Archive for the ‘public policy’ Category

Flood protection: If it’s not your business, it’s none of your business

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

From the Daily Camera: The idea [from City of Boulder officials] is that a new set of codes would apply to new construction and substantial remodels of buildings that are designated as "critical facilities." Under the city's definition, those buildings include hospitals, sewage treatment plants, gas ...

Flawed voting system creates Maes & Tancredo conflict

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

Colorado's 2010 gubernatorial race reveals a major flaw in our plurality-based elections: vote splitting. It's well-known that Dan Maes and Tom Tancredo will split the Republican vote. This makes it much easier for Democrat John Hickenlooper to win compared to if one candidate withdrew. In an ...

“Campus gun ban at CU Boulder ignores reality”

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

That's the headline the Denver Post used for my article about the University of Colorado's gun ban, which prohibits concealed-carry permit holders from being armed on campus. It begins: Imagine this news headline: "School shooter apologizes — not for killing — but for violating CU campus gun ban." Preposterous, right? ...

City of Boulder should consider outsourcing, privatizing services

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Background from the Daily Camera: Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam has been working this year to move to a "priority-based" budget, in which the things most important to the community are first in line for funding. My response, published in the Camera: The Boulder City Council should consider saving money ...

End Boulder’s unnatural monopoly in electricity & natural gas service

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Governments should not grant monopolies, but the Boulder City Council would by renewing Xcel's franchise. Xcel would remain "the community’s sole provider for electrical and natural gas service," says the City's website. Xcel should do business without government protection from competition.  Competitors should be free to ...

CU campus concealed-carry & right to self-defense

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Banning seat belts in cars would be immoral. Banning guns deserves equal condemnation.  Self-defense is a fundamental human right - not granted by governments, but recognized by just law. Gun bans deny peaceful people an effective means of self-defense against violent criminals, who ignore gun bans. ...

Minimum wage destroys jobs, harms poor and minorities

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

From the Center for Freedom and Prosperity: Also check out the chapter on minimum wage laws in Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. (via Reason.tv)

Governments are poor stewards of forests

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

From New Scientist: In the first study of its kind, Chhatre and Arun Agrawal of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor compared forest ownership with data on carbon sequestration, which is estimated from the size and number of trees in a forest. Hectare-for-hectare, they found that tropical forest ...

Businesses want to be regulated

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

Many people think that businesses to not like "regulations," that is government mandates and prohibitions on how they can operate.  Economist Bruce Yandle provides many counter-examples. For the curious: In 1802, Why did the owners of newly built water-powered textile plants that support child labor laws in England? Why ...

Arizona immigration law: enforcing unjust laws are unjust

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

U.S. immigration policies are unjust, and Arizona's attempt to enforce these policies perpetuates the injustice.  Immigration restrictions prevent peaceful and ambitious individuals and families from seeking a better life. Restrictions violate the rights of employers to hire who they please, whether they are from Colorado, India, ...