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Localism

Local Solutions to Common Dilemmas

Do people sometimes forget that we are all individuals with common goals, diverse circumstances, and unique perspectives? In many situations this is the case. The more governments, both local and national, expand in size and scope, the more politics become a game of winning and losing rather than representation of the people, providing individual freedom [...]

Steps Toward Monetary Freedom

We hear much chatter today about laying out the “blueprint for our future” through economics and politics. Many people have the idea that it is government’s responsibility to push forward anything that should change, but all of this is irrelevant if the central issue of economics is ignored: money. Freeing money in this country ranks [...]

Bailing Out Failed Ideas

The recent AIG bonus debacle has angered many people, but usually for the wrong reasons. While the $165 million in bonuses handed out to its high level employees is nothing to support or be proud of, it is disheartening when Congress and President Obama spend this much time going after $165 million and discussing nothing [...]

The Expansion of Presidential Power

Presidential executive orders have become much more commonplace in government today. Historically, presidents generally used these orders to manage and direct federal agencies through laws already passed and arranged by Congress, and clearly not to create, or vaguely interpret, laws for expanding executive control. Presidents since George Washington have used executive orders, or “directives”, although [...]

Subsidies and the Destruction of Small Farms

Since the Great Depression, the federal government has taken an increased stake in the farming industry. The Agricultural Adjustment Act, enacted in 1933, is considered to be the first modern farming bill. The Act provided subsidies to farmers who left some of their fields undeveloped in an effort to reduce the crop surplus and therefore [...]

Think Localization, Not Nationalization

The main arguments against capitalism, that I’ve heard, include that it’s an unfair system primarily about greed and taking advantage of your fellow man. Arguments for government intervention and social planning can sound attractive. “Free” education, “free” health care; as the laundry list of “free” items stack up, it sometimes sounds too good to pass [...]