Greenspan exposed

Another great article from the Mises Institute, this one exposing the former Fed boss Alan Greenspan. Unfortunately for America, Greenspan tried to nullify the fundamental laws of economics. Once of his worst sins was printing money, and printing money, and printing money. The "Great Printer" printed so much in the 90's that the NASDAQ went up ten times in ten years! That's not really supposed to happen, and it all began to unravel in 2000.

So when your friends tell you it was the "free market" that caused all of our problems, just have them go to mises.org or here to find out the truth.

Capitalism at its finest

Walt Disney was a wealthy man. Why? Because he pleased millions of people. One of his dreams, Disney World, is a true testament to the power of the most moral economic system on the planet: capitalism.

Having just returned from my first visit there, I am still blown away. The food was great, service awesome, shows and rides incredible. And it costs Disney World a fortune to provide all of that to the world. The payroll at the Magic Kingdom alone is $1.1 billion a year. The amount spent on maintenance: $100 million!

Anyone who advocates socialism should spend a few days at Disney World. No government in the world can plan the parks the way the Disney corporation has. Without the incentive that capitalism provides, a government-run theme park would be a disaster. The government can't even run a simple railroad (AMTRAK) properly - so how could they plan theme parks that employ thousands? The old saying will always hold true: markets work, central planning doesn't.

Big Brother wants you slimmer

The ever-expanding and meddling state is at it again. Soon, they will control all aspects of our lives, just as George Orwell wrote in 1984. Amazingly, the war on the fat, which began recently, continues with a possible obesity tax. As reported in the Financial Times (courtesy of prudentbear.com):

New York state could impose an “obesity tax” on high-calorie soft drinks such as non-diet versions of Coke and Pepsi as public concerns over obesity turn potentially fattening foods into a politically acceptable target for taxation.

Soon nothing will be safe from the clutches of the state. That's one reason why I fight it and wear my Albert Jay Nock t-shirt (purchased from the Mises Institute) which bears the slogan: "Our enemy the state."

Ron Everitt wants reparations

Ron Everitt, who calls himself Maulana Karenga, is the man who started the holiday known as Kwanzaa. He's an interesting character for sure, and he wants to violate your property rights by taking your money. As he wrote in 2005 about reparations:

" . . . reparations also requires compensation in various forms. Compensation can never be simply money payoffs either individually or collectively. Nor should the movement for reparations be reduced to simply a quest for compensation without addressing the other four aspects. Indeed, compensation itself is a multidimensional demand and option and may involve not only money, but land, free health care, housing, free education from grade school through college, etc."

Interestingly, he spent almost four years in a California state prison for assaulting and torturing over a two-day period two women from an organization he founded. The conviction was for felony assault and false imprisonment. According to the wikipedia account on him, he embraced Marxism while in prison.

I'll admit I don't know enough about the man, but I'm sure I don't want to celebrate a holiday started by some guy born on a poultry farm in Maryland and who embraces communism while wanting to violate my property rights.

By the way, everybody, Merry Christmas!

More evidence

Even though the government hasn't officially declared our current economic crisis a recession, we all know it's here. Car dealers know for sure, and he's an excerpt from an article on cnn.com regarding a car dealership in Florida:

Mr. Thomas has stopped ordering new vehicles, and he is relentlessly cutting costs, including his own salary. He is slashing medical benefits and matching funds for the retirement accounts of his remaining employees. He has stopped giving free oil changes and tires to charities, stopped offering coffee to customers and even canceled janitorial services for the bathrooms.

Sounds like the contraction phase of the business cycle. Government grows the money supply leading to easy credit, malinvestment occurs, we reach a peak (consumers are tapped), and then the pain begins, as you can see above.

More government help - please no!

Governments around the world are trying to figure out how to "save" their economies. They all vow to do something, and usually use the term "stimulus." So, they want to stimulate their economies. Unfortunately for them, that is impossible. Only entrepreneurs, who invest capital to start businesses and employ millions while providing the goods and services we want and need, can "stimulate" the economy. Since governments don't make bicycles, candles, pizza slices, pens, shirts, cars, and the billions of other items we desire, they cannot "stimulate" their economies. They can only get out of the way, and leave businesses alone.

The loons who created this mess (by allowing their central banks to inflate) are meeting to discuss the problem. The problem is, they are prescribing the same medicine - the wrong medicine. Get out of the way, stop taxing and regulating, eliminate your central bank, and stop printing fiat currency. Then, and only then, will economies flourish. They won't do this, of course, so we're in for a decades-long global recession. Mark my words.

Just the first step

Governments usually take small steps when they take away our freedom. If they didn't, we would revolt. So they do it slowly, one step at a time. They sell it - it's all about patriotism. And they keep rolling out Kennedy's famous "ask what you can do for your country" line.

As reported on the examiner.com, the first step is to expand national service:
"President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start."

Amazing. So I guess they own you and me. It says "requiring." What if you don't want to go? What if you want to do with your property (yourself) as you see fit? Will you face jail time by refusing to report?

This is dangerous - very dangerous.

The future of America

As you can read here in this article, California is broke. There's a massive financial shortfall, and the state may need help from the federal government. That means you and I may have to pay to keep California from collapsing.

Amazing what happens in the public sector. Runaway spending, no accountability, and petty bureaucrats spending other people's money. Unfortunately, this looks like the future of the entire country, since the entire banking system is insolvent.

Beware the spin doctors and the ignorant!

The pundits on TV (Dobbs, Beck, Hannity, Colmes, O'Reilly, etc.) and the politicans and bureaucrats are spinning the story and telling us that "free market capitalism" caused our current financial crisis.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The government and its cranky quasi-governmental agencies, like the Fed, Fannie, and Freddie, caused the crisis. But of course, they are never wrong. Now they are spinning the story, not only because they are ignorant of Austrian economics, but because they are constantly seeking legitimacy and power.

As you can read here in this article by a great economist, George Reisman, it's not the market that caused the problem. It's the government. Thanks to mises.org for publishing yet another great article that cuts through the crap.

The Constitution in peril

Here is a short book review by Doug Bandow that appeared on antiwar.com, one of my favorite websites. Very alarming. This book should be read, and all of us need to become champions of liberty (unfortunately, most Americans are sheeple).

Government DNA database

As you can read here in this article, the U.S. government is building a database of newborn DNA. All for our protection, of course (wouldn't you agree, comrade?). The scariest part is that citizens can be subjected to genetic research without their consent. Never mind that the government lacks the constitutional authority to pass and implement this law - the Constitution to them is an old-fashioned, outdated document. Time to work on your exit plan.

Mises knew it a long time ago

The greatest economist of the 20th century, Ludwig von Mises, wrote one of his many great works back in 1934. The title: The Theory of Money and Credit. This book is especially important now because of the devastation of American wealth caused by the inflating central bank, the Federal Reserve. An excerpt:

"Native inflationism demands an increase in the quantity of money without suspecting that this will diminish the purchasing power of money. It wants more money because in its eyes the mere abundance of money is wealth. Fiat money! Let the state "create" money, and make the poor rich, and free them from the bonds of the capitalists! How wrong to forgo it simply because this would run counter to the interests of the rich! How wicked of the economists to assert that it is not within the power of the state to create wealth by means of the printing press! - You statesmen want to build railways and complain about the low state of the exchequer? Well, then, do not beg loans from the capitalists and anxiously calculate whether your railways will bring in enough to enable you to pay interest and amortization on your debt. Create money, and help yourselves."

Mises knew back then that the creation of money backed by nothing leads to disaster. As we watch the economy collapse this year and next, we can only hope that Mises' works catch on so we can finally abandon Keynesianism, that economic crap they teach in public schools.

What happened?

The root cause of the current crisis is central banking (the Federal Reserve) and its fiat money system. Whenever any central bank prints money out of thin air, the chickens ultimately come home to roost. Only a few of the "experts" you see on CNN, Fox, etc. actually understand this. So all the meaningless talk is just that, meaningless, unless they discuss the Fed and its policies.

Only the Austrians knew what was coming, and they predicted it years ago. By studying Austrian economics, you'll not only know more economics than almost the entire U.S. population, but you'll also be better able to invest your money and avoid catastrophe.

Simply invest $6.00 and buy The Case Against the Fed by Murray Rothbard. Then you'll also realize that neither Obama nor McCain knows what's going on or how to fix it.

The Great Rip-Off of 2008

The U.S. government has done it to us again. It's been downhill since that dark year of 1913 when we got the income tax, the Fed, and the direct election of senators, but now they've really done it to us.

This bailout will be a complete, unmitigated disaster. The ultimate cost will be borne by us, the taxpayers, and Wall Street and the economy will never be as free as it once was.

Plan your exit strategy now, which may include learning a second language, obtaining dual cititzenship, and purchasing real money (gold and silver).

Are you tired of paying for war?

Here's an eye-opening article that appeared on antiwar.com. The numbers are staggering, and it's one of the main reasons why the U.S. is broke. I hope the author is wrong in the beginning of his article where he writes that we love war. Can it be so? In a Christian nation?

How much longer will you pay before you take action?

Why do we keep meddling?

Thanks to antiwar.com for linking to a great article that appeared in The Huffington Post. Articles like this don't appear in the mainstream media; the "msm" waters issues down and has pretty much become an outlet for government information (dare I use the word "propaganda?").

As you can see when you read it here, we (well, not us, but the elected ones and their lackeys), keep meddling in the affairs of other nations. Nothing makes us less safe than causing mayhem and stirring up trouble all over the globe. This article is disturbing. If McCain wins, will his presidency simply be a continuation of America's aggressive foreign policy, as the article suggests?

It seems we find trouble even in small places like the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Pretty soon Americans won't be able to travel anywhere.

Read the article carefully!

Do as we say, comrade!

Here's an amazing video clip regarding the state's schools and how they want all to conform and behave. The excellent student, who is more articulate than the school administrator (notice how he says "nobody" when he should say "no one"), simply wanted to have her hair colored pink to honor her father, who died of cancer. Despite her mother's permission to die her hair, the school frowned upon it and suspended her.

As my children grow older, I'll make sure they read 1984 and Brave New World. They'll also see Gattica, V for Vendetta, and Aeon Flux. I want my kids to know what's coming.

The Cold War is back

In order to make Russia happy, the U.S. just signed a deal to build a missile defense system in Poland just 115 miles from the Russian border. What a way to make friends! Pure insanity. The Polish government is run by fools. Instead of dismantling what they've got, declaring themselves neutral and friends with all, they've decided, along with our infinite wisdom, to put themselves in harm's way once again. I guess WWII wasn't devastating enough.

I guess the powers that be in Washington, D.C. decided that since things are "going well" in Iraq, they'd better step up the pressure on Russia. Maybe Russia should put a missile defense system 115 miles from Washington to shut up the Pentagon.

More evidence

Here's more evidence of the lower quality care we can expect the more our health care dollars become socialized. As you can read in this article, a man was left in a chair and not given food or water. So he died.

Stories like this will be commonplace as governments tighten their grip on health care. I'm not just picking on Democrats, since the neocons (Republicans) are no better, but once the next Democrat is elected president, we're getting "universal health care." In Britain, which has universal health care and universal dental care, people have to wait months to see the doctor and 18 months to see the dentist. So they're pulling out their own teeth and doing their own fillings.

The last thing we need is socialized medicine. In the former U.S.S.R., 36 out of every 100 hospitals did not have hot running water, cats would roam the halls, the surgical gloves would fall off the surgeons during surgery because they had been used over and over again, and the doctors used to quip: "Look, they pretend they are paying us and we pretend we are helping them."

Thugs for hire

The low-paid bureaucrats who man the airports to allegedly protect us from terrorists have found the ultimate agency to wield power and embarrass citizens. They must go home each night giddy about how they've abused and embarrassed the very citizens who pay their salaries.

In this article, a nun had to try for nine months to get her name off the no-fly list. Read at the end of the article how she made a comment to one of the thugs and was then threatened with arrest.

It's time to let the airlines handle their own security, sell off the airports, abolish the FAA, and privatize the air traffic controllers. A true free market in air travel would benefit us all with lower prices and being treated with respect as paying customers.

U.S. foreign policy and Georgia

The U.S. Constitution does not authorize, or even mention, all of the interventions, foreign entanglements, installations of heads of state, etc., that our government is involved in on a daily basis. We are beginning to reap what we have sown: most people around the globe don't care much for us. Why should they? We stick our noses in almost everyone's business, which is reckless and expensive.

Here's a nice, short article by Sheldon Richman that appeared on antiwar.com today. Kind of sums up our foolish foreign policy. By the way, if you get your news from the mainstream media, you're probably extremely misinformed.

Are we truly free?

Americans think they're free, but when you think about it, there's not much we can do without the government's permission. Some examples of what you can't do without the government's permission first are: get married, drive a car on the street, post a sign at your business, sell goods and services, build your house, build your business, sell cigarettes, sell ice cream, sell alcohol, prepare and sell food, and open your business (occupancy permit).

Maybe 1880 was one of the best years in American History. The empire had not been built yet, and every item listed above except "get married" we could do without the government's permission. Also, there was no income tax, no social security, no Medicare or Medicaid, and no Federal Reserve. The lives of Americans were basically untouched by government. Ahh, the good old days.

Late 1890's redux

I don't know who said it, but it's a great quote: "The only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history." Well, we're not learning, and the ones really not learning are the fascists in Washington.

In the late 1890's, after the Panic of 1893 was over, big business and a new group of "progressives" kicked off what's called the Progressive Era. These groups called for more government regulation because, they claimed, that free- market or laissez-faire capitalism failed. They spun the whole story, making it sound good to an uniformed public that the government was good and that they were here to help.

Now the powers that be (the government and the mainstream media) are spinning the whole story again, and once again are blaming capitalism. As you can read in this article (thanks to prudentbear.com), politicians and pundits alike say that de-regulation is the root cause of our economic woes. Actually, it's the Federal Reserve's reckless behavior of printing almost worthless dollars that is the root cause.

Don't buy into the spin! Instead, read Murray Rothbard's great, short book, The Case Against the Fed. Find out the truth, and don't let the government dupe us once more. Entrepreneurs create wealth; the government, through taxation and regulation, destroys wealth. So let's say no to more government intervention in the economy.

Just click on the title of Murray's book and you can purchase it for only $7.00. And be careful of Wikipedia's entries on the Progressive Era and the Panic of 1893. They may have been written by statists who also blame the free market.

Turn off your TV!

Turn off your television and no longer watch the loons in Washington, D.C. or the crazy financial pundits talk about how they are going to fix all of our financial problems. As you can see by this article, a major U.S. bank has gone under. This is serious stuff. Lehman Brothers, a Wall Street investment bank, is also looking quite shaky. Remember, Bear Stearns became insolvent and went away a few months ago. May it rest in peace.

Mark my words: the government will step in and make things worse. They'll spin it and make it sound good, and they'll even blame the free market and laissez-faire capitalism. They'll say we're here to save the day, and only the Fed, acting in concert with Congress and the Treasury, can fix our problems.

Nothing is further from the truth! There will be more regulation and oversight, and things will get worse. The rest of this year and the next will be brutal. The market will get hit, more banks will fail, unemployment will rise, and the foreclosures will continue.

Start saving your weak dollars, which are only worth four cents. Don't buy that new car or big screen TV. You might need the money to get out of Dodge.

W to attack yet another country?

It seems that the decider-in-chief, George W. Bush, is preparing the way for an attack on yet another country that does not have the capability or desire to attack the United States. Interesting article that states that Congress approved money for covert operations in Iran. All according to the Constitution, right?

Government fails child

Here's yet another example of why the government should not be in the protection of children business. This article from yahoo.com describes the horrible life this little boy led, and how different, inefficient arms of the government failed to protect him.

The private sector works more efficiently because it has an incentive: the profit motive. Let's get the low-paid inefficient bureaucrats who don't care out of the way so we can protect our children.

What'll it be, soldier, Zoloft or Prozac?

War is not good for anyone, especially the young men and women who are actively engaged in fighting it. Not only are U.S. armed forces personnel committing suicide at an alarming rate, they are, as reported on cnn.com here, also taking antidepressants at an increasing rate.

Over 4,000 U.S. troops dead, $12 billion a month bill for Iraq and Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children dead, increased animosity toward the American empire, over 30 thousand permanently injured U.S. troops - need I go on?

The purpose of this unconstitutional war was what?

They're not careful because it's not their money

Entrepreneurs have balance sheets, profit and loss statements, etc. to keep an eye on their money. But government agencies have budgets. They spend more than they have, and they don't keep an eye on the money. Why? It's not their money, so they don't care how it's spent.

As you can read in this article, here's yet another example of how the government spends billions of our dollars but really can't account for it. Hmm, I wonder how long McDonalds would have stayed in business if they treated their accounting this way?

Make sure you get that little piece of government paper

If you don't pay homage to the state, the state's henchmen take you to jail. Here, in this cnn.com article, we see that a woman in East Hampton, New York committed the terrible crime of not getting government permission (a license) to serve drinks to her guests. What a thug! How dare she and other adults do what they want to do without the government's permission first!

She was infringing upon the life, liberty, and/or property of . . . ? That's right, no one.

The American Empire not making friends

As you can read in this article, China and Russia are forging closer ties. This is in response to the Einstein's in Washington, D.C., who continue to grow the empire. You know, I don't remember reading it in the Constitution that the U.S. should have over 700 bases around the world and should spend more money on defense than the rest of the world combined.

I'm tired of my fellow Americans dying for empire, and I'm tired of paying for it. And God help us if McCain wins the presidency in a few months. Based on what I've read, he'll make Bush look like an altar boy.

Now you don't have to rent . . .

V for Vendetta, the movie that depicts the future of England, which has become a police state with curfews, cameras, and the omnipotent state. Now, you can just move to England and soon experience it first hand, as you can read here in this article.

Well, you might want to rent it anyway, since Natalie Portman has one of the most perfect faces on the planet. Poor Brits, about the only place they'll be safe and unwatched is the soccer stadium.

You mean Big Brother doesn't work?

Thanks to lewrockwell.com for linking to this article about Britain's "security" cameras, which are everywhere. Despite being the most watched people in Europe, the cameras haven't cut down on crime that much. Private security does a much better job than the bureaucrats, who don't have their own money at risk.

Fannie Mae took the Fed's bait

According to this article, the Federal National Mortgage Association, nicknamed "Fannie Mae," is in some trouble. But it's their own fault. As Alan Greenspan, former Fed Chairman, and his successor, "Helicopter" Ben Bernanke, the current Fed Chairman, inflated away the dollar by pumping excess liquidity into the market for years and years, Fannie Mae took the bait and got involved in the whole game. Instead of being more prudent, Fannie Mae was just one cog in the whole housing bubble.

What kind of trouble is this quasi-governmental agency in? Well, there may be substantial problems, since the article points out that as of December it had assets of $35.8 billion. Now? $12.2 billion. Ouch.

Doctors and politicians think alike

Doctors and politicians think alike - most of each don't understand the market. As you can read here in this article, the Massachusetts health care plan for "all" is in need of more money. The politicians who rammed this through a few years ago, including former governor Mitt Romney, don't understand that you can't repeal the fundamental laws of economics. The inevitable always occurs when you introduce socialism into a system: long lines, shortages, higher costs, less quality, and ultimately, rationing.

Not amazingly, in Sunday's Houston Chronicle (April 27), two doctors wrote a short op-ed calling for more socialism, in this case, a "single-payer" system. The "single-payer" is the government. They state that "free market plans will not work." Well, we used to have a free market in health care and it worked just fine. Then two massive interventions, one in 1965 and another in 1973, destroyed the market and created the terrible situation we have today.

Come on docs, stick to what you know: medicine. Stop dabbling in a field you just proved you know nothing about - economics. The only solution is a complete free-market health care system. Prices will drop dramatically, quality will rise, and the debate will be removed from the American news every night. You don't hear the news debating the continued rise in computer, dvd, shirt, or hamburger costs, do you? Oh yeah, that's right, we have a market in those.

Time to watch Gattaca again

In the movie Gattaca with Ethan Hawke, Jude Law and Uma Thurman, the state has collected the DNA of everyone on the planet. Futuristic for sure, and it could never happen to us, right? Well, the state has just announced they will begin the process in Amerika, I mean America. Read the article here, and remember 2008 when you're getting your mouth swabbed in the future.

People want another New Deal?

Thanks to mises.org for posting a nice, short article about how some are now calling for a new New Deal. Why would we want another round of government agencies that interfere in the market with the inevitable result that we will all be less prosperous? The New Deal was a disaster and prolonged the Great Depression. Its long list of new agencies, bureaus, departments, and commissions spent billions while Americans were waiting on bread lines. The AAA, or Agricultural Adjustment Administration, paid farmers to plow under their crops and murder their livestock!

Please, pundits, learn some history and economics. Stop calling for more government interference in the economy and violations of our property rights. Isn't 70 years of Keynesian economics enough?

U.S. shoots itself in the foot once again

History shows that most, if not all, of U.S. intervention abroad eventually comes back to haunt us. As you read this article, ask yourself if it is happening once again. Have we actually made Iran stronger and in a better position than they were in five years ago? Is this yet another example of the U.S. shooting itself in the foot?

(thanks to antiwar.com for the link to this article)

Don't you just love government medicine?

As with all government-run socialist schemes, the government is the ultimate decider. Here, a woman is turned down for surgery because she's too old. Wow, 61 is too old? It's all too predictable and history is our guide: long lines, shortages, higher taxes, less quality, and ultimately, rationing. That's what you get when you socialize goods and services.
(Thanks to lewrockwell.com for a link to the article)

The Great Depression

With a severe recession looming, there is occasional talk about the Great Depression of the 1930's. Gene Smiley has written a short book, Rethinking the Great Depression, that is a good introduction. It's not as good as Murray Rothbard's America's Great Depression, but it's a good start and is somewhat easier to follow for the neophyte to history and economics.

In the preface, Smiley correctly sums up what every American should be taught but unfortunately are not: "Government efforts to control and direct the gold standard for national purposes brought on the depression. Once it began, government actions, particularly in the United States, caused it to be much longer and much more severe. When the contraction finally ended, government interference in U.S. markets made the recovery unbearably slow and in 1937-1938 brought on a 'depression within a depression.' The 1930's economic crisis is tragic testimony to government interference in market economies."

Dead on point. Unfortunately, an overwhelming majority of history, government, and economics professors, most of whom have always been in academia and have never held a job in the private sector, blame the "free market" and teach students that the government saved the day. They then teach that government is something we need more of and that surrendering your property (hard-earned income) is something to be applauded.

Soviet style education

You couldn't pay me enough to live in the People's Republic of California. That state is the closest thing to one of the former republics in the former Soviet Union, may it rest in peace. As always throughout history, whether it be countries, states, provinces, or empires, whenever you try to repeal the fundamentals of economics, failure is the result. Here's another amazing article that states how California's school system is melting down.

What's the governator to do?

A devastating war

I can't even begin to write about how devastating this war is to our security, prosperity, and standing in the world. The U.S. invasion of Iraq, a nation that could not attack us militarily, will have repercussions for the rest of our lives. And those repercussions will be negative.

Read this great article that appeared on antiwar.com today. Great article that hits the nail on the head.

Why I fear McNeocon

John McCain, who has many nicknames like McNeocon, McRelic, etc., scares me because all he seems to talk about is this war on terror. A nice piece was on lewrockwell.com today, and the article by Robert Dreyfuss is somewhat disturbing because it seems McCain would take this war on terror to a new level, which is quite costly for us taxpayers and it does nothing to endear ourselves with the rest of the world. From the article:

"To combat what he likes to call "the transcendent challenge [of] radical Islamic extremism," McCain is drawing up plans for a new set of global institutions, from a potent covert operations unit to a "League of Democracies" that can bypass the balky United Nations, from an expanded NATO that will bump up against Russian interests in Central Asia and the Caucasus to a revived US unilateralism that will engage in "rogue state rollback" against his version of the "axis of evil." In all, it's a new apparatus designed to carry the "war on terror" deep into the twenty-first century."

You can read the rest of the article here. Scary stuff.

Sowing the seeds of love

The American Empire continues to intervene in the affairs of other nations, just like it's written in the Constitution of the United States (not!). The more America intervenes, the more hatred grows. As you can read in this article that appeared on antiwar.com today, one Iraqi woman calls the U.S. soldiers devils in clothes and vows revenge. And what about all those young boys who lost their fathers? What will they do when they reach adulthood? Love the U.S.? I doubt it.

It's time to heed the words of the Founding Fathers and the framers of the Constitution. Leave everyone alone politically and militarily and just trade with everyone. Nothing promotes friendliness with other nations as much as free trade. Plus, we wouldn't have to pay the $12 billion war tax every month.

Ready for the draft?

As you can see by this article, John McCain, Republican presidential nominee, is just the kind of war hawk to get us involved in more conflicts. The army is exhausted already, so the only way he can tell other countries what to do is to draft you. Yes, you.

As the new draft is written, it says all men and women, between the ages of 18 and 42, must serve two years in the military. You can't get out like people did during the '60's and '70's, where those in college were exempt. They've taken that away. So get ready to exchange your textbooks for a rifle and grenades.

I'm sick of war, especially now that we've been in Iraq for longer than the U.S. fought in World War II. And it's costing the U.S. 12 billion dollars a month! That comes from you and me, the taxpayers.

Refill the punch bowl!

Every time the market tries to take the punch bowl away and end the party, the Fed steps in and refills it. The new punch is simply more "soma" to keep Wall Street happy. Wall Street and the big banks are hooked on the drug, and they want the party to be never ending. Today's action by the Fed, and the subsequent rise in the markets, spells ultimate doom and more pain later. The more the Fed prolongs the party, the greater the ultimate pain will be. There will be a reckoning.

As you recall, soma was the drug most people were hooked on in Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel about the future, Brave New World.

Is Government water safe?

As you can read in this article, 41 million Americans have government-supplied water that has all kinds of interesting stuff in it. Don't worry, you can just cut off that second head you're growing by drinking this stuff.

Ever wonder why I prefer the private sector over the public sector?

Armed and dangerous

Pull out your pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution. Take a look at the powers of Congress. Note the first, third, and last powers. The first is the taxation clause, the third is the commerce clause, and the last is the necessary and proper clause, affectionately nicknamed the "elastic clause."

I ask you, is there anything Congress can't do when they're armed with those three clauses? Don't forget, the commerce clause has grown into a monster and regulates almost all economic activity. And the necessary and proper clause allows Congress to make all laws necessary and proper in order to carry out all the powers listed before it, which includes, of course, the taxation clause and the commerce clause. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, Congress is armed and dangerous, and there's almost nothing they can't push through. Especially since most Presidents now can't find their veto pens.

Credit markets freezing in the new economic Ice Age

The perfect storm is forming in the world's credit markets, as described here in this article that was posted on prudentbear.com. I'm urging friends to hold onto their cash and postpone projects around the house as well as the purchase of new cars. I myself have postponed my new garage project. I may need that eight to nine thousand to purchase food. Americans are also now beginning to curb their unquenchable thirst for gasoline. Santa might not show up at the end of the year - it could get quite scary.

The empire keeps the "systems" in line

In the first Star Wars (1977) movie Princess Leia remarks to Tarkin that "the more you tighten your grip, more and more systems will slip through your fingers." When I read this article about the U.S. firing missiles in Somalia, I was reminded of the empire from Star Wars, trying to keep all the local systems in line. We're in Iraq and Afghanistan of course, but we're also in dozens and dozens of other places.

Terrorists are evil for sure, as we know, but doesn't it seem like we're chasing them all over the planet? Didn't Vader and his henchmen chase Luke and his pals all over the place? Isn't the U.S. looking for the hidden "rebel base," in the hopes of finding Bin Laden?

Bin Laden should be brought to justice, of course - but shouldn't the U.S. stop meddling in the affairs of other nations? Shouldn't we just trade with people while they determine for themselves what leader and what government they want? If they were here bothering us, wouldn't we be upset? I just can't believe we're still sticking our noses into Somalia's business again. I'm sure they appreciate it.

War draining America

As you can see in this article, the cost of the war is draining America and is driving up the cost of a barrel of oil. One of the largest myths is: "war is good for the economy." If so, we should wage perpetual war.

As bad as Barack Obama will be, I think he'll be less crummy than Hillary "socialized medicine" Clinton or John "I don't care if we're in Iraq for 100 years" McCain. At least Obama is talking about bringing the troops home.

Grab your weapons! The Pentagon wants more troops

The Pentagon wants to wage endless war, as you can read here in this article. The empire continues to grow as it drains America militarily, financially, and morally.

Inflation is back with a vengeance

As you have observed yourself while shopping, it seems like the price of everything is going up, especially food and gasoline. Here's an interesting article that states it could get much worse. If only the Fed would stop the printing presses and adopt a sound monetary policy. Only if . . .

Taxpayers pay $800,000 for Mickey Mouse figurines

In this amazing article, you can read about how the U.S. Army is paying Disney, yes, Disney, $800,000 to train doctors and hospital staff on customer service. Why would anyone working in a hospital need training on how to humanely treat people? Isn't that why people go into the health care profession, because they want to help people? Unfortunately, the training does not address the root cause of the problems (socialized army medicine) so the training will have little to no impact.

At least everyone who attended this quite expensive training, paid for by the U.S. taxpayer, got a Mickey Mouse figurine.

The upcoming health care trainwreck

The upcoming health care trainwreck, which you can read about in this article, was easily predictable. Once a massive amount of socialism (Medicare, Medicaid) was introduced into a system that was working just fine, you got the usual results: higher costs.

Now, some politicians want to introduce more government, which will only make it worse. Once we have complete "universal health care" (socialized medicine), like in Canada and most European countries, we'll get more predictable results: longer lines, shortages, higher taxes, less efficiency, and ultimately, rationing.

The People's Republic of California

I long age nicknamed the big state out west the People's Republic of California. After all, with its high taxes and excessive regulation, it's the closest thing we have to a full-blown socialist state here in the good 'ol USA (not to mention my home state of New York, Taxachusetts, and New Jersey, where its against the law to pump your own gas and serve runny eggs).

As you can read in this article, the state is melting down with a $16 billion dollar shortfall. It's credit rating is higher than only one state, Louisiana. What's the governator to do?

Labor shortage in high tax Denmark

Want to know what full-blown socialism looks like? Here's an article about the brain-drain, I mean, labor shortage in Denmark. Why are people leaving? Income taxes can reach as high as 63%. Imagine grossing 100k and taking home $37,000. Sounds great, doesn't it? I didn't think so. Which way is America heading? In Denmark's direction.

I've already got my tax-haven picked out. How about you?

Soviet health care in Massachusetts

No one, especially bureaucrats, can repeal the fundamental laws of economics. As Ludwig von Mises proved in the 1920's with his fantastic work titled Socialism, economic calculation is impossible once prices are removed from an economic system.

As Commonwealth Care proves Mises right with its rising costs, we can predict easily the disaster that awaits us if Hillary Clinton or any president/congress gives us "universal health care." Read the article from the Boston Globe here, and start lining up your doctor friends for future care, reminding them each time you leave that you "were never here."

Once again, as in previous posts regarding health care, you get 5 results with socialized medicine: long lines, shortages, lower quality, higher taxes, and finally, rationing.

McCain, the neocons, and constant war

This article that appeared on antiwar.com states, and I believe it is absolutely true, that John McCain is another George W. Bush and will invade Iran. At a minimum, he'll order massive air strikes against them to "teach them a lesson." He's scared me throughout the last year, and every other phrase out of his mouth is "extreme Islamic radicalism," or something similar. As bad as a Democratic president will be, with socialized medicine, they will be less likely (we hope) to attack or invade Iran.

May I cash these in for Euros?

As you can read in this article, the euro is now being accepted here in America as the dollar continues to lose credibility. Isn't that one of the reasons most empires begin their slide - the currency becomes worthless?

Soon we'll see commercials similar to those old Visa commercials. You know the ones, where they tout a particular store or restaurant, and in the end the guy says: "But if you want to eat here, you better bring your Visa card, because they don't accept American Express." So the future commercials will say: "But if you want to eat here, you better bring your Euros, because they don't accept American dollars."

The root cause? The Federal Reserve, since its creation in 1913, has inflated the dollar down to 4 cents. That's why you're working so hard. The printed money your using to buy your groceries doesn't buy much anymore. Gas, eggs, milk, anyone?

Suicide soldiers

Not only did America invade a nation that couldn't attack us, not only have almost 4,000 soldiers died, not only are almost 30,000 soldiers permanently maimed, not only have we spent over $2 trillion on Iraq and Afghanistan - now, soldiers are committing suicide at an alarming rate, as you can read in this article. Almost five soldiers every day try to kill themselves.

What did we get out of this war again? Peace? No. Prosperity? No. Less Americans hurt and killed? No. Better standing in the world? No. What did we get out of this war again?

The war against the fat begins

I like science fiction for two reasons: it's entertaining and gives us a glimpse into the future. Books like 1984 by George Orwell and A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are great. Movies like V for Vendetta, Gattica, and Aeon Flux also show the nanny state/big brother controlling our everyday lives.

Now, as you can read in this article, one state is considering legislation that would prohibit restaurants from serving fat people! Mark it down - 2008 was the year the U.S. began the war against the fat.

Let's not forget that governments now force bars and restaurants to ban smokers, even though it's private property. Don't forget to read my earlier post regarding California considering to remotely monitor thermostats in people's homes. What's next - are they going to tell us how much water we can have in our toilet bowls? Oh, that's right. They already do that (Clean Water Act of 1991). No more than 1.6 gallons per toilet or you're in trouble mister!

Maybe it's time to view those movies and/or read those books again, so at least we'll know what Amerika will be like soon - don't you agree, comrade?

Thanks to the lewrockwell.com for posting a link to the article.

The only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history

History can be a fantastic guide for the future, and it seems to work pretty well when it comes to macroeconomic policy. But why doesn't the government, especially the "independent" Federal Reserve, learn from its mistakes? Right now they are continuing to "prime the pump" with liquidity to stave off recession. As you can see by this quote from an article by historian/economist Thomas DiLorenzo, the government tried the same thing during the Great Depression to no avail.

"But as Murray Rothbard showed in America’s Great Depression, it was the easy money policies of the early and mid-1920s that created all the malinvestment that was the trigger for the Great Depression. The only wise thing to have done was to allow the liquidation of hundreds of overcapitalized businesses to occur. Instead, the Fed increased the monetary base by 100 percent in five years, causing more of the same overcapitalization problems that were the source of the problem in the first place."

Isn't it the definition of insanity when you do the same thing over and over again and keep getting the same results, but expecting different results?

The article by DiLorenzo appeared in The Free Market, a publication of The Mises Institute, November, 2004. Full article here.

More political rhetoric

Speaker of the House Pelosi tonight after the decider-in-chief's State of the Union address: "We will work with the president -- where possible -- to bolster the housing market ... restore confidence in consumer goods ... and to give our workers and employers more tools to compete in a global economy."

1) How does the government "bolster" the housing market? What does bolster mean, in this context?
2) How does the government "restore confidence in consumer goods?"
3) What "tools" will the government give so that American workers can compete in a global economy?

Her quote can only mean one thing: a violation of property rights, by force, to provide the three above. Does "bolster" mean money? A bailout? Only if the government takes the money from us and gives it to distressed homeowners. A violation of our property rights.

The same with 2 and 3. Money from us to business, so somehow American-made goods are better and we have confidence in them? Money from us for what, retraining, so people have the "tools" to compete?

The entire quote is typical politician blather. It means nothing. Absolutely nothing. If this blather does mean anything, it's that you and I will have less money in our pockets.

A no responsibility society

This article provides us with the clue we've been looking for! Why people are losing their homes all over America. No, it's not the people who took out the loan. They're not responsible just because they didn't read the contract and closing papers. It's not the government and the Fed, who flooded the country with money printed out of thin air - and a lot found it's way into real estate.

No! Just read the article. It's the greedy lenders. Those greedy lenders. You know, the ones who held guns to people's heads, forcing them into signing and moving into nice new homes. The greedy lenders. It wasn't poor old you and me - we couldn't help ourselves because of those greedy lenders.

Please, give me a break. It's amazing how America has turned into the "no responsibility society."

A new era has begun

Ron Paul hit the nail on the head last night at the Republican debate. He said that a new era for America has begun. Nothing could be so true. Decades ago the U.S. was a dominant force in the world, and not necessarily in a negative way. That has changed.

Never before in our history have we faced the threat of a massive amount of people retiring (now, 10,000 baby boomers turn 60 every week). Never before have we had over 700 bases around the world. Never before have we spent more on the military than the rest of the world combined. Never before has most of the world disliked us so much (they actually used to love us). Never before has the Federal Reserve inflated our currency so much and destroyed our dollar so much (three bubbles in eight years!). Never before have we had such a broken health care system (which will get worse once we get "universal health care.")

Never before have we been in such bad shape. Yes, Ron, you are right. A new era has begun.

The omnipotent state strikes again

The omnipotent power of the state strikes again. This time, they hauled off a 5 year old boy in handcuffs. Misbehaving in school? No need to call the parents, just handcuff the lad and cart him off to the psych ward at the local hospital. Of course, he must be nuts to refute and protest the treatment received at the hands of the New York City Babysitting District. Read the article here.

Can government do anything right?

The government can't even rebuild firehouses. Amazing article that shows the State of Louisiana/New Orleans governments are unable to rebuild a single firehouse destroyed by Katrina. Unbelievable.

The drainage of the empire

All empires fail because they bleed financially. As you can see by this article, we're playing right into our enemies hands, who have repeatedly said they want to bleed the U.S. empire dry. How much can we fork over each month, especially now that there's a credit/liquidity bubble about to implode, a few million foreclosures, inflation is up, etc.? We're broke and the only solution is a sound currency and reduction of the empire as the founders and framers wanted.

U.S. banks getting slaughtered in the carnage

Eighty years ago Ludwig von Mises was writing about what is happening to the U.S. and world financial markets today. As Mises and the rest of the Austrian economists knew, whenever you print money out of thin air (it's not backed by anything), bankers run amok with the easy credit while the populace takes the bait, leading to malinvestment. It's simple - the inevitable contraction follows the peak from the Fed-induced expansion.

As you can see in this article, U.S. banks got creamed in the 4th quarter. Also on prudentbear.com today, the president of the IMF said this worldwide crisis could be quite severe. Well, he finally got something right (after the Austrians have been discussing this for a decade).

The solution? Abolish the Fed, get back on the gold standard, and get the government out of the economy. 2008 and 2009 won't be pretty.

Can Texas secede?

Every July 4th, we celebrate a document that states Texas, or any state, can secede from the United States: "whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and institute new government . . ."

What if an overwhelming majority of Texans voted to leave the United States? Would the U.S. let us go? After all, we could easily survive on our own. We have over 22 million people, which is a lot more than dozens of countries. We have a productive port, the Port of Houston, and an economy that could thrive without the rest of the U.S. dragging us down.

What if the overwhelming majority of Texans said: "you know, we've had enough of high taxes, military spending and an over aggressive foreign policy, limits on our personal liberty, crummy roads and crummy public education, etc. etc." Would the U.S. let us go? NO! The rest of the U.S. would not let us go, and would use military force to keep us in. But how could they, since they celebrate a document every year that says we can?

Because Mr. Lincoln's War took secession away. Even though every delegate at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 believed secession was a fundamental right and important for liberty, it was taken away by the Civil War. That event was a watershed moment in American History. Now, unchecked by the threat of secession, the federal government could grow dramatically (and boy, did it ever!).

Americans love capitalism, not democracy

It's capitalism Americans love more, not democracy. We spend almost all of our time, minus time for family, seeking more wealth by working harder, smarter, and longer to purchase the nicer car, house, plasma tv, Wii, DS (for the kids), clothes, gardens, etc. etc.

A tiny percentage of Americans actually subscribe to a political or economic journal, even though they remember seeing them on the shelves at the library while in college. Billions more is spent on fiction novels. Write to the representative in Congress? Hardly. Take part in demonstrations? Not likely. Write letters to the editor of the local newspaper? Once in awhile. Americans don't do their civic duty, partly because they are uniformed of the issues, but mainly because they are actively engaged in what they love more: capitalism. After all, capitalism pleases us.

Most Americans, however, do take part in a ritual every four years: the mainstream media's successful efforts to whip us into a frenzy about the election of the next decider-in-chief. Yet for 80 years, it hasn't made a whit of difference. 80 years of more government, more taxes, more regulation, more war, less liberty, and on, and on, and on.

Here's two great reads to begin the discussion on capitalism and democracy: How Capitalism Saved America by Thomas DiLorenzo, and Democracy: The God That Failed by Hans Herman Hoppe.

My apologies to those who actually do get involved on a monthly basis by writing letters, reading journals, etc. It's not my intention to lump you in with the uniformed and the apothetic.

It was fun while it lasted

Well, at least we had a century. Yes, the 20th century was America's. This country dominated, pretty much, the entire century. But, we let our unfettered free market get hammered by taxation and regulation. And, beginning in 1913, we began to print money through the Federal Reserve and whack away at the gold standard. Now our money is not backed by anything and the dollar is worth only 4 cents.

The bottom line? Unless we embrace unbridled free market capitalism again, and limit the two things that destroy wealth faster than anything else, taxation and regulation, we're done. Read this article that posted on prudentbear.com today. The European Union and China may be eating our lunch sooner than we think.

Shoddy U.S. embassy a mess

The government can't even build a building correctly, on time, and on budget. Read this amazing article about the fire hazard, shoddy work, etc. at the new monster-size embassy in Iraq that you and I paid for. Amazing.

Thanks to lewrockwell.com for posting a link to this article.

My house is cold - call the government!

Thanks to lewrockwell.com for posting this article about how California wants people to have remote control thermostats in their homes. We wouldn't want a person to use more than their fair share of air conditioning, now would we?

Twenty years from now the government will probably be assigning new names to us. Time to read Brave New World again.

Social workers clueless

Government fails at all levels, from the petty bureaucrat social workers to the decider-in-chief who tries to run an empire on borrowed money. In this article, we read how social workers let down this family who was in deep trouble. Children Protective Services should be abolished nationwide. For the first 300 years in America, families, friends, neighbors, communities, churches, and charities helped families. Now, people don't help each other as much because the government has said "we'll do that" for the last 100 years or so. And look at the results. This goes on all the time; fortunately, the results are not nearly as tragic.

Nothing will change

People in Iowa and New Hampshire had a chance to show the country that they were finally fed up with war, taxes, and big government. But they blew it. They voted for more war, taxes, and big government. Absolutely nothing will change, no matter who gets elected in November. Nothing. Mark my words. Nothing will change. We will have more war, higher taxes, and more government.

Somehow, almost every American is into war. So far, Iraq and Afghanistan have cost over $2 trillion dollars and over 3,900 Americans have lost their lives. How could anyone in their right mind support war? And don't let the Democrats fool you. They're into it too. Read this article by Glen Greenwald from antiwar.com today. It's about the U.S. empire. Barack and Hillary are into it too.

Don't forget. Nothing will change. The Federal Reserve will still print money out of thin air, there will be more bubbles like the real estate and credit bubbles, immigration will still be a problem according to many, no bases around the world will close, more Americans will die, health care will still be a problem, etc. Nothing will change.

Nixon, I mean Bush wants to . . .

The decider-in-chief wants to pull a Richard Nixon and suspend the fundamental laws of economics. He says he wants to "freeze" all mortgages that may reset to a higher interest rate. What a disaster this will be. Just like the disaster in the '70's when then President Nixon did almost the same thing and suspended all wages and prices for 90 days! Isn't it a good thing that government officials can't suspend the fundamental laws of physics too?

Amazingly, the decider-in-chief's plan is backed by the equally incompetent Secretary of the Treasury. Read the amazing news here.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers and the Preble Meadow jumping mouse

Radical environmentalists (you know, the ones who care more about bugs and weeds than humans) love the Endangered Species Act. But as you can read in this article published in the latest issue of Regulation, there are perverse incentives that actually harm the woodpeckers and mice these people care so much about. The enforcement of private property rights, rather than legislation, is the key to a pristine environment.

By the way, 96% of all species that have ever inhabited the earth have gone extinct. That's the way nature is, and it's not our business to try to prevent that.

Is Iraq less violent?

The MSM (main stream media) is buying the government's take that the surge is working and Iraq is now less violent. But is it? Maybe in Baghdad, but what about the rest of the country? Interesting article that appeared on antiwar.com today. Read it here.

Were the "titans of industry" good guys?

Whenever I cover Vanderbilt, Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gould and others in class, the overall first impression my students give me is that the "titans of industry" were really "robber barons" who capitalized on people in order to obtain wealth. Yet a closer examination is necessary, and it reveals that these men knew what created wealth: please thousands or millions of people.

As I hear presidential candidate John Edwards villify the oil companies, I think about The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton W. Folsom. Also, here's an article from the June, 1998 issue of The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, called The Ghost of John D. Rockefeller. Thanks to The Foundation for Economic Education for publishing Thomas DiLorenzo's article.

Spin and her cousin, denial

Interesting article on the outlook for this year and how Wall Street is still in denial. There will be no recession, Wall Street says, just a correction. Everything will be fine, they say, the bubble was small. Financial pundits who make dire predictions are in the minority as the majority don't want to face the music.

Peter Schiff right on target

Read Peter Schiff's article that appeard on prudentbear.com today. He's one of the few that get it. He often appears on Kudlow and Co. and he's usually the only one sounding the alarm bells as the others say everything's going to be allright.

The Fed just filled the punch bowl again

The Fed has promised more liquidity for the credit bubble. It's like a balloon with a hole in the side. The Fed keeps filling the balloon, but the air keeps rushing out. The more they fill, the greater the ultimate collapse. The Fed is creating a 1930's meltdown. The longer they forestall the pain, the greater the ultimate pain will be. They should let the market correct itself instead of printing more money. I hope everyone's got a lot invested in gold and precious metals. Katy, bar the door!

Founders' intent irrelevant?

In his book The Constitution in Exile, Judge Andrew Napolitano lists all the ways the Constitution and our civil liberties have been assaulted by the growth of big government. He discusses an important 1934 case, Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell, where the Supreme Court "flatly subordinated the Contracts Clause to whatever the Court and the legislature would deem a 'valid police pupose.' It also dismissed the Founders' intent for the Contracts Clause as being irrelevant in 1934. The code words "emergency legislation" and "valid police purpose" seem to be just what George Orwell warned us to watch out for in 1984. Any time the government claims to be helping by way of an "emergency," it usually just means it is taking power from individuals."

All Americans should read this important book. You'll be especially disturbed by the chapter on the Patriot Act.

Why can't I get in to see the Taj Mahal?

Another sign of the times: the U.S. dollar is now being refused at certain resorts in India, like the Taj Mahal. Rupees only please. Get that weak crap out of here. Who do we have to thank? The Fed.

More theft

Governments never cease in their ability to extract our money from us. Here's an article that many business owners won't find amusing. Governments at all levels tax us cradle to grave. The founding fathers are turning over in their graves. I'll put up with it for a little while longer, then I'm leaving the empire. My tax free, no armed forces future locale is already picked out. It's small, quiet, and it's not a target.

Weak dollar good for the U.S.?

Lately, some of the eternal optimists on the financial news channels, who constantly remind us that a recession will be avoided (sorry guys, we're already in one), have been chirping about how a lower dollar is good for exports. That may be true, but is that the whole story? Here's a short but good article by Domenick Armentano, and it questions how good a weak dollar is for the U.S. economy. Thanks to mises.org for posting Armentano's article today.

Repeat of history?

Harvard professor Niall Ferguson offers up a warning to us based on history: the Ottoman Empire acted in a way similar to how the U.S. is acting now - trying to maintain an extended presence around the world and of course, going into tremendous debt. Will we suffer the same fate? Read the interesting article here.