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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 18, 2009
/ 24 Shevat 5769
Do bureaucrats really know the best use of private property?
By
Jonathan Gurwitz
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Americans were outraged in 2005 when a bare majority of the U.S. Supreme Court struck a dangerous blow against private property rights and economic self-determination. In Kelo v. City of New London, the high court delivered an expansive new interpretation of the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause.
Historically, the Takings Clause had been interpreted to give government the power to exercise eminent domain in order to build streets and sidewalks or establish public utilities. Later, the high court expanded that understanding to include the power to condemn private property that contributed to economic or social blight.
But in Kelo, five unelected justices determined that government could take property not to make room for a highway and not because the structures that sat on it were irredeemably dilapidated and being used as crack houses. They weren't these were middle-class homes.
No, the justices said the government was justified in taking private property and giving it to another private entity simply because it the government could divine more productive uses for it.
"All private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner, so long as it might be upgraded i.e., given to an owner who will use it in a way that the legislature deems more beneficial to the public," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor warned in a stinging dissent.
"The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."
The stimulus plan that President Obama and Democrats rammed through Congress using fear and sleight of hand is Kelo writ large, nationalized and on steroids. Set aside the fact that Obama's own Web site,
Change.gov, maintains a pledge to "end the practice of writing legislation behind closed doors" which is exactly how this monstrosity was constructed every step of the way.
And set aside the fact that the House including 236 Democrats had previously voted not to consider final passage of the stimulus until it had been available for review "in an electronic, searchable and downloadable form for at least 48 hours." The House voted on the 1,071-page conference report within hours of its release. No one who voted for it knew what was in the bill.
The fundamental problem with the spending provisions of the so-called stimulus is that it is based on two highly dubious propositions. The first is that just as the liberal justices ruled in the Kelo decision government bureaucrats and lifers in Congress can put your money to better use than you can.
And despite Obama's pledges to the contrary, the stimulus is laden with gifts to the rich and well connected, just as Justice O'Connor predicted. One of the worst pieces of pork is $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, including a magnetic-levitation line connecting Disneyland in California, home to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with Las Vegas, represented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The second dubious proposition of the spending stimulus is something called the multiplier effect. Ifyou save or spend a dollar, it's just a dollar. But according to this theory, if the government borrows and spends your dollar, it's worth more.
In this instance, the White House's lofty claims about job creation and economic impact are based on an economic multiplier of around 1.5 that is, for every $1 the government takes from you, the economy will receive a benefit of $1.50.
It's like magic. And if it really worked as advertised, the government would be justified in taking every private asset, redeploying it, and presto a 50 percent increase in GDP! There's a name for that, and it isn't democratic capitalism.
Of course it doesn't work that way. And the multiplier effect, like the effectiveness of a fiscal stimulus, is simply a Trojan horse argument for a massive expansion of government. John McCain called the stimulus a case of "generational theft." He's right. But it's more than prosperity that's being stolen.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
JWR contributor Jonathan Gurwitz, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, is a co-founder and twice served as Director General of the Future Leaders of the Alliance program at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. In 1986 he was placed on the Foreign Service Register of the U.S. State Department.
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© 2009, Jonathan Gurwitz
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