Howard's Political Commentary

Responsible Voter Experiments by Howard Levine May 15, 2003 One factor more than any that encourages irresponsible government is letting people vote without having to do anything to prove that they are responsible citizens who have a stake in the future of the community. The only significant requirement for a citizen to vote is being at least 18 years old. People who have not demonstrated any sense of responsibility in their lives are not likely to make the best civic minded voters with a long-term view. There are some constitutional issues regarding restricting voting rights. States cannot restrict voting based on age (if 18 or older), race, sex, or payment of taxes. The only restrictions that are constitutionally legitimate without any affect on a state's seats in the House of Representatives is preventing felons from voting. Any other restrictions may be constitutional, but would result in the state having its population reduced by the number of voters who were made ineligible t

Unemployment Self-Insurance By Howard Levine January 9, 2003 President Bush has made an interesting proposal for unemployment insurance funds that would give unemployed workers $3000 to spend for expenses related to finding a new job. In order to encourage a faster, more economical job search, any funds remaining would be available to the unemployed person in cash after he found a job and held it for a minimum period. I think the objective of giving people incentives to find a job and get off unemployment benefits is good, but I think this could be accomplished more efficiently with less tax money while still helping people handle economy related job transitions (AKA layoffs). The current unemployment insurance (UI) program is employer based rather than employee based. Experience rating with unemployment insurance claims is used to determine UI tax rates for employers based on the company claims rate. Ultimately, however, the worker, by choice of jobs, work habits, training, and ab

What to do with North Korea By Howard Levine January 1, 2003 The decision by the North Korean government, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) to dispense with UN inspections of its nuclear facilities and apparently attempt to acquire more material for nuclear weapons is a direct affront to the world community and a genuine risk to the safety of pro-Western nations. First, the DPRK violated an agreement with the United States (US) in which the DPRK was to stop its nuclear weapons program in exchange for substantial amount of fuel oil and food from the US. The DPRK ignored its obligations and accepted the aid from the US. This, of course, is a good reason not to make further agreements with the DPRK as a way of preventing them from having nuclear weapons. The DPRK does not honor its agreements unless they are enforced by the armed forces of its enemies. Any negotiations not based on actual use of force will not be effective. Second, with its recent missile tests, the DPRK

Draft Bad – Military Service Good By Howard Levine December 28,2002 Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) called for a universal draft as a way of making sure that people from all socio-economic backgrounds serve the country equally. He feels that this would make Americans less hawkish because the children of the rich and powerful - not just the poor - would be at risk in a war. This is a typical Democratic diversion tactic! He is trying to oppose war on Iraq based on the composition of our armed forces rather than on the fundamental issues of the situation. His draft proposal, though not relevant concerning war against Iraq, does bring up some interesting issues. It is telling that a Democrat would be in favor of universal conscription rather than a voluntary solution based on civic rewards for service rather than criminalization of people who do not wish to serve in the military or other parts of the government that would use conscripts. Conscription is the ultimate form of taxation; Democ