March 2009

Sound advice does not make sound government

March 31, 2009 | posted by Levi Ellis in

Government is not the nanny of society to tell the populace what is good and bad for them. “Don’t smoke.” “Don’t talk on your phone while driving.” “Exercise and eat right.” All of this is great advice, but there is erosion of personal liberty if legislatures turn this advice into law. If sound advice is the standard for legislation, government will not stop enacting laws until the populace is doing exercises in front of televisions while Big Brother watches and barks commands if one does not bend low enough.

Hoffman: Defending private property rights

March 29, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman in

Leaving Eagle City Hall last week, I heard something that made me just a little depressed. The City Council had just finished taking testimony on a proposed ordinance to ban smoking virtually everywhere except private residences.

The council voted to give the public more time to comment on the proposal, because only one Eagle resident showed up to testify. Everyone else came from other parts of the Valley.

Boulton: Constitution bans tax code punishment

March 28, 2009 | posted by Craig P. Boulton in

Image a commercial world where one’s neighbors get together to form a mob that goes out and burns down your home and business all because you’d attempted to get them to at least pay you the interest they owed on monies you’d loaned to them. Also imagine having a judge dismiss out of hand a lending contract you and one of your neighbors had freely entered into because he felt that you had enough money already and your borrower was his best friend who didn’t feel like paying you back.

Eagle considers smoking ban

March 24, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman in

The city of Eagle has delayed a decision on whether to ban smoking in most establishments in town. The ordinance is the work product of several groups that are approaching various local city councils in order to pass a ban on smoking in ALL establishments. While this effort targets bars specifically, it also (by accident or by design) includes many other privately-run establishments whether or not they cater to the general public.

Hoffman: Use stimulus money to cut taxes

March 22, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman in

Here's what I don't get: If $45 million can be used to stimulate the economy, why is the government the only organization capable of facilitating that stimulation?

Idaho lawmakers to take up transparency issue

March 21, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman in

The House State Affairs Committee will be discussing the Idaho transparency project 9 a.m. Monday, March 23.

Two transparency bills are on the committee's docket. The first is House Bill 177, Rep. Phil Hart's proposal to require the state of Idaho to make a transparency website where state expenditures would be posted. The second is a concurrent resolution which would take a lower-key approach. It would require state agencies to report to the state controller on barriers to full-on transparency.

Boulton: Lack of regulation not to blame for financial collapse

March 19, 2009 | posted by Craig P. Boulton in

The other day I read with dismay the Idaho Statesman’s front page article about how the majority of new mortgages recently insured by the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) have gone in default before even a second monthly payment is made. This is criminal fraud by both real estate ‘professionals’ and new home buyers involved with collusion by the mortgage banking industry. I know they really can’t make a living in under current conditions in the housing market but that doesn’t justify their behavior.

Ellis: Lest We Forget: The Economic Lesson of Henry Hazlitt

March 17, 2009 | posted by Levi Ellis in

(The Idaho Freedom Foundation continues providing commentary from our contributing writers. Levi Ellis is a graduate of Hillsdale College where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy. While in college, he worked for The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Levi was born in raised in Idaho and resides in Boise with his wife.)

Hoffman: Tougher daycare laws won't make kids safer

March 15, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman in

When I was a little boy and liver was still considered a health food, we'd eat plenty of liver at my house. And in a desperate attempt to make it taste better, I'd drown my liver in yellow mustard. Why mustard? I don't know. But I was a kid, and I needed something - anything - to make the liver seem more palatable. The mustard made me feel better about it, but really, all it did was give me mustardy liver. 

Idaho Freedom Foundation applauds Nampa and Mayor Tom Dale for plan to post city check register online

March 12, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman in

Nampa, Idaho – Idaho Freedom Foundation Executive Director Wayne Hoffman today applauded Nampa Mayor Tom Dale and the City of Nampa for becoming the second Idaho city to become more transparent by disclosing details of the city’s spending records on a website.