"Free" Government Programs and Other Lies

While trying to enjoy a quiet Sunday afternoon at home, one of my sons came to my bedroom and told me "there are some teenagers here to see you." Funny, since I have a house full of teenagers, I am the last one they want to see. The curiosity got the best of me and I walked out where I found two young people in their late teens, dressed very casually and each holding a clipboard with a stack of paper and a pen.

The conversation went something like this:

"May I help you?" I asked. "Yes, I was wondering if you wanted to sign a petition to lower the community college tuition for people in our area." I was familiar with the issue (I am one of those odd fellows that watch local news) and went along with him. "How does it work?" I asked. "All you have to do is sign this petition and if we get enough signatures it will be on the ballot for this next election and if that happens and it passes...we will have lower tuition." At this point it gets very hard for me to not get sarcastic. I would like to say, "oh we are voting for a tuition fairy who will lower our school fees" or "ah, you finally figured out how to grow a money tree," or something like this, but I decided to behave. "So if this passes, how will it lower tuition." The young man kind of looked down unsure of himself. "I'm not sure," he said. I knew the answer and informed him that the tuition would be lowered through higher taxes for everyone in the area and that many people who don't have children will be forced to pay the tuition of others. He thanked me for the information and said, "I guess you are not signing?" I said, "that is correct" and he walked away.

It is through this form of false advertising that government tends to grow. People think these programs are magical, they can simply appear with desire. It is like the Fox News poll where they asked people how government was going to pay for the various bailouts and 25 percent said the "government has its own money." You would think these are the answers of small children, but Fox assures me that only adults answered the survey.

The public attitude towards Uncle Sam being Santa Claus also reminds me of the late Sen. Russell Long (D-LA) who said "don't tax you, don't tax me, tax the fellow behind the tree." That is exactly how tuition "is lowered" for people, by burdening everyone else.

One of the best examples of the lie of "free government programs" is whenever I take a trip to Galveston, Texas and ride the state's ferry. Shortly after you take off the captain announces that "this free service was brought to you by the Texas Department of Transportation." In reality it was paid for by taxpayers through out the state, many who live 15 hours away and have never even seen the Gulf of Mexico.

A sensible policy that government on all levels should pursue is a truth in advertising. These agencies should be forced to inform boat riders what it cost the taxpayers annually or the individual impact in terms of taxes. That is the kind of transparency we need in government.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am), AOL Radio, and CBS Radio. Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

The More You Tax Something, the less You get of It

From the time I was 16 I was passionate about the future freedom of our country. Early on I came across a book entitled An American Renaissance, by then Congressman Jack Kemp. Kemp was an early architect of Reaganomics and an important soldier in the "Reagan Revolution."

One of the concepts conveyed in that book is that "the more you tax something, the less you get of it." Also, "the more you subsidize something, the more you get of it." Those simple words are at once a "no kidding" moment and, at the same time, really quite profound. That philosophy was being thoroughly violated in the world of Government in the 1970s under Jimmy Carter and it is all the more so the case in the world we live in today.

The New York Times Headlines states that "Jobless Rate Hits 8.5% as March Payrolls Fall by 663,000." This headline has followed months of business owners voting with their pink slips at the election results of last November. This is due to the fact that candidate Barack Obama made it perfectly clear that he intended to raise taxes on job creation.

Because of the Democrat's control of the Congress and the position of Obama, President Bush's tax cuts were not renewed. Those cuts had a direct effect on those who create jobs. Because of the failure to renew those cuts there was a marked increase in the Capital Gains tax, which will significantly undermine the economic activity that leads to more jobs. Than there is Obama's own proposal to dramatically increase the taxes of those who make $250,00 or more a year -- the very people who create most of the jobs. Add the many other taxes and regulations (which are very similar to a tax in their results) they are adding on the economy and we have a government waging a war on employment.

So Obamanomics are increasing unemployment by penalizing job creation, so what is it subsidizing? A great place to look is Obama's recent pork package also known as "stimulus" and the impact it would have on the various states, such as Mississippi. According to Fox News, Obama's measure would force states to allow people to receive welfare, even if they are not willing to work. For example, Barbour noted, that if the state of Mississippi wants to receive $54 million in increased unemployment benefits, they will have to expand the benefits to those not actively looking for employment or willing to take employment if offered. Barbour's decision not to take it led the state to receive less than $4 million of the expanded benefits.

In sum, Obama is taxing employment and subsidizing unemployment. The current headlines could be many things, but not surprising.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am), AOL Radio, and CBS Radio. Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.

Lessons Wall Street Could Learn from Hillsdale College

Education should be an on going process. If a person becomes too old to learn, they are simply too old. Wall Street institutions that lined up for hand outs should have went back to college before they became wards of the federal government. They should have went to Hillsdale College.

Hillsdale College is a private institution in Michigan that is noted for its commitment to independent thinking, its love of country and for producing outstanding alumni. It also doesn't receive a single penny from either the federal or state governments. Not even financial aid from its students. It argues that this has been the secret of its independence.

In fact, the financial geniuses on Wall Street didn't even have to go back to school, they could have simply visited Hillsdale's website, which states that "In 1975, the federal government said that Hillsdale had to sign a form stating that we did not discriminate on the basis of sex. Hillsdale College had never discriminated on any basis, and had never accepted federal taxpayer subsidies of any sort, so the College felt no obligation to comply, fearing that doing so would open the door to additional federal mandates and control. Our trustees pledged two things: first, that the College would continue its long-standing policy of non-discrimination, and second, that it would not accept any encroachments on its independence. The case went to court, and Hillsdale College won a partial victory, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals did rule that Hillsdale College was an “indirect recipient” of federal funding because of participation in federal grant and loan programs. In 1984, Grove City College in Pennsylvania fought and lost a similar legal battle. The case then went to the Supreme Court, and in Grove City v. Bell, it was determined that if even one student received a federal grant or loan, it made that institution a direct recipient of federal funds. To avoid the hassles of government control, Hillsdale College announced its decision to end participation in all federal financial aid programs in 1985. In 2007, Hillsdale announced that it would no longer accept State of Michigan taxpayer subsidies earmarked for student financial aid, thereby making the College completely independent of taxpayer support" (emphasis added).

Rarely in history has the government funded any business or institution without ultimately controlling it. It is naive to think that a government that exercises so much control over businesses in the form of taxation, regulations and licensure laws without funding them would not expect more -- much more -- from companies they actually financed. Now they have dined at the government's table, businesses will be looking at spending millions in legal costs to extract itself from the monster it has wed (if that is even possible). The first legal battle will come quickly, with the government retroactively taxing AIG for bonuses it paid its employees.

The admonishment to "do your homework" isn't limited to businesses. All of us need to take a much more careful approach in dealing with this government today.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am). Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business and says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.