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A Stitch in Haste

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine … But Haste Makes Waste

A collection of real-world libertarian, individualist and laissez-faire rants on law, economics, politics, culture and other current events
by an average, everyday lawyer & investment banker and part-time pop scholar.


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Entries Tagged as 'Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists'

Another Four Years of This?

November 21st, 2008 · No Comments

I'm having trouble coming up with a non-expletive term for our infamous local megalomaniac:
After being dealt a rare public embarrassment by the City Council, which forced his administration to acknowledge on Monday that he was legally required to send out $400 rebate checks promised to hundreds of thousands of New York homeowners, a defiant Mr. [...]

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Tags: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists · Law · New York City & State · Progressive Taxation · Property Rights · Updates

Renegade NYC Commission Declares More Eyesores "Historic"

November 20th, 2008 · No Comments

You may have noticed the current Sidebar Sidetrack, which links to a survey of ugly buildings.
By sheer coincidence, word has come down that New York City's out-of-control Landmarks Preservation Commission continues to justify its own unjustifiable existence by finding new sharks to jump:
Silver Towers/University Village, three concrete towers designed by I. M. Pei that were [...]

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Tags: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists · Law · New York City & State · Property Rights

From the Archives: Is the eHarmony eLawsuit eFrivolous?

November 20th, 2008 · 1 Comment

While I was not surprised to learn that the online dating site eHarmony would eventually be compelled to cease its policy of not accepting gays as clients, I was surprised to learn that the compulsion would come from New Jersey:
Under terms of the settlement between Eric McKinley, a gay match-seeker from New Jersey, and eHarmony, [...]

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Tags: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists · Freedom of Contract · Gay Rights and Issues · Law · Society, Religion, Culture Wars · Updates

Linkfest: Go Nudge Yourself

November 19th, 2008 · No Comments

To review: There was a flash in the blogospheric pan a few months ago over a controversial book called Nudge, the authors of which (a law professor and an economics professor, both of some renown) insisted that "libertarian paternalism" is not an axiomatic oxymoron. I, along with almost every other libertarian commentator, was skeptical.
Through sheer [...]

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Tags: Freedom of Contract · Kip's Law · Libertarianism · Updates

Mitt Romney Was For Detroit Before He Was Against It

November 19th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Mitt Romney, January 14, 2008:
Michigan is enduring a one-state recession, and the problem has only been exacerbated by poor choices made by some of the leaders in Lansing to raise taxes and take that course instead of cutting spending.

A lot of Washington politicians are aware of the pain, but they haven't done anything about it. [...]

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Tags: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists · Economics & Finance · Politics · Taxation & Fiscal Policy

On the Calls for an Auto Industry Bailout

November 17th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Some hasty stitches regarding calls to use TARP money to bail out the Big Three automakers:

General Motors is not "the U.S. auto industry." The Big Three are not "the U.S. auto industry." There are many different metrics (vehicle production, revenue, employment, etc.) but a good benchmark is that the Big Three represent only about one-half [...]

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Tags: Economics & Finance · Rent-Seeking · Taxation & Fiscal Policy

HIV and the Fallacy of "Legislating Discovery"

October 30th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Scientific American recently published a collection of "special report" articles on the general topic of "HIV — 25 Years Later." From the Editor's Introduction:
In 1983 and 1984 scientists established that HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) causes AIDS, which had recently begun cropping up in gay men in California and New York. The discovery quickly led [...]

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Tags: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists · Gay Rights and Issues · Taxation & Fiscal Policy

Size is In the Eye of the Bureaucrat

October 25th, 2008 · 1 Comment

What constitutes a "small business"?
Apparently, Dell Computer. And Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and other S&P 500 companies, at least according to the federal government:
SBA acting Administrator Sandy Baruah estimated that federal agencies overstated their progress by $5 billion to $10 billion last year by improperly claiming that small firms received work that actually went to [...]

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Tags: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists · Taxation & Fiscal Policy

Kip's Law Sighting: Are We at "Socialism" Yet?

October 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

Barney Frank calls for making Wall Street bonuses illegal:
"There should be a moratorium on bonuses," Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told reporters yesterday in Washington. "They have a negative incentive effect because they are the ones that say if you take a risk and it pays off you get a big bonus," and if it causes [...]

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Tags: Capitalism · Freedom of Contract · Kip's Law · Politics

Some Hasty Stitches on the ("New and Improved") Bailout

October 14th, 2008 · No Comments

Without prologue:
–Today's Treasury press release insists that the direct preferred equity stakes are "a voluntary capital purchase program." That's quite the reversal from 24 hours ago, when Paulson insisted that the stakes were, um, "not voluntary." Apparently the investments are being underwritten by the Bank of Orwell.
–Regarding those preferred stock shares, the President insists:
And the [...]

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Tags: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists · Economics & Finance