Imagine That! A Business is Private Property!

Left-leaning statists are freaking out following today's SCOTUS opinion on the Hobby Lobby case, wherein the company's owners want to... wait for it... run their own business consistent with their religious beliefs. Imagine that, a business is private property. What a scary thought, eh?

"Not my Boss's Business" they cry, about which birth control their employer wants to pay for. But the business is paying for it, so of course it is their business. Maybe you should be asking why they are paying for healthcare in the first place? We don't want them to buy our food or housing or much anything else, but healthcare? It doesn't make any sense, until you notice the one incentive for this: the tax code.  Change that- and our rights and your desires will no longer be in conflict on this issue.

Back to the bigger picture, though. In dissent, "Justice" Ginsberg wrote:

"In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs"

Indeed, the implications of treating a business as private property are very startling to the statist. She is correct to see this could, if applied consistently, undermine any of the countless government regulations of business. It's sad to see her and so many others so in love with slavery and so afraid of freedom. If you own a business, it's your property, and you should be able to do anything you want with it. If others dislike it, they are free to not associate with you. It's real simple.

Fortunately, the advance of statism is not without setbacks. We welcome today's good news, while keeping in mind that overall, the political momentum continues to run in the wrong direction. We're working to change that.

It's Never too Late to Repeal Obamacare, Or Anything Else

Government legislation and programs become entrenched with the passage of time. It is far easier to nip it in the bud rather than come back at a later time to dismantle it. Some are starting to argue this time is coming, and may already be here, for the monstrosity called Obamacare. But it's never too late, though, and Dom Armentano reminds us of one such occasion, when the SCOTUS struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act (NRA).

His point is valid, though I think a better historical comparison would be the abolition of chattel slavery- a long standing institution that, over a period of time, was undermined and entirely abolished through a lengthy education process that eventually enlightened the whole population.

If you want to see Obamacare gone- as well as a host of other burdensome government interventions and programs, from Social Security to the minimum wage, or perhaps militarism or the drug war, or all of it- it's not going to come by petitioning Congress or getting the right politicians or party elected. (Should Republicans actually repeal it- which I don't believe they ever will, they will replace it with something similarly bad.) It's going to come by changing the minds of the people. And it's never to late to do that. Rest assured we're going to get rid of Obamacare, Medicare, Social Security, and the rest of the drags on society, and sooner the more people focus their efforts toward proper education of the masses.

Libertarian Thoughts on the Government “Shutdown”

First off, it’s not really a shutdown. At best, it’s a slight shutdown. Only a small fraction of government workers are sent home and only a fraction of government activities are reduced or stopped. I am not aware of any regulations or taxes that will cease. Worse, it’s not clear that we will come through this paying less net taxes. Government workers may well be getting a paid vacation, depending on what Congress does.

In other words, this shutdown is hardly libertarian in the end- certainly nothing to get too excited about. We’ll have to see what happens. At the same time, it doesn't seem to be anti-libertarian. And the longer it lasts, the more ridiculous media and government hysteria will look. We frankly don’t miss what is shut down as much as they would like us to. And the only reason Americans will miss it at all is because the state has monopolized some services we want, not allowing them to be provided in the private sector.

Republicans, including Rand Paul, sadly want to fund all of the government except Obamacare. Anyone that wants even a small move towards libertarianism is foolish to put their hope in the GOP. The party is nowhere near ready to deliver anything except more government.

It is, however, not accurate to hold Obama and the Democrats blameless for the shutdown, as many try to do. The fact is, Republicans have offered to fund just about everything and the Democrats have taken up the role of obstructionists and absolutely refused any compromise. Republicans have even offered to reduce their demands but the Democrats won’t budge from my way or the highway. An objective look at this situation leaves the majority of responsibility for the shutdown on the shoulders of Democrats.

Every talking point offered by the Democrats crumbles easily, usually by flipping it around. The GOP is holding us “hostage”, they say. Yeah, just like Democrats are holding us “hostage”, by preferring shut down over giving up even part of Obamacare. But Obamcare is a “law”, they say. It’s also the law the House can fund what it wants. But funding the government is too important and should never be connected to other agendas. Cute opinion, but it can be, so deal with reality. If funding the government is so important you wouldn't prevent it over not getting everything you want on Obamacare.

Now that Republicans have gone this far, they had better go all the way and actually get something in return. If they cave now, they did the shutdown for nothing. The longer Democrats refuse negotiation, the worse they will look. If Republicans have any political smarts they will wait and get something out of this. Hopefully, they manage to get something libertarian, even if just a delay of Obamacare.

As for really shutting down the government, we will accomplish that one mind at a time. Ron Paul’s new curriculum and book is another exciting development in that process.

HOT: SCOTUS Upholds Obamacare

SCOTUS live blog:

"The bottom line: the entire ACA is upheld, with the exception that the federal government's power to terminate states' Medicaid funds is narrowly read."

Apparently Chief Justice John G. Roberts sided with the 'left' of the court, "saving ACA [Obamacare]".

Like I said yesterday, this is a loss, but keep in perspective it's not the end of the world; only a continuation of the status quo. Healthcare is still a wreck that's getting worse with time, and the Constitution is once again interpreted by the federal government to not limit the federal government.