“Institute for Justice” on The Daily Caller

Imagine that after pouring your heart and soul into creating a thriving business, a government bureaucrat tells you to shut it down. The bureaucrat informs you that the only way to save your business is to go to a state-approved school that teaches nothing about your business, take a state exam that tests nothing about your business and pay for it all out of pocket, with curriculum and fees exceeding $10,000. The bureaucrat tells you that failure to comply could result in heavy fines and up to six months in jail. Does that sound like nothing more than a bad dream? (more)

Every December, The Economist magazine comes out with a special feature that looks at the year ahead. In the sneak peak they provided for 2011, we saw a glimpse into one of the hottest culinary movements in the country: mobile food vendors. According to the magazine, “some of the best food Americans eat may come from the food truck.” (more)

Daily Caller readers know that America’s road to economic recovery won’t begin in Washington, D.C. It will start in the homes and offices of entrepreneurs who risk it all to bring an idea to life. (more)

With The Daily Caller approaching its first birthday (the site was launched on January 11, 2010), I thought it would be appropriate to recount the 20 most interesting Daily Caller op-eds of 2010 (according to me). Collectively, these op-eds garnered hundreds of thousands of page views and over ten thousand Facebook recommendations (though, due to a Facebook glitch, the Facebook recommendations for most Daily Caller articles that were published before December 10th have disappeared. You’ll have to trust me on this one.) The articles are listed in no particular order. (more)

In New Jersey, residents who want to transport firearms legally must request a permit from a local law enforcement office and produce a letter stating why it is necessary for them to carry a gun.  In other words, New Jerseyans have to prove need before exercising what many Americans consider a constitutional right. (more)

A suit against an Arizona campaign finance law that the Supreme Court agreed to hear yesterday could be a “game changer” in the world of campaign finance, according to Bill Maurer, lead counsel for Institute for Justice, a plaintiff in the suit. The suit takes on Arizona’s “Clean Elections Act,” which requires the government to give more funding to a publicly funded candidate each time a privately funded candidate spends more money so that the two are afforded equal money, and therefore speech. (more)

In October 2007, law enforcement officials in Tenaha, Texas, pulled Roderick Daniels over for allegedly traveling 37mph in a 35mph zone. Upon discovering $8,500 in cash that the Tennessee man had planned to use to buy a new car, the officers took Daniels to jail and threatened to charge him with money-laundering unless he turned over the cash. Intimidated by police and 600 miles from home, Daniels surrendered his property even though he was guilty of no crime. For people living in or even driving through Texas, this nightmare is increasingly common. (more)

In a resounding victory for economic liberty, horse teeth floaters are back at work in the Lone Star State after beating back a four-year campaign by state-licensed veterinarians and the state vet board to put them out of business. (more)

Under Florida law, before you’re allowed to cut hair, you must first take 1,200 hours of instruction that can cost thousands of dollars and pass a written exam. The economic effects of laws like this are well documented — by restricting entry into the market, these laws force consumers to pay more for fewer options. But recent events in the Central Florida neighborhood of Pine Hills point out another danger of occupational licensing. (more)

Who would you rather prepare your taxes?  A professional tax return preparer with over a dozen years experience in preparing tax returns for taxpayers without incident.  Or me, an attorney who has never so much as taken a law school class or continuing legal education course in tax law, and gave up on doing his own taxes last year once he started needing to itemize his deductions.  You probably think you’d prefer the first option, but the IRS says you’re wrong. (more)

Politics is our business, not yours.  Keep out. (more)

In Washington, D.C., it is illegal to talk about the monuments or the history of the city if a person pays you to take them around town. That is, unless you pay the government $200 and pass a 100 question multiple-choice exam. (more)

Mired in debt and facing a jobless recovery, America’s future rests on the shoulders of the small businesses and entrepreneurs who have always been the primary engine of the nation’s economy. (more)

Imagine you come home from work one day to a notice on your front door that you have 45 days to demolish your house, or the city will do it for you.  Oh, and you’re paying for it. (more)

Ronald Reagan quipped that the nine most terrifying words in the English language were, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”  And so it goes with modern government-directed campaign finance programs — schemes designed to harm traditionally-funded candidates (those who raise money by persuading individuals to make voluntary donations) and make it easier for government-funded candidates to promote their message. (more)

In Louisiana, monks are under attack. (more)

Dr. Patrick Wolf spoke to a packed audience in the Capitol Visitors Center last Monday. (more)

I am a pastor and father living in South Phoenix. (more)

The Center for Competitive Politics has made it no secret that we think a campaign finance bill written behind closed doors by the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the past chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee—and a President facing a re-election campaign in 2012—might not really be about good government, as they claim. (more)

What’s legal for billionaires to do alone, but illegal for you to do with your neighbors?  Until a federal court decision last Friday, the surprising answer was:  spend freely on political ads. (more)