FREEDOMWORKS 08/01/2017 SEN RAND PAUL BLASTS HIS COLLEAGUES

1. Rand Paul Blasts Senate Colleagues Over Health Care: 'They Are Just Afraid' - via Washington Examiner

"For six months I've been trying to kill their bill because it doesn't repeal Obamacare. It's worse than not repealing it. It's the epitome of crony capitalism," Sen. Rand Paul said to his audience at the Young Americans for Liberty National Convention, an annual gathering of students who are involved with the nationwide libertarian campus organization.

Paul has been very critical of the Republican health care effort, which in his view has not focused enough on repealing the regulations and taxes created by Obamacare and has focused too much on giving taxpayer money to insurance companies. Read more here...

Obama’s IRS was one of the most corrupt government agencies in his administration. Lois Lerner used it to target innocent conservatives, then Obama’s crony IRS Commissioner John Koskinen covered it up!
Unfortunately the IRS’ abuse of power didn’t stop there. They hired corporate henchmen to carry out their audits (which was illegal) and THEN passed a regulation to make it legal!
That’s why FreedomWorks is asking you to contact President Trump right now. Urge him to repeal this crony IRS regulation today.

2. In Government We Antitrust - by Wayne T. Brough via The American Spectator

The American economy produces roughly $18 trillion worth of goods and services every year as firms compete to provide consumers the goods and services they demand. But over time, the government has come to play a much larger role in the economy, imposing regulations that cost the economy over $1.9 trillion annually. Unfortunately for consumers, these regulations are often put in place to limit competition and restrict entry into the marketplace by firms trying to avoid the gales of creative destruction.

And now, there is a renewed interest in weaponized antitrust, with America’s tech giants under renewed scrutiny at home and abroad. The culprits are competitors seeking to increase their market share through government intervention. Unfortunately, for consumers, this typically means higher prices and reduced choices in the marketplace. Read more here...

3. Why Coal is Number One - by Stephen Moore via The Washington Times

Quick: what was the number one source of electricity production in the U.S. during the first half of 2017? If you answered renewable energy, you are wrong by a mile. If you answered natural gas, you were wrong by a tiny amount. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which tracks energy use in production on a monthly basis, the single largest source of electric power for the first half of 2017 was coal. See chart.

That’s an amazing finding because liberals and especially environmental groups keep telling us that coal is a dead industry. They have ridiculed Donald Trump, and called him a liar, when he has said that he will revive the coal industry and the related jobs. “Coal Isn’t Coming Back,” a New York Times piece assured us a few weeks after the election. “Saving coal is one promise he (Trump) won’t be able to keep,” the author predicted. The Financial Times was even more blunt in its headline last month: “Coal Is Dead; Long Live the Sun.” Read more here...

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5. Local Opposition Halts Planned Minor League Stadium Subsidy - via Reason

County officials in Virginia have canceled plans to build a minor league baseball stadium that could have ended up costing taxpayers as much as $35 billion, but the team might soon be looking for a hand-out somewhere else.

Art Silber, owner of the single-A Potomac Nationals, a minor league affiliate of the nearby Washington Nationals, asked Prince William County officials to withdraw the stadium proposal last week. A planned vote on the stadium deal never materialized in the face of opposition from local taxpayers and two members of the county board of supervisors, according to Inside NoVa, a regional online news platform. Read more here...

Jason Pye
Vice President of Legislative Affairs, FreedomWorks