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Home Archives for free market

5/11/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

“The Time Is Now” to Get Connected with the American Liberty Alliance

If we are to be successful, pro-liberty groups and individuals are going to have to be more collaborative. There is strength in numbers. To a good extent, this movement has begun in Colorado -- with the People's Press Collective, Liberty on the Rocks, and other projects. But plenty of work remains to be done on many levels. Kudos to all those in the trenches. On the most recent episode of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio we talked with blogger and online activist Ken Marrero about -- among other things -- his work with the national Tea Party movement and the development of a group called American Liberty Alliance. It turns out that as of today Ken is now the executive director of this national grassroots movement. It's an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: advocates, American Liberty Alliance, Americans, Big Government, Blog Talk Radio, blogger, broken, businesses, citizen, city councils, Coalition for a Conservative Majority, collaborative, Colorado, Colorado Union of Taxpayers, concerned, corrupt, county commissions, dictate, Don't Go Movement, Eric Odom, evolution, executive director, extreme spending, federal encroachments, fiscally responsible, free market, getting connected, grassroots, groups, individuals, Ken Marrero, Liberty on the Rocks, local action, majority votes, movement, national, online activist, organizer, outgoing, over-governed, Peoples Press Collective, politicians, pro-liberty, projects, R Block Party, Rocky Mountain Alliance, school boards, society, special interest groups, spontaneous energy, state legislatures, streamline, successful, Tea Party, teachers unions, tolerated, Transparency, trenches, unproductive, work

4/28/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Stand Up Today Against Government Health Care Takeover Attempt

Over at We Stand FIRM, Dr. Paul Hsieh brings attention to an attempt by Washington D.C. Democrats to fast-track a major expansion of government control of health care. If you've been looking for a chance to speak out for liberty, or you are just enraged by the political tactics, as well as the harmful and costly end-game on health care policy, Hsieh provides some great evidence and a couple sample letters you can use to formulate your own letter to Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet. The time to stand up is today ... not tomorrow, not next week. Make your voice heard for individual freedom, personal responsibility, and affordable, free market health care! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Health Care, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: affordable, Colorado, costly, Democrats, end-game, enraged, evidence, fast track, formulate, free market, government control, harmful, Health Care, individual freedom, letter, liberty, major expansion, Mark Udall, Michael Bennet, next week, Paul Hsieh, personal responsibility, policy, political, sample letters, speak out, tactics, tomorrow, U.S. Senators, voice, Washington DC, We Stand Firm

4/25/2009 By Ben 4 Comments

A ‘Nonpartisan’ Reason to Challenge California Anti-Taxpayer Media Bias

It's quite often the subtle bias in the dominant liberal media that can make a significant difference. Witness yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle piece on a California ballot initiative to impose tax-and-spending limitations on state government. Writer John Wildermuth quotes from two Colorado sources to establish views on our own state's experience with the stronger Taxpayer's Bill of Rights limit (emphases added):"Nobody disagrees that (the cap) kept government spending lower," said Carol Hedges, a senior fiscal analyst for the nonpartisan Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, which opposes the state's budget cap. "But supporters don't like to talk about the human cost of keeping government smaller."... Across the nation, anti-tax … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, media bias, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: accurate, adjective, anti-tax advocates, argue, ballot initiative, budget cap, California, Carol Hedges, Colorado, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, conclusion, credibility, degree, Democratic, descriptor, difference, dominant liberal media, downhill, establish, experience, fiscal analyst, fiscal conservatives, free market, full disclosure, Independence Institute, John Wildermuth, Jon Caldara, machine, misleading, newspapers, nonpartisan, objective, out of business, outsourced arm, predetermined, President, primary source, progressive, quotes, rolls, San Francisco Chronicle, significant, sources, story, subtle bias, tax-and-spending limit, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, technical sense, think tank, undeserved, views, writer

3/31/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

The Existential Impact of Government Motors on a Native Michigander

The whole sad affair with General Motors, the federal bailout and now the Presidentially-orchestrated dismissal of the company's CEO, strikes a little bit closer to home with me. I grew up in southeast Michigan. My dad worked more than 30 years for the automaker. Many, many people I knew worked for GM or one of the contract suppliers. GM was a significant part of a way of life. So after yesterday's announcement, please forgive me if my head is still spinning this morning. I'm not quite able to put it all into words, but thought I'd give it a first crack. Of course, the firing of CEO Rick Wagoner and the Presidential-backed car warranty are predictable outcomes of the initial bailout I have opposed from the beginning. But because of my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Commemorative, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: automaker, automotive giant, bankrupt, Barack Obama, belly-up, CEO, contract suppliers, dismissal, end of America as we know it, existential impact, federal bailout, forgive, free market, General Motors, GM, Government Motors, greatly disturbing, head, healthy, home, Michigan, morning, Photoshop, predictable outcomes, President, prospect, Rick Wagoner, sad affair, signs, spinning, summer, used car salesman, warranty

2/4/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Jon Henke’s Advice: Keep Our Eyes on The Real Problem Before Us

If you really want to engage in a serious debate about how to implement free market conservative policy solutions with a practical eye on messaging and political coalition building, then you ought to be reading what Jon Henke has to say. Be prepared: you won't get a rosy-eyed view or a mealy-mouthed answer. I appreciated what Jon wrote yesterday about a Republican response to the growing push toward government-sponsored universal health care (Tom Daschle's distracting tax problems aside). I'm not interested in the particularities of the health care debate right now, but if you are, might I recommend you check out the following: Patient Power WE Stand Firm State Policy Network blog However, it's Henke's conclusion that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: appreciate, Big Government, coalition building, conservative, Democrat Party, free market, futile, government, growing push, heavy lifting, ideological ball, insightful, Jon Henke, limited government, limiting, long-term solutions, mealy-mouthed answer, messaging, Patient Power, policy solutions, political, political success, practical eye, principle, readers, recommend, Republican, response, rosy-eyed view, serious debate, State Policy Network, structural, tax problems, The Problem, Tom Daschle, two-party system, universal health care, We Stand Firm, wrong

1/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Etch Yesterday in Stone as Rare Proud Moment for Congressional GOP

It's not often that I can say Congressional Republicans make me proud by their actions. So let's etch January 28, 2009, in stone as one of those momentous occasions. Hats off to the House GOP yesterday for standing 100 percent united against the Obama-Democrat trillion dollar pork bill that promises to mount piles of debt on my generation and future generations. Of course, this is small consolation as there aren't enough Republicans - with or without backbone - to stop the socialist steamroller "stimulus" from gliding through. But at least if the GOP hangs tough and united, rather than set us up for disappointment, the Democrats will own this economic disaster. (Will Senate Republicans follow their House brethren?) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: backbone, Barack Obama, basic sanity, Beltway, Best Destiny, Colorado, Congress, conservative, conservative leaders, creativity, delegation, Democrats, disappointment, economic disaster, energized, fiscal conservatism, free market, generations, gloomy news, grassroots, hand-wringing, hard work, House GOP, impact, late, limited government, memo, Michael, momentous occasions, necessary, never, party-line vote, piles of debt, political, pork bill, proud, realization, Republicans, rock bottom, Rocky Mountain Right, Senate, small consolation, small rays of hope, Socialist, solidarity, steamroller, stimulus, struggles, tough, trillion dollar, united, waiting, Washington

10/26/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

My Young Free Market Friends Showcase New Online Political Activism

The Saturday edition of the Rocky Mountain News featured the proverbial quadrennial story about the energized youth vote. Do we have reason to believe that more young voters will cast their ballots this year? I don't know. But one of my young free market friends astutely suggests that the state of the economy has re-engaged many of them:Wesley Dickinson, a 30-year-old Denver engineer, thinks the economy is forcing people near his age to confront politics more so than at any time since the 1970s economic downturn created a generation of Reagan Republicans. Since then, people have been able to live relatively comfortably and didn't care so much about what the government did; that no longer is true, he said. "They haven't had to worry … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: activism, Amanda Teresi, ballots, blog, campaign event, co-workers, computer, Denver, donate money, economy, engineer, free market, friends, Independence Institute, Justin Longo, Liberty on the Rocks, politics, Presidential debate, Reagan Republicans, Rocky Mountain News, technology, Web monkey, Wesley Dickinson, youth vote

9/30/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Political Fault Lines Clearly Shifting Around Federal Bailout Bill Debate

One thing that's clear is the Congressional bailout debates have shifted political fault lines in unusual ways. The Denver Post highlights the odd split in Colorado's Congressional delegation: Mark Udall, John Salazar, Doug Lamborn, and Marilyn Musgrave against the bill vs. Tom Tancredo, Diana Degette, and Ed Perlmutter for it. Then, there's my two favorite fiscally conservative national think tanks. Co-authoring an issue brief for the Heritage Foundation, former Attorney General Ed Meese says the bailout bill was "vital and acceptable," while Cato Institute scholar Jagadeesh Ghokale notes:Overall, it's not a pretty picture--but score one for supporters of the free market who insist on allowing market reorganization of the financial … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Attorney General, bad debt, bailout, billions, Cato Institute, Colorado, Congress, courage, debate, Democrat, Denver Post, Diana Degette, Doug Lamborn, Ed Meese, Ed Perlmutter, financial sector, free market, freedom, Heritage Foundation, Jagadeesh Ghokale, John Salazar, lesser of two evils, libertarian, Marilyn Musgrave, Mark Udall, policy, political fault lines, Republican, scholar, taxpayers, Tom Tancredo

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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

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  • The All-New Christmas Music Countdown: Bigger, Better and Brighter Than Ever
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