* Substantially reduce the size and intrusiveness of government and cut all taxes.
* Let peaceful, honest people offer their goods and services to willing consumers without a hassle from government.
* Let peaceful, honest people decide for themselves what to eat, drink, read, or smoke and how to dress, medicate themselves, or make love, without fear of criminal penalties.
* The U.S. government should defend Americans and their property in America and let the U.S. taxpayer off the hook for the defense bill of wealthy countries like Germany and Japan.
Governments throughout history have regularly operated on the opposite principle, that the State has the right to dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all political parties other than our own grant to government the right to regulate the lives of individuals and seize the fruits of their labor without their consent.
We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these things, and hold that where governments exist, they must not violate the rights of any individual: namely,
(1) the right to life -- accordingly we support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others;
(2) the right to liberty of speech and action -- accordingly we oppose all attempts by government to abridge the freedom of speech and press, as well as government censorship in any form; and
(3) the right to property -- accordingly we oppose all government interference with private property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and support the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation.
Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, we oppose all interference by government in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals. People should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others. They should be left free by government to deal with one another as free traders; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of individual rights, is the free market.
To reverse the current political and economic trend in America, we must reverse men's fundamental philosophy.
~ Ayn Rand
The Entitlement State Is Morally Bankrupt
After Rick Perry called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, pundits everywhere smugly assured the world that Perry is crazy because, after all, the government can never really go bankrupt: it can always print money to pay its debts. Of course, that’s hardly a comfort to those who know what hyperinflation can do to an economy.
In any case, Perry can be commended for daring to violate the first law of politics: whatever you do, do not question entitlements. Despite the fact that the big three entitlement programs–Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare–have the U.S. government facing upwards of $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities, they largely remain a third rail: touch not lest ye be voted out of office.
Why are they sacrosanct? Because, whatever else you can say about the entitlement state, no one disputes that it’s a moral imperative. Inefficient? Maybe. Expensive? You bet. But morally questionable? Absolutely not.
The problem with the entitlement state is not simply that it is bankrupting this country–the problem is that it is morally bankrupt.
The basic principle behind the entitlement state is that a person’s need entitles him to other people’s wealth. It’s that you have a duty to spend some irreplaceable part of your life laboring, not for the sake of your own life and happiness, but for the sake of others. If you are productive and self-supporting, then according to the entitlement state, you are in hock to those who aren’t. In Marx’s memorable phrase: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."
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Many Payday Loans companies face tough times ahead as there is more pressure from the Government to regulate these Loan lenders. The biggest issue with these types of loans is the high interest APR rate that is charged to consumers. Another concern the Government have is some Lenders are charging upfront fees just to apply for these types of Loans.
The question is should they be regulated? Sure there has to be some caps or limits of the amount of the high interest charges, with some lenders charging as much as 4000% APR. However the Government need to be careful as they may drive these people who are vulnerable and need access to the money urgently to apply to other types of loan sharks.
Payday Loan Lenders charge so much interest mainly because they are offering a service to lend people money who may have bad credit. Getting a Cash Loan the same day and having the flexibility of paying it back within such a short period of time will demand more return as the Lenders are taking big risks lending to these types of consumers.
There should be some form of regulation to stop the Lenders who are ripping people off, but there needs to be a balance like anything, Lenders still need to make money and if its too risky, then there may no longer be Payday Loans to suit consumer needs.
Almost everyone knows a friend, or a friend of a friend, whose business went belly-up after a surprisingly short period of time. Starting a business may be simple, but running a successful business is a completely different matter. This is the reason why having a business strategy is so necessary. Strategizing in business, after all, is basically having a plan for the long-term success of the business venture.
A business is similar to a living organism in the sense that, like a plant, it requires the right environment for it to flourish and grow. Knowing the basic libertarian principles would be a good start. These are the principles that promote the right to life, the right to freedom of speech, and the right to property. After all, the business owner whose life is constantly threatened could hardly operate, much less be successful in the mercantile field he has chosen. If his freedom of speech were curtailed, he would hardly be able to communicate with his potential customers through the right advertisements and promotions. And if his right to property were not properly protected through the threats of confiscation or nationalization of his business, he would not have the motivation to expand or make additional investments to it.
The shadow of government also looms large in business strategy development. Its policies and actions can be a bane or a boon to business. It can use its tool of taxation to make a business flourish or to stifle or even completely kill it. The right amount of taxes, especially if plowed back into infrastructure like roads to facilitate the movement of goods or services which the business provides, would greatly benefit its distribution and transportation activities. However, if the tax imposed is too steep or exorbitant, the government will be killing the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs.
The more sophisticated or complex the businesses to be set up, the more multi-faceted the business strategies should be. A business dealing with importation or exportation, or both, should be able to reflect and deal with the additional realities of the policies of a foreign government. Subsidies which a foreign government gives to its producers would not augur well for a business that exports goods to that foreign country, as it would give undue advantage to the local businessmen based there.
So the next time one hears of a businessman who fails, one can appreciate the rigors he went through. Or if the businessman succeeds, consider it a testament to his creativity and resourcefulness.
I’ve been based in Central America for over a decade. I work in the tourism and real estate industry so am always welcoming US visitors and investors. In the last couple of years I’ve noticed a growing trend: Libertarians are leaving the US in droves.
Relocating to a new country is always a mix of pull and push forces. On the pull side, Central America certainly has lots to offer – beautiful scenery, affordable real estate (have a look at Reveal Real Estate for more details on real estate for sale in Belize, Nicaragua and Panama), a low cost of living and an easy going culture.
But there is something more isn’t there? A sense of freedom from regulation, a pioneering spirit even.
What about the push side? Well I always ask people why they are leaving the US and I’ve been noticing new “push factors’ emerge in recent years. There’s a real sense that people want to escape from increased government intervention in their day to day lives. Of course taxes are a part of this (Central America does not collect tax on overseas income and the tax rates are very low), but it’s also about escaping what is perceived of as an emerging nanny state.
From my perspective of helping people move to Central America I’m delighted to see this new trend. But as an American who maintains strong ties with home, it does leave me a bit concerned with what is happening to our great country.
I love a great cup of fresh coffee, the only thing better than a great cup of fresh coffee is a free cup of fresh coffee. With things so economically strained, a free coffee just simply puts a smile on my face. It’s a great way to start the day. The only thing hard about getting a free cup of coffee is what flavor to get. With coffee flavors coming in such a large variety you never know exactly what flavor you want to settle on. My favorite is vanilla hazelnut. There is just something about vanilla that seems comfy and relaxing. Of course, the carmel flavor is great too.
There are many restuarants that offer free coffee with your meal. That’s the way to dine, especially if you’re having breakfast. I’m one of those people who likes to have more than one cup of coffe in the morning. So if I can have free coffee then I know I can even have more than one flavor if it suits me. I have found that I can spend well over twenty five dollars a week just on cups of coffee, that’s really a lot and it really adds up.
A couple of cups of coffee in the morning are just what I need to help get me going. I’d rather do the coffee thing instead of having an energy drink or a energy shot. I have found that a cup of coffee can last a lot longer than an energy drink. If it gets cold on me, I can just put it in the microwave for a few seconds and it’s good to go again. I feel as though it helps me to stay focused and on top of my day. A cup of coffee is also great in the evening after a hard day at the office.
An alternative way to get a free coffee in the morning is to buy a low cost espresso machine. After a few months you will have broken even and every coffee from there on in is free!
The internet is a vast and wondrous place. You can find almost anything online these days from baby supplies to online grocers to even live stock for you fish tank! It is honestly incredible how many things can be purchased online from the comfort of your home. With all these new online options why would anyone go shopping at an actual store front? Why would a business actually want to pay rent for a store front either? These are some of the small factors that contribute to our downward spiraling economy. How many times have you gone to a strip mall lately only to realize that more than half of the store fronts are vacant? This happens to me all the time. Its like mini malls are becoming ghost towns. The online surge of business is killing the actual local outlets. I am a business man and I specialize in underground style clothing. We have lost many sales accounts to this same situation. We were being carried in many small independently owned boutiques until they had to close up shop due to lack of foot traffic. Stores simply aren’t seeing enough traffic to support their over head. Why do anything in real life when everything is cheaper online? I am not sure how the government could help this situation but every since our initial economic drop years ago. Mom and pop owned businesses have been dropping like flies do to online competition and big business like wal-mart taking over the town. Support local businesses, support the community, support original products. Dont let the internet and big business shut down your local business!
For more years than I care to remember I have held onto the principals of being a true Libertarian within these United States of America. I do not hold with many of the limitations placed upon us by our Local, State and National governmental bodies and I will always seek to fight against further intrusions into my life.
That said in the times that we live in now, with terrorist attacks an ever present threat, some of our most dearly won liberties will have to suffer until the day we put that particular venomous beast to rest for ever. I fought in two wars for this country and I always put myself before the flag and saluted it with justified pride.
Now I have decided to take this message back across the Atlantic over to the United Kingdom and to speak at gatherings of like minded individuals who seek to live as true Libertarians in the very country where this doctrine was born. I am looking for some advice as to where I can find adequate accommodation in the UK and I will be looking for some help in this matter from anyone who has had to ever look after houses to rent there.
I have long held, in keeping with almost all of the others who use this site www.lpri.org to declare their allegiance to the USA that we are the descendants of men and women who fought and died to maintain our freedom. That freedom being to live without the overbearing attitudes of the government being forced upon us; Freedom to live in accordance with the articles carried within the United States Constitution; Freedom to say what we think and to meet together to discuss our common goals, even if they are to reject the government if we think that it is failing the people.
I hope to see your support for my mission in print as replies to my posting of this notice of intent.
I’m sick and tired of reading the wisdom of diet gurus telling me I need to eat more fat, more meat and drink more milk in order to get thin. What is all that about? It just doesn’t make any sense. However, it does make a lot of money for the various vested intesrests in this country. The meat industry has their hand in your pocket; the dairy industry has their hand in your pocket; the diet industry has their hand in your pocket too. Being told good things about your bad habits might sound good. But it isn’t going to change your waist line for the better.
If you really want to start taking charge of your own health, the bottom line is that growing your own vegetables and your own crops where you can be sure of what chemicals are, and are not, put on them. The more plants I eat, the better I feel. No longer am I bogged down, quite literally, with dead animals in my guts. This lifestyle is easy. You can start off simply by reading juicer reviews which will help you see just how easy it is to keep your diet healthy and tasting great.
How far you decide to go is up to you. I intend to go all the way!
There are so many politicians who say they are working for us. I would love to believe them, but can they really be trusted? Would there really be a need for corporate bail outs while so many people in the world are left hungry at night if they were for us?
Why do we need things like welfare, and bankruptcy for the people if they are here to help us succeed? Just when I thought I was giving up hope I heard about a program called IVA. What is an IVA? Well, simple put it is away to help reduce your debt over a few years. Better yet, you can keep your assets! No need to worry about losing your home.
There are actually people out there trying to help the average person. It is no longer hopeless. There are ways to get help even if the politicians who claim to be working for you seem to be working against you.
I have heard the term libertarian many times, but never actually understood what exactly that entailed. What was the difference between this brand of politics and the ones held up my conservatives and liberals? Well, in order to give some clarity and not induce whiplash, here are a few of the things libertarians believe in.
The first overall goal of the Libertarian Party of the United States is to seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. The brand of libertarianism that is upheld by the Libertarian Party favors minimal regulation on laissez-faire markets.
This means that the private parties involved in the market are free from state intervention. Also they are strong in their beliefs on civil liberties. They also believe in a more open immigration system, one with minimally regulated borders. The other key thing they believe in is the non-intervention of foreign policy, meaning military engagements with other foreign countries and respect for the idea of free trade and travel.
There’s one thing that I’ve learned to be unequivocally true in life: the federal government is bad at everything it does. Anything that it accomplishes, it accomplishes poorly. I stopped into a social security office not too long ago to get help with understanding the technical details of investing, and I was utterly disappointed. Turns out, using an interest calculator on my own was the best thing that I could have done.
The art of investment is having your money work for you. It is a form or business aspect where something is added to the principal amount regularly. In most cases it is a percentage of the amount invested. Having an interest calculator will help you to work out any entitlements. It gives one the freedom to plan based on realistic figures.
The rule of the thumb is that the greater the initial amount of money invested, the greater the returns it accrues. This is simply due to the fact that it is normally worked as a percentage. Naturally this means if you have a lot of cash to put down, at the end of the month there is a substantial income that it will have earned.
It is good news that this interest forms part of the principal amount. It is quite easy to use this type of calculator. It operates on some basic principles that any lay person can understand. The whole idea behind it is to work out the expected income after a specific period of time.
How an individual chooses to use it depends on the information that they are looking to get. There is a lot of diversity in its uses. As a potential investor, it might serve you well to know the expected income for any investment made. Planning then becomes easier. This is made possible by the fact that you have knowledge of how the figures are likely to play out.
This does not end here. It can come in handy when one is considering to take out a loan. This is a tool that has been used with a lot of success to determine what you expect to pay as a charge for any amount of cash taken. In most cases, there will be a lot of hidden charges or half truths when it comes to dealing with bank sales persons.
The end result that one gets from this tool is heavily dependent on the values that are put into it. However, as a rule the first value that is often required is the principal amount. This will be the basis that will be used for all calculations. Without having this value input into it, the possibility of not making the most of it goes significantly higher.
Once you have computed the principal amount that one is working with the other important figure will then be required. This is the interest rate that has been floated. This is the expected amount projected as a percentage of the first amount being put forward. Normally worked out for a specific interval of time. The expression is done per year but can always be worked out per month.
To get the interest, you must multiply the initial amount of money invested by the interest rate. You will also be required to multiply by the period that the money is expected to remain in circulation. This interest can be left on top of the principal amount to continue accruing some more returns.
Unfortunately, for the majority of people, life isn’t all plain sailing. Sooner or later almost everyone comes up against an adverse situation whether it’s the break up of a relationship, a serious medical condition or loss of a job. Situations like these can result in a person, for whatever reason, falling into debt and then becoming a victim to that debt spiralling out of control. If this has happened to you in the past and you’ve ended up with a poor credit history you may think that your chances of ever owning your own home again are scuppered and that financial institutions will want steer well clear of you. Don’t accept this. If you do some reserach you’ll see that there are ways around this. There are bad credit mortgages available out there and as interest rates are at record lows they may not be as extortionate as some might have you believe.
Growing an apple tree from seed can be very rewarding. There are many different varieties to choose from. The tiny tree should be grown in greenhouses until it is big enough to be planted outside which will harden it up.
Do not plant trees too close to greenhouses as they may become too large and block out the light. The tree will take years to mature and produce any fruit.
You will find as the years go by there will be more and more fruit produced. Depending on which variety you have chosen the apples will be able to be eaten straight from the tree or they may be best used as cooking apples.
I have always wanted to engage in business as I get to earn money through creativity and hard work. Starting my online business was not difficult as I had a seo agency that helped create my website and used marketing tools for my site to be known all over the world. This company made everything easy and it was generous enough to involve me in the whole process. If there is one thing I have learned in setting up an online business, it is to spend little money to buy advertising space in other websites where your type of customers goes to.
It should be remembered that in business, nothing is free. Although there are free online tools, it would be more profitable if you are seen by your target customers directly. You would not be spending much at all. Just a couple of dollars and you get millions of traffic. The important thing is to do it right so as to earn profits because if you do it wrong, you will only spend more than you should and receive very little ROI.
When people see your ad on the websites they hang out in, they would click on your link. You have to ensure that they land on a page that is attractive and can be easily navigated. Everything they need is there and all their inquiries are all answered within the pages of your site.
I get a lot of traffic because of my ads in other websites. With the internet marketing company I hired, business became very easy and lucrative.
We Libertarians are the ones, that in contrary to Democrats and Republicans; believe is emotional freedom, which also concerns the love lives of each individual citizen or person residing in our country and in the rest of the world. In the beautiful French language we have a perfect phrase to address this, rencontre gratuit, which means ‘free dating’. And of course l’ amour is a French translation for love.
But why do we not have such internationally recognizable terms aside from “I love you” or “I love NY”? It is because the current main political parties do not recognize enough the concept of love. Love is a way expressing yourself with your loved ones as well as your neighbors and other people around you. If we look in the Holy Bible we can also find this in the Ten Commandments that you should also love your neighbors as we should interpret as everyone around you. We Libertarians promote world peace not just as a dream but as a goal we tend to achieve. We see that a lot of our people have moved outside of the US as they have started dating people in other countries as they better understand the concept of loving each other. If you get us in the White House, we will promise you that you will not have to move abroad in order to find and understand the concept of love and meeting like-minded individuals, but you can stay in your own country and start dating people in your own country.
We often talk about liberty as a constitutional right or as a given right that everybody should have. But most people forget to mention financial liberty can offer to increase the welfare of men.
Since the epical book ‘The Wealth of Nations’ by Adam Smith we have been intrigued in how industrial development and financial liberty has increased welfare of the common men. A personal loan is also a way with which people can temporarily extend their personal and financial liberty as it gives them the opportunity to undertake new actions that increases his freedom as he can use these funds to travel around the world or buy a car that increases his mobility and thus his welfare. I personally believe that Adam Smith’s work helps us understand that sometimes in order to help us leverage a certain goal a loan or a persoonlijke lening as we call it here in Belgium is needed. As you borrow money from the other, which can either be a bank or financial institution, you help the economy grow as more money is going into the system (as banks leverage their deposits) as the amount of money in the economy increases with your loan and your consumption/ spending the money helps other business grow. So, in short getting a personal loan helps you gain financial liberty and helps the economy grow.
With all the financial problems and economic issues that people are facing today from office work to security jobs across the US. Job security is becoming the single biggest concern in today’s economy. Government agencies are trying to come up with solutions on how to elevate employment rate. Every country’s workforce is fighting its battle against the risk of losing jobs — even those that involve clerical tasks, security jobs, and other basic office work.
Policies are being developed to adhere to the attainment of government objectives when it comes to the workforce. Looking at these policies in a different perspective shows certain topics that need deeper understanding. Several aspects should be considered such as environmental concerns, investment, and confidence in the government’s capability.
In terms of environmental concerns, most laws today consider the effect of materials and processes used in every aspect of a business. This incurs more cost. Investors become hesitant to invest in businesses that would encounter these kinds of concern. Thus, those that are mainly affected are the people who are unemployed because of lack of job opportunities and those who are employed in security jobs, clerical work, and other low-paying jobs.
There is less investment due to uncertainty of the future. Businessmen don’t feel secure about investing their money in security jobs, clerical jobs, and others when the government isn’t able to give a concrete plan on how it can support economic growth. This leads to the question of how each regulation can support the development of businesses may it be a small one or a corporation. Furthermore, the confidence of the people in the capability of the government to back them up if economic growth continues to decline becomes at risk.
Whether it may be security jobs or high-paying corporate positions, the fact is that people need career growth and security. It should be the government’s advocacy to develop effective policies and regulations that will promote confidence that a cent today will be a dollar tomorrow.
The World Wide Web used to be a pretty free and fair place. Sure it was a little disorganized and a little wild certainly there’s no doubt that there are plenty of unsavory corners of the internet. But you know, there was a kind of Utopian fairness to the net – the guy sitting in a cyber cafe in Nepal had a near identical experience to a New York Lawyer sitting in a million dollar office.
Slowly censorship and filtering has ebbed away this level playing field. First it was Governments often headed by dictators who were not keen on their citizens talking and expressing themselves freely. At least in general the majority of Democratic nations stayed largely away from this. But this is starting to change of course due to money.
The Protect IP Act is currently being considered by congress and will introduce a uniquely American form of censorship to the internet. In fact it threatens to be much worse than some tin pot dictator who applies a few technical and easily circumvented restrictions. The internet is already under threat from the constant spying, logging and surveillance that makes anonymous surfing almost impossible. The Protect IP Act will hand the media and entertainment industries the chance to decide what external sites are filtered.
Media companies will be able to block access to any web site which they feel violates their copyrights in even the smallest way. A link to a pirated film, a copy of a current song – running a social networking site or forum is going to be like Russian roulette waiting for a user to post something that gets the site in to trouble. In reality nobody will bother, the creativity and risk takers who brought us sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter would never have dreamed of starting out in this sort of environment. They can now defend themselves with huge legal teams, new start ups simply won’t bother.
If you care about the internet and would rather the music and film companies didn’t decide what you can see and do online – protest.
If you have ever completed a Burger King application and worked at the second largest burger chain in the world then you know how many different burgers they offer as well as how they have always encouraged their customers to ‘have it their way”. Burger King restaurants in the United Kingdom took that concept to the extreme in 2008 though.
They offered, for a very short time, a Burger King Bling Burger. For around ￡95 (about $160) customers got a burger that was made from expensive Japanese wagyu beef, white truffles, and pata negra ham. The super burger was then served with a side of onion rings with an expensive twist as they were made from Cristal champagne batter, pink Himalayan rock salt, and an organic white-wine mayonnaise. All the proceeds from the sale of the burger did go to charity though, making buying the excessively extravagant burger guilt free.
I thought the United States was an organization of 50 states, all working together to better ourselves and our futures both in terms of security and economy.
Why is it then that some states are BREAKING the commerce clause in the Constitution by creating barriers to entry for out of state retailers.
The wine industry is a great example. Some states allow permits to everyone (thanks California) while others don’t allow any type of outsider permits (Texas we’re looking at you) while even others have state owned liquor stores (so much for capitalism in Pennsylvania). A wine of the month club we recently spoke with was appalled at the situation and was hoping that shining some light on these deceptive and illegal state practices would help remedy the situation.
I suppose at some point we all need to decide how much government regulation is enough government regulation. Does government have any business deciding what type of foods we should eat, how much we should exercise or move, how much vegetables we should have on our plates, how much red meat is bad for us, what should be the level of the body fluids in our own bodies, how much cholesterol level is too high to have in our blood, how much triglycerides is too much triglycerides (triglycerides), how much smoking is too much smoking, how much pollution is too much pollution, how much alcohol is too much alcohol, or if we should subject our bodies to marijuana or other drugs? I don’t think any of us think that being obese or unhealthy is the type of lifestyle that should be lead by us, nor do we think that being a drug addict is the correct choice for any individual, however, imposing fines or imprisoning people for such activities seems to be downright ridiculous. You might be able to have healthier cattle if you regulate everything the cattle eats & does, however, one thing you can be sure of is that it won’t be the happiest cattle. Treating people like cattle impact their health in other ways, it puts them under a lot of stress and affect their mental health being horribly. If you take a look at the statistics, mental health patients are increasing year after year, occurrence of depression is becoming so common that it’s pretty much scary. So this must lead us understand that regulations aren’t always necessarily going to make us healthier. More importantly we need to draw a clear line how much of our happiness we’re willing to compromise for the so-called bigger good.
As libertarian we believe that government should regulate as little as possible, to let individual decisions affect their lives and let them be responsible for the decisions they make. There is a reason why people are all grown-ups and it is also the reason why they should be able to make their own decisions and make their own choices and let them be responsible for their actions. We should stop treating our people like cattle, pushing and nudging them to do things that some of us may think is the correct thing to do, we need to believe in the power of an individual and in the freedom of individual decisions. Regulations are the devil’s pathway tyranny. It’s easy to start from absolute nothing and then regulate things little by little, add more and more regulations and loose the sight of it. At some point you have so much regulations that you start feeling like a slave and worst of all it can go so far that you won’t be able to protect yourself anymore. The bottom line is that it’s all about believing that people are people, not cattle. People have the ability to think and being respectful of their opinion is the number one regulation that we should have in our heads. There will always be people that will have no respect for other people’s well-being or property and these people need to be punished any imprisoned when necessary, and that the government’s role to protect its citizens and their property and their liberty and that’s as far as government should go.
The problems the global economy is currently experiencing underline the need to reduce the intrusiveness of government and to lay the ground for entrepreneurs to blossom. Only in this way will we see a return to meaningful growth in output and in the number of jobs. Reducing taxes does not necessarily mean a reduction in the taxes received by the public purse: the highest income tax rate in force in the UK when Margaret Thatcher came to power was around 80%. She reduced this in stages to 40% and the amount of tax received by the treasury actually went up! Similarly, increasing the income tax rate from 40% to 50% is thought to have reduced the tax paid. Why? Because people who are taxed more seek out ways to avoid or minimise the amount they pay, resulting in lower tax revenue.
The income generated by my <a href=”http://personalisedchristeninggiftsshop.co.uk/”>personalised christening gifts</a> business is heavily taxed: 20% immediately goes to the government in the form of value added tax (VAT), then the profit I make by selling the personalised christening gifts is taxed again at the corporation tax rate of 28%. And the salary I pay myself is also taxed at 20%!
It would be interesting to work out whether the time I spend making the christening gifts is more or less than the time taken filling in the paperwork required by the government, together with time taken looking for ways to minimise the tax! Free up the entrepreneur from the shackles imposed by the government.
The vast majority of people who live in the United States want nothing more than to feel as if they live in a free country. The ability to do what you want with your time is perhaps the most important thing when it comes to leading a fulfilling existence.
For many of us, freedom means being allowed to smoke tobacco even though we know it’s bad for our health. These days this is becoming more and more difficult thanks to the fact smoking has been banned in public establishments, and some places are even moving to ban it in outdoor public spaces.
With smoking on the way out many fans of nicotine have been making the decision to switch over to the use of e cigarettes instead. You would think that a product which was far less damaging for the health of the user and posed no threat to the general public would be welcomed with open arms by the people who run things. Unfortunately it seems that even this personal freedom is now under threat as a few groups of people try to outlaw it’s use.
Perhaps those in power just don’t like us to get our own way and are threatened by the fact it’s now possible for smokers to flout their draconian laws by switching over to this tobacco replacement instead of the real thing. There are also those who believe the reason the legality of the e cigarette is threatened is because as long as it’s available it will take sales away from the pharmaceutical industry which manufacturers nicotine replacement therapy.
Whatever the reason for a possible ban there is no doubt it would be a serious dent in this country’s claim to be “the land of the free” if it was ever implemented.
First, How do you become one? How long does it really take before anybody can be a full pledge certified medical assistant? This question might be the constant topic of many aspirants of the medical assistant career. A medical assistant career promises a truly rewarding lifetime profession if given proper consideration, planning and a well-determined mind to succeed.
To become a medical assistant can possibly take at least one year full concentration of study for this medical course. Remember, the function of a medical assistant in any medical or doctors’ offices is very important for their entire success as a medical service provider. They are assigned to do vital duties: handling the waiting room and front office responsibilities. Other duties may include helping nurses, doctors and patients.
The requirements to become a medical assistant are as follows:
1. Look for a medical assistant training course program that is duly certified by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools or the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.
2. Avail a full course medical assistant training program.
3. Comply with the required number of hours of internship program and other clinical trainings.
4. Pass the medical certification exam offered by the National Board of Medical Examiners usually done three times in a year either held in June, October or January.
5. Avail also the test for Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) for better employment opportunities and additional qualifications for the medical assistant position.
6. You can also acquire other specialization training programs in order you can demand for higher pay rates and supervisory level positions eventually in the medical sector.
Additional tips on your medical assistant career:
- Training and other required certifications can vary on different states rules and regulations. Verify your chosen state requirements before availing any medical assistant training course programs to save you money and time as well.
- Take ample time to review for the certification exam in order to pass.
- Choose carefully the other fields of specialization you may want to pursue eventually for your intended increase in salary as a medical assistant. You may focus on these areas: phlebotomy, opthalmology and insurance. Some community colleges located near you do offer these courses. Normally, further specializations would take one to two years of completion.
The moment you get certified as a medical assistant, you have bigger chances of getting hired soon. Take your time.
The Uk government, like many others has come up against some serious issues in recent years and faced a lot of flack from the British public. In light if the economic downturn, that still threatens countries worldwide, it was good to see the recent report by the UK governments behavioural health unit (also known as the ‘Nudge Unit’) with regards to electronic cigarettes.
It is no surprise smoking related deaths are high, even if you don’t smoke you have been at risk, especially before the indoor smoking ban came into play. The response by the Cabinet Office behavioural team was refreshing in their recent statement, they have seen the benefit of e cigarettes, as was seen in this E-Lites review recently, and are at least trying to find an alternative campaign away from the “quit or die” approach that had little effect.
With 8 million adults smoking in the UK the cost to the National Health Service is reaching £2.5 billion every year! Not only has action got to be taken now to reduce deaths but the strain that is put on the health service needs to be brought under control. As of yet e cigarettes cannot make any health claims, which is one of the reasons they can be sold freely in the UK. There are still tests that need to be carried out though but once these are complete and as long as the results are positive it might not be long before we see the product on shelves as an alternative to tobacco cigarettes.
If only other countries could adopt a different approach and take these alternative smoking devices seriously, maybe they could make a real difference.
I don’t know about you but I am really displeased with the current governments handling of the austerity measures it is enforcing. Do they not understand that life for us normal people is difficult any way? I mean, what are they doing about such mass unemployment and rising prices? How can people expect to cope with these ever mounting stresses put upon them? If the government can not create jobs then they need to keep prices low. Create more jobs and I wouldn’t mind costs going up a little – after all, people could afford to pay.
Take for example Oslosa, my favourite place to shop in town. Due to such high prices the poor fellow that runs it has had to cease trading, but only his bricks and mortar business. Luckily for him he has a website and a loyal following so he has been able to carry on – to some degree anyway. I just hope he can get through these hard times and reopen again in the future. I did chat with him before he shut up shop and he said the rents were just too high and any profit he did make was quickly sucked up by the government in the form of some new tax. Why can’t they give these small business owners a break?!!
As a concerned citizen, I find it necessary to speak my mind about the current political situation. Sometimes, I get a bit fired up about it. Watching a government rob its citizens of wealth and meddle in their lives tends to send me over the edge more often than I care to admit. The most disturbing news is that after consulting this blood pressure chart, it would seem that I have developed a touch of hypertension; also known as high blood pressure.
Now, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t have a medical history, I eat right and I exercise. So how is it that a healthy guy like me can develop hypertension? Obviously, it’s the government! I’m not a terribly angry person, but when I hear about how the government takes my hard-earned money and squanders it at epic proportions and then has the audacity to tell me that I owe even more than before, I want to find the nearest politician and pummel his corrupt brains! Vote Ron Paul!
As the saying goes, there’s only two things for certain in life – death and taxes. Death, it turns out, is unequivocally unavoidable. Taxes, on the other hand, is a certainty invented by – and imposed by – ourselves. So let us take a look, for a moment at some of the terrible things that taxes do to us. Interest rates, for example can make the cost of borrowing unattainable. For you homeowners out there, you can use an amortization calculator to see just how much it costs you to borrow for your home.
It’s not that taxes are a new invention as they have in fact been around for centuries. But does that make them okay? I, for one, am not afraid to say NO! Taxes take wealth from the many hard working men and women in society and incorporates it into the fat, faceless, inefficient bungle-machine that we call government. The government takes this wealth and squanders it as it sees fit; generally to the betterment of corrupt politicos the world over.
So what can we do? Rise up and say NO to the higher taxes and NO to big government!
I like to think myself as an enthusiast entrepreneur and because of that, I am constantly trying new ideas that I believe – or at least hope – will develop into full-blown business that I can be actually proud of.
Unfortunately, sometimes is not that easy to start a new company in this country – regardless of what people say. If you have ever tried to start a business here on your own, then you might know what I’m talking about.
The thing is that I was trying to start my own online store. This store would be mainly focused on juicers and food processors which I believe are good products to sell. Initially I was developing a site where people could buy a Breville BJE510XL online for example, but that is precisely when problems started to show up.
Taxes and forms: so much for bureaucracy
I can’t believe we have to pay so much taxes and government fees in order to get a business started! Really. I didn’t think it would be that troublesome.
Can we no longer start a business without the government interfering with all its bureaucracy and taxes!? Is it too much to ask from them!?
In the end, I had to contract someone – an accountant more precisely – to actually help me sort through a pile of paper and forms that I needed to fill before even making my first sale!
So even before I was able to get my business going, I already had spent more money than I should – at least from my point of view – with bureaucracy and government issues!
If I could travel back into the past, there are certainly several things that I would do differently. I am not confessing to having a ton of regret. In my younger years, however, I tended to maintain a very myopic vision. For example, it was very hard for me to imagine being old one day. In fact, even now I sometimes see myself in the mirror and think, who the hell is this?
1. Attend college. You might be considering a job or career that does not require you to attend college and obtain a degree. For example, you may dream of one day running a barn, playing professional gold or even breeding or training horses. You should still give some serious though to attending college in spite of this. While college is a major investment, you can still make college a reality, even when your parents are unwilling or unable to help you cover your educational costs. You do have the option of taking out loans, however, you can cut costs by first attending a community college with the goal of transferring to a university after the first two years of your education have been completed.
Getting a degree tends to be much easier to do while you are still young and do not have the responsibilities that are associated with building a family, owning a home and other aspects of adulthood. you can increase your potential earning considerably by earning a degree and this will also prove to be useful if your other goals do not entirely pan out. Additionally, you can experience the lifelong love of learning.
2. Discover your purpose. You can look within to determine what it is that you really want to do with your life. There are certain natural abilities and talents that you were born with. You already have an idea of the different subjects that you struggle in and the ones that you are naturally adept in. Select a career that allows you to make optimal use of your natural talents in a manner that makes you feel fulfilled or which enables you to help others. As time passes, your desires and your career are like to evolve. At the present moment, however, lean towards areas that you feel comfortable in.
3. Start planning for retirement with your first job. This is such an important tip one of the very best investments that you will ever make. If you join on with a company that provides a 401k plan, sign up as soon as you are able to do so. If a 401k is not provided, make it a point to divert a portion of your check into an IRA. IRA and 401K especially if you are using the equity option are best investments for young people. If luck is on your side, you will actually live to be old, so planning early is always to your benefit. Set up contributions that are automatic for your retirement savings so that you can painlessly begin building wealth for yourself.
People like to keep their medical problems private. This is understandable. Medical problems can be perceived as a weakness. Understandably, people like to keep things like health, work, and family separate so that a perceived weakness in one area doesn’t necessarily have to affect another area of one’s life. In reality, these pieces of peoples’ lives are integrated into a whole thing. But, to the extent that citizens of the United States like to keep medical problems isolated from their work lives and sometimes their personal lives, patient privacy will continue to be at odds with the new technology in healthcare that is being developed by leaders in the healthcare industry and in the field of technology.
Balancing patient privacy with the need for new technologies to keep apace with the growing population of aging individuals in our country is an issue that is currently on the table and actively being discussed by a number of experts in healthcare and technology. Patient privacy is considered to be an issue of paramount importance, but balanced against some of the possibilities that have been proposed and developed in technology to enhance diagnostics, communication, and enhance overall patient care, privacy, at times, seems to be a small issue. Electronic Medical Records (EMR), for example, allow physicians to look carefully at patient data from different angles using databases of information and digital technology to come up with diagnoses that might otherwise have been overlooked. But patients cringe at the idea of having their medical records stored in a digital format that could potentially be hacked.
Privacy is a valid concern in healthcare, but most people, if afflicted by a rare disorder that created extreme distress or a “fatal event” would welcome any new technology that would relieve them from their pain (or from death). New technology in healthcare has the ability to make it easier for doctors to diagnose their patients and enhance healthcare overall. It’s true that patient privacy could be at stake, but whether health and diagnosis is more important than privacy remains a question and an issue that will need to be resolved before significant progress can be made.
Most people who are diagnosed with sleep apnea agree that the ideal course of action for treatment is to receive oral appliance therapy. This treatment has verified to help people the most, and be the least invasive of all treatment options. When compared to the embarrassment of a cpap or the pain and low success rate of oral surgery it’s quite easy to see which an oral device is the most popular.
The end result is oral devices are the most successful. A great thing about this treatment is that many dentists get additional education so they can help to craft a reliable oral device that will help to alleviate your sleep apnea and stop the snoring.
People have become too dependent on the government and we all are paying the price for it.
When President Obama was voted into office three years ago there was an onslaught of people searching online for things they could get for free from him or his administration. Google searches for things like “Obama grants“, “Obama free money”, “Obama debt relief”, and many other hundreds of terms exploded overnight. Apparently it was thought by the masses that this new President was going to be giving away all sorts of goodies.
Now where on earth would they have gotten that perception? Unfortunately they probably got it by watching both parties give more and more away each election cycle. And now we are in more debt as a country than we can probably ever dig ourselves out from under.
What ever happened to responsible government? Most of us cannot even probably comprehend such a concept. How did we get away from having our government there to provide a few essential services and stay out of our lives for everything else?
Like all things, the encroachment of the U.S. government in our lives has not happened overnight. It has happened a little at a time, here and there, and now we find that it has invaded almost every aspect of our “free” society.
No, we are no longer free and the sad part is that a substantial percentage like it that way. They think and want the government to be in charge of most aspects of their lives. They feel the representatives we send to Washington can do a better job of running our lives and making important decisions than we can.
It is so very sad that the once proud United States Of America that was a nation of people who were willing to work hard and do things for themselves has now become one where everyone is looking for the next handout.
If you wish to profit off of your web site you need to get people to come to it. By employing the search engine optimization techniques that are going to be summarized below, you can gain a little information in how to do this.
Find out what people are looking for. If a particular topic is presently very popular, it may be favorable to write about it on your website. Driving traffic to your site can be as easy as identifying what people want and providing it to them. Finding the best SEO company is one of the best ways to do this.
If your page isn’t relevant to the concepts it showcases no one will want to go there. Make sure to keep all pages relevant to the topic of your site. People that want to search for something specific and end up in a place where the topic isn’t the same will probably never come back.
It is advisable to always visit a doctor for medical check up. Occasional visits to a doctor help you to know your health status. It is very important because in case of any condition that may be cropping up, the doctor is able to treat it or even manage it in good time. That is why it is wise to frequently visit a doctor, not only to keep track of your health condition, but also to live a more comfortable life without any fears.
Asthma and bronchitis are both inflammatory airway conditions. Asthma is an inflammatory condition that normally causes tightening of the muscles present in the airways as well as swelling. This often causes the airways to narrow making it hard to breath. On the other hand, bronchitis refers to the inflammation of airways that is normally caused by infections of virus or bacteria. This condition can be chronic which is referred to as chronic bronchitis. It is commonly caused by long-term exposure to irritants such as dust, chemicals and tobacco smoke. These conditions can be treated by use of cordyceps. Cordyceps are known to facilitate the performance of the upper respiratory system.
Sometimes the two conditions might occur together. When they both coexist, the condition is usually known as asthmatic bronchitis. These conditions can be treated through natural means and which are the best anyway. The natural treatments for these conditions are usually meant to ensure that they do not formulate at a high rate.
1. Vitamin b6 and B12 are very important nutrients that aid in the tenderness of the lungs walls. These usually help in fighting any infections to the lungs and normally boost the supply of oxygen in the lungs
2. The other way to cure these conditions is Mullein oil. This should be taken in a cup of tea; it normally helps to moisturize the whole breathing tube so that it remains oily to ensure that the patient does not gasp for air excessively long.
3. Salmon oil. Salmon oil helps to dilate the airways and hence better in take of air. Salmon fish is also an option, but it should be prepared in little oil.
Libertarian principles state that government regulation should not influence the production and sale of goods for consumption and purchase by peaceful and honest people. One industry that is particularly hassled by the Feds is the refrigeration industry, which constantly faces legal and regulatory restrictions in its attempts to sell cheap refrigerators at reasonable prices.
One particularly irksome requirement is that imposed by the Department of Energy concerning the energy efficiency requirements of fridge freezers. Manufacturers whom produce these appliances are forced to comply with ever shifting minimum efficiency levels – as defined by the Energy Star program.
While I would not argue that lowering energy consumption is necessarily a bad thing, I do not believe it should be the governments’ role to encourage this. Engineering a refrigerator or freezer to be more efficient increases the price of the unit from the factory, thus increasing the overall prices of these appliances when sold to the costumers.
I believe – in compliance with Libertarian beliefs – that consumers should be permitted to decide whether they wish to pay more up front for the potential electricity savings to be had from more energy efficient refrigerators. It is not the governments’ role to make that decision for the citizens of our country.
The creeping scope of rules imposed by Congress and Federal Agencies has made its way into every corner of our lives. Do you want to drive a car? You must pay for the privilege of a license. Do you want to buy a car? Good luck finding the model you want if it doesn’t match up with the governments’ idea of what is appropriate for you (mileage, number of air bags, etc…)
Looking at the refrigeration industry in isolation it may seem alarmist to worry about its effects on our personal liberties. However, taking the big picture it can clearly be seen as a symptom of big government intruding ever more deeply into our lives.
I have met so many people the last few years that have been devastated by the recession to the point where they ran up unholy amounts of credit card debt just to keep food on the table for their families. This has made me quite sad to be honest; I have seen this happen to close friends and family.
Fortunately for me I found a good debt settlement program that helped me to finally free myself from this dreaded trap that is credit card debt. Not only did I save a ton of money on how much debt I owed but I got out of debt in just two years.
If you’re reading this blog then you can probably sympathize with my sentiment that I just want to be left alone and don’t want big government or the nanny state intruding into my life at all times. I’m sick and tired of political correctness and I’m especially tired of people telling me what I can and cannot do.
After the economic collapse in late 2007, I’ve done everything possible to make myself and my family self-sufficient. I determined that the world economy literally is a house of cards that can collapse at any moment. Sure it’s nice to see all those digits I’ve amassed in my bank account, but it feels very surreal when it’s an online account and it quite literally is just a number on a screen. Who’s to say that number won’t just disappear someday and then what are you left with?
Some steps I’ve undertaken: We installed solar panels on our roof to generate electricity and we bought a generator if there is an outage of power. We bought a water purifying system that should keep us with healthy drinking water for months. We also purchased a mass quantity of canned food and other supplies so we have enough to eat for many months to come.
For heat we bought five full cords of firewood and are storing it in our yard in some firewood racks we purchased. We have multiple fire places in the house and I just purchased a fire pit for outside the house as well.
I’ve been trying to think of what has value in an apocalyptic financial catastrophe where money no longer has any value. It’s simply people’s time (i.e. doctors), food, shelter, clothing, and safety. One can’t assume the police will be able to contain any violence that occurs when society breaks down – just look at what happens when a major city has a blackout for a few days and you’ll realize how close we all live to chaos. It’s on a knife’s edge at all times.
I’ve purchased a number of firearms in order to keep my family safe and also to have something of value if I need to barter in the future for medical care or more food for my family. It might sound like a far-fetched scenario, but I’m planning for the worst-case and I want to be ready.
The libertarian agenda is normally about the individual’s right to pursue whatever course of action he or she chooses as long as it does not impinge on others’ similar freedoms. It is basically the moto that if it doesn’t hurt others then why shouldn’t I be allowed to do it? Libertarianism has become of importance again today as people feel stifled by the ’nanny state’ that lays down all kinds of regulations for the supposed ’good’ of its citizens. These edicts normally govern behavior, health and public safety. For example, the law saying people must wear a safety belt in the passenger seat. While many would agree it is a sensible law, others think it is up to them whether they want to wear a safety belt or not.
The argument of regulation spills over to the industrial sector. The business like the individual feels aggreived that it cannot choose for itself, instead of having to follow regulations. What can be galling is state prohibitions that seem to be purely politically motivated and have no bearing on health and safety such as the US trade embargo with Cuba.
Why don’t companies have the right to trade with Cuba? The country is showing signs of moderating its hardline communist approach and could do with new cars, the latest wire erosion technology, ITC services, green technology and so on. Trade between the two countries would also enormously benefit America which is just coming out of recession and is keen to open up new markets to create new jobs at home.
It is by the freedom to trade and exchange technologies that countries stabilize their relations so that even in times of political tensions certain lines of communication remain open. It is, afterall, by trading with China, that the USA has come to stop thinking of the country as its enemy. Perhaps the freedom to trade can do more than self-serving politicians to stabilize relations between countries.
We talked some in this space already about the wine industry and how anyone who is truly a Libertarian would want companies to be more free to ship wine across state borders. We also called out Pennsylvania for having the state own the liquor stores.
It has come to my attention during a search for a few wine gift baskets for friends who live in New York City that the state government in Albany is looking into a new and ridiculous law. The law they are discussing would require any alchol seller in the state of New York to have a warehouse within the state. I guess they don’t want to protect consumer choice from small wineries right? Given that the state of Washington just allowed their citizens to vote on what amounts to the same law and saw 77% of those who voted say they wanted a more free system-what makes the state of New York think that their consumer population is any different?
Libertarian ideas state, clearly, that I should have the house of my dreams. I worked hard for it all my life. I’ve always been an upstanding citizen and I’ve always paid my taxes even when I felt that it was under protest. I did not hate my country, and I did right by my own code of ethics and morals. But now I think I’m entitled to the best property to rent in America.. And I am not going to compromise together. I’m on the search now for the retirement property of my dreams, and I won’t settle easily. I’m looking for nothing less than exactly where I want to spend the last days of my life with my wife and, hopefully visiting, grand and great-grandchildren.
I’m excited and happy that my family has gone on live all over the country. Because it’s given me great perspective on all the different parts of our great nation. Now I have to decide for myself where I might end up. Where I’d like to live for my “boring years”. The search has taken me from North Carolina where I raised my family, all the way to the pacific. This journey has taken me to Seattle, San Diego. As well as a few stops along the way. My son George lives in Missouri where as my daughter Kathy lives in Colorado Springs. I’m unable to visit them all, unless I live in a more central location like Texas or Nevada. But I’m not sure that that kind of heat agrees with me.
I think I might want to live in the northwest where there’s lots of rain but very little snow or heat. They don’t even have forest fires there, because it’s so wet. And I think it could be the kind of place where I could rediscover my old passion for fly fishing. And really connect with the outdoors again. Something I’ve been wanting to do ever since I was going through my midlife crisis, now some 30 years ago.
I’m glad to say that that wasn’t my midlife.
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In some Thailand forum, many people ask why there are many unemployed Thais in the country. But unquestionable the rate of unemployment in Thailand has already decreased compared to the past ten years. How is that so?
Thailand the fastest growing country in Southeast Asia is a country that has many different resources. Its main source of income is from their different tourist spots that caters and exhibit their beautiful natural resources. One of the famous provinces that are rich in this type of resources is the Phuket Province. Phuket has many tourist spots and most of them are resorts and hotels. Actually, all of them are not just your average resorts but these resorts are paradise. If you are planning to go to one of Phuket’s beach resort, you can book them as early as now using the internet. Try browsing the website Phuket, here you can choose from different astonishing resorts in Phuket Thailand.
The major problem of Thailand is its unemployment rate. We can’t say that Phuket’s unemployment rate is low because there are still lots of Thai People who doesn’t have a job yet. As off the year 2010 its unemployment rate decreased from 1.5 percent, this was on 2009, to 1.2 percent on the year 2010. This means from (more or less) 550 thousand Thai people in the year 2009 to 440 thousand Thai in the year 2010 are still unemployed, estimated from Phuket’s labor force of 37.25 million. The reason for this problem in unemployment or the joblessness of some people is that some of them did not have the luxury to go to schools. Another is because of Thailand’s enormous population, the people classified as skilled or those that have gone through schooling are having difficulties in finding a productive job that is suitable for them. And, if that certain incident happens to the skilled people in Thailand how much more those who didn’t made it through college.
The solution that was focused and was given by the government is really brilliant. They used and exploited what they already have. The answer is their tourism resources. Every day there are thousands of people visiting Thailand to go on a holiday or to spend a vacation or to have great experience in Thailand. They don’t need any diplomas or expertise. All they need is to know a little English and to have a very hospitable attitude. Those unemployed Thais can now make their own business that targets tourists as their customers. Or, they can even make souvenirs for the tourists.
In Phuket, villagers are given permanent income by making them or their children tourist guides. Just like famous spots in Phuket where they exhibit elephant rides and many other enjoyments, children and people that are unemployed in the past are now behind these breathtaking tourist attractions. Hence, if you are planning to spend your vacation in Phuket Thailand, you are not only helping the economy if Thailand but you are also helping the people of this beautiful country especially those people that are unemployed.
The body art and cosmetic tattooing industry has escape most government control, and remains a self-regulating industry in terms of sanitation, hygiene levels, equipment, needles, professional credentials and even the pigments or inks used by tattoo artists and cosmetic tattoo / permanent makeup professionals. The government, while not regulating safety of products or practitioner qualifications, does regulate the age a person must be in order to receive a tattoo, which in most cases is 17 or 18. In Alabama / Arkansas a minor can get a tattoo if a parent consents and in Alaska / Arizona, the parent must be present during a tattooing procedure. In California a person must be 18 to get a tattoo of any kind, even an eyebrow tattoo for cosmetic purposes. In fact, it’s a criminal offense for an artists or permanent makeup specialist to offer a minor a tattoo service – that includes eyeliner, eyebrows and lip tattoos. The only state with no age regulation is Colorado, however Maryland requires parental consent and the permanent makeup clinic, plastic surgery center or tattoo shop must keep records of the procedure for a three year period. New Hampshire has an antiquated law that places tattooing in the category of “branding”, and giving or receiving such a “brand” is forbidden under the age of 18. Be careful in New York, too, because a tattoo artists or micropigmentation specialist who performs eyebrow tattooing procedures could go to jail for 3 months if the service is done on a minor even with parental consent! In Oklahoma, an artist or cosmetic tattoo clinic can be fined up to $5,000 for tattooing a minor even if it’s for cosmetic purposes. In Wisconsin, nowadays, all clinics and micropigmentation specialists who offer eyeliner, lip pigmenting and eyebrow tattooing services, as well as tattoo artists who do body art, must have their premises inspected and licensed by the state health department, and only physicians may tattoo a minor, and only if the procedure is deemed medically necessary.
What does the FDA say about eyeliner, permanent lip coloring and eyebrow tattooing pigments? The FDA doesn’t regulate, control or actively get involved in the tattoo industry – either the artistic or the cosmetic side. Officially, the FDA views pigments used for intradermal tattoos, permanent makeup {eyebrow tattooing and lip coloring, as well as paramedical camouflaging} as color additives that require approval, however because of “lack of evidence of safety concerns, FDA traditionally has not exercised its regulatory authority over tattoo inks or the pigments used in them.” Although the FDA website provides a list of risks associated with cosmetic eyebrow tattooing and other procedures, the industry is self-regulating in terms of hygiene, equipment, professional qualifications and product usage, including: topical anesthetics, antiseptics, sterilization procedures, aftercare products and pigments. Has this lack of government regulation adversely affected the lip, eye and eyebrow tattooing industry? It seems not. With the liberation from government restrictions, artistic and cosmetic tattoo professionals take great pride in training and internship programs as well as certifying themselves through self-governing bodies like the SPCP {the Society for Permanent Cosmetic Professionals} and the AAM {the American Academy of Micropigmentation}. The SPCP conducts rigorous tests for members to become board certified and receive the title of CPCP {Certified Permanent Cosmetics Professional}. CPCP professionals must be OSHA certified, have training in bloodborne pathogens and follow hospital grade hygiene standards when working from clinics or private permanent makeup practices. Certified professionals offer pigment allergy tests before procedures, use only disposable needles, sterilized equipment to avoid cross contamination, and provide medical-grade sanitary facilities of their own free choice even in regions where state appointed health inspections and licensing is not mandatory.
For many the libertarian philosophy makes a lot of sense. For those who feel molly coddled by a the nanny state that won’t let them smoke, or drink or take drugs or do hundreds of other things that seem to harm no one other than the person who chooses to do the action libertarianism makes a lot of sense. If you harm only yourself why not allow base jumping? If you want to grow poppies in your garden and make tea from them why not?
This is at the heart of the libertarian point of view: if it doesn’t harm others and I willingly want to do something than why should I be prevented. Of course for Thoreau it was more than being allowed to take drugs or pursue dangerous pastimes. It was the right to live a life unimpeded by the state. Thoreau lived at Walden Pond to escape the state imposing on him. He was arrested when he refused to pay taxes to fund a war.
The notion of libertarianism depends on the idea that it upholds liberties that do not infringe on others people’s liberties. Since the advances in biology we have come to discover how we are all interconnected in complex relations that form eco-systems. Our actions have far greater repercussions than we previously thought. Burning fossil fuels in cars harms the environment. This causes global warming and in turn leads to drought, rising water levels and species extinction. The individual’s right to emit carbon is not consequence free. Thus, the libertarian point of view should be refined to say that an action as long as doesn’t infringe on other’s liberties or damage the environment should be justified.
Since nearly all human activity has an impact for good or bad on the environment we perhaps collapse the libertarian point of view. You might have a right to plant bamboo or drink coconut juice, but not to take an airplane, buy a car or eat beef.
There are so many things standing in the way of what we do nowadays that the idea of Libertarianism becomes an increasingly attractive proposition. The government is year on year making more decisions for us as to what they think is ’best for us’. Some may argue that a Libertarian society would be unruly, would be one they would feel unsafe in. That argument is somewhat misguided, a Libertarian society would’nt mean everyone can do what they want, crimes would still be punished the same way for sure.
If I want to use The Safe Cig discount code I found to buy electronic cigarettes I want to do this without the FDA and government states hovering in the background telling me that they are not good for me. There are many things but ultimately all we are asking is to be able to live our lives as we see fit.
Libertarians around the country value the freedom of purchasing the products they want without government interference. As long as you are not hurting anyone by your purchase, the government has no business meddling with your purchasing decisions.
One area where this can be controversial is in purchases that impact the collective commons. Despite this rather socialist sounding name, the commons refers to properties that by nature belong to all. A prime example of this is the environment.
With recent concerns about global warming or climate change, the government has started to regulate greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging manufacturers of items like refrigerators to produce more efficient appliances.
Look at any of the best refrigerator reviews and you will inevitably find reference to energy star rating and performance measurements of a similar ilk. Some libertarians object to these types of rating systems on the grounds that they are organized by the government, and propose that the free market would come up with similar systems if they were truly needed.
However, since individual manufacturers of refrigerators have very little stake in CO2 emissions, I feel this is unlikely to happen. If consumers as a while were to get together to demand companies provide this information, then perhaps they would do so without prodding from the government – but unfortunately this seems unlikely too.
Avoiding the ‘tragedy of the commons’ is where government regulations do have a place. Without the Federal Government promoting measure to preserve the environment for all of us, as individuals we lack the power – or good sense – to make it happen ourselves.
As much as I dislike government intervention, sometimes it does seem necessary.
We\’ve talked about it before, but it begs another mention given court wins in places like New Jersey and the state of Washington.
It is time for government to get out of the alcohol business.
Does anyone really believe for even a minute that our ability to select wine for ourselves or even to give a wine gift to a friend is made easier by state goverment owning all sales of wine?
Pennsylvania is a perfect example. The 10th largest consumption rate of wine per capita. 2….yes TWO! Wine buyers in the entire state based on some conversations we\’ve had with wineries looking to have their wine featured there.
State owned liquor stores means that only two people control what you drink. By comparison the chain K and L has over 10 buyers in control of their three stores.
How do those ratios make for better choice for consumers?
Let\’s get back to basics. Let private industry sell the wine. Tax them honestly and effectively and move on!
Part of the libertarian point of view is right of access. This is in direct conflict with the notion of private property rights. If you own a piece of land in many countries then only you and those you authorize have access to your land. There is no common access. In other countries there is the notion of common right of access. These rights often go back hundreds of years and belong partly to an age before trains and cars when people walked or rode a horse from one place to another. It was thus, important that people could cross over private land to take direct routes from point A to point B.
This very much fits into the libertarian position. If you are doing no damage then why shouldn’t you be allowed to cross someone else’s land? The owner of the land you are crossing may in turn need to cross your land at some point, so the favor is returned.
An interesting point is created by beaches. In many countries such as Thailand beaches are common property – they cannot be privately owned and they cannot be cordoned off. It is an important principal to have access to the beach as it also m,eans access to marine resources. The system works by declaring that all beaches in Thailand belong to the King.
It is thus disappointing that Santhiya Resort in Thong Nai Pan Noi on Koh Phangan has insisted that the beach path between the resort and the main beach of Thong Nai Pan Noi be blocked off. The result is that guests are stranded at the hotel with its high prices for food and drink. Secondly, the staff do not have quick access to the facilities on the beach.
It seems that the monied interests behind the hotel trump any law regarding right of way and access to a beach.
The more I think about it, the more it looks like Ron Paul might be the Presidential candidate for me. I laid out my main criteria for supporting a candidate.
Priority #1: Abortion. Does the candidate have a solid pro-life history and would I trust him to appoint judges to the Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade?
Ron Paul’s history says yes to both. He’s been against abortion his whole career & generally he is not a pathological liar unlike most of other politicians. Even though he’s pretty much a libertarian, he defines life as beginning at conception and views it the same way I do – the government needs to protect your freedom as its highest priority. Banning abortion does that. I need to find out more about his position on states’ rights in the abortion debate.
Priority #2: Taxes and spending. Paul is by far the best popular candidate in both categories, now that Sam Brownback (supported the flat tax) is out. He wants to eliminate the IRS and even views the income tax as superfluous, an invention of the 20th Century. He wants to eliminate useless government programs like welfare and even trim down foreign aid. You won’t find a better low-tax candidate capable of being elected.
Priority #3: The Space Program. Not surprisingly, Paul wants to eliminate NASA (along with the IRS, FEMA, etc.) and open up space to the private sector. I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me says “that’s fine, the private sector RULES!” The other part says “space exploration isn’t ready for private-dominated exploration.” The only way to find out is to test it.
What I’m saying here is that you have to separate the media hype about polls and electability and support the person who closely aligns with your values. That’s what Democratic representation is built on.
I am only a libertarian when it comes to certain issues. I don’t believe in small government and lack of regulation when it comes to banking for example. We need ombudsmen to oversee the activities of the banks; to force them to make a connection between performance and pay; and to prevent a re-occurrence of the the financial crisis that has beset the world since 2008.
However, I do believe in the right for people to travel and to settle in any country they choose. The rich world thinks they can keep their wealth and their privileged position by shutting their doors. The Chinese for many years sought to stop internal movement in China and to prevent citizens going abroad. In the case of the Chinese these policies have been reversed and the economy has hugely benefited from migrant labor.
In the West there has been a long tradition of immigration and an itinerant improvement in the economy. During the 16th and 17th Century many people fled religious persecution in Europe by going to the UK. They bought skills and capital that greatly benefited the UK economy.
In Thailand they are pursuing more and more draconian visa laws. Even foreigners married to Thai nationals must make visa runs or report to immigration offices every 2 months. Ex-pats in such places as Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and Koh Samui have to make pointless long journeys just for a stamp in their passport. The process is a waste of time and money and just to discourage people from pursuing rights that marriage has given them.
I believe freedom of movement is like freedom of information. It is one of the cornerstones of a strong economy and a healthy democracy. Limiting movement is despotism and racism.
It is very naive to just say that we should all be allowed to do what we want if it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others to do what they want. The reason it is naive is because this formula makes no mention of money. It is money that buys property. A man with property has more rights than a man without. A man without money has to serve a man with money. He probably has to do many things he doesn’t really want to do just in order to obtain money to buy food, clothes, shelter etc. Money buys privilege and power. People will sell their rights for money. Thus, it the case is that we need government to uphold our rights. Without government we would have less rights not more.
This is why here in America the system of laissez faire economics has resulted in the 2008 global financial crisis that has taken away millions of jobs and homes from the poorest people in society. The fight is not agianst government interference in our lives. The real fight is to reclaim government from the monied interests that currently control government.
If we did so we would be able to regulate the banks, we could introduce fair minimum wages, we could stop the flow of tax money to the arms industry. We could reclaim food production from agribusiness and thus we could eat healthy foods. We could implement energy saving measures in homes. We could change our energy policy. We could change our foreign policy so we made friends not war with foreign cultures.
All this is so much more important than moaning about regulations regarding consumer items, alcohol and tobacco. The libertarian view is too much about the individual, not about the bigger picture. No man is an island.