Catching up

I've been posting a lot more to Facebook than I have to this blog, lately. Yes, I've been lazy! So, if you really want to keep up, check out The Oklahoma Capitalist on Facebook! Don't forget to "Like" it while you're there!

Here are some of the links I've posted in the last few days:

Government Doesn't Create Jobs

Union war brews at WinStar casino

USDA fines Missouri family $90k for selling a few rabbits without a license

Holding Mrs. Warren Accountable

The Morality War: Dear Elizabeth Warren, get out of the way!

Bethany CEO becomes first woman to lead Oklahoma Bankers Association

Banking leader backs Oklahoma native Elizabeth Warren for consumer protection agency head

Making way for MAPS 3: OKC files eminent domain lawsuits

Also, my opinion of health insurance exchanges drew some comment when I posted it on the Facebook page of the OKC Tea Party.

Don't forget to follow The Oklahoma Capitalist on Twitter!

Getting government out of the way

Here's a story in the Tulsa World that makes me wonder just how much Oklahoma's economy is being held back by government intervention. At the same time it makes me think that pro-Capitalism efforts on the local level just might be able to make the most immediate impact.

Admiral Twin sets groundbreaking ceremony for rebuilding effort

Smith initially said he was aiming for a July 4 re-opening of the 60-year-old drive-in, where crews from Ark Wrecking were seen removing debris on Wednesday.

Everything from zoning issues and safety code concerns to replacing the burned-up electrical system and fabricating steel for the new tower have delayed the opening date to August.

"We tried to hit the ground running (after obtaining a Small Business Administration loan), but it hasn't happened that way," he said. "There's more red tape than the public realizes, more hoops to jump through."

As the owner of a seasonal business, no one wanted the drive-in to re-open sooner than Smith.

"Opening in August means that we've missed the best three months of the season for a drive-in," he said. "The drive-in is going to open this summer, but certainly not when I had hoped."

"Zoning issues"

"Safety code"

"Red tape"

What zoning issues should an existing business have to deal with? Why would there be any issue unless the original zoning had been changed? Why would the zoning be changed? If the zoning was changed, why wouldn't the change account for existing businesses?

These are just some of the things that everyone looking to start a business in Oklahoma has to deal with day in and day out. How many of them become discouraged by it and change their minds about opening or locating their business here?

Stories like this convince me that every effort made to reduce regulation in Oklahoma will have a positive effect on the state's economy.

You call this Independence?

If we're just going to do what Washington wants us to do anyway, how is that any kind of independence?

Today's The Oklahoman carries an op-ed by Tina Majors in support of FallinCare, Gov. Fallin's plan to create a health insurance exchange in Oklahoma. The timing is interesting considering the legislature ended its session last week.

A few excerpts:

"One of the great things about Oklahoma and Oklahomans is our fierce independence from the federal government. When we see a problem, we fix it ourselves. We don't wait for the big brother of the federal government to come in and over-regulate a problem. . . . "

"I support efforts to repeal Obamacare, but given the makeup of our federal judiciary and their penchant for liberal rulings, I have doubts about the lawsuit to stop it being entirely successful, regardless of its merits. I want Oklahoma to create every possible barrier to a federal takeover of our health care. And building our own network is another way to do this. . . . "

"Oklahoma isn't in the habit of letting the federal government keep us from doing what is right. Today, we can't let our anger at their attempted takeover of health care stop us from reforming our own system. The right solution is in creating and controlling our own Oklahoma-centric health care network."

Here's the comment I posted:

Romneycare.

Seriously, is Fallin still trying to push this on us? There is no difference between federal over-regulation and state over-regulation. A government run insurance exchange violates the rights of insurers, doctors and patients. We should reject a state-run exchange for the same reason we should reject the federal-run exchange. What difference is there between the state forcing people to buy health insurance and the federal government forcing people to buy health insurance? NONE.

And PLEASE stop with the scare tactics that do nothing but insult our intelligence: "Oh, we've got to do something or the feds will force it on us!" Well, of course they will if we don't STAND UP FOR OURSELVES! So why should we lay down just so you can run over us? Are you saying it's better if our own state government does it?

The ONLY way to address rising health care costs and lack of coverage is to get the government OUT OF THE WAY on EVERY level.

Set the health care industry free!

What's going on here?

Oklahoma Watchdog reported about an hour ago on Twitter @WatchdogOK that SB264 was signed out of committee AGAIN! this morning - which means there will be another floor vote soon.

The big question is - were changes made? If so, what were they & what impact do they have on our concerns?

One thing I've seen that may be new is a time limit on "opting out" of regulations: local school boards can do this for 3 years.

My concern is that "deregulation" is great for private industry but terrible for the government: a government NOT constrained by regulations is a government that has carte-blanche to do whatever it wants, regardless of anyone's rights or freedoms - which is the whole point of having written laws in the first place, a point which seems to be lost on those pushing this "local control" idea.

Does SB264 have a mechanism for subjecting local administrators to the rule of law or does it allow them to autocratically make things up as they go along? Are local school districts required to submit a local plan or set of rules to local voters before administrators can act? What happens to local students who disagree with the majority?

I wouldn't have a problem if this only applied to private schools which should be completely free to set their own rules, anyway, but when the government is running things, that's a whole different animal.

So, what impact will this bill have on private schools? Perhaps school choice advocates should be as concerned about this as supporters of government schools.

I think the presense of Speaker Steele at these committee meetings could be significant - is SB264 a pet project of his? If so, maybe we need to start contacting him as well as our own legislators. I don't think it would be a bad idea to add Bingman to that list, either.

Does the Chamber of Commerce advocate Capitalism?

The Oklahoman is running yet another editorial today attacking Tea Party activists. Thanks for the free publicity!

Here's the comment I left:

It is an unfortunate fact that in a mixed economy such as ours, some business owners may be forced to turn to lobbying in legitimate self-defense to keep the government's hands off of their freedom to run their businesses.

This is not the case for the Chamber of Commerce, which all too often pursues political favoritism for one business or industry at the expense of another, under the guise of "sacrifice". This not only makes the Chamber no friend of Freedom or Capitalism, it muddies the waters - leading the average person to equate Capitalism with corporate welfare and cronyism, when - in fact - true Capitalism requires the separation of state and economy, in the same manner and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.

Remember this the next time you read about how many Oklahomans are going hungry every day. Ask yourself if that would be the case if Oklahoma had genuine economic Freedom.

Just how many Oklahomans are going hungry every day? Here's The Oklahoman's editorial about last weekend's food drive.

Oklahoma sustainability advocates target property rights

This looks like a real smoking gun: it shows that advocates of "sustainability" in Oklahoma - including local governments - are directly targeting private property rights.

Private Property Ownership in Oklahoma Barrier to Sustainable Development

Beth Schaefer Caniglia, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sociology at Oklahoma State University and member of the Board for the Oklahoma Sustainability Network gives her advice to overcoming the “long-standing sentiments regarding private property rights as symbols for democracy and freedom” held by Oklahomans.

“Many landowners resist the perceived slippery slope of conservation mandates and retreat behind constitutional takings provisions, . . .”

Thank you, Kaye Beach, for posting this!

The correct response to this is: ALL Rights are Property Rights!

Will "sustainability" advocates be satisfied with just property rights or will they go after all rights? The history of the environmentalist movement suggests they won't stop there.

Oklahoma Attorney General joins states against NLRB

Attorney General Pruitt Joins South Carolina in Jobs Fight

EXCERPT: "Attorney General Scott Pruitt has joined South Carolina and other attorneys general in a fight against action taken by the National Labor Relations Board against The Boeing Company.

In a letter to the NLRB, attorneys general from nine states called the board’s lawsuit against Boeing “an assault on the constitutional right of free speech” and an assault on each state’s ability to attract business and create jobs."

Oklahoma City's government needs to stay on its diet

Two examples of improper use of government in this week's Oklahoma Gazette:

Optimistic thoughts
Next fiscal year’s city budget might provide for the restoration of public safety positions.

The city is hoping to restore several police, fire and other city positions and services in the municipal budget set to be presented to the Oklahoma City Council at its Tuesday meeting.

‎While the city’s revenue has not returned to pre-recession levels, Freemen said it is making progress.

A police department is a legitimate function of a proper government as long as those police are restricted to protecting individual rights. Oklahoma City could afford all the police officers it needs for this purpose if it would spend its budget only on the legitimate functions of government, which do NOT include corporate welfare under the guise of "economic development". If the City would restrict itself to legitimate functions, it wouldn't need as much revenue.

Living arrangement
The city is using incentive funding to encourage development of diverse downtown housing options.

An apartment complex currently under development in the Deep Deuce neighborhood may get $1.25 million in assistance from the city.

"Economic development" means the government picks and chooses which businesses go where. Laissez-faire Capitalism institutionalizes entrepreneurs' rights to run their businesses as they see fit - including their right to buy property where they choose and their rights to use that property as they wish. Could this be the reason why the supposedly much-desired downtown grocery store has so far failed to materialize?

Oklahoma City needs LESS government, NOT more revenue: laissez-faire Capitalism, not "crony" capitalism!