statism

Dentists vs. Smiles

"Everyone wants an attractive smile, which is why teeth whitening is a rapidly growing industry. But thanks to lobbying by licensed dentists, Alabama—like a growing number of states—has made it a crime to sell teeth-whitening products, even if customers apply those products to their own teeth. Alabama is not the only state to shut down non-dentist teeth whiteners. In 2011, the Connecticut State Dental Commission outlawed the practice. In fact, at least 30 states have tried to shut down teeth-whitening entrepreneurs either through new statutes and regulations or through new interpretations of existing statutes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDentists vs. Smiles

The Obamacare Problem Isn’t Messaging, It’s Statism

"The Obama administration and its health-law allies are gearing up this summer to slice through three years of confusion and opposition to Obamacare. They’ve got their work cut out for them. Obamacare won’t have a shot at success unless millions of people sign up for insurance — the healthy as well as the sick. …Organizing for Action, spun off from Obama’s campaign operation, went up with a seven-figure TV ad buy in June, touting the new benefits and promising to offer 'the truth' about the law. Enroll America, a nonprofit group with ties to the White House, wants to leverage the grass roots across the country and engage big-name celebrities for the cause." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Obamacare Problem Isn’t Messaging, It’s Statism

NFL Rejects Obama Administration: We Won’t Promote Obamacare

"NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy emailed the Washington Examiner's Philip Klein to say the NFL had no plans to help promote Obamacare: 'We have responded to the letters we received from members of Congress to inform them we currently have no plans to engage in this area and have had no substantive contact with the administration about PPACA’s implementation.' Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had said this week the Obama administration was looking to partner with professional sports leagues to market Obamacare exchanges this fall to sell the unpopular healthcare law to the public." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNFL Rejects Obama Administration: We Won’t Promote Obamacare

Teens urged to promote ObamaCare to parents under California grant

"The Los Angeles school system reportedly plans to use a state grant to promote ObamaCare, in part by teaching students to become 'messengers' for the law. The Heartland Institute first reported on the grant, one of $37 million in state grants announced in May by Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange. Of that, $990,000 was awarded to The Los Angeles Unified School District. A brief synopsis of the grant says it would be used for 'outreach calls' to families and 'adult-student class presentations.' But it also states as an objective: 'Teens trained to be messengers to family members.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTeens urged to promote ObamaCare to parents under California grant

Confiscation by the Installment Plan

"One plan might be to find locations in less-risky countries that will accept you as a client. Another possibility may be to resort (at least for moderate amounts) to what a very large portion of the population routinely did less than a century ago – keep some money at home. To modern culture, this latter idea seems downright primitive, yet well into the 20th century, this was the norm. In years to come, 2013 may be looked back upon as 'the arrival of modern bank confiscations,' and the majority of those who actually still have wealth in five to ten years may be the ones who foresaw the inevitable, got their money out, and put it in comparatively safer places." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingConfiscation by the Installment Plan

Federal food stamp recruiters operate on monthly quota system

"She curled her hair and painted her nails fluorescent pink. 'A happy, it’s-all-good look,' she said, checking her reflection in the rearview mirror. Then she drove along the Florida coast to sign people up for food stamps. It is Nerios’s job to enroll at least 150 seniors for food stamps each month. The job also has a second and more controversial purpose for cash-strapped Florida, where increasing food-stamp enrollment has become a means of economic growth, bringing almost $6 billion each year into the state. The money helps to sustain communities, grocery stores and food producers. It also adds to rising federal entitlement spending and the U.S. debt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal food stamp recruiters operate on monthly quota system

Feds, truckers clash over new safety rules expected to increase shipping costs

"The federal safety administration counters that nearly 4,000 truck crashes a year is still too many. The new rules, it maintains, will prevent about 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries, and save 19 lives each year, according to its analysis. The rules also come with a cost to the trucking industry. More breaks and time off the road means it will take more drivers—and more trucks to move the same volume of goods. That cost impact won't be felt right away because shipping volumes tend to slacken in the summer months and pick up again in the fall. So don't be surprised if you end up paying a little more for shipping when you do your holiday shopping online this year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds, truckers clash over new safety rules expected to increase shipping costs

New Jersey Just Banned Trash Talking in High School Sports

"Starting this fall, high school students in New Jersey who taunt each other during games will be subject to investigation not only by the state's athletic association, but the state's government. Thanks to collaboration between NJSIAA, the New Jersey Attorney General, and the New Jersey Civil Rights Division, 'discriminatory conduct will also be reported to the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights and may result in further investigation.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Jersey Just Banned Trash Talking in High School Sports

Around the Bay Area, you’re being watched

"It's not just the National Security Agency secretly vacuuming up your personal data. Local police agencies are increasingly adopting Big Data technologies such as automatic license-plate readers that gather information about everyone, whether they've broken the law or not. A lot of the information ends up on the 14th floor of a federal office building in San Francisco, where a 'fusion center' run by state and local law enforcement agencies combines the data with a plethora of personal information about you, from credit reports to car rentals to unlisted phone numbers to gun licenses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAround the Bay Area, you’re being watched

Social Security: Muffling the Warning Bells

"It had to 'cover benefit payments, forcing the agency to tap its $2.7 trillion trust fund sooner than some had expected.' But how did it tap this Trust Fund? By selling assets. What assets? IOUs from the Treasury. Where did the Treasury get the money to pay the S.S.A.? From the general fund. Where did the general fund get this money? By borrowing it. Where will the Treasury get the money to pay this interest? From the general fund. Where will the general fund get it? Borrowing. When the agency says 'shortages of tax revenue,' it refers to FICA tax revenue. But there is also a shortage of tax revenues in the general fund. That is why there is an annual deficit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSocial Security: Muffling the Warning Bells