Posts Tagged ‘UM’
From SFE blog Free to Choose:
I have been encouraging my members in the University of Michigan College Libertarians to write simple and to-the-point letters to the editor to our student newspaper on issues of liberty. Here is one example from today, in response to an editorial advocating for a $25 billion taxpayer-funded handout to the Big Three automakers:
“When it comes to spending other people’s money, the Daily is awfully generous. That was the case in its editorial yesterday about a bailout for the Big Three (Bailing out our future, 11/18/2008).
A taxpayer-funded bailout for the Big Three can’t be defended on moral grounds because it is wrong to rob Peter to pay Paul, regardless of how many skilled lobbyists Paul may have in Washington D.C. Nor can it be defended on practical grounds, since this would be a subsidy for the bloated and inefficient management practices that got automakers here in the first place. A bailout would “spread the wealth” from poor taxpayers to rich executives.
Bailouts also misallocate resources by placing capital in the hands of politicians rather than market forces. Supporting Congress’s use of a limitless credit card that will be charged to our children and grandchildren to bailout private companies is morally reprehensible and confusing public policy. It would make more sense to throw our money down a hole.”
So try it! Spend twenty minutes of your day writing to your paper with a pro-liberty message. You have a good chance of getting published and to reach tens of thousands of students that likely don’t hear a free-market perspective in the classroom. For more great examples, check out the excellent blog Cafe Hayek.
Tags: auto, bailout, big three, cars, letters, UM
Posted in From The Blogs | No Comments »
Great letter to the editor of the Michigan Daily by SFE student Vincent Patsy:
U.S. capitalism fails because it isn’t really capitalism
The most important word in the phrase “free market capitalism” is free. Freedom, I believe, can only be defined as the absence of coercion. Free market capitalism is the economic system where all property (and therefore means of production) is privately held and all exchanges are voluntary.
Recently, much disdain and derision has been directed at free market capitalism. But we don’t have a purely capitalist system. To blame capitalism for the latest economic crisis is like blaming the spread offense for Michigan’s losses this year. Whether it’s a monetary manipulation, price controls or the lack of a running quarterback, it is clear that the idealized system can’t be blamed if it doesn’t exist.
What is often called capitalism today is actually closer to corporatism or fascism. We have a market, but due to a manipulation of prices, we have influenced the allocation of goods away from what consumers want. In a free market system, there would be no Federal Reserve, no Department of Energy or Education and certainly no World Trade Organization or International Monetary Fund. When I was reading the Daily’s review yesterday of the film “Battle in Seattle,” it wasn’t clear if the author was able to make this distinction (Seattle calling, 10/14/2008). This is a common error. People from the right like Larry Kudlow and those from the left like Eleanor Clift have presented our system as free market capitalism.
Free market capitalists would protest and fight alongside whoever wanted to abolish the WTO or the IMF. Add the Federal Reserve to this list, and I will drive the tank.
Tags: bailout, capitalism, credit, crisis, fed, financial, football, free-market, michigan daily, offense, UM
Posted in Morehouse, Less Government | No Comments »
The 2008 Students for Freedom Conference just keeps getting better!
Saturday, November 8 at the University of Michigan we’re hosting the first Midwest regional conference to equip freedom loving students with the tools and expertise they need to successfully advance freedom on campus and beyond. Panels of awesome speakers will cover tips for effective writing, speaking, blogging, video, political action, academic work, and much much more. The conference is only $20, which includes lots of free stuff and three square meals.
The following speakers are confirmed for the event:
Keynote speaker:
Larry Reed, President, The Foundation for Economic Education.
Marketing and Communications panel:
John Tillman, The Illinois Policy Institute.
Gerry Nicholls, The Institute for Liberal Studies and The Democracy Institute, Canada
Michael Jahr, The Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Activistm and Strategy Panel:
Joe Lehman, The Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Leon Drolet, Michigan Taxpayers Alliance.
Professor Harry C. Veryser, Jr.,University of Detroit Mercy.
Nigel Ashford, The Institute for Humane Studies.
New Media Panel:
Jason Talley, Atlas Economic Research Center.
Leslie Graves, Lucy Burns Institute.
E.M. Zanotti, The Sam Adams Alliance.
Nick De Leeuw, RightMichigan.com.
Writing a good op-ed:
Tom Shull, The Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Register now while there’s still space!
Tags: blog, blogging, Conference, marketing, midwest, new media, November, SFE, SFF, SFL, strategy, students for a free economy, students for liberty, u of m, UM, Video
Posted in Morehouse, Less Government | No Comments »
SFE is joining with Students for Liberty to host a conference for liberty-minded students in the Midwest. A dozen of the best speakers and activists in the movement will be sharing best practices for promoting liberty on campus. Panels will covers how to effectively market the ideas of liberty through writing, blogging, video, events in the political, academic and cultural spheres and more. With Keynote Speaker Larry Reed, former President of the Mackinac Center and current President of the Foundation for Economic Education, and a slew of other speakers from the Midwest, this will be a rallying event for the cause of liberty in the region.
Space is limited, so register online today!
Here’s a list of speakers:
Larry Reed, Foundation for Economic Education
Nigel Ahsford, Institute for Humane Studies
Jason Talley, Atlas Economic Research Center
John Tillman, Illinois Policy Institute
Gerry Nicholls, Political Strategist
Joe Lehman, Mackinac Center
Leon Drolet, Michigan Taxpayers Alliance
Professor Harry C. Veryser, Jr., University of Detroit Mercy
Nick De Leeuw, RightMichigan.com
Leslie Graves, Lucy Burns Institute
Michael Jahr, Mackinac Center
Tom Shull, Mackinac Center
Tags: Conference, liberty, marketing, midwest, November, regional, SFE, SFF, UM
Posted in Morehouse, Less Government | 2 Comments »
It is with great pleasure that we invite you to participate in the first Midwest Students For Freedom Conference at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on Saturday, November 8th. This conference is a collaborative project of Students For Liberty (SFL) and SFE, hosted by the University of Michigan College Libertarians. SFL is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide a student-driven forum of support for students and student organizations dedicated to liberty.
In February, 2008, SFL hosted an international conference with significant SFE participation and collaboration that spurred student interest in the cause of liberty. Following in the footsteps of this international conference, the Midwest Students For Freedom Conference will bring the most dedicated students and leaders of liberty in the area together to discuss liberty and best practices for promoting liberty on campus. With Keynote Speaker Larry Reed, former President of the Mackinac Center and current President of the Foundation for Economic Education, and a slew of other speakers from the Midwest, we are certain that this will be a rallying event for the cause of liberty in the region.
Visit the conference webpage to register and to find more information here .
There is no application process for this conference. The first 50 students to register for the Conference will be accepted to participate. Changes to acceptances will not occur barring extreme circumstances. To register for the Conference, please visit the conference webpage .
Facebook event here .
Tags: Conference, liberty, midwest, November, SFL, UM
Posted in Morehouse, Less Government | No Comments »
