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Which Side Is Bluffing in N Korean Standoff? | Ted Galen Carpenter | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Pyongyang is also aware that Washington has previously tried to use the isolation strategy against other 'breakout' nuclear powers with little success. The US sought to get India and Pakistan to reverse course following their nuclear tests and the deployment of arsenals in the late 1990s. Those measures seem like quaint memories today, as the US is busily establishing close ties with both countries.
North Korean leaders could legitimately speculate that, after initial fussing and fuming, the US (and other countries) would ultimately accept the new reality and fully normalise economic and diplomatic relations with the newest member of the global nuclear-weapons club."
Monday, June 01, 2009
The Social Security Scam - Mark Brandly - Mises Institute
The Social Security Scam - Mark Brandly - Mises Institute: "Even though the employers are legally liable for one-half of the tax, they shift the tax onto workers in the form of lower gross wages. Therefore, the Social Security tax burden, 12.4 percent of each worker's gross pay, falls on workers. Half of this burden is hidden from the workers."
"The government, however, thinks that it makes perfect sense to collect $100 of tax revenue, spend the $100, and then declare that it now owes itself $100. This scheme is not limited to Social Security. Currently, federal intragovernmental debt for all programs totals $4.3 trillion."
"The $2.4 trillion of bonds in the Trust fund represent Social Security revenues that need to be collected a second time, since the tax revenues did not go towards Social Security spending when they were initially collected. In fact, all of the intragovernmental debt represents future higher taxes."
"The government, however, thinks that it makes perfect sense to collect $100 of tax revenue, spend the $100, and then declare that it now owes itself $100. This scheme is not limited to Social Security. Currently, federal intragovernmental debt for all programs totals $4.3 trillion."
"The $2.4 trillion of bonds in the Trust fund represent Social Security revenues that need to be collected a second time, since the tax revenues did not go towards Social Security spending when they were initially collected. In fact, all of the intragovernmental debt represents future higher taxes."
Let’s Stay Together: On Direct Exchange and the Social Order - Gene Callahan - Mises Institute
Let’s Stay Together: On Direct Exchange and the Social Order - Gene Callahan - Mises Institute: "Even if a country is worse at producing everything than is some other country, it can still net a material gain by specializing in the areas where it has a comparative advantage and trading for other goods."
"We hear that international competition will result in some nations being "winners" and others "losers." We read a headline that some company has "crushed" its competition, or that the U.S. is at "economic war" with Japan or OPEC.
Employed as loose metaphors, such terms are useful. But the analogy does not extend very far. The key difference between a game and the market process is that, in the market, all participants gain from voluntary exchange."
"In a market economy, whether it is domestic or international in scope, everyone's standard of living can rise at once. America has not lost if Japan or China should become wealthier than the U.S. An increase in the standard of living anywhere benefits all people who are economically integrated with the area in question."
"We hear that international competition will result in some nations being "winners" and others "losers." We read a headline that some company has "crushed" its competition, or that the U.S. is at "economic war" with Japan or OPEC.
Employed as loose metaphors, such terms are useful. But the analogy does not extend very far. The key difference between a game and the market process is that, in the market, all participants gain from voluntary exchange."
"In a market economy, whether it is domestic or international in scope, everyone's standard of living can rise at once. America has not lost if Japan or China should become wealthier than the U.S. An increase in the standard of living anywhere benefits all people who are economically integrated with the area in question."
Friday, May 29, 2009
Report Shows Air Quality Improved During Bush Administration - Political News - FOXNews.com
Report Shows Air Quality Improved During Bush Administration - Political News - FOXNews.com: "Carbon monoxide decreased by 39 percent, ozone by 6 percent, and sulfur dioxide by 32 percent.
'Pick any category you want and pollution levels are generally lower than they were seven years ago,' said Steven Hayward, the policy analyst who authored the report, titled 'Index of Leading Environmental Indicators,' for the conservative think tank."
'Pick any category you want and pollution levels are generally lower than they were seven years ago,' said Steven Hayward, the policy analyst who authored the report, titled 'Index of Leading Environmental Indicators,' for the conservative think tank."
Judge: U.S. Can Hold Detainees Indefinitely - Political News - FOXNews.com
Judge: U.S. Can Hold Detainees Indefinitely - Political News - FOXNews.com: "U.S. District Judge John Bates' opinion issued Tuesday night limited the Obama administration's definition of who can be held. But he said Congress in the days after Sept. 11, 2001 gave the president the authority to hold anyone involved in planning, aiding or carrying out the terrorist attacks."
If these are bad people it should be easy to show that to a judge and jury. What do we need to lower our standards of justice?
If these are bad people it should be easy to show that to a judge and jury. What do we need to lower our standards of justice?
Silicon Valley VCs don't want Obama's money, think Google is passe | Webware - CNET
Silicon Valley VCs don't want Obama's money, think Google is passe | Webware - CNET: "Moderator Jason Pontin, a self-described liberal who 'finds our president as dreamy as the next man,' broke party rank and echoed a popular sentiment in the room of wealthy (and traditionally mostly Republican) venture capitalists, to say that the Obama administration's plan to invest in new technologies is doomed to fail. While acknowledging that the administration's heart is in the right place, he pointed out that traditionally, direct investment in technology by governments doesn't work out well. He said the United State's subsidies on ethanol, France's decision to skip the Internet in favor of the state-sponsored Minitel, and Japan's direct investment in supercomputers as it tried to spend its way out of a recession were examples of poor investments. 'Government is a particularly poor judge of new technology,' he said."
Bush: The Information We Gained Saved Lives - Political News - FOXNews.com
Bush: The Information We Gained Saved Lives - Political News - FOXNews.com: "Former President George W. Bush on Thursday defended his decision to allow harsh interrogations on the terror mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, saying he did what was necessary to prevent what his advisers believed was another imminent attack.
Describing the decision to use waterboarding on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed after his capture in March 2003, Bush said the idea was first cleared with his lawyers in order to 'take whatever steps that were necessary to protect' the American public.
'The first thing you do is ask, what's legal? What do the lawyers say is possible?' he said. 'I made the decision, within the law, to get information so I can say to myself, 'I've done what it takes to do my duty to protect the American people.' I can tell you that the information we got saved lives.'"
Saving lives isn't the only metric. It would have saved lives to not fight the Revolutionary War but people thought that liberty was worth dying.
Describing the decision to use waterboarding on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed after his capture in March 2003, Bush said the idea was first cleared with his lawyers in order to 'take whatever steps that were necessary to protect' the American public.
'The first thing you do is ask, what's legal? What do the lawyers say is possible?' he said. 'I made the decision, within the law, to get information so I can say to myself, 'I've done what it takes to do my duty to protect the American people.' I can tell you that the information we got saved lives.'"
Saving lives isn't the only metric. It would have saved lives to not fight the Revolutionary War but people thought that liberty was worth dying.
The Social Security Scam - Mark Brandly - Mises Institute
The Social Security Scam - Mark Brandly - Mises Institute: "The federal government is in debt to itself. Compare this to debt in the private sector. No business declares that it's deep in debt because it loaned itself money. It's the same with families. Parents don't lay awake at night trying to figure out how to repay the money they loaned themselves. The government, however, thinks that it makes perfect sense to collect $100 of tax revenue, spend the $100, and then declare that it now owes itself $100. This scheme is not limited to Social Security. Currently, federal intragovernmental debt for all programs totals $4.3 trillion.
How should we think about this intragovernmental debt? The Treasury department collects $100 in Social Security taxes, the SSA spends $70 on Social Security benefits, and the other $30 goes to, let's say, military spending. Since $30 was collected for Social Security, but spent on the military, the Trust Fund now has $30 of bonds. The bonds are simply promises of future taxes. The feds collected the money for Social Security and now they are going to collect taxes again for Social Security spending. The $2.4 trillion of bonds in the Trust fund represent Social Security revenues that need to be collected a second time, since the tax revenues did not go towards Social Security spending when they were initially collected. In fact, all of the intragovernmental debt represents future higher taxes."
How should we think about this intragovernmental debt? The Treasury department collects $100 in Social Security taxes, the SSA spends $70 on Social Security benefits, and the other $30 goes to, let's say, military spending. Since $30 was collected for Social Security, but spent on the military, the Trust Fund now has $30 of bonds. The bonds are simply promises of future taxes. The feds collected the money for Social Security and now they are going to collect taxes again for Social Security spending. The $2.4 trillion of bonds in the Trust fund represent Social Security revenues that need to be collected a second time, since the tax revenues did not go towards Social Security spending when they were initially collected. In fact, all of the intragovernmental debt represents future higher taxes."
The Social Security Scam - Mark Brandly - Mises Institute
The Social Security Scam - Mark Brandly - Mises Institute: "It may seem that employers are paying half of the Social Security taxes, but that's not the case. Even though the employers are legally liable for one-half of the tax, they shift the tax onto workers in the form of lower gross wages. Therefore, the Social Security tax burden, 12.4 percent of each worker's gross pay, falls on workers. Half of this burden is hidden from the workers."
Study: DRM makes pirates of us all | Inside CNET Labs Podcast - CNET Blogs
Study: DRM makes pirates of us all | Inside CNET Labs Podcast - CNET Blogs: "In the report she notes that when people who are legally attempting to access DRM content (like film lecturers putting together clips from movies for educational purposes) and they hit a DRM restriction, they are driven to instead download DRM-free, illegal copies of the content to get the job done.
Not the most surprising news, and it's another win for those who believe the way DRM is currently implemented hurts more than helps. Now we have a study that says because of DRM restrictions, people are driven to download illegally. I think that's the definition of backfire."
Not the most surprising news, and it's another win for those who believe the way DRM is currently implemented hurts more than helps. Now we have a study that says because of DRM restrictions, people are driven to download illegally. I think that's the definition of backfire."
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