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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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!?!