# To Be Governed… November/​December 2019 • Policy Report Vol. 41 No. 6 [ Download PDF ](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2019-12/cpr-novdec2019-10.pdf) **$34 BILLION A YEAR** Government is going to spend my money on teachers’ salaries and fixing roads and things. That’s way better than what I was going to do with it. — Official Twitter account of Pennsylvania State Treasurer Joe Torsella, August 23, 2019 **ADDING INSULT TO INJURY** American farmers are attacking President Donald Trump in the wake of a new hit from China, which comes as part of the lingering trade war between the countries. … “There is a lot of stress out there,” Perdue conceded at the listening session, and attempted to reassure farmers that markets will return once a deal is negotiated. But he also scolded the crowd of thousands: “What do you call two farmers in a basement? A whine cellar.” — *Huffington Post*, August 12, 2019 **CRISES EVERYWHERE** Grocery stores provide many people with their primary place of social connection and sense of community. This is particularly true for the elderly. The increasing use of self-service checkouts — where the customer does not interact with a human — contributes to social isolation and related negative health consequences … contribute\[s\] to retail workers feeling devalued and adds efficiency pressures on workers; \[and\] has a disproportionate negative impact on people of color. — Oregon ballot initiative, July 18, 2019 Much of the debate centered on “drag queen story hour,” an event held at a California public library. … \[Sohrab\] Ahmari brought up the California event early in the evening, calling it and others like it a “cultural crisis and a moral emergency.” Drag queen story hour, he warned, was a “global movement,” since the group that hosts it has 35 chapters. “It is,” he said, “a threat.” — *Reason*, September 6, 2019 **I’VE GOT A PLAN FOR MYSELF, AND I HOPE LIZ WON’T INTERFERE WITH IT** A sea of rowdy sign-waving Warren volunteers lined the sidewalks to greet convention attendees outside a Manchester sports arena before 7 a.m. They chanted, “L‑I-Z, she’s got a plan for me.” — Associated Press, September 12, 2019 **WOMEN REALLY APPRECIATED BEING ABLE TO VOTE FOR THE SINGLE CANDIDATE** Communism gave Soviet-era women key freedoms decades ahead of their Western sisters — from the right to vote to legal abortion. — *Washington Post*, August 11, 2019 **BLAME MR. CARRIER FOR BIG GOVERNMENT** In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Congress regularly adjourned during Washington’s brutally hot and humid summers. — *Washington Post*, August 10, 2019 **ITALIANS WHO USED TO VOTE FOR ILLIBERAL, SPENDTHRIFT LEFT NOW VOTE FOR ILLIBERAL, SPENDTHRIFT RIGHT** The Italian region of Tuscany is … the birthplace of the Italian Communist Party, which was founded in 1921 and has been a bastion of left-wing governance for decades. But in the past three years, Tuscany has experienced political upheaval as the hard-right, anti-immigrant League party has won elections in many towns. — NPR, August 14, 2019 **THAT DOESN’T SOUND INTRUSIVE OR AUTHORITARIAN OR ANYTHING** Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday proposed an “extreme wealth tax” on the highest-income Americans, along with a “national wealth registry” that he said would help prevent them from avoiding the tax. — *Politico*, September 24, 2019 **WARREN DECLARES THAT PRESIDENTIAL ABUSE OF POWER WON’T END SOON** On my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that puts a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases for drilling offshore and on public lands. And I will ban fracking — everywhere. — Elizabeth Warren on Twitter, September 6, 2019 ### Download This Policy Report Article ##### To Be Governed… [ Download PDF ](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2019-12/cpr-novdec2019-10.pdf) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). [ Download PDF ](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2019-12/cpr-novdec2019-10.pdf)