Asset forfeiture:
Beyond violations of due process and individual rights, civil asset forfeiture is recognized as a serious criminal justice issue because it incentivizes abuse of the system. Why? Because assets seized through the process directly benefit the law enforcement agencies involved. Of course, some states are worse than others on this front. In Hawaii, for example, the seized assets must be used to “fight crime.” But that’s a term with a lot of latitude for interpretation. The Maui police department, for example, felt the best way to “fight crime” with seized assets was to purchase new ice makers. (Read more)
Cronyism:
Elon Musk likes to fashion himself as an environmental capitalist — but there’s not much about his business model that is actually capitalistic. Musk’s latest announcement is that he plans to produce “solar roofs” for homes — roof tiles that act as solar arrays, without creating the eyesore of traditional panels. Making the scheme affordable, however, is really only possible thanks to massive federal tax credits awarded to Musk’s company for each installed roof. Once again, Musk shows that he is extremely talented at using “environmentalism” to make money off unsuspecting taxpayers. (Read more)
Government corruption:
The larger the school district, the more corruption seems to follow. In late September 2013, CCSD Trustee Erin Cranor came across information indicating that she and fellow trustees had been misled about the actual costs of an insurance contract the district was expected to sign. Rather than costs falling, as trustees had been told, they were actually rising — between $6 and $7 million. Moreover, the new contract contained a massive, unacknowledged increase to the insurance broker’s commission. When Cranor raised the issue, it became clear that district corruption was running deeper than the public realized. (Read more)
Federal lands:
Before leaving office, the Obama Administration imposed land use restrictions on more than 72 million acres of western lands — but those protections may not remain in place for very long, thanks to a rarely used anti-regulatory tool. The Congressional Review Act of 1996 gives President Trump and the Republican congress the ability to reverse much of Obama’s last-minute actions on public lands. According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, the act allows Congress to essentially vote on the slew of land-use restrictions. (Read more)
