National ID, Eminent Domain, and the EPA
Legislators are working on an immigration reform plan that includes a biometric identification card for all American workers.
The mayor of Detroit plans to employ the takings clause in an effort to clean up and downsize the city.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson claims that enactment of Sen. Lisa Murkowsi’s recent legislation would result in a “patchwork quilt” of state-level fuel regulations.
1. IMMIGRATION
Legislators are working on an immigration reform plan that includes a biometric identification card for all American workers.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh on why a national id program is a terrible idea.
“A national ID hurts American workers while pretending to help them. First, every worker would have to ask permission from the federal government to get a job. American workers shouldn’t have to beg or plead to anybody to get permission to work. Being employed should be a private agreement between an employer and employee. Period. The government should get out of the way.”
2. PROPERTY RIGHTS
The mayor of Detroit plans to employ the takings clause in an effort to clean up and downsize the city.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Marc Scribner on why we need to pass reforms to curb the power of eminent domain.
“Put simply: government has an incentive to abuse redevelopment processes and is incapable of knowing key economic variables necessary to promote long-term growth. In addition to the actual land grab, cities often bungle the public financing mechanisms to such a great degree that they often end up far worse than they started from a fiscal perspective.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson claims that enactment of Sen. Lisa Murkowsi’s recent legislation would result in a “patchwork quilt” of state-level fuel regulations.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on why the so-called regulatory “patchwork quilt” should be blamed on the EPA, not Senator Murkowski.
“Ms. Jackson neglects to mention that the patchwork threat exists only because she, reversing Bush EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson’s decision, granted California a waiver to implement its own GHG/fuel economy program. Had Jackson reaffirmed Johnson’s denial, there would be no danger of a patchwork, hence no ostensible need for the joint EPA/NHTSA rulemaking to avert it.”