A story from the U.K.’s Daily Mail shocked me for two reasons. First, a supermarket has announced that it won’t offer valuable savings on infant formula because it violates European law. Apparently, there are lots of bored bureaucrats in Brussels who…
Daily Analysis
More TSA Stupidity.
The bureaucrats at the TSA must be trying to surpass their colleagues at various motor vehicles departments in the race for bone-headed and inane bureaucracy. Here’s a story from Philadelphia about abusive treatment of a 4-year old kid with leg braces. Even…
Bureaucrats vs. Taxpayers, Part IX.
According to a new article from the Mackinac Center, Michigan has below-average income compared to other states. But even though it is in 37th place for per-capita income, the politicians in the state are currying favor with union bosses by paying the 8th-highest…
Switzerland's Strong Human Rights Laws Should be Emulated, not Persecuted.
In a rational world, Switzerland would be a role model for other nations. It is quite prosperous thanks largely to a modest burden of government. There is remarkable ethnic and religious diversity, but virtually no tension because power is decentralized (sort of what…
Great Moments in Local Government.
Since we’ve been talking about the snow, here’s a story about city that must have no real crime. At least, that’s the only sensible thing to conclude after reading that cops in Harrisonburg, VA, arrested two college kids for the horrific offense of…
Is This One of the Federal Government Responsibilities Listed in the Constitution?
Maybe I have an outdated copy, but I don’t see college football listed in the enumerated powers of the Congress. And it doesn’t seem to be mentioned in any of the amendments. Yet the busybodies in Washington now want to exert their control over how the…
A Victory for the Rule of Law over IRS Bullying.
A Swiss court just threw a wrench in the gears of an IRS effort to impose bad US tax law on an extraterritorial basis, ruling that UBS does not have to hand over data to the American tax authorities. This ruling nullifies an agreement that the Swiss government was…
Replace TSA Incompetence with Market Efficiency.
Arnold Kling and Nick Schulz have a great column in USA Today explaining why we should let private companies be in charge of airline security. As a frequent traveler, I wish this would happen, but governments rarely give up power once they have expanded into a new…
Statism Update from Brussels.
It seems that the European Union’s governing entities, the European Commission and the semi-ceremonial European Parliament, combine the worst features of statism and collectivism from the entire continent. The Euro-crats make lots of noises about subsidiarity…
Sounds Like the School Bureaucrats Need Counseling, not the Student.
This story from San Diego seems like a typical case of bureaucratic over-reaction. A school vice principal decided that a student’s science project may have been a bomb, so he set in motion events leading to a school evacuation. Without knowing further details,…