President Obama’s budget proposal includes a hike in tobacco taxes. Right now, taxes are so high in some places (e.g., New York City, Chicago) that evasion happens on a grand scale and the black market in untaxed cigarettes is thriving. Meanwhile, taxes are so low in other places that there is little incentive not to [...]
Archive for the ‘Constitutional politics’ Category
The Orwellian “Defense of Marriage Act” seems to have had a bad day with the Supremes yesterday, which is a good thing. Let’s assume that the Court strikes down section 3, which bans federal benefits for same-sex couples, and does what the plaintiff wants, namely, make one’s marital status depend upon which state the couple [...]
The strange belief that militias are necessary for liberty.
George Will, channeling (and hacking to pieces) Charles Kesler, claims that the President’s belief in progress blasphemes the Founder’s belief in natural rights and limited government. He has half a point. But it doesn’t much matter. The Founders’ beliefs deserve to be challenged. And once one jumps outside the conservative bubble, where all that matteres is culture and rhetoric, is to realize that progressive critics of the original constitution won on the institutional level, definitively, about a century ago.
Orin Kerr tells an interesting, albeit speculative, story.
If Chief Justice Roberts wanted to protect the Court from being regarded as political, he should have been less transparently political in his motivation.
John Roberts actually understands that health care ain’t broccoli, but had ideological reasons for pretending he didn’t.
Today’s decision is both eminently reasonable and utterly consistent with conservatism.
If you were born in a hospital, you’ve already been “active” in the market for health care.










