United Liberty

Last week, a friend stopped by to show me the IOU he received fromt he state of California because he overpaid on his income taxes. How much did California owe him? $1.01. It probably cost nearly as much to actually produce the letter.

A hint of what it might be like.

H/T: The TrogloPundit

The Congressional Budget Office released a new report calling into doubt the Administration’s claims about the savings that would be realized from it’s health care reform package.

Today, the partisan White House came out swinging against the non-partisan CBO:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The White House has criticized the Congressional Budget Office’s findings that the Obama administration’s proposal to control Medicare costs would yield a moderate savings of $2 billion over the next decade.

Well, it looks like President Obama’s press conference didn’t have the intended effect as his approval rating continues to drop:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 30% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-nine percent (39%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -9.

The number who Strongly Disapprove of the President has increased slightly following the prime time press conference on Wednesday night. That figure—39%–is now at the highest level yet recorded. As a result, the overall Approval Index has fallen to the lowest level yet recorded for this President. …

In a short video from Reason.tv, Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch explain why the honeymoon is over for President Barack Obama and the American people:

The Associated Press is running a story on our friends in the Free State Project. In case you not familiar with the Free State Project, it’s part of the liberty movement that is trying to get 20,000 people to commit to moving to New Hampshire.

The article is surprisingly good and informative. Make sure to read it and also check out the FSP website to learn more about this part of the liberty movement.

President Barack Obama took to the airwaves today to claim that his health care plan would help small businesses cope with the cost of insurance:

Obama touted a report by his Council of Economic Advisers that concludes reforming healthcare would help small businesses by lowering the cost of providing insurance.

“These are the mom-and-pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities,” Obama said in his weekly address.

“They’re the tiny startups with big ideas, hoping to become the next Google or Apple or HP. And, as shown in a new report released today by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, right now they are getting crushed by skyrocketing healthcare costs.”

Today’s New York Times reports on one plan that, if implemented, could have led to a serious Constitutional crisis:

WASHINGTON — Top Bush administration officials in 2002 debated testing the Constitution by sending American troops into the suburbs of Buffalo to arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with Al Qaeda, according to former administration officials.

Some of the advisers to President George W. Bush, including Vice President Dick Cheney, argued that a president had the power to use the military on domestic soil to sweep up the terrorism suspects, who came to be known as the Lackawanna Six, and declare them enemy combatants.

Mr. Bush ultimately decided against the proposal to use military force.

While Obama pats himself on the back for his handling of economic crisis, polls are showing that Americans don’t feel so confident:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 25% of U.S. voters now say the stimulus plan has helped the economy. That’s a six-point drop from a month ago.

Thirty-one percent (31%) say the stimulus actually hurt the economy, little changed from a month ago. However, this is the first poll showing that more voters believe the plan hurt rather than helped.

A plurality (36%) says the plan has had no impact.

Just after Congress passed the plan, 34% said it would help the economy, 32% that it would hurt and 26% predicted no impact.

The ABC/Washington Post poll that I talked about earlier today in connection with Sarah Palin, also has this little tidbit about the yes-it’s-happening-way-too-early race for the 2012 GOP nomination:

As the shadowboxing for the GOP nomination begins, Palin’s eroding favorability among Republicans and white evangelicals could be a hurdle. The poll showed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee leading a pack of potential contenders.