A Specter is Haunting San Diego

A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism.

The Communist Manifesto, 1848.

Consider this tale.  You and your spouse buy an older (circa 1920s) home you wish to remodel as your dream home. You hire a lawyer, you go before the historical review board. You go before the community planning commission and the city planning commission.  This is a lot of work and a lot of money.  Maybe you don't like it, but we are a society with rules of law, so you follow the law.  Citizens, through their city council voted that we would protect historical landmarks and ensure proper land use.  So we expect a predictable outcome based on the rule of law with decisions made with due process.  But the mayor gets some emails and his chief of staff intervenes and sends the case back.  Who knows why?  But the mayor is under investigation for a pay to play scheme.

This is the product of leftism and the mayor of San Diego is undeniably a man of the left.  This is the end result of putting politics over process.  This is the road to serfdom.

The leftist playbook seeks to seize upon all the levers of government for the sole purpose of expanding the power of government and the left.  Getting corporations into line by threatening them with regulation, not enforcing the law when politically inconvenient, getting your pet projects delivered on the backs of developers needing your approval, buying votes by intervening against unpopular but lawful projects are all means to the end of unchecked power.  This is no different than leftism's predecessor of socialism and communism.  The reason that such isms result in tyranny is that they seek to so expand the role of the state that abuse and corruption are too powerful of temptations to resist.  The leftists seeks the power and riches that they can not obtain, because they lack the skills and entrepreneurial spirit to compete in a capitalist society.  They denounce society as evil, when their intent is to appropriate riches for themselves.

The U-T has done a public service by chronicling the multiple interventions by the mayor's office in land use decisions since he was sworn in last December.  Just like the Obama administration, which thinks it must enforce the Affordable Care Act only when convenient to its political interests, the mayor has used land use for his own political convenience.  The left has become more open about their goals and more blatant in the grab for power.  Liberals, as opposed to leftists, should be appalled and fight back if they value democracy.

Here is the 10 News video of the lead story.

The Road to Serfdom Includes the GW Bridge?

Apparently it does. Here's the scoop. The Port Authority of New York operates the George Washington bridge and Lincoln Tunnel. Its executives are very well compensated.

Many top executives at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are getting thousands of dollars in bonuses on top of six-figure salaries.

The Herald News reported the bonus plan on Tuesday. It discovered that 44 of the agency's top 100 executives made considerably more than their annual salaries in each of the last two fiscal years by getting bonuses, mostly for longevity pay and unused vacation time.

Meanwhile, commuters chafe at the $12 they pay for each trip into Manhattan. There is a loophole of course, traveling with three or more passengers in the vehicle qualifies for a $6 discount. Enter free market economics, riders and passengers are hooking up to reduce the costs of crossing. The passengers get a free ride into Manhattan and the drivers get a discount. Our love story would end there, except for the fact that this particular bridge is part of The Road to Serfdom. Enter the Port Authority and the police. From the WSJ:

. . .cat-and-mouse game being played out at the nearby George Washington Bridge leading into Manhattan. Carpoolers hoping to catch a ride were being intercepted by police—even though ride-sharing, as in other cities, is a legal way to save money. . . .
A common carpooler complaint is that the police only target vehicles picking up passengers—not those dropping them at the bus stop or even those picking up people in the non-toll-paying direction. Though Mr. Della Fave denies that is the case, Mr. Topyan says his research—consisting of hundreds of hours of observation—seems to confirm the practice.
. . .
But to those without the time or energy to walk, the crackdown on carpools smacks of a revenue-grab by the Port Authority, which has been criticized for lavish pay and benefits. With extensive overtime, some toll collectors make more than $100,000, while salaries for several officers working at the bridge topped $200,000 last year.
. . .
"In order to pad their pensions and lifestyle, they're taking bread out of our children's mouths," says Ms. Javier.

Indeed. In summary, an out of control bureaucracy is using the police to enforce revenue grabbing measures against law abiding citizens. This is the road to serfdom. Want to avoid paying a fee by legal means? The police will be stopping you, my friend. Wealthy and young, and just want to pay cash for your health care? You'll be paying a fine. Ask for the address of an EPA official? It turns out the EPA has agents with guns who will pay you a visit. (Why does the EPA need agents with guns, can't they use the FBI for such an occasion?)

And of course there are the green police:

In a growing number of cities across the U.S., local governments are placing computer chips in recycling bins to collect data on refuse disposal, and then fining residents who don't participate in recycling efforts and forcing others into educational programs meant to instill respect for the environment.

At least one man fought back.

Curious to see what would happen, Mr. Topyan recently picked up two passengers in plain sight of a police officer—and was promptly ticketed. Having researched the law, he spent six hours in traffic court and won his case.

"The prosecutor was jumping up and down in disbelief," he says. He didn't have to pay.

Bravo!

Destroying Jobs -- For the Children

Charlotte, the organic bear, picture at left, may soon be outlawed in the United States in the interests of safety. Dean has great commentary about how a new law designed "for the children," is driving eco-friendly and organic toy producers out of business. While the cynic in me might think that's a good thing, do we really need to be putting companies out of business and people out of work right now? By the way, it seems that doing it "for the children," has become the favorite phrase of those paving the "Road to Serfdom."