Collin County Libertarian Party

Jim Prindle for Congress Money Bomb

Tuesday, 26 January 2010 20:11 Front Page - Headlines

Dear Friends and Family,

Next month, February 27, will mark one year since the Tea Party Movement has taken hold in the US. As you know, I have been a supporter of the cause. In commemoration of the event, I am setting off a mini money-bomb. Don't know what a money bomb is? Well, candidates like Rep Ron Paul and Debra Medina have successfully used this technique to garner large amounts of donations. A specific date and goal are set for donations and pledges on that day. It is a great tool. On November 5th, Rep Paul received close to $12 million dollars on one day! Money bombs are generally tied to significant dates. In the Paul example, November 5th represents the Guy Fawkes uprising in England several hundred years ago. www.prindleforcongress.com

Happy Bill of Rights Day!

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 21:51 Front Page - Headlines

Today, December 15, is Bill of Rights Day. I don't know how much we'll hear about it in the media, but you and I know how important the Bill of Rights is. The Founders recognized that it was important to be specific about what government must not do.

The Libertarian Party platform expresses support for the Bill of Rights in many places. For example:

First Amendment:
"We support full freedom of expression and oppose government censorship, regulation or control of communications media and technology. We favor the freedom to engage in or abstain from any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others. We oppose government actions which either aid or attack any religion." (1.1)

Second Amendment:
"We affirm the right to keep and bear arms, and oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense. We oppose all laws at any level of government requiring registration of, or restricting, the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition." (1.6)

Fourth Amendment:
"We support the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, and property." (1.2)

Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments:
"We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally accused. The rights of due process, a speedy trial, legal counsel, trial by jury, and the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty, must not be denied." (1.5)

UPS vs. FEDEX: Ultimate Whiteboard Remix

Thursday, 03 December 2009 22:29 Front Page - Headlines

You may have heard the UPS is in quite the fight with FEDEX. Though both are package-delivery companies,they're governed by totally different federal labor rules. As a result, UPS's workforce is much more heavily unionized than FEDEX's—and more than twice as expensive.

So now UPS is trying to get FEDEX reclassified under federal law as a way of screwing a competitor. That's horrendous, but it also makes a sick kind of business sense. And it also reveals the real villain: A government that is big enough to absolutely, positively guarantee it can screw any business. Overnight.

"UPS Vs. FEDEX" was produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie (who also hosts). Approximately two minutes long.

Where Is the US Economy Heading?

Monday, 07 December 2009 12:19 Front Page - Headlines

Economists are currently divided on the issue of how strong the US economic recovery is going to be. Some are of the view that as a result of the stimulus policies of the Fed and the Federal government, the recovery is going to be quite strong. Some others are more pessimistic given still-rising unemployment, which they believe will keep consumer spending subdued. In October the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2% from 9.8% in the previous month and 6.6% in October last year.

Most economists assess the so-called economy in terms of gross domestic product, or GDP. This indicator reflects the amount of money that was spent during a period of time on final goods and services.

The major component of this indicator is personal outlays, which comprise almost 70% of GDP. Obviously, the more money people have, the greater the spendable income is going to be, hence the greater the GDP is going to be. Consequently, fluctuations in money supply lead to fluctuations in spendable income and thus to fluctuations in GDP. To establish the rate of growth of "real GDP," changes in GDP are adjusted for changes in the prices of goods and services.

On the Road to the Servile State

Thursday, 03 December 2009 10:32 Front Page - Headlines

In recent months, there has been a good deal of discussion of change in the United States. Sadly, over the last two centuries, the direction in which this country has been changing seems to be away from liberty and towards more control. The present changes are hardly unprecedented and certainly not unforeseen. In this essay I will examine two authors, Hilaire Belloc and F.A. Hayek, who present a useful analysis of our present situation.

In 1912, Hilaire Belloc published The Servile State, in which the Englishman prophesied that the world was moving to a reestablishment of slavery. This book made quite an impression on a number of thinkers, including F.A. Hayek. Hayek makes favorable mention of Belloc's work in The Road to Serfdom, which depicts the modern world as reversing its advance from slavery to liberty.

Belloc defines the Servile State as "that arrangement of society in which so considerable a number of the families and individuals are constrained by positive law to labor for the advantage of other families and individuals as to stamp the whole community with the mark of such labor." Belloc notes that "the servile condition remains … an institution of the State" and that the free man can refuse his labour and use that refusal as an instrument wherewith to bargain; while the slave has no such instrument or power to bargain at all, but is dependent for his well being upon the custom of society, backed by the regulation of such of its laws as may protect and guarantee the slave.

The Servile State is not the market economy. It is also not simply socialism. Instead, it is a creation of the State to benefit a class, which is considered free, and for which class the system is perpetuated by force of law. Essentially, it is a State marked by artificial, government-created monopolies. Hayek provides the rise of Nazism as an example of what Belloc warns against. The direction that the United States is heading may well provide another case.

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