Fighting overcriminalization = strengthening law enforcement. | Capitalism is good for equality. | Less regulation, more safety. | Illinoisans are voting with their feet. | Lawfare wins again.
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March 4, 2017 |
One way of making law enforcement more effective would be to eliminate all the stupid laws on the books. Capitalism is the best thing that happened for sexual equality. Regulating ride-sharing actually reduces public safety. They let a terrorist go, and then he committed more terrorism. |
| Reducing overcriminalization will help law enforcement focus on real problems. Two of President Trump’s executive orders “call for review of existing federal criminal law and policy, and set new priorities for federal law enforcement,” writes John-Michael Seibler, who goes on to provide some suggestions for the administration: “Identifying all criminal statutes and publishing them in one title of the U.S. Code where everyone—police, prosecutors, politicians, and citizens alike—can access them would be a wise start to a new federal stance on crime. Meese urged Congress to do that in 2011, in testimony titled ‘Principles for Revising the Criminal Code.’ “To reset enforcement priorities, the Trump administration should work with Congress to eliminate laws and regulations that are used for little more than filling up pages in the federal register, or for expressing contempt for certain misconduct, often low-level antics rather than the kinds of serious organized crime that is the subject of Trump’s executive orders. […] “You can’t expect a federal agent to run down drug traffickers, after all, if he or she is in hot pursuit of diseased theatrical poultry. Yes, it is ‘a federal crime for a theatrical pigeon to return to the U.S. from Mexico with a disease.’ “The Trump administration should review the bloated federal criminal code and identify for revision or repeal any provisions that lack a clear and compelling federal law enforcement interest.” [The Daily Signal]
If you favor sexual equality, you should favor capitalism. As Thaddeus Russell explains in a new Learn Liberty video, the social conventions that limited women’s lives during the Victorian era were shattered primarily by capitalism. Not only did the industrial revolution give women more economic opportunity, it created new social opportunities for women outside of the home. [Learn Liberty]
Less regulation, more safety. Bryan Mathew and Josiah Neeley write: “In 2014, Austin introduced a temporary ordinance that allowed [ridesharing services] to operate legally in the city. Prior to the introduction of [ridesharing services], Austin’s vehicle-for-hire market was highly restricted and concentrated among a few firms. According to a 2010 report, in 2009 Austin only issued 669 permits to the three companies seeking to operate taxis—and two-thirds of those were to Yellow Cab. The availability of [ridesharing services] not only increased the supply of vehicles for hire, but provided a new source of competitive pressure for improved cost and service. By all accounts the regulation worked well, and Austin saw a 12 percent decline in DWI collisions after the introduction of [ridesharing services]. When the ordinance came up for renewal, however, the city enacted substantial revisions, including mandatory fingerprinting of drivers. As a result, the two largest [ridesharing] companies (Uber and Lyft) ceased operations in the city. […] “A June 2016 study from Providence College indicates that when Uber enters a city, DUI rates decrease by 15-62 percent. A recent news report shows that in the weeks after Uber and Lyft stopped providing services to Austin in May 2016, DUI arrest rates spiked by 7.5 percent.” [Internal citations omitted.] [Texas Public Policy Foundation]
Illinois is losing people to Indiana. Madelyn Harwood reports: “Illinois lost nearly 20,000 residents, on net, to Indiana in 2015 alone, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s the equivalent of the entire population of Crawford County, which is on the Illinois-Indiana border, relocating over the course of just one year. It means an average of 54 Illinoisans became Indianans each day in 2015. […] In total, the Land of Lincoln lost, on net, over 119,000 residents to Indiana from 2006 through 2015.” Why? “Illinoisans fare far worse than their Indiana counterparts on taxes. Most notably, Illinois’ property tax rates, which are among the highest in the nation, are more than 2.5 times higher than Indiana’s, which are more in line with those in other states. […] [W]hereas Indiana has the second-least-expensive workers’ compensation system in the nation, Illinois’ system is among the top 10 most expensive nationally, and takes the lead as the most expensive regionally. […] Furthermore, Indiana enacted Right to Work in 2012 and has since seen faster jobs and income growth than Illinois, which lacks a statewide Right-to-Work law. Illinois is now surrounded by Right-to-Work states, rendering the Land of Lincoln regionally uncompetitive on this front. […] Indiana’s lower tax burden and friendlier business environment have also borne positive results for Hoosiers. In fact, Indiana’s personal income has grown twice as fast as Illinois’ since the beginning of the Great Recession, indicating better access to jobs and wage increases.” [Illinois Policy Institute]
Lawfare wins again. Robin Simcox writes: “Almost 13 years ago today, Jamal al-Harith was freed from Guantanamo Bay and returned to the U.K. But he won’t be celebrating the anniversary this year. Instead, he has blown himself up in Mosul on behalf of the so-called Islamic State. “What makes this suicide bombing unique was that Harith had been paid handsomely by the British government and the British press. “In March 2004, Harith was among the first batch of Guantanamo Brits to be released. Journalists clamored to get the exclusive tell-all stories. ‘If you’re not offering money, forget it’ was what the detainees’ lawyers were telling journalists. That was seemingly not a problem for the Daily Mirror, whose interview with Harith subsequently ran under the sober headlines ‘TERROR OF TORTURE IN CUBA CAMP’ and ‘BRIT’S TORTURE IN THE HELL CAMP.’ “Next to give Harith a big payday was David Cameron. […] “[W]ith around 250,000 files to go through and a case for the defense that would take about five years to prepare, Cameron complained that ‘our [security] services are paralysed by paperwork as they try to defend themselves in lengthy court cases with uncertain rules.’ The government eventually decided to settle but not admit any liability. Harith was one of 16 British citizens and residents paid approximately a million pounds each in the subsequent out-of-court settlement. “It should, then, come as no surprise that Harith had the funds to be able to travel to Syria and join ISIS.” Simcox adds: “A trend has developed. Terror suspects’ claims of abuse are treated with utter credulity while denials from intelligence agencies and the military are treated with utter skepticism. Terror suspects are elevated and their views brought into the mainstream; security agencies are slandered and trust in them undermined.” [The Heritage Foundation] |
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