Anyone who doesn't live in a cave (and maybe some that do) knows the United States is engaged in a tumultuous inner dialogue over how much debt is too much debt.

Leaders from Congress are meeting daily with the President to discuss what measures should be taken when -- not if -- we raise the debt ceiling. Simply, Obama wants more taxes and, the GOP wants less government spending. However, there are other proposals aplenty on the table.

Congressman Ron Paul has suggested we get the Fed to forgive 1.7 trillion in "fake debt." This would allow the Republicans and Democrats to wash their hands of the debt talks for the next year.

Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also has a proposal that would give the President power to raise the debt ceiling without Congressional authority. This perhaps the most egregious of proposals since Congress cannot abdicate its constitutional power over the national purse strings.

Many conservatives have signed on to the "Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge" from Senator Jim DeMint. It calls for deep spending cuts, a cap on the amount of money the government can spend, and, lastly, a Balanced Budget Amendment. Where will these spending cuts come from? What does the country do during the years it will take to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution?

Via the #rationalinterest blog.

The new book from Reason Magazine editor Matt Welch and Reason.tv editor Nick Gillespie is titled The Declaration of Independents. Welch and Gillespie point out, with well documented examples and sharp wit, that which we should all come to realize: Outside of government, we are free to shape our lives as we see fit. The internet and other technological advances have allowed Americans to tailor most aspects of life to our own interests. But as society becomes more individualistic, government becomes more collectivistic.

The book itself is divided into three sections. The first section describes the current situation in American political life. The second gives numerous and varied examples of individuals operating outside the norm who then reshaped the norm. Topics from cheap airfare to baseball stats are shown to be relevant to life outside the political arena. The last section of the book identifies the areas were government lags behind the individualist tide in America the most:  education, retirement, and healthcare. The duo then offer examples of emerging solutions to these problems like charter schools for education, private accounts for retirement, and some good ole free market in healthcare.

So why should you read this book?

In the same way Barry Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative helped define the Republican party for many years, the Declaration gives us a tome of wisdom for the post-partisan and post-political America. Deregulation and capitalism have given us cheap airfare, affordable HD TV’s, cell phones, Whole Foods -- and the list goes on and on. The variety we enjoy at the grocery store and the cheapness of Amazon.com is attributable to the market, not government. The simple point is that the best things in your life, and the things you have the most control over, are the ones least associated with government. So for all those who are tired of the two-party system and the same government solutions to government created problems, invest in the book and declare your independence by becoming independent.

There are disturbing trends developing at Louisiana State University. The first unnerving development was reported in The Reveille on March 9th. LSU’s Police Department has used federal tax dollars to purchase a License Plate Reader to scan for violations and mark the positions of cars on campus. I am all for police using constitutional means for law enforcement, but scanning all license plates until you find a criminal hardly seems to fit any interpretation of the Constitution. 

Secondly, just yesterday, LSU announced it would be the first public university to partner with City Year. This may seem like a wonderful development for LSU, many of our classes already contain service-learning components. More importantly, federal tax dollars need not be spent to encourage volunteering. 

Lastly, and perhaps most egregious of all, LSUPD is bringing Homeland Security's “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign to campus. We are now encouraged to spy on our fellow students for seeming out of place or running from a building. Watch out! That lost-looking freshman could be a terrorist! The student running to take a test or make it to class on time may be a criminal!

LSU already receives a red flag from FIRE for its restrictions on free speech. Now, LSU deserves a similar rating for its abuses of civil liberties and waste of money. Freedom lovers beware:   You are no longer welcome in Baton Rouge.