’s healthcare reform package in Massachusetts.

Here is my brief summary of them: Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Healthcare, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

President Obama Releases Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Why?

Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Last week, President Obama ordered the release of 30 million barrels of crude oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in concert with a broader International Energy Agency (IEA) effort to release 60 million barrels. This action was only the third time a President has ordered a release in American history. The first release was during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, and the second followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Therefore, the country is not facing a major threat or natural disaster, nor are oil prices increasing substantially. They have only increased 2.3% since the beginning of the year.

So why did the President decide to release oil from the SPR now?

There are three potential reasons: Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Central Asia, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Defense, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, International Security, Middle East, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Predictions | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part VII): Lessons Learned

Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In the last six installments of this series, Egalitarius’ management encouraged its workers to unionize, and then instituted several aggressive cost-cutting measures to offset the cost of more expensive unionized labor.

In another scenario, Egalitarius’ unionized workforce went on strike. In the last two scenarios, Meritocratus’ management moved its production facilities offshore, and both companies struggled through a crippling recession.

Throughout these examples, Egalitarius’ concern for society’s well-being resulted in its bankruptcy, while Meritocratus’ ruthless pursuit of the bottom line left a trail of human wreckage in its wake.

Both companies represent caricatures of the left’s and right’s idealized worldviews carried to their natural and extreme conclusions.

What then, can we learn from this cautionary tale?

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Investing, Mathematics, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Rick Perry and Texas’ Real Economic Advantage

Posted on Monday, June 27, 2011 by Chris Ladd

As Governor Rick Perry positions for his big run, it’s worth examining the accomplishments he can and can’t take credit for.  The importance of this exercise stretches beyond his campaign.  You can expect that other states might try to duplicate Texas’ relative success in weathering the economic crisis.  It’s important that they replicate what works rather than merely believing the propaganda.

First, how well has Texas done?  Meh. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

An Open Letter to Aspiring Presidential Candidates: Seven Questions

Posted on Monday, June 27, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Source: Gallup, Various Political Campaign Websites

Yesterday, I invited all of the current declared Presidential nominees to my site for a 10-question interview on all elements of their policies ranging from healthcare to international security. I suggested that I would post a series of 7 questions on this site this week and send each candidate three tailored questions if he or she accepted my invitation.

Without further ado, below are my seven questions:

Questions

1. What do you see as the top three most important national security challenges for the United States, today?

2. What is your plan to grow the United States economy and reduce unemployment?

3. How do you intend to reduce the budget deficit and federal debt?

4. What do you see as the federal government’s role in education policy, if any?

5. What is the role of government?

6. Do you see climate change as a major threat to humanity? If so, why? If not, why not?

7. It is 2015, and the Chinese navy sinks a Vietnamese patrol craft in the South China Sea. Immediately following the incident, the Chinese declare the roughly 425,000 kilometers of sea surrounding the Spratly Islands to be a Chinese Maritime Exclusion Zone. The Chinese navy further declares that it will sink any ships transiting this area without explicit Chinese authorization. How would you react to this situation?

Posted in Business, China, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Crime, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Investing, Media, Middle East, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Social Security, Special Guests, Taxes, Terrorism, Unions, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

An Open Letter to Aspiring Presidential Candidates

Posted on Sunday, June 26, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Source: Gallup, Various Political Campaign Websites

As competition for the Republican Presidential nomination heats up, I wanted to invite all of the current declared Presidential nominees to my site for a 10-question interview on all elements of their policies ranging from healthcare to international security.

Format

Should a candidate accept my invitation, I will post a series of 7 questions on this site later this week. The candidate can send me his or her answers to those seven questions and I will post them on my site in a Q&A format. I will also send the candidate three questions tailored to that specific candidate. Governor Mitt Romney, for instance, should expect at least one question on healthcare, while Representative Bachmann should prepare for a question about the Tea Party.

President Obama is also invited to this site to answer the same questions should he have the time or inclination.

Posted in Business, China, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Crime, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Investing, Media, Middle East, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Social Security, Special Guests, Taxes, Terrorism, Unions, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments