Archive for Michael Heberling
Michael Heberling is president of the Baker College Center for Graduate Studies in Flint, Michigan.
Government Motors
Government Motors
by Michael Heberling
Michael Heberling (mheber01@baker.edu) is president of the Baker College Center for Graduate Studies in Flint, Michigan.
If Washington owns it, it just can’t keep its hands off.
—Senator Lamar Alexander
Twenty-five years ago President Reagan told auto workers in Orion, Michigan, “You’ve demonstrated when the chips are down, what people can do working together freely, [...]
Dim Bulbs
“Hell, there are no rules here—we’re trying to accomplish something.”
—Thomas A. Edison
Edison’s words may have been true in the 1800s. Today, however, we have plenty of rules, thanks to the U.S. Congress. Some are so bizarre that you have to question the judgment of those who come up with them. One rule in particular is [...]
Global Warming Revisited
In the May 2001 Freeman I published “Unprecedented Global Warming?” which noted that climate change (global warming and global cooling) is a continuing phenomenon and that what we’ve witnessed in the last 25 years is “by no means unprecedented.” The Medieval Warm Period (800-1300), which took place without SUVs, power plants, or factories, was warmer [...]
24Apr2009 | Michael Heberling | 10 comments | ContinuedToo Big to Fail
“Once you lose your freedom to fail, you also lose your freedom to succeed and you cease to be a free society.” —U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas
In March 2008 the investment banking firm Bear Sterns failed and the federal government quickly stepped in. The public was inundated with the phrase “too big to fail” (TBTF) [...]
Whom Should We Thank for High Gas Prices?
I am writing this after having just filled my tank with gasoline at $3.99 per gallon. Oil is over $125 a barrel. Big Oil and their CEOs are the hands-down favorite to win the Snidely Whiplash People’s Choice Award. Since Big Oil is our favorite villain, no one really wants to hear about the other [...]
1Jul2008 | Michael Heberling | 0 comments | ContinuedMandating Renewable Energy: It’s Not Easy Being Green
Environmentalists abhor all fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum) and nuclear energy. They collectively refer to this type of energy as “brown” power. Along with a bipartisan collection of Washington politicians, they instead advocate “green,” or “renewable,” power. This earth-friendly alternative energy includes geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass, solar, and wind. While we all know that [...]
1Oct2006 | Michael Heberling | 4 comments | ContinuedGovernment-Mandated Fuel-Efficiency Standards
Government mistakes have long lives. In response to the energy crisis of the 1970s, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. This legislation had two major objectives: 1) Reduce our overall consumption of petroleum and 2) reduce our dependence on foreign oil (meaning OPEC). The means to accomplish this was CAFE, Corporate Average Fuel [...]
1Sep2006 | Michael Heberling | 0 comments | ContinuedGovernment-Reformulated Gas: Bad in More Ways than One
Michael Heberling is president of the Baker College Center for Graduate Studies in Flint, Michigan. He is also on the board of scholars of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan.
The amended Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1990 called for cleaner automobile-engine combustion and a reduction in tailpipe emissions. To meet these [...]
Washington’s Centrally Planned Heating and Cooling
While the Clinton administration had eight years to “save the environment,” it waited until the final days to push through a flurry of questionable environmental regulations. Among these was the regulation that would require increasing the efficiency of central air conditioners and heat pumps by 30 percent. In the arcane language of the energy business, [...]
1Jul2003 | Michael Heberling | Comments Off | ContinuedFrankenstein Television
The televisions that Americans have loved for over 50 years will soon become obsolete. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that the analog TV broadcast signals be turned off in 2006. After that date all TV broadcasts will be “digital.”
This mandate appears to be at odds with the wishes of the American people. In [...]
Washing Your Clothes Washington’s Way
Michael Heberling is president of the Baker College Center for Graduate Studies in Flint, Michigan. He is also on the Board of Scholars of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan.
Our home is becoming less and less our castle as the government moves in . . . one room at a [...]
The Federally Mandated Toilet Still Doesn’t Work
Michael Heberling is president of the Baker College Center for Graduate Studies in Flint, Michigan, and a member of the board of scholars of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan.
Three years ago we moved into our newly built home in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The whole family was excited.
While [...]
Unprecedented Global Warming?
Michael Heberling is president of the Baker College Center for Graduate Studies in Flint, Michigan. He is also on the Board of Scholars with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan.
One of the most contentious issues of the day is global warming. Those who openly discuss the subject fall into one [...]
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Montessori, Dewey and Capitalism: Educational Theory for a Free Market In Education
By Jerry Kirkpatrick
