Stunning

At sister blog The Locker Room, Mitch Kokai posts a stunning 1:30 audio clip from Brent Lane, director of the UNC Center for Competitive Economies. He offered the comment during a presentation to the General Assembly’s Revenue Laws Study Committee. Lane’s presentation focused on the “imperative” of pursuing tax reform.

Gone: $1 Billion Wasted By Air Force

Read it and weep. Here are your federal tax dollars at work.

After a $1 billion investment that produced “negligible” value, the Air Force is formally scrapping a next-generation logistics management system, officials announced Thursday.

The Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS) program is “no longer a viable option” for meeting a fiscal 2017 deadline for having auditable books, Air Force spokesman Ed Gulick said in a statement. “Therefore, we are canceling the program and moving forward with other options.” 

Hey, look at it this way. When you’re $16 trillion in debt and counting, what’s a mere $1 billion anyway. Sadly, there are many people who believe just that.

CBS: Anticipating Obamacare Regulations, Employer Lays Off 22 of 114 Employees

And so it begins. With Obamacare’s massive regulations virtually assured to take effect — barring some sort of legal intervention — a business owner in Nevada says he has no choice but to lay off 22 members of his 114-person workforce. Here’s part of what the business owner told a radio station.

I had to lay off 22 people today to make sure that my business is gonna thrive and I’m gonna be around for years to come. I have to build up that nest egg now for the taxes and regulations that are coming my way. Elections do have consequences, but so do choices. A choice you make every day has consequences and you know what, I’ve always put my employees first, but unfortunately today I have to put me and my family first, and you watch what’s gonna happen. I’m just one guy with 114 employees — well was 114 employees — watch what happens in the next six months. The Dow alone lost 314 points today. There’s a tsunami coming and if you didn’t think this election had consequences, just wait.”

Just plain sad for America. Keep these families, and the business owner, in your thoughts and prayers.

The Nevada unemployment rate? 11.8 percent in September.

Do You Really Believe In Free Speech?

These days we hear a lot of calls for tolerance and civility in our discourse. That’s a noble desire, but unfortunately, calls for tolerance have led to crackdowns on free speech – particularly on college campuses. In his new book, Unlearning Liberty, FIRE President Greg Lukianoff discusses the history of speech codes and their impact on learning, discussion and groupthink. Ironically, they are prevalent on college campuses, which we like to claim are marketplaces of ideas.

Elections Have Consequences: Biden Claims Mandate To Raise Taxes

Vice President Joe Biden has already claimed a mandate to raise taxes. I can’t blame him. Fact is, America voted for the big-government, we-know-what’s-better-for-business-than-business-does ticket that strategically tapped into jealousy and fear. And now, we get what we voted for. Combine Biden’s statement about hiking taxes with the reams of new regulations coming in Obamacare, and it’s clear what’s ahead for the millions of unemployed and under-employed.