GM and Chrysler

Remember 6 months ago when we were all told that it would be devastating if any of the Big 3 declared bankruptcy? Chrysler recently did exactly that, and GM is about to do so as well. Deep down, I think most of us knew that was going to happen anyway. There were a lot of folks who opposed the bank bailout but still supported government aid to automakers, as if it were really possible for all of the Big 3 to make a full recovery.

Many people have an emotional attachment to the Big 3. They wouldn't feel as bad if Proctor & Gamble filed Chapter 11. If Microsoft or WalMart were going under, there would be a lot of gloating. But for people whose knowledge of American history only goes back to 1941, Ford, GM, and Chrysler have been around forever.

It's like having a beloved relative who is brain dead and on life support. Intellectually, you know there is no hope but you can't bring yourself to pull the plug. At the same time, his hospital bills are costing the family a lot of money.

While it is hard to say goodbye to a loved one, we have to be more dispassionate when it comes to corporations. A company that is failing should not put on life support. The purpose of a company is to generate profit, so any company that is no longer able to carry out this function should cease to exist. You wouldn't keep a car that couldn't run, would you? Instead, you'd sell it to a buyer that would make better use of it.

Memorial Day

Today we honor the war dead with parades, moments of silence, and blog posts cranked out at the last minute. For the rest of the year, let's honor them by preserving what they fought for and ensuring that their ranks do not increase as much in the future.

Libertarians At Large Live Tonight

Libertarians At Large airs on channels Comcast 57 and Verizon 27, from 7-8 p.m., every third Thursday of the month. Tune in tonight as this month's guest will be Libertarian, Robert Enders our local Party's new chair. Call in to ask questions or just let us know you are listening. Contribute to the conversation.

As always the Libertarian Party of Allen County would like to thank Access Fort Wayne and the Allen County Public Library for providing us these opportunities to serve the public and promote the discussion at all levels of government about what is best for the future of of our communities, state, and nation.

Release the photos

Obama changed his mind and now wants to block the release of classified photos that show detainees being abused. After seeing the photos, he became worried that releasing them would further endanger US troops. I take this to mean that the images could have propaganda value for al Qaeda.

Since I haven't seen the photos, I can only imagine how horrible the images must be. Can the images be worse than I can imagine? It might be better to release the photos than have everyone wonder what's in them. The secrecy can have just as much enemy propaganda value as the actual images. The best thing to do is to release the images, admit that the abuse was wrong, and say that it won't happen again.

The upside of blandness

Here's an interesting article about small banks remaining healthy during the current crisis. When the Indiana Bankers Association held a conference in Indianapolis, many of the bankers in attendance highlighted the boring ways that they do business. The real estate bubble simply did not have as big an impact in our state as it did in exciting places like New York and California. While there is nothing wrong with excitement, it shouldn't be driving economic policy.

Janeane Garafalo calls tea partiers "racist"

I probably should have just ignored this, but I'm bored. A couple thoughts:
1. Does she think that Alan Keyes is a racist? We were protesting the President's policies, not his pigmentation.
2. With any large protest, you can find a few whack jobs advocating an issue completely unrelated to the issue that is being protested.
3. LPAC has been conducting tax protests since 2005. I would imagine that had McCain won, more Democrats would be protesting corporate bailouts.

Downtown casino may be a moot point

Barney Frank has introduced a bill that will rollback restrictions on online gambling. I think this is a step in the right direction. If adults should be allowed to gamble at all, they should be allowed to gamble whenever they want.

This will likely have an impact on the viability of brick-and-mortar casinos. I personally do not care if a new casino gets built as long as public funds aren't used. But if you're strongly for or against a new casino, then you should see where this bill goes. There is far more at stake with this bill.

The real way to close the corporate tax loophole

The best way to close the loophole is to replace taxes on corporate profits with an increase on the dividend tax. This will make it impossible for any American CEO to get out of paying taxes without renouncing his own citizenship.

Will it discourage payment of dividends? It would to the extend that a personal income tax discourages working. People still work in spite of the income tax; corporations will still pay dividends even if there is a tax increase on them. A upside to this is that companies will have an increase incentive to reinvest their profits and pay off debt.

I am the new LPAC chair

As of the next meeting, I will be replacing Doug Horner as chair of the Libertarian Party of Allen County, and Doug will be replacing me as vice-chair.