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Monday, July 27, 2009
Standing Keynesianism on Its Head - George Reisman - Mises Institute
Standing Keynesianism on Its Head - George Reisman - Mises Institute: "First of all, it overlooks the fact that at lower wage rates more workers will be employed. The effect of this is to enable total wage payments and consumer spending in the economic system to remain the same or even increase while the wages of the individual worker decline. For example, 10 workers each employed at 90 percent of the wages earn the same total wages and can spend just as much in buying consumers' goods as could 9 workers each earning the original wage. (It's as simple as the fact that 10 times .9 equals 9 times 1.) And, of course, more than 10 workers employed at 90 percent of the wage per worker would earn more collectively and spend more for consumers' goods collectively than was possible before."
The Spending Threat | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Spending Threat | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary: "So why do politicians keep driving taxes and spending higher? One reason is that most Republicans in Congress have abandoned spending restraint. Consider House Minority Leader John Boehner. He heckles Obama's spending as 'one big down payment on a new American socialist experiment.' But the president recently challenged him to find specific programs to cut, and the best Boehner and his team could do was a list of cuts worth less than 1 percent of the bloated federal budget. If Obama is a 'socialist,' then the House Republican leadership is 99 percent socialist.
Republican leaders have forgotten that the best defense against big-government Democrats is an aggressive offense. In the mid-'90s, the GOP proposed abolishing whole Cabinet departments and eliminating the deficit with spending cuts. That changed the terms of the debate, helping derail President Bill Clinton efforts to grow the government. With spending in check, the economy soared during his term."
Republican leaders have forgotten that the best defense against big-government Democrats is an aggressive offense. In the mid-'90s, the GOP proposed abolishing whole Cabinet departments and eliminating the deficit with spending cuts. That changed the terms of the debate, helping derail President Bill Clinton efforts to grow the government. With spending in check, the economy soared during his term."
The Big Joke | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Big Joke | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "he United Nations and human rights do not belong in the same sentence. Last Wednesday the UN Human Rights Council praised Cuba's human rights achievements. The Council was far more concerned about the U.S. embargo against Cuba than the Cuban government's brutality towards its own people.
The UN long has claimed to represent the greatest aspirations of humanity, running back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved more than six decades ago. But the UN's Commission on Human Rights routinely embarrassed the 'international community.' Often dominated by human rights abusers, the body routinely whitewashed oppressive governments and spent much of its time attacking Israel. It was one of Turtle Bay's finest comedy clubs -- only the performances were underwritten by U.S. taxpayers."
"The UN issued an official press release summarizing the debate, if it can be called that, on Cuba and two other states (Saudi Arabia and Cameroon):
In short, the problem is not the brutality of the Castros' regime. It is the American trade embargo "
The UN long has claimed to represent the greatest aspirations of humanity, running back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved more than six decades ago. But the UN's Commission on Human Rights routinely embarrassed the 'international community.' Often dominated by human rights abusers, the body routinely whitewashed oppressive governments and spent much of its time attacking Israel. It was one of Turtle Bay's finest comedy clubs -- only the performances were underwritten by U.S. taxpayers."
"The UN issued an official press release summarizing the debate, if it can be called that, on Cuba and two other states (Saudi Arabia and Cameroon):
In the discussion on Cuba, speakers said Cuba had withstood many tests, and continued to uphold the principles of objectivity, impartiality and independence in pursuance of the realization of human rights. Cuba was and remained a good example of the respect for human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights. The Universal Periodic Review of Cuba clearly reflected the progress made by Cuba and the Cuban people in the protection and promotion of human rights, and showed the constructive and responsive answer of Cuba to the situation of human rights. Cuba was the victim of an unjust embargo, but despite this obstacle, it was very active in the field of human rights. The trade, financial and economic blockade by the United States should be brought to an end, as it was the primary obstacle to the full development of Cuba.
In short, the problem is not the brutality of the Castros' regime. It is the American trade embargo "
The "Militia Panic" of 2009 | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary
The "Militia Panic" of 2009 | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In the Jose Padilla case, President Bush insisted he could legally seize American citizens on American soil and imprison them without charges for as long as he pleased. Newsweek reported in 2004 that Dick Cheney wanted that power used against any and all domestic terror suspects.
Conservative defenders of so-called 'enhanced interrogation' are rarely able to identify the 'ticking time bomb' scenarios they insist make torture necessary. But last week, Scott Roeder, Dr. Tillman's murderer, told reporters that 'similar events' were being planned even now. Might a little waterboarding loosen his tongue?"
Conservative defenders of so-called 'enhanced interrogation' are rarely able to identify the 'ticking time bomb' scenarios they insist make torture necessary. But last week, Scott Roeder, Dr. Tillman's murderer, told reporters that 'similar events' were being planned even now. Might a little waterboarding loosen his tongue?"
A Tattered Umbrella | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary
A Tattered Umbrella | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "More than a half century after the Korean War, the Republic of Korea (ROK) remains surprisingly dependent on America. It's as if the United States was cowering before the Mexican military, begging its friends in Europe for help. In fact, the ROK requires no assistance to defend itself from conventional attack.
The so-called Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has a strong numerical military advantage over the South: about 1.1 million personnel under arms, compared to fewer than seven hundred thousand for Seoul. Pyongyang also has impressive numbers of other weapons, including more than four thousand tanks and roughly eighteen thousand artillery pieces."
"However, most of the North's equipment is decades old, a generation or two behind even that of the long-gone Soviet Union. Training is minimal and many of the DPRK's military personnel perform construction and similar tasks. The Korean peninsula's rugged geography favors defense. Putting thousands of antiquated tanks backed by hundreds of thousands of malnourished soldiers on the move south would create a human "turkey shoot" of epic proportions.
Anyway, the ROK's numerical inferiority is a matter of choice, not an immutable artifact of geography. In its early years the South's resources were sharply limited. But today, South Korea is thought to have upwards of forty times the North's GDP. Seoul also possesses a substantial industrial base, sports high-tech expertise and enjoys a sterling international credit rating. The ROK's population is twice that of the North. South Korea could spend more than the equivalent of North Korea's entire economy on defense if the former wished. But it hasn't wished to do so, preferring to rely on Washington instead.
The time for subsidizing wealthy allies has long passed. "
The so-called Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has a strong numerical military advantage over the South: about 1.1 million personnel under arms, compared to fewer than seven hundred thousand for Seoul. Pyongyang also has impressive numbers of other weapons, including more than four thousand tanks and roughly eighteen thousand artillery pieces."
"However, most of the North's equipment is decades old, a generation or two behind even that of the long-gone Soviet Union. Training is minimal and many of the DPRK's military personnel perform construction and similar tasks. The Korean peninsula's rugged geography favors defense. Putting thousands of antiquated tanks backed by hundreds of thousands of malnourished soldiers on the move south would create a human "turkey shoot" of epic proportions.
Anyway, the ROK's numerical inferiority is a matter of choice, not an immutable artifact of geography. In its early years the South's resources were sharply limited. But today, South Korea is thought to have upwards of forty times the North's GDP. Seoul also possesses a substantial industrial base, sports high-tech expertise and enjoys a sterling international credit rating. The ROK's population is twice that of the North. South Korea could spend more than the equivalent of North Korea's entire economy on defense if the former wished. But it hasn't wished to do so, preferring to rely on Washington instead.
The time for subsidizing wealthy allies has long passed. "
Campaign For Liberty — Ron Paul's Strong Opposition to the War Funding Bill
Campaign For Liberty — Ron Paul's Strong Opposition to the War Funding Bill: "I wonder what happened to all of my colleagues who said they were opposed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wonder what happened to my colleagues who voted with me as I opposed every war supplemental request under the previous administration. It seems, with very few exceptions, they have changed their position on the war now that the White House has changed hands. I find this troubling. As I have said while opposing previous war funding requests, a vote to fund the war is a vote in favor of the war. Congress exercises its constitutional prerogatives through the power of the purse.
This conference report, being a Washington-style compromise, reflects one thing Congress agrees on: spending money we do not have. So this “compromise” bill spends 15 percent more than the president requested, which is $9 billion more than in the original House bill and $14.6 billion more than the original Senate version. Included in this final version — in addition to the $106 billion to continue the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — is a $108 billion loan guarantee to the International Monetary Fund, allowing that destructive organization to continue spending taxpayer money to prop up corrupt elites and promote harmful economic policies overseas."
"As Americans struggle through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, this emergency supplemental appropriations bill sends billions of dollars overseas as foreign aid. Included in this appropriation is $660 million for Gaza, $555 million for Israel, $310 million for Egypt, $300 million for Jordan, and $420 million for Mexico. Some $889 million will be sent to the United Nations for “peacekeeping” missions. Almost one billion dollars will be sent overseas to address the global financial crisis outside our borders and nearly $8 billion will be spent to address a “potential pandemic flu.”"
This conference report, being a Washington-style compromise, reflects one thing Congress agrees on: spending money we do not have. So this “compromise” bill spends 15 percent more than the president requested, which is $9 billion more than in the original House bill and $14.6 billion more than the original Senate version. Included in this final version — in addition to the $106 billion to continue the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — is a $108 billion loan guarantee to the International Monetary Fund, allowing that destructive organization to continue spending taxpayer money to prop up corrupt elites and promote harmful economic policies overseas."
"As Americans struggle through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, this emergency supplemental appropriations bill sends billions of dollars overseas as foreign aid. Included in this appropriation is $660 million for Gaza, $555 million for Israel, $310 million for Egypt, $300 million for Jordan, and $420 million for Mexico. Some $889 million will be sent to the United Nations for “peacekeeping” missions. Almost one billion dollars will be sent overseas to address the global financial crisis outside our borders and nearly $8 billion will be spent to address a “potential pandemic flu.”"
AP Sources: U.S. Man Was 'Gold Mine' of Terror Intel - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com
AP Sources: U.S. Man Was 'Gold Mine' of Terror Intel - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "When the American-born Al Qaeda recruit Bryant Neal Vinas was captured in Pakistan late last year, he wasn't whisked off to a military prison or a secret CIA facility in another country to be interrogated.
Instead, the itinerant terrorist landed in the hands of the FBI and was flown back to New York to face justice.
Months before President Barack Obama took office with a pledge to change U.S. counterterrorism policies, the Bush administration gave Vinas all the rights of American criminal suspects.
And he talked."
'"This was by the numbers. It was a law enforcement operation and it worked," said a senior law enforcement official, one of several authorities who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the case.
The official said Vinas provided "an intelligence gold mine" to U.S. officials, including possible information about a suspected militant who was killed in a Predator drone strike last November.'
Instead, the itinerant terrorist landed in the hands of the FBI and was flown back to New York to face justice.
Months before President Barack Obama took office with a pledge to change U.S. counterterrorism policies, the Bush administration gave Vinas all the rights of American criminal suspects.
And he talked."
'"This was by the numbers. It was a law enforcement operation and it worked," said a senior law enforcement official, one of several authorities who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the case.
The official said Vinas provided "an intelligence gold mine" to U.S. officials, including possible information about a suspected militant who was killed in a Predator drone strike last November.'
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