LPM Online

Contents

1. Upcoming Events
   
   

   August 14, 2001 - 7:30 PM

   LP of Oakland County Executive Committee Meeting. All dues-paying members are welcome. Business begins at 7:30 PM.

   Location: LPM Headquarters, 619 East Nine Mile in Hazel Park, just east of I-75.

   Contact: Chris Pellerito Phone: (248) 373-9411 E-mail:  LpocChairChris@aol.com

   
   

   August 15, 2001

   Monthly meeting of the St. Clair County affiliate.

   Location: Figaro's is located at 1503 11th Street, Port Huron, MI 48060. TX: (810) 987-3588. Join us for dinner at 6:00 PM. Business begins at 7:00 PM.

   Contact: Richard Friend Phone: (810) 982-7178 E-mail: rfriend@advnet.net

   
   

   August 16, 2001

   The Van Buren County chapter gives everyone a month off to enjoy the summer. See you on the third thursday night of next month. Get some more signatures on your copy of the petition!!!

   Location: CT's Restaurant, South Haven, located on the corner of M-43 and Blue Star Highway

   Contact: Bill Bradley Phone: (616) 637-4525

   
   

   August 20, 2001 - 7:30 PM

   Meeting of the Andy LeCureaux for Hazel Park City Council Campaign.

   Location: LPM HQ, 619 East Nine Mile Rd., Hazel Park

   Contact: Dave Collver Phone: (248) 542-9274 E-mail: DCCollver@aol.com

   
   

   August 22, 2001 - 6:30 PM

   LP of Oakland County General Membership Meeting. Public welcome. Meet for dinner at 6:30pm, business begins at 7:30pm

   Location: Sila's Restaurant, 4033 W. 12 Mile Rd, Berkley. Sila's is 2 blocks west of Greenfield on Twelve Mile Road.

   Contact: Chris Pellerito Phone: (248) 373-9411 E-mail:  LpocChairChris@aol.com

   
   

   August 23, 2001 - 7:00 PM

   The Ballot Access Restoration Committee meets the second and fourth Thursday every month -- until we submit petition signatures to the Bureau of Elections to be certified to once again be able to run Libertarian candidates in partisan races. All LPM members are welcome to attend and help with both the planning and execution of our petition drive.

   Location: LPMHQ, 619 E. 9 Mile, Hazel Park (just east of I-75)

   Contact: Nancy O'Brien Phone: (313) 562-5778 E-mail: nobrien321@home.com

   
   

   September 3, 2001 - 7:30 PM

   Meeting of the Andy LeCureaux for Hazel Park City Council Campaign.

   Location: LPM HQ, 619 East Nine Mile Rd., Hazel Park

   Contact: Dave Collver Phone: (248) 542-9274 E-mail: DCCollver@aol.com

   
   

   September 11, 2001 - 7:30 PM

   LP of Oakland County Executive Committee Meeting. All dues-paying members are welcome. Business begins at 7:30pm.

   Location: LPM Headquarters, 619 East Nine Mile in Hazel Park, just east of I-75.

   Contact: Chris Pellerito Phone: (248) 373-9411 E-mail: LpocChairChris@aol.com

   
   

   September 12, 2001 - 6:30 PM

   Libertarians of Macomb County monthly meeting. Drinks and dinner at 6:30 PM, business begins at 7:00 PM.

   Location: Miles World Resturant, 17689 Masonic, Fraser, MI 48026, 810-415-4500.

   Contact: Diane Barnes Phone: (810) 774-1625 E-mail: dbarnes98@aol.com

   
   

   September 13, 2001 - 7:00 PM

   The Ballot Access Restoration Committee meets the second and fourth Thursday every month -- until we submit petition signatures to the Bureau of Elections to be certified to once again be able to run Libertarian candidates in partisan races. All LPM members are welcome to attend and help with both the planning and execution of our petition drive.

   Location: LPMHQ, 619 E. 9 Mile, Hazel Park (just east of I-75)

   Contact: Nancy O'Brien Phone: (313) 562-5778 E-mail: nobrien321@home.com

   
   

   More

   For more events, see the online calendar at:

   http://www.michiganlp.org/lpmonline/events.php

   
   

2. LPWM forms campaign committee by Jason C. Miller

   GRAND RAPIDS -- The Libertarian Party of West Michigan decided to take an important step in becoming a serious political organization by expanding its campaign committee. While the petition drive is chief among the LPWM's current activities, the executive committee recognized the importance of preparing for the 2002 election cycle and appointed Jeff Steinport, Jason Miller, and Bill Gelineau to the campaign committee which Ron Hereen chairs.

   Hereen established some ambitious goals that included filling running over a dozen candidates. Individuals interested in helping out should email mrpaine@aol.com.com

   Back to Contents
   
3. A Fairy Tale of Two Cites by Tim O'Brien

   The following article is the latest in a series of Op-ed articles written by LPM Executive Director Tim O'Brien and submitted to news outlets across the state for publication.
   
   Once upon a time the American ideal for governance was what has been called the "Night Watchman" state. Government as nothing more than an impartial arbiter. A protector against force and fraud that, otherwise, left citizens free to buy and sell their goods and services in the voluntary marketplace.
   
   It lasted for about as long as it took someone to figure out that using the force of law to get an advantage over competitors was much easier than doing things better or cheaper. And then to come up with a plausible rationalization for why government interference would actually benefit all the rest of us, as well.
   
   Pretty soon the real action in buying and selling was in lawmaker futures.
   
   Just how naked does the greedy power grab have to get before some impolitic person shouts out to the world that the emperor is prancing around in the altogether?
   
   Try this.
   
   Suppose there was a small, suburban community on the outskirts of a once-great but now decaying, metropolis. Let's call the town Westend.
   
   Life is good in Westend. For all except MegaCorp. The managers of MegaCorp are very unhappy at being undersold and undermined by smaller, hungrier competitors.
   
   Now, being prudent businessmen, these managers have been unofficially paying for local politicians for some time now -- in the form of what everyone calls (wink, wink, nudge, nudge): "campaign contributions."
   
   So they go to their wholly-owned subsidiary politicians, wringing their hands in earnest lamentation at the unfairness of it all. MegaCorp has higher quality standards! And much higher overhead! Something must be done about these annoying little competitors who are taking large bites out their major corporate profits.
   What is needed, they plead, is a new law. An ordinance that requires the City of Westend, and any businesses doing business with Westend, or receiving any kind of grant, subsidy or tax break from Westend (which pretty much covers everyone in town) to do business only with multi-million dollar companies. As it happens only MegaCorp meets this criterion.
   
   The new law will be called the "Fair Profit" ordinance and the limitation would, MegaCorp executives assure, go a long way towards making the marketplace more secure -- for consumers, as well as MegaCorp personnel. Not to mention MegaCorp profits. And these benefits will, they posture, trickle down to all the happy Westenders.
   
   A few naysayers will undoubtedly complain that the "Fair Profit" ordinance is not fair at all to the legally excluded businesses who weren't guilty of anything more than being smaller, leaner and more efficient. Not to mention the added cost to taxpayers in Westend not taking advantage of the best deals available.
   
   But the whiners can be dismissed as lacking the vision to see all of the benefits of a centrally planned marketplace run by benevolent politicians, compared with the anarchy of uncontrolled buying and selling based only on the selfishness of individual consumers.
   
   Too far-fetched? Okay. Then how about this.
   
   On the other side of town there is another small, suburban community. Let's call this one Eastpointe.
   
   Life is also good in Eastpointe. For all except the members of Local 12 of the Big Brotherhood of United Teamworkers.
   
   The officials of B.B.U.T. (who, incidentally, are as well compensated as their MegaCorp counterparts) represent high wage workers unhappy at being underbid and undermined by poorer, younger, hungrier workers.
   
   Now, being run by astute negotiators, B.B.U.T. representatives have been unofficially paying for local politicians for some time now -- in the form of what everyone calls (wink, wink, nudge, nudge): "campaign contributions."
   
   So they go to their labor-friendly politicians, wringing their hands in earnest lamentation at the unfairness of it all. B.B.U.T. members have higher quality standards! They have families to support!
   
   What is needed, they plead, is a new law. An ordinance that requires the City of Eastpointe, and any businesses doing business with Eastpointe, or receiving any kind of grant, subsidy or tax break from Eastpointe (which pretty much covers everyone in town) to do business only with companies that pay all of their workers at a rate at least equal to the national poverty standard for a family of four.
   
   The new law will be called the "Living Wage" ordinance and the limitation would, union officials assure, go a long way towards making the workplace more secure -- for consumers, as well as Local 12 members. Not to mention B.B.U.T. officials. And these benefits will, they posture, trickle down to all the happy Eastpointers.
   
   Now, a few naysayers may complain that the "Living Wage" ordinance will deprive some of the opportunity to earn any wage at all, such as the young (who have no families) and the working poor (who have only entry level skills) -- workers who aren't guilty of anything more than being unorganized, leaner and more efficient. Not to mention the added cost to taxpayers in not taking advantage of the best wage scales available.
   
   You don't buy that one, either?
   
   Well, of course we know the story of Westend and Eastpointe is a fairy tale. Because this is where we're told by MegaCorp and the Big Brotherhood of United Teamworkers -- and their politicians -- that consumers and taxpayers all lived happily ever after.

   Back to Contents
   
4. State would damage e-commerce by collecting e-taxes by Jason C. Miller

   This editorial was published in the Detroit News Sunday Outlook on August 21.
   
   

   State would damage e-commerce by collecting e-taxes
   
   By Jason C. Miller / Special to The Detroit News
   
   The moratorium on Internet taxes expiring this fall has sparked a great deal of debate. Gov. John Engler reignited the issue this past week when he said creating some form of sales tax on online purchases would be a high priority as the chairman of the National Governors' Association.
   
   State governments look with covetous eyes on the potential revenue they could receive. That is why Engler and other governors are pushing for congressional authorization to form a compact that would tax goods at the buyer's location. This proposal has many serious flaws.
   
   The justification for taxing the Internet is that because customers of online businesses have an unfair advantage over those at "brick and mortar" establishments. The low sales taxes that most consumers of traditional businesses pay offset the cost of shipping that e-commerce consumers must pay, allowing online stores to compete with local businesses. More important, online businesses do not place the same burden on public services (which are funded by sales taxes) as brick-and-mortar businesses do. Rather than asking the government to hinder online businesses, established companies should focus on improving their business and profits.
   
   States see online purchases as a loophole that lets a small amount of money slip through their increasingly large fingers. But money should not be seized simply because it is changing hands.
   
   If the federal government interferes by creating a de facto national sales tax, it will undercut important tax competition between the states. It could drive online businesses across the border to Canada or Mexico. Fleeing businesses would cost every level of government some tax revenue.
   
   The multi-state compact could also present a problem. Not every state has a sales tax. If those states do not join or enforce a compact, business would flow from Michigan and other states to the tax-free zones.
   
   It is important that our state and congressional representatives look at the long-term effects of spreading taxes rather than finding a new source of revenue to cover pay raises and budget shortfalls.
   
   Jason Miller, a Michigan State University student, is co-owner of a Hudsonville-based Web site design company and an intern for the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids. Write letters to The News, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226, or fax to (313) 222-6417 or e-mail to letters@detnews.com. Back to Contents