State Gift Clauses, UK in the EU, Dodd-Frank Lawsuit

STATE ‘GIFT CLAUSES’ – TREY KOVACS

Deseretnews.com: States should use gift clauses to control government spending

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker seems to understand what his recall victory really means. “It was a triumph more than anything for middle-class taxpayers,” he said after the recent recall election. “Middle-class taxpayers have overwhelmingly paid for the expansion of government.”

Walker is right, but restraining runaway government will need more than political victories. It will need institutional tools that allow Americans to directly challenge wasteful spending.

Fortunately, they already exist in most states in the form of “gift clauses” — constitutional prohibitions on subsidies. Arizona’s Constitution, for example, states that no state or local government agency “shall make any donation or grant, by subsidy or otherwise, to any individual, association or corporation.” It’s time for state lawmakers rediscover and make full use of these clauses to restrain the growth of government.

UK VS EU – IAIN MURRAY

Daily Mail: Bring on the ‘Brixit’: EU withdrawal would bring benefits for both Britain and the US

While much of the worry in the United States about the future of the European Union has focused on Greece, Spain, and Italy and their many problems, one consideration that hasn’t gotten enough attention is the probability that the United Kingdom might leave the bloc.

Recent events have made that once-remote possibility now much more likely. The US should prepare for the eventuality that its closest ally will soon be looking for new options in foreign relations.

DODD-FRANK LAWSUIT

CEI.org/doddfrank: Dodd-Frank Unconstitutional Power-Grab, Says New Lawsuit

The State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, today filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to hear its case challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the 60 Plus Association are also joining this community bank as plaintiffs in the same action, requesting the Court to invalidate the law because of the unprecedented, unchecked power it gives the government.