Posts
In November, It's Democrats vs. Obamacare | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "hen Obamacare finally passed the House, 34 Democrats voted no. Thirty-one of those Democrats are now running for reelection, and, not surprisingly, many of them are highlighting their opposition to the bill."
"Not a single one of those 31 Democrats has signed either of those petitions [to repeal Obamacare]."
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Biggest Bubble-Makers | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Biggest Bubble-Makers | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "On April 17, 2002, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan downplayed the idea of a housing bubble.
* On March 4, 2003, Greenspan stated that 'any analogy to stock-market pricing behavior and bubbles is a rather large stretch.'
* In spring 2004, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation declared: 'There is no U.S. housing bubble ... it is unlikely that home prices are poised to plunge nationwide.'
* On Oct. 19, 2004, Greenspan expressed the sunny view that the run-up of housing prices and housing debt wasn't 'overly worrisome.'
* In December 2004, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported: 'The most widely cited evidence of a bubble is not persuasive ... a bubble does not exist.'
* On Jan. 28, 2007, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the Senate Budget Committee about financial trends. He didn't say a word about a possible bubble. He expected that 'the budget deficit may stabilize or moderate further over the next few years.'
* In April 2007, the International Monetary Fund issued a report that said 'the overall U.S. economy is holding up well.' The IMF suggested 'the continuation of strong global growth as the most likely scenario.'"
* On March 4, 2003, Greenspan stated that 'any analogy to stock-market pricing behavior and bubbles is a rather large stretch.'
* In spring 2004, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation declared: 'There is no U.S. housing bubble ... it is unlikely that home prices are poised to plunge nationwide.'
* On Oct. 19, 2004, Greenspan expressed the sunny view that the run-up of housing prices and housing debt wasn't 'overly worrisome.'
* In December 2004, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported: 'The most widely cited evidence of a bubble is not persuasive ... a bubble does not exist.'
* On Jan. 28, 2007, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the Senate Budget Committee about financial trends. He didn't say a word about a possible bubble. He expected that 'the budget deficit may stabilize or moderate further over the next few years.'
* In April 2007, the International Monetary Fund issued a report that said 'the overall U.S. economy is holding up well.' The IMF suggested 'the continuation of strong global growth as the most likely scenario.'"
The Poor - Kel Kelly - Mises Daily
The Poor - Kel Kelly - Mises Daily: "A study by Michael Cox and Richard Alm of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed that of the bottom fifth of income earners in 1975, only 5 percent were still poor 16 years later. Less than 1 percent remained in the bottom fifth for the entire 16 years. Thirty percent rose from the bottom fifth to the top fifth. In sum, few people remain at subsistence level. There are ways out of poverty for most."
"the ratio of 'incomes' — the primary measurement used by government — of the top fifth to the bottom fifth of income earners is 15 to 1, but the ratio of their consumption is 4 to 1. This is because the poor usually have access to money that does not fall under taxable income, including government handouts. Their assets and wealth are not considered at all. The census bureau previously stated that people it deems 'poor' typically spend $2.24 for every $1.00 in (government) reported income."
"Even ACORN, the organization that claims to help the poor by, among other means, promoting a 'living wage,' learned this first hand. ACORN sued the state of California in 1995 for exemption from state labor laws, in order to avoid having to pay the minimum wage to its own employees. The organization argued before the court that 'the more that ACORN must pay each individual outreach worker — either because of minimum wage or overtime requirements — the fewer outreach workers it will be able to hire.' (As a comparable example, esteemed minimum-wage advocate Nancy Pelosi also refused to pay minimum wage to her own workers.)"
"of all workers earning the minimum wage immediately prior to President Clinton's 1996 increase of that wage, 37.6 percent were teenagers living with their parents, 17.1 percent were single adults living by themselves, and 21.5 percent were adults married to a spouse who was also employed. Only 5.5 percent of workers earning minimum wage were single parents, and only 7.8 percent were married but still the sole family wage earner."
"But besides the fact that so-called poverty will never be eliminated simply because at least one person will always be poorer than all others, politicians have a vested interest in preventing the alleviation of poverty. If Americans are fully employed and earning continually increasing wages, who needs the thousands of welfare bureaucrats in Washington? Though socialists believe that these bureaucrats (at least the Democrats) are truly benevolent individuals concerned about the well-being of others, in reality they are there to gain power, live off of taxpayer money, and advance their careers. Why else, for example, would Congress vote to repeatedly give itself wage increases — along with lifetime pensions in the millions — that far outpace the consumer price index and the wages of workers?"
"Every country that has ever made a serious attempt to equalize its citizens has gone to ruin, because forced equality reduces the incentive the rich have to invest capital and instead encourages the consumption of it, since it is likely to be taken from them."
"The first and easiest step to increase the incomes of the poor would be to eliminate all laws that fix the price of labor above the market price. This alone would create full employment. The average poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work each year. This is equivalent to 16 hours of work per week. If the average poor family was able to increase the hours worked to 2,000 hours each year (i.e., one adult family member working a full 40 hour week), nearly 75 percent of poor children would be lifted out of poverty. This could be achieved by eliminating labor laws that require potential employers to pay workers wages higher than the market price they would otherwise pay."
"the ratio of 'incomes' — the primary measurement used by government — of the top fifth to the bottom fifth of income earners is 15 to 1, but the ratio of their consumption is 4 to 1. This is because the poor usually have access to money that does not fall under taxable income, including government handouts. Their assets and wealth are not considered at all. The census bureau previously stated that people it deems 'poor' typically spend $2.24 for every $1.00 in (government) reported income."
"Even ACORN, the organization that claims to help the poor by, among other means, promoting a 'living wage,' learned this first hand. ACORN sued the state of California in 1995 for exemption from state labor laws, in order to avoid having to pay the minimum wage to its own employees. The organization argued before the court that 'the more that ACORN must pay each individual outreach worker — either because of minimum wage or overtime requirements — the fewer outreach workers it will be able to hire.' (As a comparable example, esteemed minimum-wage advocate Nancy Pelosi also refused to pay minimum wage to her own workers.)"
"of all workers earning the minimum wage immediately prior to President Clinton's 1996 increase of that wage, 37.6 percent were teenagers living with their parents, 17.1 percent were single adults living by themselves, and 21.5 percent were adults married to a spouse who was also employed. Only 5.5 percent of workers earning minimum wage were single parents, and only 7.8 percent were married but still the sole family wage earner."
"But besides the fact that so-called poverty will never be eliminated simply because at least one person will always be poorer than all others, politicians have a vested interest in preventing the alleviation of poverty. If Americans are fully employed and earning continually increasing wages, who needs the thousands of welfare bureaucrats in Washington? Though socialists believe that these bureaucrats (at least the Democrats) are truly benevolent individuals concerned about the well-being of others, in reality they are there to gain power, live off of taxpayer money, and advance their careers. Why else, for example, would Congress vote to repeatedly give itself wage increases — along with lifetime pensions in the millions — that far outpace the consumer price index and the wages of workers?"
"Every country that has ever made a serious attempt to equalize its citizens has gone to ruin, because forced equality reduces the incentive the rich have to invest capital and instead encourages the consumption of it, since it is likely to be taken from them."
"The first and easiest step to increase the incomes of the poor would be to eliminate all laws that fix the price of labor above the market price. This alone would create full employment. The average poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work each year. This is equivalent to 16 hours of work per week. If the average poor family was able to increase the hours worked to 2,000 hours each year (i.e., one adult family member working a full 40 hour week), nearly 75 percent of poor children would be lifted out of poverty. This could be achieved by eliminating labor laws that require potential employers to pay workers wages higher than the market price they would otherwise pay."
Housing Crisis? Look to Canada for Answers | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary
Housing Crisis? Look to Canada for Answers | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "More Canadians (68 percent) than Americans (66 percent) own their homes, yet the Canadian government has interfered very little in the private housing market.
* Canada doesn't have an income tax deduction for mortgage interest. Nor is there a tax advantage to converting home equity into debt.
* In Canada, mortgages aren't issued without verification of employment and income.
* Unlike Americans, Canadians cannot walk away from their homes without serious consequences — Canadian mortgages are generally full recourse, which means a bank can attach an individual's other assets and wages/salaries if necessary to pay the deficiency in the event of a mortgage default.
* Canada has nothing like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, subsidizing subprime mortgages on a gigantic scale.
* Nor has Canada had anything comparable to the U.S. Community Reinvestment Act that promotes political influence over mortgage lending decisions.
The principal Canadian intervention in the housing market is to require that people buy mortgage insurance if their down payment is less than 25 percent of the purchase price.
As a result of these policies, in Canada people generally buy a home when they can afford it. Canadians tend to have significantly more equity in their homes than Americans do.
The Canadian housing market has been remarkable for its long-term stability"
* Canada doesn't have an income tax deduction for mortgage interest. Nor is there a tax advantage to converting home equity into debt.
* In Canada, mortgages aren't issued without verification of employment and income.
* Unlike Americans, Canadians cannot walk away from their homes without serious consequences — Canadian mortgages are generally full recourse, which means a bank can attach an individual's other assets and wages/salaries if necessary to pay the deficiency in the event of a mortgage default.
* Canada has nothing like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, subsidizing subprime mortgages on a gigantic scale.
* Nor has Canada had anything comparable to the U.S. Community Reinvestment Act that promotes political influence over mortgage lending decisions.
The principal Canadian intervention in the housing market is to require that people buy mortgage insurance if their down payment is less than 25 percent of the purchase price.
As a result of these policies, in Canada people generally buy a home when they can afford it. Canadians tend to have significantly more equity in their homes than Americans do.
The Canadian housing market has been remarkable for its long-term stability"
Wrong about Human Rights | Roger Pilon | Cato Institute: Commentary
Wrong about Human Rights | Roger Pilon | Cato Institute: Commentary: "'Asian-American men suffer from stomach cancer 114 percent more often than non-Hispanic white men.' That's a human-rights problem?"
Vulture or Watchdog? | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
Vulture or Watchdog? | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Congress has passed a number of whistle-blower statutes, including the 'financial-reform bill,' to protect government and private-sector employees from retaliation when reporting the misdeeds of their superiors. Yet, the staff of members of Congress — precisely the people who are most likely to know about political corruption — enjoy no such protection.
Congress, under the guise of 'campaign-finance reform,' has repeatedly tried to find constitutional ways of limiting the free speech of real and potential opponents. What is even more remarkable, some members of Congress are not content with just trying to protect themselves, but have gone so far as to try to protect corrupt foreign leaders from those who may wish to expose their wrongdoing."
Congress, under the guise of 'campaign-finance reform,' has repeatedly tried to find constitutional ways of limiting the free speech of real and potential opponents. What is even more remarkable, some members of Congress are not content with just trying to protect themselves, but have gone so far as to try to protect corrupt foreign leaders from those who may wish to expose their wrongdoing."
FOXNews.com - Newspaper Under Fire After Teacher's Suicide
FOXNews.com - Newspaper Under Fire After Teacher's Suicide: "The Los Angeles Times should remove teacher performance ratings from its website after the apparent suicide of a teacher despondent over his score, which was published in August, the union representing Los Angeles school teachers said."
We should then stop doing anything that tells people they might be under-performing just so they don't react badly.
We should then stop doing anything that tells people they might be under-performing just so they don't react badly.
Monday, September 27, 2010
FOXNews.com - Report: White House wants to give law enforcers easier access to Internet, e-mail wiretaps
FOXNews.com - Report: White House wants to give law enforcers easier access to Internet, e-mail wiretaps: "Software developers of peer-to-peer communications services would be required to redesign their products to allow interception."
Criminals would simply use other software that doesn't provide a back door (and security hole). This won't help catch criminals much but will reduce liberty, freedom, and privacy.
Criminals would simply use other software that doesn't provide a back door (and security hole). This won't help catch criminals much but will reduce liberty, freedom, and privacy.
Voters approve $14.1 million levy for NR district | New Richmond News | New Richmond, Wisconsin
Voters approve $14.1 million levy for NR district | New Richmond News | New Richmond, Wisconsin: "Statewide, the average spending per student is $10,549"
Can it really cost $210,980 to educate a class of 20 students?!?
Can it really cost $210,980 to educate a class of 20 students?!?
Thursday, September 23, 2010
FOXNews.com - NJ 5th-grader suspended from school after he found lighter; administators consider it a weapon
FOXNews.com - NJ 5th-grader suspended from school after he found lighter; administators consider it a weapon: "Officials suspended a fifth-grader in New Jersey who found a lighter on his way to school."
"there were weapons on school property because teachers at the Grace Breckwedel Middle School had lighters in the building"
"The superintendent says a weapon is anything that 'has the potential to cause harm.'"
Then the following would be considered weapons: pens, pencils, chairs, tables, people, eating utensils, and many other things including school policies!
"there were weapons on school property because teachers at the Grace Breckwedel Middle School had lighters in the building"
"The superintendent says a weapon is anything that 'has the potential to cause harm.'"
Then the following would be considered weapons: pens, pencils, chairs, tables, people, eating utensils, and many other things including school policies!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
FOXNews.com - The Fed worries about something unusual: Inflation may actually be too low
FOXNews.com - The Fed worries about something unusual: Inflation may actually be too low: "Once deflation takes hold, it can wreck an economy. Workers suffer pay cuts. Corporate profits shrivel. Stock values fall. People, businesses and the government find it costlier to pare debt. Foreclosures and bankruptcies rise.
And people spend less, convinced that prices will fall even further if they just wait. That trend has already emerged in the housing market. Many would-be buyers are standing on the sidelines, waiting for home prices to fall further."
The electronics industry has constant deflation, everyone knows that, and it works just fine. Deflation isn't the problem that it is made out to be but the government benefits from inflation, so they paint deflation as evil.
And people spend less, convinced that prices will fall even further if they just wait. That trend has already emerged in the housing market. Many would-be buyers are standing on the sidelines, waiting for home prices to fall further."
The electronics industry has constant deflation, everyone knows that, and it works just fine. Deflation isn't the problem that it is made out to be but the government benefits from inflation, so they paint deflation as evil.
FOXNews.com - Panel: School Discriminated Against Transgender 6th Grader by Not Letting Student Use Girls' Room
FOXNews.com - Panel: School Discriminated Against Transgender 6th Grader by Not Letting Student Use Girls' Room: "The Maine Human Rights Commission has ruled that a middle school discriminated against a sixth grader by not letting the male-to-female transgender student use the girls' bathroom.
The parents of the child, who no longer attends school in the district, wrote to the commission that she experienced anxiety and depression during the 2008-2009 year after Orono Middle School officials forced her to use a gender-neutral bathroom and her peers picked on her.
The school stated the district trained the staff, educated students, gave the transgender student her own bathroom and locker, and met with her parents."
A separate bathroom seems like a very good solution.
The parents of the child, who no longer attends school in the district, wrote to the commission that she experienced anxiety and depression during the 2008-2009 year after Orono Middle School officials forced her to use a gender-neutral bathroom and her peers picked on her.
The school stated the district trained the staff, educated students, gave the transgender student her own bathroom and locker, and met with her parents."
A separate bathroom seems like a very good solution.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Cost of Progressivist Worship | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Cost of Progressivist Worship | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Why is it that one government report after another 'unexpectedly' bears more bad news about jobs? Last week, according to Bloomberg, 'The number of unemployment claims unexpectedly shot up.' Before that, Reuters reported, 'Employers unexpectedly cut jobs.' This 'unexpectedly' bit has been going on for quite a while, suggesting that journalists continue to be surprised that President Obama's progressive agenda has failed to revive private-sector job creation. One might as well say, 'Monday unexpectedly will come next week.'"
What Obama Could Learn from Paterson | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary
What Obama Could Learn from Paterson | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "'In a democracy,' Governor Paterson said, 'there are times when safety and liberty find themselves in conflict. From the Alien and Sedition Acts [opposition to which gave Thomas Jefferson the presidency] to the Patriot Act, we have experienced moments where liberty took a back seat.'"
The Deficit Is a Symptom, Spending Is the Disease | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Deficit Is a Symptom, Spending Is the Disease | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "the real issue is not how you pay for government spending — debt or taxes — but the spending itself. In other words: Don't just look at the deficit, look at why we have a deficit. And the reason we have a deficit is pretty simple: Government spends too much."
Campaign For Liberty — Liberty and Prosperity
Campaign For Liberty — Liberty and Prosperity: "This November's choice between capitalism and socialism is not about whether you are rich or poor right now; it is about which of those two you wish to be tomorrow.
The inescapable lesson of economic history is that free market economies make everyone unequally richer, while state-controlled economies make everyone equally poorer. Which do you prefer - rich or equal? Free people overwhelmingly choose rich, which is why socialism can only be imposed by force or fraud."
"You and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve understand that people will not risk their life savings and work like a dog to bequeath their rewards to the IRS."
"Confiscating earnings from high earners does not make the poor richer anymore than cutting the heads off of tall people makes short people taller. All it does is increase government power and control over rich and poor alike, which is what the upcoming tax debate is really all about."
The inescapable lesson of economic history is that free market economies make everyone unequally richer, while state-controlled economies make everyone equally poorer. Which do you prefer - rich or equal? Free people overwhelmingly choose rich, which is why socialism can only be imposed by force or fraud."
"You and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve understand that people will not risk their life savings and work like a dog to bequeath their rewards to the IRS."
"Confiscating earnings from high earners does not make the poor richer anymore than cutting the heads off of tall people makes short people taller. All it does is increase government power and control over rich and poor alike, which is what the upcoming tax debate is really all about."
Can Obama Order Executions of Citizens Abroad? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary
Can Obama Order Executions of Citizens Abroad? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "It's the much-maligned Glenn Beck who called this one correctly. On a recent show, the excitable Tea Party guru had 'no problem' with killing American terrorist suspects on the battlefield: 'But away from the battlefield? ... Call me a little nostalgic for the Constitution.'"
"But as Kevin Williamson writes at NRO, it's not so much 'what this administration might do with such power, but what an administration 50 years down the road might do with it.' In a seemingly endless war, the powers we cede now could be available to future presidents in perpetuity."
"But as Kevin Williamson writes at NRO, it's not so much 'what this administration might do with such power, but what an administration 50 years down the road might do with it.' In a seemingly endless war, the powers we cede now could be available to future presidents in perpetuity."
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
FOXNews.com - APNewsBreak: Wisconsin district attorney 'sexted' domestic abuse victim while prosecuting ex
FOXNews.com - APNewsBreak: Wisconsin district attorney 'sexted' domestic abuse victim while prosecuting ex: "Kratz on Wednesday didn't deny sending the messages but said the Office of Lawyer Regulation had found his behavior didn't violate rules governing attorney conduct."
Pathetic! An official elected to protect is harassing a victim?!?
Pathetic! An official elected to protect is harassing a victim?!?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
FOXNews.com - NAACP chief wants pardon for sisters serving life in Miss. for their role in $11 robbery
FOXNews.com - NAACP chief wants pardon for sisters serving life in Miss. for their role in $11 robbery: "'Regardless of what happens, there's no way that the crime fits the time. Nobody was hurt and only a meager amount of money was taken,' Lumumba said."
They help put someone's life in danger (the victim could have died from the hit or from use of the shotgun) so saying that no one was hurt and it was only $11 ignores the biggest "crime". Now maybe they have done sufficient time, but it doesn't help to ignore the most serious aspects of the crime
They help put someone's life in danger (the victim could have died from the hit or from use of the shotgun) so saying that no one was hurt and it was only $11 ignores the biggest "crime". Now maybe they have done sufficient time, but it doesn't help to ignore the most serious aspects of the crime
Cuba move to cut 500,000 government jobs is biggest change in decades - CSMonitor.com
Cuba move to cut 500,000 government jobs is biggest change in decades - CSMonitor.com: "According to the Associated Press, some 5.1 million people work for the Cuban state, or 95 percent of all workers, which means that 10 percent of the workforce could soon be unemployed.
The government also announced that more Cubans will be allowed to create their own employment opportunities, form employee-run cooperatives, and lease more state land and businesses. Those Cubans who are not made redundant in state jobs will also face a new salary system that rewards productivity."
The government also announced that more Cubans will be allowed to create their own employment opportunities, form employee-run cooperatives, and lease more state land and businesses. Those Cubans who are not made redundant in state jobs will also face a new salary system that rewards productivity."
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fatal Conceit | Justin Logan and Christopher Preble | Cato Institute: Commentary
Fatal Conceit | Justin Logan and Christopher Preble | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In the nearly 15 years since the Dayton Accord was signed, Bosnia has been the site of the largest state-building project on earth. On a per capita basis, the multinational project there has dwarfed even the post — World War II efforts in Germany and Japan. Tiny Kosovo received higher per capita expenditure. Yet, as political scientists Patrice McMahon and Jon Western warned in Foreign Affairs last year, Bosnia 'now stands on the brink of collapse' — partly as a consequence of persistent ethnic cleavages and the inherent difficulty of state building. McMahon and Western — who support additional efforts in Bosnia to prevent a collapse — warn that Bosnia has gone from being 'the poster child for international reconstruction efforts' to being a cautionary tale about the limits of even very well-funded and focused efforts at state building.
Similarly, in surveying conditions in Bosnia and Kosovo, Gordon Bardos of Columbia University recently concluded that "it is becoming increasingly difficult to argue that we have the intellectual, political, or financial wherewithal to transform the political cultures of other countries" at an acceptable cost. If Bosnia and Kosovo — European countries less rugged than Afghanistan, and with, respectively, one-sixth and one-twelfth of its population — represent the case for optimism in Afghanistan, then the case for gloom is strong."
"Consider the following counterfactual: If everything in Afghanistan were the same today, except the U.S. did not have a large military footprint there, would anyone propose deploying 100,000 servicemen and -women to build the Afghans a government? We should doubt whether the government-building project is likely to succeed. There is little precedent for successful state building on this scale; and there are especially strong centrifugal forces in Afghanistan, including rampant illiteracy, the country's position as a plaything of regional powers (India and Pakistan), powerful identity politics, and a xenophobic culture. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that Afghanistan simply is not far enough along in the historical processes that produced national states in the past."
"It is incoherent to believe that the same government that can produce neither jobs nor well-educated children at home can build viable states in foreign lands with unfamiliar languages, customs, and cultures. To oppose such projects at home while supporting them abroad defies the laws of economics and basic common sense."
Similarly, in surveying conditions in Bosnia and Kosovo, Gordon Bardos of Columbia University recently concluded that "it is becoming increasingly difficult to argue that we have the intellectual, political, or financial wherewithal to transform the political cultures of other countries" at an acceptable cost. If Bosnia and Kosovo — European countries less rugged than Afghanistan, and with, respectively, one-sixth and one-twelfth of its population — represent the case for optimism in Afghanistan, then the case for gloom is strong."
"Consider the following counterfactual: If everything in Afghanistan were the same today, except the U.S. did not have a large military footprint there, would anyone propose deploying 100,000 servicemen and -women to build the Afghans a government? We should doubt whether the government-building project is likely to succeed. There is little precedent for successful state building on this scale; and there are especially strong centrifugal forces in Afghanistan, including rampant illiteracy, the country's position as a plaything of regional powers (India and Pakistan), powerful identity politics, and a xenophobic culture. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that Afghanistan simply is not far enough along in the historical processes that produced national states in the past."
"It is incoherent to believe that the same government that can produce neither jobs nor well-educated children at home can build viable states in foreign lands with unfamiliar languages, customs, and cultures. To oppose such projects at home while supporting them abroad defies the laws of economics and basic common sense."
Juveniles in Charge | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
Juveniles in Charge | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Why are sea turtles endangered, while chickens and cows are not? The answer, quite simply, is that chickens and cows are privately owned and turtles are not — thus they suffer from the tragedy of the commons. When things are owned in common — socialism — no person takes responsibility for protecting the property, and thus it most often ends up being neglected or even destroyed — hence the fate of the sea turtle.
Sea turtles like to lay their eggs on nice beaches in tropical areas — the very same places where people like to live and vacation. This is a battle for space that the sea turtle is bound to lose, despite the best efforts of environmentalist do-gooders to keep people from having a good time and enjoying beaches. The better solution is to farm turtles similar to the way we farm chickens and cows, while also requiring the release of some turtles in order to replenish the wild stocks. Virtually every part of the turtle is useful — tasty lean meat for turtle soup, shells for jewelry, etc. If people were allowed to farm them, there would be many millions more turtles."
"Recently, a chairman of a substantial European bank explained to me why he can no longer take American clients or invest in the United States. Under some of the new U.S. laws and regulations that were designed to get a few billion more dollars for the IRS, those who run foreign banks and have U.S. 'tax persons' (citizens and green card holders, etc.) as clients can be held liable both civilly and criminally for not reporting them to the IRS. But, in an age when millions of people have multiple passports and citizenships, there is no way any banker can know with certainty who is and who is not an American 'tax person.' As a result, the United States is in the process of driving away, perhaps, trillions of dollars in needed foreign investment and millions of U.S. jobs because a majority of those in Congress are unable to see the very costly consequences of their juvenile actions."
Sea turtles like to lay their eggs on nice beaches in tropical areas — the very same places where people like to live and vacation. This is a battle for space that the sea turtle is bound to lose, despite the best efforts of environmentalist do-gooders to keep people from having a good time and enjoying beaches. The better solution is to farm turtles similar to the way we farm chickens and cows, while also requiring the release of some turtles in order to replenish the wild stocks. Virtually every part of the turtle is useful — tasty lean meat for turtle soup, shells for jewelry, etc. If people were allowed to farm them, there would be many millions more turtles."
"Recently, a chairman of a substantial European bank explained to me why he can no longer take American clients or invest in the United States. Under some of the new U.S. laws and regulations that were designed to get a few billion more dollars for the IRS, those who run foreign banks and have U.S. 'tax persons' (citizens and green card holders, etc.) as clients can be held liable both civilly and criminally for not reporting them to the IRS. But, in an age when millions of people have multiple passports and citizenships, there is no way any banker can know with certainty who is and who is not an American 'tax person.' As a result, the United States is in the process of driving away, perhaps, trillions of dollars in needed foreign investment and millions of U.S. jobs because a majority of those in Congress are unable to see the very costly consequences of their juvenile actions."
The Fed Can't Solve Our Economic Woes | Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Fed Can't Solve Our Economic Woes | Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary: "the collapse of demand is a consequence — not the cause — of the bust. Policies to address crises must get cause and effect right."
"The solution lies in restoring balance sheets. For financial firms, that means raising capital. For consumers and businesses alike, that means saving more of their reduced incomes.
Yet public policy has focused almost exclusively on stimulating spending without much regard to why spending, especially consumption, has flagged. Until balance sheets (corporate and household) are restored, increased spending cannot be sustained."
"Its move toward Japan-style quantitative easing is a misstep. And historically low interest rates — about which the Bank of International Settlements, the bank for central banks, sounded a warning in its 2009/2010 annual report — will inevitably distort economic activity, as they did during the housing boom. Low interest rates slow the process of restoring balance sheets by keeping asset prices artificially inflated. They also penalize saving, thus prolonging the process of rebuilding balance sheets."
"The solution lies in restoring balance sheets. For financial firms, that means raising capital. For consumers and businesses alike, that means saving more of their reduced incomes.
Yet public policy has focused almost exclusively on stimulating spending without much regard to why spending, especially consumption, has flagged. Until balance sheets (corporate and household) are restored, increased spending cannot be sustained."
"Its move toward Japan-style quantitative easing is a misstep. And historically low interest rates — about which the Bank of International Settlements, the bank for central banks, sounded a warning in its 2009/2010 annual report — will inevitably distort economic activity, as they did during the housing boom. Low interest rates slow the process of restoring balance sheets by keeping asset prices artificially inflated. They also penalize saving, thus prolonging the process of rebuilding balance sheets."
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Homebuyer tax credit: 950,000 must repay - Sep. 9, 2010
Homebuyer tax credit: 950,000 must repay - Sep. 9, 2010: "about 950,000 of the nearly 1.8 million Americans who claimed the tax credit on their 2009 tax returns will have to return the money.
Those who bought properties during 2008 were to deduct, dollar for dollar, up to 10% of the home's purchase price or $7,500, whichever was less. The catch: The money was a no-interest loan that had to be repaid within 15 years."
Those who bought properties during 2008 were to deduct, dollar for dollar, up to 10% of the home's purchase price or $7,500, whichever was less. The catch: The money was a no-interest loan that had to be repaid within 15 years."
Friday, September 10, 2010
Say Goodbye to Fannie and Freddie | William Poole | Cato Institute: Commentary
Say Goodbye to Fannie and Freddie | William Poole | Cato Institute: Commentary: "What a deal — borrow at the low rate, invest at a higher one, hold little capital and let the federal government bear the risk! Investors enjoyed high returns, and management enjoyed high salaries. Incidentally, politicians also got a steady flow of campaign contributions from the companies' executives."
"Can the home mortgage market stand on its own, without support from federally sponsored mortgage companies? Experience tells us that the answer is an unambiguous yes. When Fannie and Freddie curtailed their operations after the disclosure of accounting irregularities in 2003, there was no effect on mortgage rates. We have seen how the jumbo mortgage market, for loans too large to be eligible for Fannie and Freddie purchases, has long operated efficiently, with rates only slightly above the rates on smaller mortgages. And many other asset markets, like the one for securitized auto loans, have functioned well without federal intermediaries."
"In principle, it ought to be possible for government financial agencies to be self-supporting. But decades of observation have convinced me that there is no practical way to prevent the government from inserting hidden subsidies and special interest mandates into the agencies' operations. If there are to be more federal housing subsidies — and I hope there are not — they should be legislated transparently."
"Fannie and Freddie could not be shuttered immediately; they are too large. A sensible transition plan would have them stop buying new mortgages, and their portfolios would decline as the mortgages they own are paid down. Within 10 years, the portfolios would shrink to insignificance.
Their securitization business, whereby they purchase mortgages and issue securities against them, should likewise be wound down. A practical approach would be to set a gradually rising schedule of fees, motivating private companies to enter the securitization business.
In 10 or 15 years, the companies would be gone, closing a chapter in American financial history that enjoyed considerable success but ended very badly and at great taxpayer cost."
"Can the home mortgage market stand on its own, without support from federally sponsored mortgage companies? Experience tells us that the answer is an unambiguous yes. When Fannie and Freddie curtailed their operations after the disclosure of accounting irregularities in 2003, there was no effect on mortgage rates. We have seen how the jumbo mortgage market, for loans too large to be eligible for Fannie and Freddie purchases, has long operated efficiently, with rates only slightly above the rates on smaller mortgages. And many other asset markets, like the one for securitized auto loans, have functioned well without federal intermediaries."
"In principle, it ought to be possible for government financial agencies to be self-supporting. But decades of observation have convinced me that there is no practical way to prevent the government from inserting hidden subsidies and special interest mandates into the agencies' operations. If there are to be more federal housing subsidies — and I hope there are not — they should be legislated transparently."
"Fannie and Freddie could not be shuttered immediately; they are too large. A sensible transition plan would have them stop buying new mortgages, and their portfolios would decline as the mortgages they own are paid down. Within 10 years, the portfolios would shrink to insignificance.
Their securitization business, whereby they purchase mortgages and issue securities against them, should likewise be wound down. A practical approach would be to set a gradually rising schedule of fees, motivating private companies to enter the securitization business.
In 10 or 15 years, the companies would be gone, closing a chapter in American financial history that enjoyed considerable success but ended very badly and at great taxpayer cost."
Downplaying Religious Freedom | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary
Downplaying Religious Freedom | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The U.S. government long has promoted human rights. However, religious liberty typically has received minimal attention and has been subordinated to other American objectives, such as confronting communism and terrorism.
More than a decade ago, Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act, which provided for the appointment of an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The ambassador is to serve as a 'principal adviser to the President and Secretary of State' on this issue and promote religious liberty around the world."
More than a decade ago, Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act, which provided for the appointment of an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The ambassador is to serve as a 'principal adviser to the President and Secretary of State' on this issue and promote religious liberty around the world."
Unintended Consequences of Trade Sanctions - Jonathan M. Finegold Catalan - Mises Daily
Unintended Consequences of Trade Sanctions - Jonathan M. Finegold Catalan - Mises Daily: "Trade sanctions are meant to destabilize regimes, forcing them to compromise with the aggressing government. Sanctions do this by threatening the regime's survivability, by undermining any support it may have amongst the population. These are the intentions of the American government, supposedly as a result of Iran's 'dangerous' nuclear program. (Ironically, sanctions may only increase the country's ambitions to become a nuclear power, as a weapons-starved Iran turns to the nuclear warhead as the only means to ward off American political aggression). Additionally, and tragically, despite American intentions, the more likely outcome is the unintended effect of pushing Iranians toward their government and undermining an otherwise growing local antiextremist movement.
By definition, trade sanctions regulate exchange between Iranians and foreigners. Therefore, these individuals are directly punished by trade sanctions, not their respective governments. Those whose businesses rely on the import of foreign material are now forced out of the market. The thousands of individuals who live off of cheap, imported foodstuffs are now barred from doing so. This leads to impoverishment by forcing them to pay much higher domestic prices for less food. Thus, trade sanctions may also lead to outright mass starvation, as they did in the case of Iraq."
"in a country where people's accumulated wealth is threatened by trade restrictions, government aid may be the only recourse left. Ahmadinejad's government is likely more than happy to win people over by aiding those harmed by American trade sanctions. Furthermore, the Tehran government is probably thrilled to use American-led trade sanctions to vilify the West and legitimize its own power."
"A relatively wealthy Iranian population is less likely to support a local government bent on creating tension with other world governments, as this would create the potential of a threat to that accumulated wealth. Furthermore, an Iranian population unperturbed by foreign restrictions on their ability to produce can then shift the blame of continued poverty onto the local regime. It goes without saying that without foreign intervention, the local government will find it difficult to point the finger elsewhere."
By definition, trade sanctions regulate exchange between Iranians and foreigners. Therefore, these individuals are directly punished by trade sanctions, not their respective governments. Those whose businesses rely on the import of foreign material are now forced out of the market. The thousands of individuals who live off of cheap, imported foodstuffs are now barred from doing so. This leads to impoverishment by forcing them to pay much higher domestic prices for less food. Thus, trade sanctions may also lead to outright mass starvation, as they did in the case of Iraq."
"in a country where people's accumulated wealth is threatened by trade restrictions, government aid may be the only recourse left. Ahmadinejad's government is likely more than happy to win people over by aiding those harmed by American trade sanctions. Furthermore, the Tehran government is probably thrilled to use American-led trade sanctions to vilify the West and legitimize its own power."
"A relatively wealthy Iranian population is less likely to support a local government bent on creating tension with other world governments, as this would create the potential of a threat to that accumulated wealth. Furthermore, an Iranian population unperturbed by foreign restrictions on their ability to produce can then shift the blame of continued poverty onto the local regime. It goes without saying that without foreign intervention, the local government will find it difficult to point the finger elsewhere."
Issues with house value | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin
Issues with house value | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin: "roughly 84 percent of the houses sold in St. Croix County are not included in valuing your house for property tax purposes. However, as you know if you have tried to sell a house, 100 percent of the houses sold are used to determine what the potential buyer will pay for your house.
If the valuation of every house in the town of Hudson was decreased only 8 percent this year and was increased the previous years, perhaps the assessments, while still inflated, are probably fair across the board. However, houses that sold at a significant loss are assessed at a significantly lower cost than previous years. Homeowners that have been able to weather this housing collapse will be paying higher taxes and carrying more of the burden due to an inflated valuation that is not fair market value."
If the valuation of every house in the town of Hudson was decreased only 8 percent this year and was increased the previous years, perhaps the assessments, while still inflated, are probably fair across the board. However, houses that sold at a significant loss are assessed at a significantly lower cost than previous years. Homeowners that have been able to weather this housing collapse will be paying higher taxes and carrying more of the burden due to an inflated valuation that is not fair market value."
Thursday, September 09, 2010
FOXNews.com - HHS Secretary Sebelius vows 'zero tolerance' for insurers blaming premium hikes on health law
FOXNews.com - HHS Secretary Sebelius vows 'zero tolerance' for insurers blaming premium hikes on health law: "Sebelius warned that bad actors may be excluded from new health insurance markets under the law. They'd lose out on a big pool of customers.
An HHS official says the letter is a pre-emptive move, after officials got word that several smaller carriers around the country are blaming the law for rate increases. The administration says the cost of new benefits required by the law is 'minimal.'"
So if anyone disagrees, they won't be allowed to play. Sounds like the mob!?!
An HHS official says the letter is a pre-emptive move, after officials got word that several smaller carriers around the country are blaming the law for rate increases. The administration says the cost of new benefits required by the law is 'minimal.'"
So if anyone disagrees, they won't be allowed to play. Sounds like the mob!?!
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Success Despite Government, Courtesy Jugaad | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary
Success Despite Government, Courtesy Jugaad | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary: "No less than 93% of Chinese businessmen say the main reason for their spectacular success is network connections (guangxi), especially with government officials. Indian businessmen, however, have succeeded despite the government: 81% say the main reason for their success is jugaad, the ability to find innovative way round prohibitive rules and institutions."
Success depends on dealing well with government?!?
Success depends on dealing well with government?!?
A Captive of the Industry | Jim Harper | Cato Institute: Commentary
A Captive of the Industry | Jim Harper | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The best way to pursue the public's true interest is to keep Verizon, Google, and every other industry player in competition, unprotected by regulation. When recent reports suggested that Verizon might strike a deal with Google to prioritize certain content, that plan seemed like it might fail the most important test — the consumer test. People want a wide-open Internet, and they're in a position to demand it as long as there is competition."
An Inconvenient Economic History | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
An Inconvenient Economic History | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "What Mr. Krugman and the other critics have been unable to provide are historical examples of when big increases in government spending led to higher growth and more job creation."
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Black Budget in the Red | Julian Sanchez | Cato Institute: Commentary
Black Budget in the Red | Julian Sanchez | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Nobody doubts that the FBI and the NSA serve vital functions. And if $75 billion per year is the price of detecting and preventing plots to murder Americans by the thousands, it would be hard to call it money wasted.
Yet the most compelling conservative arguments for skepticism about runaway government growth have never depended on the worthiness of the goals at which government aims. Rather, conservatives have drawn on the insights of public-choice economics, which predicts that rational bureaucratic actors — often in collusion with profit-seeking firms — will more reliably act to maximize their own power and budgets than seek the general welfare."
Yet the most compelling conservative arguments for skepticism about runaway government growth have never depended on the worthiness of the goals at which government aims. Rather, conservatives have drawn on the insights of public-choice economics, which predicts that rational bureaucratic actors — often in collusion with profit-seeking firms — will more reliably act to maximize their own power and budgets than seek the general welfare."
Court allows warrantless cell location tracking | Privacy Inc. - CNET News
Court allows warrantless cell location tracking | Privacy Inc. - CNET News: "the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permissible because Americans enjoy no 'reasonable expectation of privacy' in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers have said that 'a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records' that show where a mobile device placed and received calls."
Friday, September 03, 2010
The Ethanol Tax Credit -- It's Worse Than You Think | Jerry Taylor and Harry de Gorter | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Ethanol Tax Credit -- It's Worse Than You Think | Jerry Taylor and Harry de Gorter | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently issued a report on how the corn-ethanol tax credit costs $1.78 to reduce one gallon of gasoline consumption and $754 to reduce one ton of greenhouse gases. The Wall Street Journal immediately noted that 'to put that [latter] number in perspective, the budget gnomes estimate that the price for a ton of carbon under the cap-and-tax program that the House passed last summer would be about $26 in 2019'.
While this study is being used by critics of the tax credit — which will cost about $30 billion over the next five years and is up for reauthorization this year — the CBO nonetheless severely underestimates the true costs of the ethanol tax credit in their calculations"
While this study is being used by critics of the tax credit — which will cost about $30 billion over the next five years and is up for reauthorization this year — the CBO nonetheless severely underestimates the true costs of the ethanol tax credit in their calculations"
Cutting Is So Hard to Do - Grant M. N�lle - Mises Daily
Cutting Is So Hard to Do - Grant M. N�lle - Mises Daily: "It is the base of voters with the greatest amount of time, interest, or direct personal and financial stake (unions, pensioners, government employees, government contractors) who wield the greatest amount of voting clout in the political system.
In general, citizens, particularly those voters who tend to actively participate in the political process, want government spending directed toward their favorite programs, but are reluctant to pay for it. Typically they conveniently advocate policies to force someone else — be it 'greedy corporations,' small businesses, the wealthy, or future generations — to pay for what they want."
In general, citizens, particularly those voters who tend to actively participate in the political process, want government spending directed toward their favorite programs, but are reluctant to pay for it. Typically they conveniently advocate policies to force someone else — be it 'greedy corporations,' small businesses, the wealthy, or future generations — to pay for what they want."
The Unemployment President | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Unemployment President | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "FDR's programs that were supposed to help the middle class and the poor were mainly paid for by the middle class and the poor. This was because the biggest single source of federal revenue during the New Deal period were excise taxes on beer, cigarettes, chewing gum, soda and other cheap pleasures enjoyed mainly by the middle class and the poor. To hear one of FDR's famous 'Fireside Chats,' people had to pay an excise tax for a radio and an excise tax on the electricity needed to turn it on."
Feingold says he opposed policies that led to collapse | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin
Feingold says he opposed policies that led to collapse | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin: "he pointed out that he voted against the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program signed into law by President George W. Bush in October 2008."
That is one thing for which I can thank him.
"Feingold asserted that he “didn’t vote for all of the deficit spending that occurred particularly during the Bush years.”" So he voted for some but not all -- that's not very convincing.
"He also highlighted his vote against the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which he called “a huge gift to the pharmaceutical industry.”"
True!
“Huge new tax cuts for the wealthy will cause the (deficit reduction) bus to explode,”
Tax cuts can increase revenues -- that has been proved.
"Feingold also blasted Johnson, his presumed opponent in the general election, for opposing the development of high-speed rail service in Wisconsin."
The costs will reduce jobs more than the few jobs that thr train creates!
That is one thing for which I can thank him.
"Feingold asserted that he “didn’t vote for all of the deficit spending that occurred particularly during the Bush years.”" So he voted for some but not all -- that's not very convincing.
"He also highlighted his vote against the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which he called “a huge gift to the pharmaceutical industry.”"
True!
“Huge new tax cuts for the wealthy will cause the (deficit reduction) bus to explode,”
Tax cuts can increase revenues -- that has been proved.
"Feingold also blasted Johnson, his presumed opponent in the general election, for opposing the development of high-speed rail service in Wisconsin."
The costs will reduce jobs more than the few jobs that thr train creates!
FOXNews.com - Man Who Cut Off Whale's Tail to Eat is Detained by Police in Florida
FOXNews.com - Man Who Cut Off Whale's Tail to Eat is Detained by Police in Florida: "Police detained Hogan, and another man, for questioning, explaining that mutilating a federally protected species is illegal, even if the animal is found dead."
What? Does the government think it is better to just let it rot?
What? Does the government think it is better to just let it rot?
Thursday, September 02, 2010
The Popular Interpretation of the "Industrial Revolution" - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Daily
The Popular Interpretation of the "Industrial Revolution" - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Daily: "The factories freed the authorities and the ruling landed aristocracy from an embarrassing problem that had grown too large for them. They provided sustenance for the masses of paupers. They emptied the poorhouses, the workhouses, and the prisons. They converted starving beggars into self-supporting breadwinners.
The factory owners did not have the power to compel anybody to take a factory job. They could only hire people who were ready to work for the wages offered to them. Low as these wage rates were, they were nonetheless much more than these paupers could earn in any other field open to them. It is a distortion of facts to say that the factories carried off the housewives from the nurseries and the kitchens and the children from their play. These women had nothing to cook with and to feed their children. These children were destitute and starving. Their only refuge was the factory. It saved them, in the strict sense of the term, from death by starvation."
"The factories turned to the production of more refined and therefore more expensive goods only at a later stage, when the unprecedented improvement in the masses' standard of living they had caused made it profitable to apply the methods of mass production also to these better articles."
"The outstanding fact about the Industrial Revolution is that it opened an age of mass production for the needs of the masses. The wage earners are no longer people toiling merely for other people's well-being. They themselves are the main consumers of the products the factories turn out. Big business depends upon mass consumption. There is, in present-day America, not a single branch of big business that would not cater to the needs of the masses. The very principle of capitalist entrepreneurship is to provide for the common man. In his capacity as consumer the common man is the sovereign whose buying or abstention from buying decides the fate of entrepreneurial activities. There is in the market economy no other means of acquiring and preserving wealth than by supplying the masses in the best and cheapest way with all the goods they ask for."
"The early industrialists were for the most part men who had their origin in the same social strata from which their workers came. They lived very modestly, spent only a fraction of their earnings for their households and put the rest back into the business. But as the entrepreneurs grew richer, the sons of successful businessmen began to intrude into the circles of the ruling class. The highborn gentlemen envied the wealth of the parvenus and resented their sympathies with the reform movement. They hit back by investigating the material and moral conditions of the factory hands and enacting factory legislation."
"Vast areas — Eastern Asia, the East Indies, Southern and Southeastern Europe, Latin America — are only superficially affected by modern capitalism. Conditions in these countries by and large do not differ from those of England on the eve of the "Industrial Revolution." There are millions and millions of people for whom there is no secure place left in the traditional economic setting. The fate of these wretched masses can be improved only by industrialization. What they need most is entrepreneurs and capitalists. As their own foolish policies have deprived these nations of the further enjoyment of the assistance imported foreign capital hitherto gave them, they must embark upon domestic capital accumulation. They must go through all the stages through which the evolution of Western industrialism had to pass. They must start with comparatively low wage rates and long hours of work. But, deluded by the doctrines prevailing in present-day Western Europe and North America, their statesmen think that they can proceed in a different way. They encourage labor-union pressure and alleged prolabor legislation. Their interventionist radicalism nips in the bud all attempts to create domestic industries."
The factory owners did not have the power to compel anybody to take a factory job. They could only hire people who were ready to work for the wages offered to them. Low as these wage rates were, they were nonetheless much more than these paupers could earn in any other field open to them. It is a distortion of facts to say that the factories carried off the housewives from the nurseries and the kitchens and the children from their play. These women had nothing to cook with and to feed their children. These children were destitute and starving. Their only refuge was the factory. It saved them, in the strict sense of the term, from death by starvation."
"The factories turned to the production of more refined and therefore more expensive goods only at a later stage, when the unprecedented improvement in the masses' standard of living they had caused made it profitable to apply the methods of mass production also to these better articles."
"The outstanding fact about the Industrial Revolution is that it opened an age of mass production for the needs of the masses. The wage earners are no longer people toiling merely for other people's well-being. They themselves are the main consumers of the products the factories turn out. Big business depends upon mass consumption. There is, in present-day America, not a single branch of big business that would not cater to the needs of the masses. The very principle of capitalist entrepreneurship is to provide for the common man. In his capacity as consumer the common man is the sovereign whose buying or abstention from buying decides the fate of entrepreneurial activities. There is in the market economy no other means of acquiring and preserving wealth than by supplying the masses in the best and cheapest way with all the goods they ask for."
"The early industrialists were for the most part men who had their origin in the same social strata from which their workers came. They lived very modestly, spent only a fraction of their earnings for their households and put the rest back into the business. But as the entrepreneurs grew richer, the sons of successful businessmen began to intrude into the circles of the ruling class. The highborn gentlemen envied the wealth of the parvenus and resented their sympathies with the reform movement. They hit back by investigating the material and moral conditions of the factory hands and enacting factory legislation."
"Vast areas — Eastern Asia, the East Indies, Southern and Southeastern Europe, Latin America — are only superficially affected by modern capitalism. Conditions in these countries by and large do not differ from those of England on the eve of the "Industrial Revolution." There are millions and millions of people for whom there is no secure place left in the traditional economic setting. The fate of these wretched masses can be improved only by industrialization. What they need most is entrepreneurs and capitalists. As their own foolish policies have deprived these nations of the further enjoyment of the assistance imported foreign capital hitherto gave them, they must embark upon domestic capital accumulation. They must go through all the stages through which the evolution of Western industrialism had to pass. They must start with comparatively low wage rates and long hours of work. But, deluded by the doctrines prevailing in present-day Western Europe and North America, their statesmen think that they can proceed in a different way. They encourage labor-union pressure and alleged prolabor legislation. Their interventionist radicalism nips in the bud all attempts to create domestic industries."
It's a WikiLeaks World, Get Used to It | Jim Harper | Cato Institute: Commentary
It's a WikiLeaks World, Get Used to It | Jim Harper | Cato Institute: Commentary: "No matter where right or wrong lie in the posting of classified military reports on WikiLeaks.org, one lesson should be clear: This is how it's going to be. Technology will continue to undercut secrecy — not just in the military, but in all large organizations."
"Secrecy should be treated as a weakness, to be avoided whenever possible."
"Secrecy is sometimes necessary, and propaganda is a legitimate dimension of war, but as technology and tools of transparency make their way even to remote battlefields, secrecy and propaganda that are at odds with the evidence on the ground will necessarily be less effective."
"Secrecy should be treated as a weakness, to be avoided whenever possible."
"Secrecy is sometimes necessary, and propaganda is a legitimate dimension of war, but as technology and tools of transparency make their way even to remote battlefields, secrecy and propaganda that are at odds with the evidence on the ground will necessarily be less effective."
Saying No Is Not Nihilism | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary
Saying No Is Not Nihilism | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "It was shortly after Rand Paul won the GOP Senate primary in Kentucky, and MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell was mystified. Why would anyone want to be a senator, she wondered, if he opposed most government programs? 'After all,' she mused, 'isn't that what [legislators] do? They legislate.'
And therein, perfectly encapsulated, is the bias of the mainstream media and the elite political classes, a belief that if there is a problem — any problem — then government must do something to fix it."
"Republicans should not try to do things like the Democrats — only a little less expensively or with a little less bureaucracy — but instead should present an agenda of personal and economic liberty. After all, cutting taxes and reducing regulation is a positive alternative to a Democratic jobs program. Repealing the government takeover of the health-care system is a way to give people better health care. Allowing younger workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes is a positive alternative to the debt and taxes to come from a bankrupt system."
And therein, perfectly encapsulated, is the bias of the mainstream media and the elite political classes, a belief that if there is a problem — any problem — then government must do something to fix it."
"Republicans should not try to do things like the Democrats — only a little less expensively or with a little less bureaucracy — but instead should present an agenda of personal and economic liberty. After all, cutting taxes and reducing regulation is a positive alternative to a Democratic jobs program. Repealing the government takeover of the health-care system is a way to give people better health care. Allowing younger workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes is a positive alternative to the debt and taxes to come from a bankrupt system."
Evidence and Denial | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
Evidence and Denial | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Keynesian economics, practiced during the late 1960s and 1970s, became thoroughly discredited with the stagflation of the 1970s — which, in theory, was impossible under the old model — and the subsequent Reagan supply-side boom."
"The economy performed better under Reagan's supply-side policies than President Carter's economic team had forecast it would if their man had been re-elected and continued his high-tax, Keynesian policies. The economy is now performing worse than Mr. Obama's economic team forecast with its Keynesian policies."
"The economy performed better under Reagan's supply-side policies than President Carter's economic team had forecast it would if their man had been re-elected and continued his high-tax, Keynesian policies. The economy is now performing worse than Mr. Obama's economic team forecast with its Keynesian policies."
Congress Ignores Middle-Class Service Sector | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary
Congress Ignores Middle-Class Service Sector | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary: "American factories can churn out all that stuff with fewer workers because the typical worker is so much more productive than in decades past. Workers today are better educated and armed with cutting-edge equipment, computing power and production methods that enable them to produce far more in an hour of work than their predecessors. Rising productivity is the essence of progress and the foundation of rising living standards.
Manufacturing does represent a smaller share of total employment and output than in decades past, but this is inevitable in an advanced economy. Every rich nation in the world has followed the same path. Manufacturing tends to peak as a share of the economy when per capita income reaches about $15,000. Beyond that, every nation can be said to be deindustrializing."
"Since the early 1990s, two-thirds of the net new jobs created have been in service sectors where the average pay is higher than in manufacturing."
"In 1900, 40 percent of American families earned their living on the farm. Today, fewer than 2 percent of Americans are employed in the agricultural sector. Yet we remain a global leader in agricultural production.
Despite the loss of millions of agricultural jobs in the past century, our fantastically more productive farms continue to produce record output. American farmers today produce twice as much milk as they did in 1900, more than three times as much pork, more than three times as many eggs, nearly four times as much wheat, more than four times as much beef, five times as much corn and eight times as much chicken as a century ago.
Soaring productivity in agriculture and manufacturing has made the goods produced in those sectors more affordable for all Americans. The relative decline of those sectors has freed workers and capital"
Manufacturing does represent a smaller share of total employment and output than in decades past, but this is inevitable in an advanced economy. Every rich nation in the world has followed the same path. Manufacturing tends to peak as a share of the economy when per capita income reaches about $15,000. Beyond that, every nation can be said to be deindustrializing."
"Since the early 1990s, two-thirds of the net new jobs created have been in service sectors where the average pay is higher than in manufacturing."
"In 1900, 40 percent of American families earned their living on the farm. Today, fewer than 2 percent of Americans are employed in the agricultural sector. Yet we remain a global leader in agricultural production.
Despite the loss of millions of agricultural jobs in the past century, our fantastically more productive farms continue to produce record output. American farmers today produce twice as much milk as they did in 1900, more than three times as much pork, more than three times as many eggs, nearly four times as much wheat, more than four times as much beef, five times as much corn and eight times as much chicken as a century ago.
Soaring productivity in agriculture and manufacturing has made the goods produced in those sectors more affordable for all Americans. The relative decline of those sectors has freed workers and capital"
Russ Feingold: In the News - Press Releases
Russ Feingold: In the News - Press Releases: "Included in the CSNA are such cost-saving efforts as ending automatic pay raises for members of Congress, cancelling the remaining Wall Street bailout funds, ending unjustified agri-business subsidies, cancelling the purchase of C-17 aircraft the Pentagon doesn’t even want and many others."
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
The Antiregulation Case - Eric Perkerson - Mises Daily
The Antiregulation Case - Eric Perkerson - Mises Daily: "In addition to the government's major contributions to the risk of this type of disaster, including an incredibly generous liability cap and heavy incentives to drill in deeper, riskier waters, there is virtually nothing in the economy outside the sphere of state intervention.[3] As columnist Sheldon Richmond succinctly puts it, the free market 'has an airtight alibi. It didn't exist.'"
"Regulation, as a proposed solution to this issue, limits the scope of actions that can legally be taken by entrepreneurs and businesses. It either gives them regulations that tell them what they must do, or it gives them regulations that tell them what they must not do. The calculating decision-making of entrepreneurs is replaced by the arbitrary direction of bureaucratic regulators. Profit and loss are no longer tools of decision-making. They are circumvented and ignored.
Litigation, through tort law and strict liability, can provide monetary evaluations of the costs of environmental damage. The costs then imposed on environmental offenders are monetary costs, determined by legal standards in a court of law and by the damages to third parties. Governments can also make businesses pay directly for perceived damages.
The crucial difference between regulation and methods that put monetary costs on environmental damages is that monetary costs can fit into the framework of the market. They enable economic calculation in environmental policy. The public's value of the environment is weighed against the public's value of resources in the calculating and information-gathering market process. Simply assuming that the benefits of environmental policy will outweigh the costs is hardly satisfactory."
"Indeed, most externality problems occur where different actors on the market have conflicting goals with respect to a particular resource, such as ocean water. This arises when property rights are ambiguous or simply nonexistent.[6] In cases where property rights are clearly defined, then damage to any one's property by any other can be dealt with through tort law, and the externality problem is dealt with."
"No voting member of society is in a position to compare the full costs and benefits of an economic decision as complex as those involving resources and the environment.
Oil, as a factor of production, is not valued directly by consumers. It is valued based on the value given to the products it can be used to produce. Many people looking at the effects of the Deepwater Horizon crisis see the oil-soaked pelicans and the fishermen out of business, but these same people cannot possibly see all of the benefits of the use of oil accruing to everyone in the entire economy!
The information about the value placed on oil is communicated and known only through the market in the form of prices. It does not exist in the minds of voters, of individuals, but only in the market. If it is profitable to drill for oil even when all of the environmental damage is charged to the drillers, then the market signal is clear — people value the products more than they dislike the effects on the environment."
"Regulation, as a proposed solution to this issue, limits the scope of actions that can legally be taken by entrepreneurs and businesses. It either gives them regulations that tell them what they must do, or it gives them regulations that tell them what they must not do. The calculating decision-making of entrepreneurs is replaced by the arbitrary direction of bureaucratic regulators. Profit and loss are no longer tools of decision-making. They are circumvented and ignored.
Litigation, through tort law and strict liability, can provide monetary evaluations of the costs of environmental damage. The costs then imposed on environmental offenders are monetary costs, determined by legal standards in a court of law and by the damages to third parties. Governments can also make businesses pay directly for perceived damages.
The crucial difference between regulation and methods that put monetary costs on environmental damages is that monetary costs can fit into the framework of the market. They enable economic calculation in environmental policy. The public's value of the environment is weighed against the public's value of resources in the calculating and information-gathering market process. Simply assuming that the benefits of environmental policy will outweigh the costs is hardly satisfactory."
"Indeed, most externality problems occur where different actors on the market have conflicting goals with respect to a particular resource, such as ocean water. This arises when property rights are ambiguous or simply nonexistent.[6] In cases where property rights are clearly defined, then damage to any one's property by any other can be dealt with through tort law, and the externality problem is dealt with."
"No voting member of society is in a position to compare the full costs and benefits of an economic decision as complex as those involving resources and the environment.
Oil, as a factor of production, is not valued directly by consumers. It is valued based on the value given to the products it can be used to produce. Many people looking at the effects of the Deepwater Horizon crisis see the oil-soaked pelicans and the fishermen out of business, but these same people cannot possibly see all of the benefits of the use of oil accruing to everyone in the entire economy!
The information about the value placed on oil is communicated and known only through the market in the form of prices. It does not exist in the minds of voters, of individuals, but only in the market. If it is profitable to drill for oil even when all of the environmental damage is charged to the drillers, then the market signal is clear — people value the products more than they dislike the effects on the environment."
Bailouts for Journalists? | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary
Bailouts for Journalists? | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "An estimated 20 million citizens of the Soviet Union were killed by their own government, and Stalin was responsible for more those deaths than any other Soviet ruler. English author H.G. Wells reported that he 'never met a man more candid, fair and honest ... no one is afraid of him and everybody trusts him.' The English playwright George Bernard Shaw hailed Soviet prisons where victims 'could stay as long as they liked.' President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's ambassador to Moscow Joseph E. Davies purred that Stalin's 'eye is exceedingly wise and gentle.'"
ACTA: The War on Progress, Freedom, and Human Civilization - Gennady Stolyarov II - Mises Daily
ACTA: The War on Progress, Freedom, and Human Civilization - Gennady Stolyarov II - Mises Daily: "ACTA tramples on essential rights that have achieved even mainstream recognition: innocence until one is proven guilty, due process, personal privacy, and fair use of published content."
"Under ACTA, governments would be able to crack down on the fans of these creators, against those creators' own wishes!" "who would be the rights holder here — individual creators, or governments"
"Under ACTA, the very suspicion or allegation of having downloaded or even accessed copyrighted material online would render one's computer open to search without a warrant. Fines and other penalties would apply to refusing permission for a search" "Under ACTA, even viewing a website containing material that infringes a copyright — without the viewer being aware of said infringement's existence — would be considered aiding and abetting the infringement."
" On July 16, 2010, federal authorities shut down Blogetery.com, a site that hosted 73,000 blogs, under the allegation that some of these blogs reproduced copyrighted material. Any reasonable person will recognize, of course, that most of the blog owners probably committed no violation whatsoever, but millions of hours of human effort were nonetheless wiped out by this new kind of random, arbitrary censorship."
"Under ACTA, governments would be able to crack down on the fans of these creators, against those creators' own wishes!" "who would be the rights holder here — individual creators, or governments"
"Under ACTA, the very suspicion or allegation of having downloaded or even accessed copyrighted material online would render one's computer open to search without a warrant. Fines and other penalties would apply to refusing permission for a search" "Under ACTA, even viewing a website containing material that infringes a copyright — without the viewer being aware of said infringement's existence — would be considered aiding and abetting the infringement."
" On July 16, 2010, federal authorities shut down Blogetery.com, a site that hosted 73,000 blogs, under the allegation that some of these blogs reproduced copyrighted material. Any reasonable person will recognize, of course, that most of the blog owners probably committed no violation whatsoever, but millions of hours of human effort were nonetheless wiped out by this new kind of random, arbitrary censorship."
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