MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'federalism'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:49:11 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139693&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJYQ_y5NMH5Q%2F By Caleb O. BrownNext month, the Obama Administration will begin granting waivers to states that are not on track to meet proficiency requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will be granting these waivers selectively, based mostly on states’ willingness to abide by new executive branch mandates not included in NCLB, likely including adopting national curriculum standards. Duncan has the authority under NCLB to grant waivers, but not to compel states to jump through administration hoops in order to earn them, as Neal McCluskey has documented clearly. As Neal notes in today’s Cato Daily Podcast, essentially imposing national standards – as well as other potential waiver demands – represents a large-scale assertion of federal executive pow... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139693 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:42:21 +0100 5139693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096163&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAOgPxXQoppA%2F By Ilya ShapiroThat’s how I describe the individual mandate in my contribution to SCOTUSblog‘s online symposium on Obamacare, which Trevor Burrus has already highlighted.  Here’s an excerpt: All the Obamacare legal challenges boil down to Congress’s authority – or lack thereof – to require people to buy private insurance.  Although unfortunately not dispositive of modern judicial decisions, the text of the Constitution demands that the Supreme Court strike down the individual mandate as an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce.  Finding the mandate constitutional would be the first interpretation of the Commerce Clause to permit the regulation of inactivity – in effect requiring an individual to engage in an economi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096163 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:00:47 +0100 5096163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984427&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FK5XaJEi5u3E%2F By Ilya ShapiroWith the federal government’s growing assertion of power over the states — Obamacare is just the highest-profile example –  state legislators regularly contact me for advice on how to push back while remaining constitutionally faithful.  What can they do in areas like health care, immigration, drug decriminalization, and firearm regulation? One innovative solution is interstate compacts: states can actually create binding federal law by joining together in a sort of multi-state contract.  Typically they need Congress’s (but not the president’s) consent, but the Supreme Court has held that when the compacts don’t implicate challenges to federal power, they don’t even need that. For example, Texas is now considering joining a Medica... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984427 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:16:32 +0100 4984427 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975839&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjqIiiUmeSBM%2F By David BoazSince New York passed a law extending marriage to same-sex couples, Republican presidential candidates have been mostly silent. But not Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has had a long and strong interest in gay rights issues. In an interview on Fox News Sunday she endorsed both New York’s Tenth Amendment right to make marriage law and the federal government’s right to override such laws with a constitutional amendment, confusing host Chris Wallace: WALLACE: You are a strong opponent of same-marriage. What do you think of the law that was just passed in New York state—making it the biggest state to recognize same-sex marriage? BACHMANN: Well, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And I also believe—in Minnesota, for instance, this year, the legislature... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975839 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:50:06 +0100 4975839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934103&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6DG6V1dfIC0%2F By Ilya ShapiroHard cases make bad law, the saying goes.  Well, a bizarre case that the Supreme Court decided unanimously today has set a good precedent for the enforcement of residual Tenth Amendment powers.  As I described in December when Cato filed a brief in Bond v. United States: Carol Anne Bond learned that her best friend was having an affair with her husband, so she spread toxic chemicals on the woman’s car and mailbox. Postal inspectors discovered this plot after they caught Bond on film stealing from the woman’s mailbox. Rather than leave this caper to local law enforcement authorities to resolve, however, a federal prosecutor charged Bond with violating a statute that implements U.S. treaty obligations under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. Bond pled guilty and was... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934103 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:48:12 +0100 4934103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872063&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FG8QBGtVTCmU%2F By Jim HarperFederal officials blitzed Texas this week to fight a bill pending in Austin that would control TSA groping of air travelers in that state, reports Forbes’ “Not-So-Private Parts” blogger Kashmir Hill. Federal government officials descended on the Capitol to hand out a letter … from the Texas U.S. Attorney letting senators know that if they passed the bill, the TSA would probably have to cancel all flights out of Texas. As much as they love their state, the idea of shutting down airports and trapping people in Texas was scary enough to get legislators to reconsider their support for the groping bill… The federal government’s threat to shut down air travel is serious, but empty. As we’ve seen time and again with the REAL ID Act, the federal g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872063 Thu, 26 May 2011 20:42:03 +0100 4872063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862513&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmGTytT7-JcU%2F By Walter OlsonThanks to star libertarian lawprof and Cato senior fellow Randy Barnett for pointing out something that has needed saying for a while: most proposals in the U.S. Congress to address medical malpractice law run into serious federalism problems. Most medical malpractice suits go forward in state courts under state law. If the U.S. Congress wishes to impose a nationwide rule on these suits, such as by limiting damages for pain and suffering, it first needs to answer the question: under which of the federal government’s constitutionally prescribed powers is it acting? Even if it can identify such authority, it should also ask: is it a wise idea—consistent with what one might call a prudential federalism—to gather yet more power in Washington at the expense of the state... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862513 Tue, 24 May 2011 19:43:47 +0100 4862513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862515&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fhu_TAotJGc0%2F By George Scoville “Vouchers and tax credits differ from one another in important ways, and Pennsylvanians deserve to have their representatives consider them one at a time.” “So, if the Supreme Court’s precedents defer to Congress’ assessments of its powers, but Congress is relying for ‘constitutional authority’ on the Supreme Court’s precedents, then NO ONE is actually looking at the Constitution itself to see if a bill is within Congress’ enumerated powers.” “Carbon dioxide, thought to be a significant cause of the warming of surface temperature since the mid-1970s, is currently the respiration of the world’s economic civilization. Getting rid of it isn’t as simple as banning CFCs and switching to another refrigerant.... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862515 Tue, 24 May 2011 15:23:20 +0100 4862515 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820820&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSjfmZ01Qsro%2F By Jim HarperIn 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment cut an important tie in the Constitution between state legislatures and the Congress. In the original Constitution, states were empowered to choose the senators who would represent them in Congress. The result? Senators had an allegiance to the state government as much as the people of the state they represented. Why does this matter? Well, today—with direct, popular election of senators—there isn’t much of anyone looking after state legislatures in Congress. Accordingly, the federal government continually tries to turn states into administrative outposts of the federal government rather than respecting them as the independent political powers they’re supposed to be. In program after program, remote federal officials s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820820 Fri, 13 May 2011 14:40:11 +0100 4820820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704620&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F24L-ViQ4CWI%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe legal battle over SB 1070 is far from over, so neither side should cheer or despair. The upshot of the Ninth Circuit’s splintered and highly technical opinion is merely that the district court did not abuse its discretion in enjoining four provisions. The court could not and did not rule on the legislation’s ultimate constitutionality and, of course, SB 1070’s remaining provisions—the ten that weren’t challenged and the two on which Judge Bolton rejected the government’s argument—remain in effect. But the legal machinations are only half the story. While I personally think that all or almost all of the Arizona law is constitutional, at least as written (abuses in application are always possible), it’s bad policy because it harms the state’s economy and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704620 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:04:59 +0100 4704620 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600515&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3H5iD5cOzT4%2F By John SamplesTwo hundred and sixty years ago, James Madison was born in Virginia. His life was long and eventful, comprising the American Revolution, the writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the founding of political parties, the War of 1812, and the rise of Andrew Jackson. The struggles that would culminate in the Civil War were evident in the last years of his life. Along with his political career, Madison proved to be one of this nation's most insightful and certainly its most influential political theorist. He is often accorded the twin titles of Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. No doubt those titles claim too much for him or any other mortal. But according him those titles is not far from the truth. What would surprise Madison about our current consti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600515 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:46:35 +0100 4600515 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536048&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxbLj9Kr6Ttk%2F This report confirms what most Americans assume about their government. We are spending trillions of dollars every year and nobody knows what we are doing. The executive branch doesn’t know. The congressional branch doesn’t know. Nobody knows. Nobody knows because no human being could possibly keep sufficient tabs on thousands of programs in a $3.8 trillion federal budget. Compounding the problem is the fact that policymakers devote much of their time to fundraising, campaigning, and other distracting activities. The report’s takeaway, therefore, should be that the federal government’s scope needs to be drastically curtailed. Unfortunately, a typical response to the report has been to cite it as further evidence that policymakers must “eliminate waste” and “make governmen... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536048 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:54:11 +0100 4536048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507261&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ftwq6vyeVFIM%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Washington Post reports: Practically every week, a Republican governor or lawmaker announces a new effort to kill the health-care law or undercut its implementation. Unfortunately, many of those same governors are still implementing the law when they should be outright refusing to do so. In my Kaiser Health News column today, I offer two reasons why (at least) Republican governors should stop implementing ObamaCare: Swearing an oath to support the Constitution also obligates governors to use lawful means to prevent its unlawful abuse. Governors who believe ObamaCare to be unconstitutional are as duty-bound to stop implementing the law as they are to challenge it in court... It is the height of fiscal irresponsibility to be making new spending commitments (1) when... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507261 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:30:35 +0100 4507261 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489645&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyP-8oFHoPEc%2F By Tad DeHavenChris Edwards recently penned a piece that makes the case for cutting federal subsidies to state and local governments. In a related budget bulletin, he shows that there are now over 1,100 federal aid programs for state and local governments. I’ve produced two charts that illustrate the extraordinary growth in federal subsidies to state and local government using the latest figures in the president’s 2012 budget proposal. The first chart shows the inflation-adjusted increase in federal subsidies to states and local governments since 1941, separated into “health” and “non-health” categories: The second chart shows the inflation-adjusted increase in total federal subsidies to state and local governments since 2000: Like countless other individuals and interest gro... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489645 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:54:36 +0100 4489645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419108&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCUMhMgUR9zY%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday’s ruling vindicates the constitutional first principle that ours is a government of delegated, enumerated, and thus limited powers. Like Judge Hudson in the Virginia case, Judge Vinson recognized that the individual mandate represents an unprecedented and improper incursion beyond those powers: the federal government, under the guise of regulating commerce, cannot require that people engage in economic activity. And this is as it should be: if the only limit on congressional power were Congress’ own assessment of the wisdom of each assertion of such power, the Constitution would be obsolete — as would any conception of checks and balances. James Madison, the author of the Federalist Paper (51) explaining how man’s non-angelic nature requires ex... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419108 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:17:46 +0100 4419108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399507&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNb9gopEJD8o%2F By David RittgersIf you haven’t seen it already, I recommend the Frontline report Are We Safer? Since September 11, 2001, the government has gone on a spending spree without any regard for fiscal federalism, dumping $31 billion into grant programs. The program is based on The Washington Posts’ Top Secret America article, “Monitoring America.” Watch it below: Much of this spending has gone to local pork projects or allowed state and local governments to avoid the realities of budgeting – spend federal counterterrorism dollars on normal law enforcement requirements while spending the local tax base on unsustainable pensions for public employees. For a tally of this excess, check out the Price of Peril, an interactive map showing homeland security spending by state, courtesy of the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399507 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:49:22 +0100 4399507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372024&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fhb02FZ8jrII%2F By Michael F. CannonThe symbolism of today’s House vote is striking. Within a year of ObamaCare’s enactment, the House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to repeal it. That didn’t happen with Social Security. It didn’t happen with Medicare. Social Security and Medicare did not face sustained public opposition from the moment they were introduced in Congress. They did not pass by one vote, in the dead of night. They were not challenged as unconstitutional by half the states in the union.  They were not struck down as unconstitutional by a federal court within a year of enactment. The House vote to repeal ObamaCare is just the latest sign that ObamaCare goes too far, that it creates a more intrusive government than the American people are willing to accept. But ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372024 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:46:45 +0100 4372024 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294615&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FskNPPZcFS3g%2F By Roger PilonThe editorialists at the The New York Times are out of sorts this morning over a Tea Party backed constitutional amendment that would give state legislatures the power to veto any federal law or regulation if two-thirds of the legislatures approved. Despite the backing of incoming House majority leader Eric Cantor and legislative leaders in 12 states, the proposal has little chance of succeeding, the Times avers, “but it helps explain further the anger-fueled, myth-based politics of the populist new right.” Indeed, it expresses “with bold simplicity the view of the Tea Party and others that the federal government’s influence is far too broad.” Well? Isn’t that what the election last month was all about? But right there, for the Times, is the problem: “In past ec... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294615 Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:21:47 +0100 4294615 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265679&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ft-yjBfmZUvk%2F By David BoazThe Washington Post reported yesterday that Republican senators were turning their back on a massive spending bill stuffed full of their own earmarks. Those earmarks, the Post noted, included quite a few to benefit Mississippi, the home state of Senators Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran: Wicker, along with Cochran, had by then already sponsored earmarks in the spending bill that would fund an airport expansion in Tunica ($1.75 million), new riverwalk lights in Columbus ($300,000), improvements to a hiking and biking trail in Hattiesburg ($700,000) and improvements to an assortment of bridges, highways, trails, railways and streets across Mississippi. A burgeoning Tea Party revolt against earmarks caused the bill to be withdrawn. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid held a press conf... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265679 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:29:22 +0100 4265679 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265688&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOh8V9LhskYs%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday’s hearing in Pensacola built on Monday’s ruling out of Richmond: Judge Roger Vinson is likely to hold the individual mandate unconstitutional. And such a decision would be the most significant development possible at the district court level because the Florida case involved 20 states, with more joining the lawsuit when new governors and attorneys general assume office in January. It is unprecedented for this number of states — again, soon to be a majority — to sue the federal government and it shows the singular and extreme nature of the government’s assertion of raw power here. As Judge Vinson said during the hearing, the Supreme Court has held that the outer bounds of Congress’s regulatory power under the Commerce Clause (as exerc... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265688 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:04:15 +0100 4265688 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251105&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtY_hNa8O4F8%2F By Ilya ShapiroCarol Anne Bond learned that her best friend was having an affair with her husband, so she spread toxic chemicals on the woman’s car and mailbox. Postal inspectors discovered this plot after they caught Bond on film stealing from the woman’s mailbox. Rather than leave this caper to local law enforcement authorities to resolve, however, a federal prosecutor charged Bond with violating a statute that implements U.S. treaty obligations under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. Bond pled guilty and was sentenced but now appeals her conviction on the ground that the statute at issue violates the Tenth Amendment – in that her offense was local in nature and not properly subject to federal prosecution. The Third Circuit declined to reach the constitutional ques... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251105 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:19:51 +0100 4251105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214082&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ftc4ChoXppkw%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’ve always had a soft spot for Switzerland. The nation’s decentralized structure shows the value of federalism, both as a means of limiting the size of government and as a way of promoting tranquility in a nation with several languages, religions, and ethnic groups. I also admire Switzerland’s valiant attempt to preserve financial privacy in a world dominated by greedy, high-tax governments. I now have another reason to admire the Swiss. Voters yesterday overwhelmingly rejected a class-warfare proposal to impose higher tax rates on the income and wealth of rich residents. The Social Democrats did their best to make the hate-and-envy scheme palatable. Only the very richest taxpayers would have been affected. But Swiss voters, like voters in Washington... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214082 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:47:01 +0100 4214082 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214085&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRQM4RfbwuLk%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonWriting in yesterday’s WSJ, education historian Diane Ravitch laments that Republicans have abandoned their earlier defense of federalism and limited government in education, embracing vast and expanding powers for Washington over the nation’s schools. In particular, she faults the No Child Left Behind act for demanding public school improvements that have not been forthcoming and for imposing “corrective” measures that will not correct the problem. Though I depart from Ravitch on most education policy matters — and not just on conclusions but also methodology — she is right in both of the above observations. Over the past decade, many Republicans have championed new federal powers in education that have no basis in the U.S. Constitut... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214085 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:07:24 +0100 4214085 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082067&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5fPJFUha52s%2F By John SamplesThe infamous Conway attack on Rand Paul may be found here. Most people have focused on religion and politics in talking about the ad. I want to examine a part that has been overlooked. We often hear that contemporary liberalism comprises a big state role in economic regulation combined with a small state regarding social and civil liberties. Maybe not. Look at the disclaimer at the beginning of the ad. Who is standing behind Jack Conway? Those two gentlemen would police officers, probably Kentucky state police. Why are they there? After all, Conway could have put his loving wife and dear children in the background. But he choose police officers. Conway is saying: “I stand with the forces of order.” Not a very socially liberal message. Why are the police willing t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082067 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:45:59 +0100 4082067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031222&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgDCEfD3omyc%2F By Tad DeHavenThe Washington Post recently reported on the federal government’s cash-welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Despite the deep recession, the TANF welfare rolls haven’t seen a dramatic increase. Meanwhile, other federal anti-poverty programs have seen the sizable increases that are to be expected in a recession: Nationwide, welfare cases grew by 11 percent from the start of the recession through March, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. In contrast, the number of families getting food stamps jumped by 50 percent and the number getting unemployment benefits more than doubled. Medicaid grew by more than 13 percent from late 2007 to late 2009, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. As I’ve noted before, TANF’s tighter work an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031222 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:15:44 +0100 4031222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3885333&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fo8ac4oADjV0%2F Financial Times writes: The federal government will step in to ensure that the Obama administration’s health care reforms are implemented in every state, Kathleen Sebelius, the health secretary, said, amid growing resistance to the changes in some parts of the US and an inability to act in others. The article quotes Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: The way the bill is written, it really is a state-based programme with the federal government providing the back-up.  So if a state opts not to set up a risk pool, we do it here at the department. If the state opts not to regulate their insurance market, we do it… It is not a federal takeover, it’s really a partnership. Yes, a partnership not unlike that between the Soviet Union and, say, Czechoslovakia. The Obam... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3885333 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:01:22 +0100 3885333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699480&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdnNZrGYnv_4%2F By Tim LynchGeorge Will has some excellent questions for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.  Here’s an excerpt: • The government having decided that Chrysler’s survival is an urgent national necessity, could it decide that Cash for Clunkers is too indirect a subsidy and instead mandate that people buy Chrysler products? • If Congress concludes that ignorance has a substantial impact on interstate commerce, can it constitutionally require students to do three hours of homework nightly? If not, why not? • Can you name a human endeavor that Congress cannot regulate on the pretense that the endeavor affects interstate commerce? If courts reflexively defer to that congressional pretense, in what sense do we have limited government? • In Federalist 45, James Madison said: &#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699480 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:30:33 +0100 3699480 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3662651&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPyuPJ5QUa_I%2F By Tad DeHavenPresident Obama is proposing giving the states another $50 billion. However, this would amount to another bailout for state and local government employees and their unions. The president claims that more deficit spending is necessary to sustain the nascent economic recovery. But the only thing the money would sustain is the excessive wages and benefits government employees enjoy at the expense of the private sector. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average state and local government employee receives 45 percent more in total compensation per hour worked than the average private-sector employee. Perhaps we should cut generous government wages and benefits rather than putting the federal government further into debt? Total compensation for state and local worker... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3662651 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:42:42 +0100 3662651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420437&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWAtKqZhiqDY%2F By Ilya ShapiroThat’s the question NYU law professor Rick Hills asks over at PrawfsBlaws: So why do American libertarians think that federalism is consistent with their commitment to individual liberty? Why not, instead, support a strong national government that can suppress subnational trade wars and protect a robust set of national liberties? What’s the payoff, in terms of individual liberty, from protecting subnational jurisdictions’ exclusive jurisdiction over certain topics? In other words, if government is bad, why do we want a multiplicity of governments — federal, state, local — all presumably restricting individual liberty in some way? Well, with all due respect to Prof. Hills — who also graciously commended Cato’s brief in Comstock, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420437 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:54:02 +0100 3420437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3398886&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv1kB49EVIb0%2F By Roger PilonToday Politico Arena asks: Do the 13 state attorneys general have a case against ObamaCare? My response: Absolutely.  It will be an uphill battle, because modern “constitutional law” is so far removed from the Constitution itself, but a win is not impossible.  There are three main arguments.  (1) Under the Constitution, as properly interpreted, Congress has no power to enact such a plan.  (2) The plan conscripts state governments into carrying out and paying for federal mandates.  And (3) the individual mandate amounts to an unlawful capitation or direct tax. The first argument will almost certainly lose, because under post-1937 readings of the Commerce Clause, Congress can regulate anything that “affects” interstate commerce, which at some level ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3398886 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:44:57 +0100 3398886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3322343&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLtzF__144MY%2F By Tad DeHavenThe Economist’s Free Exchange blog asks: “[W]hy isn’t federal aid to states more popular, and popular enough to get through Congress, given that nearly every American lives in one?” I would ask the blog’s author: How much more popular would he like it to be? As the following charts show, federal aid to state and local governments has catapulted to record levels. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, Medicaid has been driving the growth in federal subsidies to state and local governments. But other areas, such as education, income security, and transportation, have also seen substantial increases. Subsidizing state and local government is quite popular with federal, state, and local policymakers and associated special interests. It’s doubtful the average citizen... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3322343 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:34:48 +0100 3322343 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3243774&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFOHwFBdaL9s%2F By Tad DeHavenSenator Kent Conrad (D-ND) has a reputation for being a “deficit hawk.” But the bar is apparently so low in Washington that merely paying lip service to “fiscal responsibility” is enough to earn you the hawk title in the press. In reality, Conrad is a tax and spender as a story in today’s Wall Street Journal demonstrates. These examples illustrate Sen. Deficit Hawk’s commitment to deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility: “Like many in Congress, he is conflicted. He boasts a 23-year record of looking after North Dakota voters with ample farm subsidies, aid for drought-hit ranchers, defense spending and scores of pet projects. He has done little to help rein in Medicare and Social Security expenses—the U.S.’s biggest budget busters.” “He has bee... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3243774 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:17:42 +0100 3243774 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3048085&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgHZD8AVEhWw%2F That’s the title of a piece in Saturday’s New York Times. That welfare usage is up in a recession isn’t surprising, but if the stigma is truly fading it’s not a positive development. As a Cato essay on food subsidies states, “The [food stamp] program contributes to long-term dependence on government and produces various social pathologies as side effects.” Disturbingly, the USDA official who oversees the program is pleased: Although the program is growing at a record rate, the federal official who oversees it would like it to grow even faster. ‘I think the response of the program has been tremendous,’ said Kevin Concannon, an under secretary of agriculture, ‘but we’re mindful that there are another 15, 16 million who could benefit.’ There are certainly people in need ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3048085 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:49:57 +0100 3048085 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3048092&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_VXuFTws38Q%2F The state of California recently received $60 million in U.S. Department of Labor stimulus funds to upgrade its 23 year-old unemployment benefits system. But according to the Associated Press, California is yet to spend $66 million it received from Labor in 2002 to upgrade its system. The price tag isn’t whopping by federal standards, but it is another reminder of the need to return to fiscal federalism. Apparently, the Department of Labor couldn’t care less: The federal government has no plans to sanction or fine California for not completing the original technology upgrade. The Labor Department said it was more concerned that new stimulus funding is used in a way that will allow more workers to qualify for unemployment assistance. At the same time, California’s unemployment insuran... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3048092 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:03:24 +0100 3048092 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2934658&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPdmtrRWCvCg%2F Over at Flypaper, Andy Smarick can’t figure out what the Obama administration thinks is the proper federal role in education. A couple of weeks ago, commenting on a speech by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Smarick couldn’t tell whether Duncan was advocating that the feds be friendly Helpy Helpertons, no-excuses disciplinarians, or something in between. Yesterday, Smarick revisited the whither-the-feds theme, pointing out the frustrating contradiction when Duncan both praises local and state education control and blasts states for doing stuff he doesn’t like. But Duncan isn’t alone in his fuzziness, according to Smarick, who says he’s ”yet to come across anyone with a comprehensive, water-tight argument for what the feds should and s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2934658 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:30:54 +0100 2934658 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2809665&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fe7U0w9qx3R4%2F S. 1536, the “ALERT Drivers” Act (”Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers” — get it?) would reduce federal highway funds available to states if they don’t pass laws prohibiting people from writing, sending, or reading text messages while driving. The circle is complete. Senators, who were once chosen by state legislatures, now believe it is their role to tell state legislatures what to do. Federal command over our lives, in ever more intricate detail. It’s the product of exalting democracy — in this case, direct election of senators — over liberty and over the governmental structure originally established in the constitution. Texting while driving is dangerous to your health and others’. Letting governments ama... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2809665 Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:50:37 +0100 2809665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2610894&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPY-43SDN4t0%2F The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing yesterday on the REAL ID Act and the REAL ID revival bill, known as PASS ID. I attended and want to share with you some highlights. Good News! Little good came from the hearing, as it was primarily focused on how to get the states and people to accept a national ID. But there is some good news. First, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared REAL ID dead (much as I did in my testimony two-plus years ago). “DOA” is how she referred to it. She also said that no state will be in compliance with REAL ID by the current December 31, 2009 deadline. This is important because a lot of people think that states doing anything about the security of drivers’ licenses and ID cards ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2610894 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:50:38 +0100 2610894 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605941&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7mNZfNFQ8is%2F Unsure about prospects on passing the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act as a stand-alone bill, proponents intend to attach it as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill. As I have said previously, this bill is an affront to federalism and counterproductive hater-aid. Federal Criminal Law Power Grab This legislation awards grants to jurisdictions for the purpose of combating hate crimes. It also creates a substantive federal crime of violent acts motivated by the “actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person.” This is a federalization of a huge number of intrastate crimes. It is hard to imagine a rape case where the sex of the victim is not an issue. The same goes for r... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605941 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:43:24 +0100 2605941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2561206&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9oyADo3qUv4%2F Last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings (video at the link) on the proposed federal hate crimes bill showed the dark underbelly of the Senate. The road to undermining the rule of law is being paved with the best of intentions and casual disregard (if not outright hostility) for the principles of limited government and equality under the law. I raise some objections to the bill in this podcast: The bill federalizes violent acts against victims by reason of their actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Never mind that these acts are already prosecuted by the states, and that violent crimes of this nature are universally perceived as an affront to justice. Matthew Shepard, the gay man brutally kille... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2561206 Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:21:22 +0100 2561206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452379&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F28Ng5aekLZI%2F Ohio lawmakers are hot under the collar about federal stimulus dollars possibly helping Georgia bid away one of its big employers. Here’s the Dayton Daily News: NCR’s news release touting its decision to move jobs from Dayton to the Atlanta, Ga. suburbs includes one factoid that has Ohio lawmakers in a fury: The City of Columbus, Ga. plans to use federal stimulus dollars to buy a building and construct another to accommodate the 870 manufacturing jobs expected to come to the that Atlanta suburb. ‘The fact that economic stimulus dollars were used to move an Ohio company to Georgia at taxpayer expense is an outrage,’ said state Sen. Jon Husted. Added U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Columbus: “Federal stimulus money is being used to create winners and losers among worker... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452379 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:41:36 +0100 2452379 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389674&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhJKyEy9FHS4%2F Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has been a leader in the fight for fiscal responsibility in Congress. He’s even led on issues that many elected officials have shied away from, such as Social Security reform and free trade. Recently he said that he would support Pat Toomey over Arlen Specter in a Republican primary, which may have prompted Specter’s party switch. DeMint was widely quoted as saying, “I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free markets, free people, than to have 60 that don’t have a set of beliefs.” It may have been feedback from that comment that caused DeMint to write an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on his vision of a “Big Tent” Republican party. He makes some excellent points: But bi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389674 Mon, 04 May 2009 16:12:08 +0100 2389674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375840&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlRSZZkWT9SI%2F Editor’s Note: Cato scholar Ilya Shapiro is blogging about the NAMUDNO v. Holder case from the Supreme Court, and will provide dispatches throughout the Court’s session. As I walk away from the Court, with the sounds of the NAACP rally fading in the distance, I’m no clearer on how this case will be resolved than when I went into the building early this morning. This uncertainty mostly results from the rather technical issues surrounding the Voting Rights Act’s “bailout” provision, as well as how narrowly the Court will want to construe the municipal utility’s challenge (as-applied, facial, or some other novel formulation). What is clear is that the “liberal” justices, especially Ginsburg and Breyer, were downright hostile to the idea o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375840 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:12:52 +0100 2375840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375846&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F87wxu-u4z3E%2F I write this from the Bar Members’ line waiting to be let into the Supreme Court courtroom for the final argument of the term. Today the Court hears Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No.1 (”NAMUDNO”) v. Holder. This is a challenge to the controversial Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires, among other things, any change in election administration in certain states and counties to be “precleared” by the Department of Justice in Washington. This is, of course, a remnant of the Jim Crow era, and southern states’ massive resistance to attempts to enforce the 15th Amendment. In 1965, Congress included Section 5 — which would otherwise be an unconstitutional infringement on peoples’ right to run their own elections locally &#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375846 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:49:16 +0100 2375846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2284346&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBxOoV0GA-nE%2F Sen. Chuck Grassley, who can always be counted on to stick the federal government’s nose where it doesn’t belong, is criticizing Attorney General Eric Holder’s teeny-tiny steps toward a less oppressive enforcement of drug prohibition. Holder said on Wednesday “that federal agents will target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state law. This is a departure from policy under the Bush administration, which targeted dispensaries under federal law even if they complied with the state’s law allowing sales of medical marijuana.” Grassley says that marijuana is a “gateway” drug to the use of harder drugs and that Holder “is not doing health care reform any good.” As Tim Lynch and I wrote in the Cato Handbook f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2284346 Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:11:34 +0100 2284346 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2263772&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuhDfuTVr3Mw%2F Does the policy of setting a national drinking age reduce highway fatalities? In Friday’s Cato Daily Podcast, Jeffrey Miron, senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University, talks about the research he and student Elina Tetelbaum (now a Yale Law student) carried out on that question: What we find is that the only area where there is any evidence for efficacy of the law are states that adopted a higher drinking on their own without any compulsion. For the states that the feds forced … to raise [their] drinking age, there is no evidence of a beneficial reduction in traffic fatalities… We conclude quite strongly that it’s only when a state chooses a higher drinking age on its own, it’s only when it decides its going to devote enforcement resources and when there’s public ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2263772 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:00:09 +0100 2263772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1165332&cid=t_113099_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomensbioethics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2F2008-state-of-states.html (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1165332 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:35:00 +0100 1165332 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=551392&cid=t_113099_133_f&fid=35452&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graphictruth.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fimmediate-local-benefits-had-better-be.html The Blog | Rick Jacobs: California's Speaker Asks the Candidates to Speak with California | The Huffington PostWhile Iraq occupies the headlines, we have a country that is practically falling apart. The California experience is emblematic of the series of problems that face the nation. A high percentage of the military executing the president's war in Iraq is a product of a public school system that offered those now serving few choices beyond the military. To put a fine point on it, about half of those who enroll in the ninth grade in LA public schools drop out before graduation. And unfortunately, a fair number of those who graduate are not well-equipped for a job or a higher education, the latter of which is now unaffordable for many in California, a sad post script for a state that was... Graphictruth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=551392 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 551392