The Humble Libertarian original

The appropriations fight over federal relief funds for Hurricane Harvey is a big show of support and compassion, but it's really just another wealth transfer to the government that doesn't do anything to solve the problem at all . If Congress really cared about solving problems, they would pay out as much as they need to from the federal flood insurance program for Harvey, raise the program's budgets, whatever they need to do to fulfill promises they've made.... And in the same bill they would start to phase out the federal flood insurance program and make people pay actual market rates to private insurance companies for flood insurance by a certain target date. Then people will have to consider the real costs of building in a flood plain by a coast. Read the rest of my article , Which was graciously published at Everything Voluntary

Why does the Republican Party have such a self-destructive, self-defeating, spineless, squishy mindset? Why does it seem pathologically bent on finding the very worst representatives it can from its ranks to represent, lead, and speak for it? Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, whom we've never had anything nice to say about , was chosen to deliver the Republican Party's response to the President's State of the Union Address , but what were they thinking : Why the Republicans chose Mitch Daniels—the Indiana governor who once thrilled right-wing pundits as a 2012 hopeful—to deliver a rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union address is puzzling. His uninspiring remarks surely killed the Daniels fad, revived lately as Republicans fret over the unappetizing choices available in their primaries. By shining the spotlight on Daniels, the Republicans risked losing much more than a political rescue fantasy. He isn’t merely a politician who looks like an accountant; ...

By: Grant Davies As Ron Paul moves into the lead in the Iowa polls just days before the caucuses there, his son Rand Paul, US senator from Kentucky, rises on the floor to make a short speech about the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Speaking common sense (as he always does), he makes the case for fiscal sanity and the possibility of saving the country from committing monetary suicide. Absent dementia, even people who love big government programs (both on the right and the left) understand that you cannot go on borrowing money to pay for them indefinitely. If Rand were running for President, he would be my first choice, but it isn't his time yet. So I keep hoping his father will gain the nomination and choose him as his VP candidate. It's a hope that seems far-fetched. But so did his father's chances just a few months ago. Some would call me crazy, but I think they would win the election against Obama handily. Rand Paul connects with people on a perso...

HuffPo reports : WASHINGTON — Bipartisan agreement is near on a massive $1 trillion-plus year-end spending package and should be reached in time avert a possible government shutdown this weekend, lawmakers said Thursday. House Republicans were displaying renewed flexibility on a provision restricting travel to Cuba, but Democrats conceded defeat on a GOP demand to ban the District of Columbia's government from funding abortions. The optimism came hours after Republicans said they planned to push the 1,200-plus-page legislation through the House with only GOP votes, which seemed like a bluff considering tea party opposition to the measure. Overnight, Republicans unveiled details of the bill, which curbs agency budgets but drops most policy provisions sought by GOP conservatives. ... The underlying bill has bipartisan backing but could encounter turbulence with conservative tea party lawmakers seeking far more significant cuts to government agencies. Much of the GOP is all...

A memorable demonstration followed by a simple explanation: what the Fed does is and ought to be illegal... just like it is for everyone else! This is a video I made back in September of 2009. Thought I'd repost it. Please excuse the goofy hat that I thought was cool: Apologies to the Secret Service. Please don't come after me... I'm NOT a counterfeiter! Promise! Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Photo: Actual image of the damage caused by the earthquake in Virginia ( source ). Americans on the West Coast have relished the opportunity to make fun of East Coast residents this week after an earthquake struck Virginia. Late Wednesday night, Californians had another laugh when aftershocks struck Virginia and residents took to Twitter to report " another earthquake " on the East Coast. While it might be funny to West Coast residents, it is worth considering how scary it might have been to feel a heavy rumble in Washington D.C. mere days before the ten year anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Thank goodness that wasn't what caused the rumble, but what did? One of my colleagues, Jared Fuller, founder of YAL's Year of Youth program, said: "Don't worry America - in D.C., that rumble we just felt was the debt ceiling collapsing, that's all." But I've got another theory: I think the earthquake they felt in Virginia and Was...

The Associated Press reports : 'WASHINGTON (AP) -- News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes. Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so virulently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll tax increase on virtually every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right? Apparently not. Many of the same Republicans who fought hammer-and-tong to keep the George W. Bush-era income tax cuts from expiring on schedule are now saying a different "temporary" tax cut should end as planned. By their own definition, that amounts to a tax increase. The tax break extension they oppose is sought by President Barack Obama. Unlike proposed changes in the income tax, this policy helps the 46 percent of all Americans who owe no federal income taxes but who pay a "payroll tax" on practically every dime they earn.' How are tax increases "conservative?" How are tax increases on hard working Americans-- who are already being squeezed by infl...

Every single time they raise the debt ceiling... I think of this game: visit my post at Young Americans for Liberty to see a picture of the game. You'll laugh out loud guaranteed or your money back. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Gary North convincingly and entertainingly argues that the government is already bankrupt now, and forestalling the inevitable, with a default already behind us. Read his entire report at LewRockwell.com . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Writes Michael D. Tanner for The Cato Institute : The clock is slowly ticking toward Aug. 2, the date on which the U.S. faces "fiscal Armageddon" — according to the Obama administration — unless Congress agrees to raise the debt ceiling. But would we? The Obama administration, as well as much of the media and many economists, tend to equate failure to raise the debt limit with default. That's not precisely true. The Treasury Department estimates that the federal government will collect a bit more than $203 billion in taxes during August — roughly $36 billion just in the first three days. But, during August, the federal government is expected to spend $307 billion. That is why we have a problem. If the government is not able to borrow more money after Aug. 2, spending will have to be reduced to the amount of revenue that the government has. That would require roughly a 44 percent cut in federal spending. This will almost certainly hurt. But it's not the same...

While watching the media cover the budget debate in Washington, The Cato Institute 's Daniel Mitchell has three simple rules to follow so you don't get tripped up by misleading, Orwellian word games. Check it out . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

In his most recent video op ed, Jack Hunter argues that Tea Party Republicans' defiant behavior during the debt ceiling debate doesn't represent a flight from sanity for the GOP, but a return to form. ( Get an awesome Jack Hunter desktop background here. ) Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

In a CNN interview Wednesday with Wolf Blitzer, Senator Rand Paul says Congress should cancel their vacation and solve the nation's debt crisis. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

As talks over raising the debt ceiling break down over Democratic demands for tax hikes, government officials and media commentators are trying to scare Americans into believing that without raising the debt ceiling, the Federal government will have to default on its obligations: The talks were aimed at striking a budget deal in hopes of easing the way for Congress to raise the government's $14.29 trillion debt limit. Treasury Department officials say that without additional borrowing authority, the government will run out of cash to pay its bills by Aug. 2. They warn that defaulting on any U.S. obligations could trigger another financial crisis and recession. But Senator Rand Paul has been saying for months now that this is untrue. Rand Paul argues : "Our interest payment is about $20 billion a month. Our tax revenue is about $200 billion a month, so we're bringing in (nearly) $200 billion. We've got plenty of money to pay our interest." Unlike the extreme...

I just got an article published in Young Americans for Liberty 's newest issue of its campus magazine, Young American Revolution , which is read by thousands of students on campuses across the country. My article was featured alongside pieces by vast right-wing conspirator Grover Norquist, Congressman Ron Paul, Senator Rand Paul, and bestselling author and historian Tom Woods. Here's an excerpt: America's International Welfare State That welfare programs are ineffective and outside the purview of a proper government is nearly axiomatic to most self-described conservatives. ...Yet while opposing welfare at home, American conservatives have been duped by internationalist progressives into supporting and paying for a massive global welfare state under the pretense of national security. This has allowed these Wilsonian interventionists to grow government to unprecedented levels and achieve their dreams of a worldwide nanny state with uncritical support from conservatives...

News man Beck Bennett carries out a hilarious and brilliant interview with four school children on the debt ceiling and America's crushing national debt. See if you can spot which of the four kids on the panel is a little mini-Ron Paul. The sad thing is that actual GOP debates look about like this, and the debaters that aren't Ron Paul in them sound about as ridiculous as most of the kids in this video: Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

The Power Line Blog has introduced the Power Line Prize: Power Line, in conjunction with the Freedom Club , is offering a grand prize of $100,000.00 to whoever can most effectively and creatively dramatize the seriousness of the federal debt crisis. Any medium of communication is eligible: video, song, screenplay, television commercial, painting, Power Point, essay, performance art, or anything else. The runner-up will receive a $15,000.00 prize, and two third-place finishers will receive $5,000.00 each. Entries must be submitted by midnight on July 15, 2011. Get all the details here . Hat tip: Memeorandum . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Writes Krugman: "...even after the cracks in the House budget proposal became apparent, much of the commentariat clung to the view that whatever you might think of Ryan’s priorities, he really is serious and sincere... But he isn’t." Check out the rest of Krugman's piece at The New York Times to find out why. You won't hear me say this very often, but I agree with Krugman. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Michelle Malkin's got the goods: "Not that you needed any more evidence that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a flip-flopping charlatan, but here’s the latest. Today, he assails GOP proposals to raise the Medicare age and, by extension, the Social Security retirement age. (My column on the subject from earlier this month is here .) ... Funny. In 1996, Krugman had an entirely different view of long-term structural changes to federal entitlements, including raising the age of eligibility..." Read more at MichelleMalkin.com Hat tip: Memeorandum Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

In a recent email to supporters of his Our America Initiative , Gary Johnson had the perfect analogy for the silly budget showdown between the two major parties in Congress: --- 'Imagine: You make $60,000 a year; you are spending $100,000 per year. You sit down with your banker, a credit counselor, or heaven forbid, a Bankruptcy Judge to find a way out of your obvious problem. You begin the conversation by saying you know you have to cut your spending, but you and your wife can’t agree on how to do it. You want to cut $2,000, but she only wants to cut $1,000. Never mind the fact that you don’t have a $1,000 or $2,000 problem – you have a $40,000 problem. Friends, as absurd as that conversation would be, it is precisely the debate that is going on in Washington right NOW. As we watch in amazement, Congress and the President are on the verge of forcing a government shutdown because they can’t agree on whether to cut $20 or $33 or $61 billion from a $3.8 TRILLION budget fo...