Oops. We forgot to celebrate Bill of Rights Day yesterday. Not there was much to celebrate, considering the frequency with which our constitutional safeguards are ignored:
It's a disturbing snapshot, to be sure, but not one the Framers of the Constitution would have found altogether surprising. They would sometimes refer to written constitutions as mere “parchment barriers,” or what we call “paper tigers.” They nevertheless concluded that having a written constitution was better than having nothing at all.
The key point is this: A free society does not just “happen.” It has to be deliberately created and deliberately maintained. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
I think the low point for me in the past few years was the Kelo decision. Property rights are an essential part of liberty's foundation, and the Supreme Court pretty much nullified them.
Comments
Usually, when there's a close case in the Supreme Court, I tend to find myself finding merit in both sides, but in Kelo, I found myself on the extreme right, agreeing with Clarence Thomas, and not the other eight. If you're transferring property from one private owner to another, it's not "for public use".
I'd have to think on it a while before I agreed it was THE low point of the last few years, but it certainly was A low point of the last few decades.
Considering Kelo, Citizen's United, and NDAA, is there really anything left to celebrate?
Citizen's United doesn't really bother me; if people have the right of free speech individually, they shouldn't lose that right when they band together.
I don't think that should be a tax deduction, though. In fact, I'd like to see an end to exemptions, deductions, depreciation, and depletion, so that it's an income tax, not a profits tax. The income tax should be a *gross* income tax. That means John and Mary don't get any tax benefit from having eight kids or a mortgage, and if the elevator buys a semi load of corn for 5.90, ships it to Chicago for 20c, and sells it on CBOT for 6.13, they pay taxes on $6.13, not 3c. (Which would obviously result in higher prices at CBOT, and a lower tax rates than 35%.)
No tax credits, either. If we want to pay $600 to Ernie for installing a solar panel on his roof, we mail him a check. That will remind everybody that we're spending real money. Tax credits look like they are painless.
What bothers me about Citizen's United is that it allows people to contribute anonymously. I think that is a big mistake and it opens the door wide for corruption.
I agree that the contributions should not be deductible. If you look the ads that this money is used to buy, I think you could even make a strong case that they should be taxed higher because they are polluting the environment.
Oh Harl, I suppose you also believe there's no such thing as free lunch and that the Easter Bunny is not real.
There used to be Easter bunnies in Chicago, but then the Playboy club closed.