The Lessons of the Meltdown, Attacking the Tea Parties and Texting Safety
Former Wall Street Journal editor George Melloan takes on the recent economic meltdown in a new book.
A new online campaign aims to fight the “dangerous ideas” of the Tea Party movement.
A new study finds that laws against using mobile phones while driving don’t improve safety.
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.
1. BUSINESS
Former Wall Street Journal editor George Melloan takes on the recent economic meltdown in a new book.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs John Berlau on what the author says about the current administration:
“Alas, the lessons of the financial crisis are still to be been learned. Mr. Melloan notes that President Obama’s economic team favors ever more government intervention in the economy, disrupting market efficiency and politicizing private decisions. On health care, he points out that current problems are the result of flawed government, an out-of-control legal system for malpractice suits and policies that encourage third-party payment.”
2. POLITICS
A new online campaign aims to fight the “dangerous ideas” of the Tea Party movement.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Editorial Director Ivan Osorio on where the anti-Tea Party money is coming from:
“It’s worth nothing that the single biggest donor to [anti-Tea Party] Patriot Majority, by far, is the nation’s largest government employee union, the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which gave the group $5.8 million in the 2008 election cycle. Government employee unions, as would be expected, have a vested interest in promoting the growth of government.”
3. SAFETY
A new study finds that laws against using mobile phones while driving don’t improve safety.
CEI Experts Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on how to help insure against distraction risks while driving:
“Automobiles are increasingly electric in every aspect apart from how they’re powered; onboard monitoring systems can record accident data; maybe that could be (or is?) matched up with cell phone diagnostics on whether somebody was monkeying with the keys or touchpad simultaneously. You could be warned ahead of the time, before you purchase your policy, that you aren’t covered if you’re texting while driving. It’s food for thought, especially if the laws against texting don’t work anyway. More importantly, all technologies bring risks, and we must always explore disciplines apart from lazy legislation.”
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.