Reihan's the author of the new book, Melting Pot or Civil War?: A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case Against Open Borders. Listen to his take on what we should do as a nation to solve our immigration crisis.
You can purchase the book here.
In this edition of Freedom Minute, we talk about why food truck regulations are not only bad for consumers and the local economy, they are often indefensible from a legal perspective.
In this edition of Freedom Minute, we talk about recent comments on Twitter from a professor at Ole Miss and how we can reform higher education.
In this edition of Freedom Minute, we talk about why a government boycott based upon a personal objection to speech made by a company is unconstitutional.
The Mississippi Justice Institute, the legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, sent a letter today to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety concerning the Department’s proposed boycott of Nike.
MJI outlined that a government boycott based upon a personal objection to speech made by a company is unconstitutional. This is the case whether it is the government boycott of Chick-Fil-A in Denver or Nike in Mississippi.
“A government boycott of a company for an exercise of free speech would be a flagrant violation of the First Amendment,” Aaron Rice, Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute, said. “For example, in Bd. of Cty. Comm'rs, Wabaunsee Cty., Kan. v. Umbehr, 518 U.S. 668 (1996), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment protects independent contractors from the termination of at-will government contracts in retaliation for their exercise of the freedom of speech. In a similar case, the Court in Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, 497 U.S. 62 (1990) held that politically based refusals to hire are just as unconstitutional as politically based dismissals of employees. What is clear from these cases is that the government cannot use taxpayer money to punish speech, either by canceling existing financial arrangements or by refusing to enter into future business relationships.”
In the past, MCPP has clearly communicated its view that using the national anthem as a venue for protest at sporting events is not appropriate and the NFL has clearly suffered from the consumer backlash. However, there is a difference between consumers exercising rights based on personally-held views and the government attempting to do it on behalf of all citizens.
“As a proud American, and as a fellow military veteran who lost a leg in Iraq, I would not personally choose the national anthem as a venue for protest as Colin Kaepernick has, or to highlight this act as Nike has,” Rice added. “However, I fought to protect their right to do just that without fear of government retribution, and I am always heartened to see citizens actually exercising that right - even when I may disagree with their viewpoint.
“MCPP and MJI are private organizations with the objective, among other things, of holding government accountable to its proper role as defined by the Constitution. To look the other way simply because we may disagree with the speech in question would be to fail in fulfilling this objective.”
Read the letter here: https://mspolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Letter-to-MDPS-Commissioner-9.27.18.pdf
This morning, a coalition of 30 free market policy groups, including the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, sent a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady objecting to any expansion of the federal electric vehicle tax credit.
The letter encourages Chairman Brady to reject attempts by the EV lobby and their allies in Congress to slip a tax-credit cap increase into upcoming spending packages. Congress has a responsibility to spare American taxpayers increased economic harm from a subsidy that benefits only those who can afford expensive electric vehicles.
American Energy Alliance President Thomas J. Pyle made the following statement:
“The electric vehicle tax credit subsidizes expensive vehicles that only a fraction of wealthy Americans want and that do not necessarily pollute less than modern internal combustion engines.
“Why should a typical middle class American family — with a median annual income of $44,000 — subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and famous? Political leaders should recognize that Americans can make their own decisions about how to spend their money and what cars they want to drive. We shouldn’t give handouts to wealthy individuals to help defray the cost of their luxury vehicles.”
The full letter can be found here.
This press release is from the American Energy Alliance.
In this edition of Freedom Minute, we talk about the start of the NFL season, declining ratings and revenue, Nike, Colin Kaepernick, and culture.
In this edition of Freedom In Five Minutes or Less, we talk about the new school LeBron James is opening, innovation in education, and why sending piles of cash to district schools usually does not work.
Gov. Phil Bryant has called a special session to begin this Thursday. Lawmakers will address infrastructure repairs and maintenance, along with the allocation of BP money, according to the governor's call.
“We will be able to add roughly $200 million into roads and bridges in the state of Mississippi,” said Gov. Bryant. “It will start the first year of 2019 and go into $260 million that will grow after that, so you will eventually reach the $300 million, but in the first three years of this plan, we have put over $600 million into roads and bridges in the state of Mississippi without raising taxes.”
Where will the money come from? Dr. Jameson Taylor, Vice President for Policy at Mississippi Center for Public Policy, provides a preview of the special session.