Lagniappe - October 2009

Virology Meets Jurisprudence – Speaking from the floor of Congress this week, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston said, “I listened to some challenge to the Constitution about the right to health care. I frankly believe that the Bill of Rights does embrace this concept because the Fifth Amendment suggests the question of due process. And one does not have due process under the Constitution if your neighbor can have health insurance and save his children from the scourge of H1N1, not losing their lives because they might have vulnerabilities as a child, and you cannot.” I don’t think there’s any doubt that the swine flu is a very serious problem for those who contract it, but to my knowledge the virus has not yet mutated into a strain that is capable of denying citizens due process. Until it does, we’ll continue to rely on Congress for that.

Dallas Police Can’t Even Protect Themselves From Thieves – Dallas SWAT was burglarized again this week. Thieves entered the unmarked SWAT SUV and then broke into a heavy-duty safe, taking weapons, body armor, uniforms and a badge. This is the third SWAT vehicle to be burglarized in six months.

Would You Spend $24,000 For A Clunker? – Back in August, Cato’s Chris Edwards suggested that the government’s Cash for Clunkers was the dumbest program ever – and that was based solely on the $4,500 incentive being offered. Edmunds.com now reports that the program cost $3 billion and only generated 125,000 incremental sales, putting the cost per clunker at $24,000. No word yet from Edmunds on whether the Cash for Golf Carts or Cash for Appliances programs were any more effective.