Feb

20

Antitrust Laws and Regulation: A Boon to Monopolies

February 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Above is a worthy discussion about the anti-consumer / pro big and connected business fraud that is anti-monopoly legislation with Ron Paul. While the video is some 25 years old, the content is perfectly valid today (if not also a testament to the consistency of Ron Paul since then).
A great myth perpetuated by [...]

Feb

10

Caliguiri Whoop de Doo…

February 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I read with some humor David Caliguiri’s Opinion 250 response to Chad Herman’s comments in the Post Gazette from last week. (For those who don’t know, the PG is running its Opinion 250 to encourage ideas about Pittsburgh’s future at its 250th anniversary…)
Caliguiri’s intends to build on Herman’s comments — which meander around the [...]

Oct

25

Fascism Rising?

October 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Naomi Wolf is too easily dismissed as a lefty crank. However, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater re the video above.
Above is a 45 minute lecture recorded as the University of Washington discussing how quickly political environments can change from freedom to fascism if basic, subtle political changes are allowed to [...]

Oct

9

Government Invented Jobs and Industries Need to Go

October 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Let’s say I had a business that employed people digging ditches, only to fill them right back up? Would you care? Probably not. But if I added that my contracts came directly from the government, you might change your mind. And, you probably wouldn’t mind if politicians decided to [...]

Dec

18

Rendell’s Department of Manna Busy For Holidays

December 18, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Governor Rendell has been hinting that he will announce further suspensions of the basic laws of economic gravity and push for The PA Department of Manna to bestow upon 1 million PA residents more “free” health care!
He will accomplish this feat by suspending the laws of biology with a government edict that will reduce health [...]

Dec

18

Pension Update

December 18, 2006 | Leave a Comment

The Post Gazette has a second in its series covering the fat benefits programs for government workers. Today’s covers the politicians themselves.
“In 2012, the cost of subsidizing pensions for state workers and school employees is expected to jump from less than $1 billion to more than $3 billion a year. The increase is being [...]

Dec

17

URA to Crush Longtime Pittsburgh Landlords

December 17, 2006 | Leave a Comment

You gotta love government meddlers when it comes to development. Their supporters always crow, crow, crow about what they build — even when it fails, as have many of their initiatives in the downtown Pittsburgh area  .  We are always reminded that nothing would have happened if the meddlers didn’t do their deals.  Then we [...]

Nov

29

Ahh… Government Run Gambling

November 29, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Ahh… Government Run Gambling It is so nice to see how delusional PA is with their gambling laws. Political demands to placate this demographic or that — or simply to create more cache for the important gang of politicians in charge — have created an environment that is nothing short of moronic. Hence [...]

Oct

9

Bond Rating Up for Pittsburgh… But other Shoes Will Drop

October 9, 2006 | Leave a Comment

We’re all happy that Pittsburgh has managed to up its horrific bond rating from Moody’s Investor Services - from Baa3 to Baa2– to an average credit risk among most municipalities, and well above that of GM’s (which does not say much…).
However, knowing the degree to which balancing the deficits came with as little cutting-pain as [...]

May

24

Highways to Nowhere

May 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment

The legislature seems to be balking on finishing the Mon Valley Expressway.  Costs and other priorities are catching up with all the fancy plans made during the 1990s.
Here at the TRP&S, we are no fans of excessive highway building, especially in the face of rising gas prices — a phenomenon that is hardly going to [...]

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