Upton flips a switch on CFL bulbs

Three years after he led the charge to require consumers to ditch their comfortable old incandescent lights in favor of those twisty CFL bulbs, Rep. Fred Upton now wants to be the man to help undo that law as the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

That about-face is not unique among lawmakers looking to atone for stances they’ve taken over the past decade as they seek to gain top posts in a decidedly more conservative Republican Congress, but his reversal underscores how intent the GOP is on proving it has broken with past practices.

Capitalism—Minus the Cronies

The revelation that the American taxpayer is now the World’s Banker of Last Resort, as revealed by the new FinReg bill (yet another assault on real, as opposed to crony capitalism), means Americans must face the disturbing reality that our national sovereignty is being completely undermined. And those undermining it have only one over-riding loyalty: a level of naked self-interest beyond anything the world has ever witnessed.

Economics 101-Steve Forbes

“The truth is, there is a moral basis for free markets,” Heritage Foundation trustee Steve Forbes said earlier this month at a Heritage event in Dallas. Free enterprise, he explained, creates wealth through voluntary exchange. This wealth creation, in turn, allows for the great philanthropic enterprises that have improved our lives: higher education, medical research and more. “We have to find our voices and not be on defense” against those who attack free enterprise, he argued.

Flat Tax: An idea whose time has come

There is widespread consensus that the current tax system is a complicated failure that hinders the nation’s growth while allowing the politically well-connected to manipulate the system to get special breaks that are not available to average workers and businesses. This is stimulating a great deal of interest in shifting to a simple and fair flat tax. For instance, President George W. Bush has appointed the President’s Advisory Panel on Tax Reform to recommend options for fundamental tax reform,[1] the Department of the Treasury has produced extensive analysis of the flat tax and other reform options,[2] and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are exploring various ways to reform the tax code.

The Castle Coalition-Citizens Fighting Eminent Domain Abuse

The Castle Coalition is the Institute for Justice’s nationwide grassroots property rights activism project. Founded in 2002, the Castle Coalition teaches home and small business owners how to protect themselves and stand up to the greedy governments and developers who seek to use eminent domain to take private property for their own gain. And thanks to the gracious generosity of our donors, we’re able to do this for free.

With our Eminent Domain Abuse Survival Guide, we provide activists around the country with the tools and strategies necessary to successfully stop the abuse of eminent domain in their towns. We travel the nation to meet with and educate concerned citizens about government-backed land grabs and also host training sessions for affected neighborhoods that are threatened by eminent domain abuse. Through our membership network, we give support to those communities most endangered by the alliance of tax-hungry governments and land-hungry developers.