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What to make of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's "budget repair bill" | Wide White: "By now I'm sure you've heard about the proposed 'budget repair bill' proposed by newly-elected Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker."
The linked article does an excellent job of describing the issue.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
'Zero Tolerance' Criminalizing Kids | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary
'Zero Tolerance' Criminalizing Kids | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In a recent case, at Spotsylvania High School in Virginia, 14-year-old Andrew Mikel, an honor student, active in the ROTC as well as in his church, has been expelled for the rest of the school year for violent criminal conduct and possession of a weapon.
Following the lead of the school officials, the Spotsylvania County School Board referred the ninth-grader to local law enforcement, resulting in his now being involved in juvenile criminal proceedings for assault."
"in the school hallway during lunch period, kidding around, he was using the body of a pen to blow 'spit wads' at some of his fellow students."
Following the lead of the school officials, the Spotsylvania County School Board referred the ninth-grader to local law enforcement, resulting in his now being involved in juvenile criminal proceedings for assault."
"in the school hallway during lunch period, kidding around, he was using the body of a pen to blow 'spit wads' at some of his fellow students."
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Healthcare Herring - Charlie Virgo - Mises Daily
The Healthcare Herring - Charlie Virgo - Mises Daily: "Even if we assume that the statistics are accurate and the opinions are valid, what evidence have they provided that more government is the answer? Simply announcing that 50 million Americans are uninsured doesn't mean a government-run healthcare system is necessary, because it could have been our government's involvement that has led to the current situation."
Shrinking Government | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
Shrinking Government | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "This is a $300 billion increase in the deficit in this year of claimed 'economic recovery.' The House Republicans are trying to come up with a proposal to 'cut' $100 billion from this year's budget, and the White House says it is too much. To restate: The White House just increased its estimate of the budget deficit for this year by an amount much larger than the House Republicans are trying to save."
Monday, February 14, 2011
CrazyAuntPurl: That's so funky
CrazyAuntPurl: That's so funky: "according to the USDA, the term 'beef' can be only be used on products containing at least 40% beef.
Now that gave me pause. Shouldn't something called 'beef' be required to contain at least 50% of its namesake?"
"That is like saying I am 'tall' because I am at least 40% of the height of a supermodel."
Now that gave me pause. Shouldn't something called 'beef' be required to contain at least 50% of its namesake?"
"That is like saying I am 'tall' because I am at least 40% of the height of a supermodel."
What Should U.S. Do about Egypt? Very Little | Ted Galen Carpenter | Cato Institute: Commentary
What Should U.S. Do about Egypt? Very Little | Ted Galen Carpenter | Cato Institute: Commentary: "To most people residing in the Kremlin's empire, the Soviet Union was a meddling, imperialist oppressor. America's moral support was welcomed because they saw the U.S. as the USSR's principal adversary. Even if America had not been a beacon of freedom and democracy, there would have been positive feelings toward the avowed enemy of their imperial overlord.
The situation in the Middle East is vastly — and depressingly — different. Populations in that part of the world generally view the U.S. with great suspicion. Indeed, all too many Middle Easterners regard Washington as the meddling, imperialist power that is responsible for their unsatisfactory lot in life. A succession of U.S administrations has reinforced that negative image by backing corrupt, authoritarian regimes that looted and brutalized their people.
The result is a deep reservoir of hostility toward Washington. A June 2010 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 82% of respondents in Egypt had an unfavorable view of the United States, and 79% in Jordan did so. That negative assessment is not confined to the Arab portion of the Muslim world. In Pakistan, the unfavorable rating was 68%, and in Turkey 74%.
Such pervasive animosity makes it difficult, perhaps impossible, for Washington to play a major constructive role in the political transition that we're now beginning to witness in the Middle East. Put bluntly, even if U.S. officials profess to support the goals of democracy and liberty, those statements have very little credibility with populations in that part of the world."
"embracing secular factions could easily backfire. Anti-American factions would almost certainly cite such support as evidence that Washington is continuing to meddle in their country's internal affairs, and they would use it to discredit their secular opponents."
The situation in the Middle East is vastly — and depressingly — different. Populations in that part of the world generally view the U.S. with great suspicion. Indeed, all too many Middle Easterners regard Washington as the meddling, imperialist power that is responsible for their unsatisfactory lot in life. A succession of U.S administrations has reinforced that negative image by backing corrupt, authoritarian regimes that looted and brutalized their people.
The result is a deep reservoir of hostility toward Washington. A June 2010 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 82% of respondents in Egypt had an unfavorable view of the United States, and 79% in Jordan did so. That negative assessment is not confined to the Arab portion of the Muslim world. In Pakistan, the unfavorable rating was 68%, and in Turkey 74%.
Such pervasive animosity makes it difficult, perhaps impossible, for Washington to play a major constructive role in the political transition that we're now beginning to witness in the Middle East. Put bluntly, even if U.S. officials profess to support the goals of democracy and liberty, those statements have very little credibility with populations in that part of the world."
"embracing secular factions could easily backfire. Anti-American factions would almost certainly cite such support as evidence that Washington is continuing to meddle in their country's internal affairs, and they would use it to discredit their secular opponents."
What Can the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility Teach Us? - Thorsten Polleit - Mises Daily
What Can the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility Teach Us? - Thorsten Polleit - Mises Daily: "A monetary policy of increasing the money supply is therefore never 'neutral': It necessarily lowers the exchange value of the money unit, and it necessarily benefits some people (namely the first receivers of the new money) at the expense of others (namely the late receivers of the new money)."
"If government intervenes in the time market — by, for instance, increasing the supply of bank circulation credit and fiat money — it necessarily causes a deviation of the market interest rate from the pure interest rate (namely pushing the market interest rate below the pure market interest rate), which subsequently must lead to malinvestment and boom-and-bust."
"Violations of individual property rights (for instance through government taxation, regulations, etc.)" "thus raise peoples' time preference, increasing consumption at the expense of savings and investment, thereby reducing (or even reverting) the pace of capital accumulation. An interventionist-socialist societal order will therefore necessarily lead to impoverishment relative to a free market societal order, in which there are no systematic violations of individuals' property rights."
"If government intervenes in the time market — by, for instance, increasing the supply of bank circulation credit and fiat money — it necessarily causes a deviation of the market interest rate from the pure interest rate (namely pushing the market interest rate below the pure market interest rate), which subsequently must lead to malinvestment and boom-and-bust."
"Violations of individual property rights (for instance through government taxation, regulations, etc.)" "thus raise peoples' time preference, increasing consumption at the expense of savings and investment, thereby reducing (or even reverting) the pace of capital accumulation. An interventionist-socialist societal order will therefore necessarily lead to impoverishment relative to a free market societal order, in which there are no systematic violations of individuals' property rights."
Friday, February 11, 2011
Investors Finally Fear the Inflation Precipice - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily
Investors Finally Fear the Inflation Precipice - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily: "It is true that Bernanke could reverse course before things are too late, as far as the purchasing power of the dollar is concerned. But this would entail devastating pain to the banking sector, since the Fed would have to reverse the policies that bailed out the overleveraged titans in the first place. If Bernanke has to choose between saving rich bankers or the dollar, I am confident he will choose the former."
"By the same token, there are all sorts of scenarios where the natural 'unwinding' of the Fed's extraordinary policies won't work as planned. In particular, if even official CPI inflation starts creeping above 4 and 5 percent on an annual basis, while unemployment remains above (say) 8 percent, then it will become apparent that Bernanke's 'exit strategy' leads into a brick wall."
"in the 2nd quarter of 2009, the Fed's absorption of Treasury debt amounted to 48 percent of the new debt issued in that period. And ZeroHedge posted the following chart showing that the Fed is currently the world's largest single holder of Treasury securities, surpassing China:"
"By the same token, there are all sorts of scenarios where the natural 'unwinding' of the Fed's extraordinary policies won't work as planned. In particular, if even official CPI inflation starts creeping above 4 and 5 percent on an annual basis, while unemployment remains above (say) 8 percent, then it will become apparent that Bernanke's 'exit strategy' leads into a brick wall."
"in the 2nd quarter of 2009, the Fed's absorption of Treasury debt amounted to 48 percent of the new debt issued in that period. And ZeroHedge posted the following chart showing that the Fed is currently the world's largest single holder of Treasury securities, surpassing China:"
Cutting Spending to Revive Federalism | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary
Cutting Spending to Revive Federalism | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary: "• Every dollar of federal aid sent to the states is taken from federal taxpayers who live in the 50 states. Sending all that money to Washington and back again creates a huge administrative burden in tracking the funding flows and dealing with all the regulations attached to each of 1,122 programs.
• Federal aid reduces state policy innovation because it comes with top-down rules that mandate conformity. State governments can't be 'laboratories of democracy' if they operate under one-size-fits-all rules from Congress.
• Aid programs spur overspending by every level of government, since politicians can appease special interests with the spending while imposing part of the funding costs on other levels of government. State politicians over-expand Medicaid, for example, because the feds kick in more than $1 for every $2 in new benefits.
• Liberals imagine that federal experts can rationally distribute aid to the neediest local activities. The reality is that politics determines the activities and congressional districts that receive the most aid. Even if politics were taken out of it, the federal government does not have the knowledge to efficiently allocate local funding across a diverse nation of 308 million people.
• The huge scope of the aid system means that federal politicians spend much of their time on local issues. Rather than focusing on national defense, they are busy fixing potholes in their districts. Pres. Calvin Coolidge was prescient in warning that state aid was 'encumbering the national government beyond its wisdom to comprehend, or its ability to administer' its proper roles.
• The three levels of government would work better if they resembled a tidy layer cake with separate functions, rather than a marble cake with jumbled lines of responsibility. The failure of our marble-cake government was evident in the disastrous lead-up to, and aftermath of, Hurricane Katrina."
• Federal aid reduces state policy innovation because it comes with top-down rules that mandate conformity. State governments can't be 'laboratories of democracy' if they operate under one-size-fits-all rules from Congress.
• Aid programs spur overspending by every level of government, since politicians can appease special interests with the spending while imposing part of the funding costs on other levels of government. State politicians over-expand Medicaid, for example, because the feds kick in more than $1 for every $2 in new benefits.
• Liberals imagine that federal experts can rationally distribute aid to the neediest local activities. The reality is that politics determines the activities and congressional districts that receive the most aid. Even if politics were taken out of it, the federal government does not have the knowledge to efficiently allocate local funding across a diverse nation of 308 million people.
• The huge scope of the aid system means that federal politicians spend much of their time on local issues. Rather than focusing on national defense, they are busy fixing potholes in their districts. Pres. Calvin Coolidge was prescient in warning that state aid was 'encumbering the national government beyond its wisdom to comprehend, or its ability to administer' its proper roles.
• The three levels of government would work better if they resembled a tidy layer cake with separate functions, rather than a marble cake with jumbled lines of responsibility. The failure of our marble-cake government was evident in the disastrous lead-up to, and aftermath of, Hurricane Katrina."
Woman Loses Home to Foreclosure for Being Unable to Pay Attorney Fees - FoxNews.com
Woman Loses Home to Foreclosure for Being Unable to Pay Attorney Fees - FoxNews.com: "someone lost a house that she owned outright for less than a $1,000 in legal fees"
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