Why Is Free Speech Important At Our Nation’s Colleges And Universities?

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has announced an essay contest for high school juniors and seniors that features a $10,000 college scholarship as the grand prize. Entrants must submit an 8oo to 1,000-word essay that gets to the heart of FIRE’s work: preserving the right to free speech on college campuses. Details can be found here.

Fuquay-Varina Votes To Offer Sports Programs Already Provided By Nonprofit

For 22 years the Fuquay-Varina Athletic Association has operated successful youth sports leagues for those in and around the town. And now, despite the group’s successful record and despite there being no need for the town to get involved, Fuquay commissioners voted 3 to 2 to start up the same service. What a waste.

Amtrak’s $16 Hamburger Fiasco

Amtrak is notorious for not being able to cover the costs of its service. Now we learn that it costs Amtrak $16 to make a hamburger for customers. That alone is ridiculous. But that’s not all. Amtrak only charges customers $9.50 for the burger. And thus, Amtrak’s food service is a giant money pit — having lost more than 3/4 of a BILLION over 10 years. So why doesn’t Amtrak contract out its catering? Josh Barro, writing for bloomberg.com, explains what was said at a congressional hearing:

Nick Rahall, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has one answer. He says Amtrak food service jobs are well-paying, and we shouldn’t eliminate them, even if the food service is expensive and terrible. “It’s a whopper of an idea, trading good-paying jobs for cheaper hamburgers,” said Rahall.

And there you have it. There are members of Congress who wrongly believe that the purpose of government is to provide jobs at all costs. They are wrong of course. The purpose of government is to provide services. In order to deliver those services, government hires or contracts out for labor and expertise. As long as our elected bodies are dominated by people who believe the former — and they exist in both political parties — government will grow and the deficit and debt will lead us further into an uncertain future.