Posts
Europe Slapping Rich With Massive Traffic Fines - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com: "European countries are increasingly pegging speeding fines to income as a way to punish wealthy scofflaws who would otherwise ignore tickets.
Advocates say a $290,000 speeding ticket slapped on a millionaire Ferrari driver in Switzerlandwas a fair and well-deserved example of the trend."
If a rich man can get a huge fine for going twice the speed limit through a village because of the danger to people, why shouldn't everyone get a large fine for recklessly endangering everyone? Is a the value of a pedestrian's life determined by who is endangering it?
"The current law could lead to 'ridiculously low' penalties without any possibility of jail time for poor people who are caught driving drunk or speeding excessively, Stamm told the AP."
Shouldn't a poor drunk, who recklessly endangers pedestrian's lives, also get a large punishment?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Friday, January 08, 2010
The Greatest Economic Charity - F.A. Harper - Mises Institute
The Greatest Economic Charity - F.A. Harper - Mises Institute: "A certain Talmudical philosopher once offered us this apothegm:
The noblest charity is to prevent a man from accepting charity, and the best alms are to show and enable a man to dispense with alms.[1]"
The noblest charity is to prevent a man from accepting charity, and the best alms are to show and enable a man to dispense with alms.[1]"
Curbing Medical Malfeasance | Robert A. Levy | Cato Institute: Commentary
Curbing Medical Malfeasance | Robert A. Levy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Take Missouri. Doctors and other businesses in the Midwestern state were closing their doors because of runaway lawsuits. Then a law was passed directing that cases be heard in the county where an alleged injury occurred; plaintiffs could no longer shop for friendly judges and juries. Missouri's malpractice claims are now at a 30-year low. Texas had similar success with its 2003 reforms. The number of doctors applying for licenses increased significantly, and insurance rates declined. In Pennsylvania, malpractice filings plummeted after certificate of merit requirements were adopted to weed out weak cases. Reforms in Mississippi have virtually eliminated what the Chamber of Commerce had characterized as 'jackpot justice.'"
A Note on the Supposed Independence of the Fed - J�rg Guido H�lsmann - Mises Institute
A Note on the Supposed Independence of the Fed - J�rg Guido H�lsmann - Mises Institute: "Economic theory suggests that unaccountable, legally protected monopolies are inefficient. Without monitoring, governance, competition, and feedback such organizations make bad decisions and tend to be captured by special interests. Why should central banks be any different?
Empirical evidence suggests that unaccountable central banks misallocate resources and retard economic growth. Since 1913, the year the Fed was created, the dollar has lost 95% of its value. Easy credit from the Fed has made the US economy debt-dependent. It has encouraged irresponsible investment on financial markets and elsewhere. It has redistributed real incomes on a massive scale from the general population to the Fed’s main business partners: banks, financial firms, and government. It has not stabilized the American economy, but has made it much more fragile and prone to severe crises such as the present one. Put simply: the Fed is a government central planning agency, and it performs about as well as every government central planning agency in history."
"The Fed has had one great success: it is by far the largest funder of academic research in monetary and macroeconomics, employing hundreds of economists, financing conferences and seminars, providing paid consultancies, and so on. Is it any wonder that the majority of academic monetary and macroeconomists support the status quo?"
Empirical evidence suggests that unaccountable central banks misallocate resources and retard economic growth. Since 1913, the year the Fed was created, the dollar has lost 95% of its value. Easy credit from the Fed has made the US economy debt-dependent. It has encouraged irresponsible investment on financial markets and elsewhere. It has redistributed real incomes on a massive scale from the general population to the Fed’s main business partners: banks, financial firms, and government. It has not stabilized the American economy, but has made it much more fragile and prone to severe crises such as the present one. Put simply: the Fed is a government central planning agency, and it performs about as well as every government central planning agency in history."
"The Fed has had one great success: it is by far the largest funder of academic research in monetary and macroeconomics, employing hundreds of economists, financing conferences and seminars, providing paid consultancies, and so on. Is it any wonder that the majority of academic monetary and macroeconomists support the status quo?"
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Ticket Scalpers Are Hidden Heroes - Briggs Armstrong - Mises Institute
Ticket Scalpers Are Hidden Heroes - Briggs Armstrong - Mises Institute: "Scalpers absorb the time risk associated with events. They absorb the risk associated with scheduling issues (i.e., whether or not fans can attend). They also absorb the risk that unfavorable events could occur. Anyone who has ever bought or sold a ticket knows that ticket resale values drop dramatically after a team has a few losses on its record. If the team does well, the scalper can make a nice profit; if the team does poorly, he can suffer a huge loss."
The Curse of Good Government - William L. Anderson - Mises Institute
The Curse of Good Government - William L. Anderson - Mises Institute: "maybe, just maybe, the mechanism of action we know as government cannot be operated in a 'proper' way at all, because no intellectual device exists that permits us to properly determine just what is 'good' or 'bad' government."
New Underground Economy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
New Underground Economy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Banks, because of the 'know your customer' and other anti-money laundering regulations, make it difficult for nonestablished people, such as the young and transient, as well as legal and illegal immigrants, to open bank accounts.
Also, many of these same regulations are responsible for the rise in bank fees, which are a particular burden for low-income people. You can be sure that every time Congress passes some new law or the IRS implements some new regulation to 'get tax cheats,' much of the real burden of these compliance costs will fall on those least able to afford it, while those intent on finding their way around it will do so.
People also avoid having bank accounts because they are vulnerable to asset seizure, judgments, levies, etc. Increasingly, bankers and others who provide financial services are forced by governments to spy and snitch on their own customers, and this is a real turnoff for many people, which causes them to find other ways of maintaining financial privacy."
"Many studies have shown that when people believe the taxes they are required to pay are reasonable and the political leaders tend to spend their tax dollars wisely, tax compliance rises, and vice versa. In the United States, there is increased evidence that many tax dollars are not being spent wisely and are often used to pay off political cronies."
"When you have a secretary of the Treasury and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (the tax writing committee) accused of cheating on their taxes, it greatly undermines the moral authority of the tax collectors, making the common citizens feel like chumps and, hence, much more willing to try to legally avoid or illegally evade taxes themselves."
Also, many of these same regulations are responsible for the rise in bank fees, which are a particular burden for low-income people. You can be sure that every time Congress passes some new law or the IRS implements some new regulation to 'get tax cheats,' much of the real burden of these compliance costs will fall on those least able to afford it, while those intent on finding their way around it will do so.
People also avoid having bank accounts because they are vulnerable to asset seizure, judgments, levies, etc. Increasingly, bankers and others who provide financial services are forced by governments to spy and snitch on their own customers, and this is a real turnoff for many people, which causes them to find other ways of maintaining financial privacy."
"Many studies have shown that when people believe the taxes they are required to pay are reasonable and the political leaders tend to spend their tax dollars wisely, tax compliance rises, and vice versa. In the United States, there is increased evidence that many tax dollars are not being spent wisely and are often used to pay off political cronies."
"When you have a secretary of the Treasury and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (the tax writing committee) accused of cheating on their taxes, it greatly undermines the moral authority of the tax collectors, making the common citizens feel like chumps and, hence, much more willing to try to legally avoid or illegally evade taxes themselves."
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
The $2.7 billion state deficit no one told you about | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor
The $2.7 billion state deficit no one told you about | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor: "According to its just-released financial statements, state government closed its 2008-09 books with a $2.71 billion deficit in its general fund.
To many readers, this might come as a surprise. By law, state government is supposed to balance its budget. On paper, it does. However, for more than a decade, governors and legislators of both parties have “balanced” budgets through use of accounting maneuvers, timing delays, borrowing and billions in one-time money.
When the state controller, a CPA, prepares the state’s official financial statements, he must follow generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. That means he must reverse the budget gimmicks and accurately represent the state’s true financial condition. When he does this, the budget’s black ink turns red."
"it is the fifth consecutive year that the GAAP shortfall exceeded $2 billion and the ninth that it has topped $1 billion"
"When 2007-08 deficits are compared on a per capita basis, the Badger State had the largest GAAP deficit in the nation ($445 per person), followed by Illinois ($305), Maine ($181), and California ($113)."
To many readers, this might come as a surprise. By law, state government is supposed to balance its budget. On paper, it does. However, for more than a decade, governors and legislators of both parties have “balanced” budgets through use of accounting maneuvers, timing delays, borrowing and billions in one-time money.
When the state controller, a CPA, prepares the state’s official financial statements, he must follow generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. That means he must reverse the budget gimmicks and accurately represent the state’s true financial condition. When he does this, the budget’s black ink turns red."
"it is the fifth consecutive year that the GAAP shortfall exceeded $2 billion and the ninth that it has topped $1 billion"
"When 2007-08 deficits are compared on a per capita basis, the Badger State had the largest GAAP deficit in the nation ($445 per person), followed by Illinois ($305), Maine ($181), and California ($113)."
Productive Debt versus Unproductive Debt - Doug French - Mises Institute
Productive Debt versus Unproductive Debt - Doug French - Mises Institute: "banks have lent to consumers at the expense of businesses — and that it is only business loans that are 'self-liquidating.' Healthy businesses generate cash flow that can pay off debt, while consumer loans 'have no basis for repayment except the borrower's prospects for employment and, ultimately, collateral sales.'"
"the lending process for businesses 'adds value to the economy,' while consumer loans are counterproductive, adding costs but no value. The banking system, with its focus on consumer loans, has shifted capital from the productive part of the economy"
"Banks increasingly have the incentive to make long-term amortizing loans secured by long-term assets because the threat of bank runs has been taken away by increases in FDIC deposit insurance."
"the federal and state governments constantly enact legislation that makes the employment of workers more costly and in turn makes business expansion riskier. So wealth-producing businesses, like metal fabrication and the like, have every incentive not to borrow money from a bank to expand their operations and not to wander into a wider thicket of onerous employment rules by hiring more workers. Instead, the entrepreneur puts energy into obtaining a low-interest mortgage and buying a big house, or dabbling in real-estate development and speculation. Besides, up until this current meltdown the entrepreneur could obtain a real-estate loan much easier than a business loan."
"the lending process for businesses 'adds value to the economy,' while consumer loans are counterproductive, adding costs but no value. The banking system, with its focus on consumer loans, has shifted capital from the productive part of the economy"
"Banks increasingly have the incentive to make long-term amortizing loans secured by long-term assets because the threat of bank runs has been taken away by increases in FDIC deposit insurance."
"the federal and state governments constantly enact legislation that makes the employment of workers more costly and in turn makes business expansion riskier. So wealth-producing businesses, like metal fabrication and the like, have every incentive not to borrow money from a bank to expand their operations and not to wander into a wider thicket of onerous employment rules by hiring more workers. Instead, the entrepreneur puts energy into obtaining a low-interest mortgage and buying a big house, or dabbling in real-estate development and speculation. Besides, up until this current meltdown the entrepreneur could obtain a real-estate loan much easier than a business loan."
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Nexus One: Smartphone revolution is still on hold | Rafe's Radar - CNET News
Nexus One: Smartphone revolution is still on hold | Rafe's Radar - CNET News: "I'd like to see Google take over the monthly billing, and let its users switch carriers at will, or to manage the reselling and switching of bandwidth effectively so users don't know or care which carrier they're on (or none at all - think WiFi and VOIP). Freeing US consumers from the yokes of the carriers would be the real revolution."
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