Our Money Goes To . . . . ?

The U.S. Government just loves to spend, spend, spend. Take a look at H.R. 3081 here, which was signed into law by Obama the Imperial. Notice the massive increases. I just love sending all those billions to foreign countries, don't you? Just like the Constitution says. Not.

Bernanke picked apart - yet again

I've admired Frank Shostak's reasoning and sound economic logic ever since he started appearing on mises.org. I especially like the story about how he first picked up Human Action and how it fascinated him.

Here, he does the rather easy job (since Ben Bernanke is such a quack) of picking apart the Fed Chairman's weak statements regarding the U.S. economy.

Thanks to the Mises Institute for the Shostak article. You can pick up your copy of Mises' great work, Human Action, at mises.org.

Obama's horrible speech and clueless foreign policy

The Obamable, I mean Bush II, is escalating this immoral war in Afghanistan. Now, thirty thousand more targets will arrive to save the day. Thanks to antiwar.com for this great Justin Raimondo article about the folly of Obama's/the Pentagon's ways.

Afghanistan, where empires go to die.

The Empire is Everywhere

As you can read here in Rick Rozeff's article (thanks to lewrockwell.com), the reach of the Pentagon is unlimited. The U.S. spends more on the military than the rest of the world combined! Travel now if you can. In a few years, even the few that like us around the globe will no longer.

"They" said the recession's over?

The government missed the beginning of the recession (months later they admitted that, oh yeah, it began several months ago), and now, of course, they're missing the end. They declared that's it pretty much over, but many arent't buying it. As you can see by this article, the commercial real estate market it about to come unglued.

Do you have your checklist completed? (gold, ammo, food, water, fuel, soap, etc. etc.).

Add this book to your library

Hunter Lewis has exposed, as the Austrians have often done, perhaps the worst economist of the 20th century, John Maynard Keynes. Building on the work of other Austrians, Lewis details how Keynesianism is destructive and has no place in 21st century economics. A great addition to any home library. Buy it at mises.org.

Is it 2025 already?

Interesting article posted by antiwar.com. Read it and decide for yourself: is the American "empire" done? Who will own this century - China? Many interesting questions raised in this fascinating article you can read here.

FEE is great

One of my favorite websites, fee.org, publishes yet another great internet article. This time, it exposes Mr. No-Research, Michael Moore. One of the biggest hypocrites of our time, Moore bashes capitalism while making millions at, guess what, capitalism! The knucklehead brought us Sicko, and now a cranky movie bashing the most moral economic system yet devised. Read the article exposing him here.

Grandma arrested for buying cold medicine - she must have thought she was free

Thanks to lewrockwell.com for posting about this story from Indiana. As you can read here, people in Indiana must be careful about purchasing drugs. This poor lady must have thought she was in America, not the Union of Amerikan Socialist Republics.

Podesta wants to take more of your property

John Podesta, president of a liberal think-tank, wants the government to take more of your property with a VAT, or value-added tax. A VAT is pretty much a national sales tax. In their never-ending thirst for our money, the government, cheered on by the liberal/socialist types like Podesta, consider all the countless ways they can rob us.

Podesta is as uninformed and clueless about history and economics as well. As you can read in the article, he says that former President Clinton's tax on the wealthy led to a growing U.S. economy. Oh really? Are you sure, John, it had nothing to do with the clueless Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan printing billions and billions out of thin air?

Government water unsafe for kids to drink

I'm always amazed how people, when I engage them in a political discussion, defend the government. This defense in spite of the fact that the government fails at everything they do. As you can read in this article, the government can't even provide safe drinking water to our nation's kids while they're at school.

Can you imagine the outcry in the Congress if this water was provided by a private company?

More taxpayer dollars going overseas

As the U.S. government (the Pentagon) continues to spread its tentacles around the globe, it must prop up rogue states with U.S. taxpayer dollars. As you can read in this article, now Pakistan will get additional aid. I guess they must be cooperating with their daddy, the U.S. government. Only good children are rewarded.

Don't you love the fact that you're working hard so people all over the planet can benefit from the property (money) you surrender to the U.S. government?

Murphy does it again

I can't get enough of Robert Murphy. Not only does he write great books (they're all available at mises.org), but his articles are awesome - straight and to the point and easy to understand. Read this one here, as he debunks some cranky economics by some statist writing for that left-wing rag, the New York Times. Thanks to mises.org for posting another great Murphy article.

Babe Ruth was the best

Contemporary baseball fans forget, or never knew, how great Babe Ruth was. It's interesting to compare him to other great hitters. The great Hank Aaron, who hit 755 home runs, never bested Ruth in any of the six meaningful categories. Ruth's best slugging percentage for a season was .847 (Aaron .669). Ruth hit 60 home runs one year, Aaron's best was 47. Ruth had 171 runs batted in to Aaron's 132. Ruth once scored 177 runs to Aaron's best of 127. Aaron's best average was .355 - Ruth .393! Finally, Ruth's best on-base percentage was .542, Aaron .410.

The current monster, Albert Pujols, has a slugging percentage best of .678 - small compared to Ruth's .847. Pujols knocks in a lot of runs, but he's still 34 behind Ruth's best of 171. And Pujols has never topped Ruth in any of these six categories.

Bobby Bonds did have a great year when he hit 73 home runs, but if you look at his record, that year indicated an amazing jump over what he had done historically. Still, he only knocked in 137 runs that year, still 34 behind Ruth's best. Even with the steroids, his slugging percentage was only .16 higher than Ruth's (.863 to .847). Don't forget: Ruth's "steroids" were hot dogs, cigars, and beer!

Even comparing Ruth to the great Ted Williams indicates how great the "Sultan of Swat" really was. In fact, ESPN ranked Ruth's 1921 season the "greatest single season performance by any athlete in any sport." Long live the Bambino!

A doctor tells the truth

In this short but amazing article, a doctor in California explains his front line view of how he feels about health care in America. As you can read, we already have a shortage of primary care physicians. This guy is making half of what he did 20 years ago. Is that any way to make primary care physicians out of med students? I think not. This should be a wake-up call to the knuckleheads in Congress.

Socialism just doesn't work

Yuri Maltsev probably left the Soviet Union because he was tired of the whole experiment, which lasted 74 years (1917-1991). In this article, he warns us about socialized health care systems by describing the one he left. Maybe he should get himself invited over to the White House for a beer with Barack - Yuri, bring the article with you!

No private sector growth

When the government taxes and regulates too much at the same time they print money out of thin air, disaster ensues. As reported in today's Wall Street Journal, there has been no private sector growth for jobs in the past ten years. The overall number of jobs increased because the government hired more tax feeders. Unbelievable. No new private sector jobs in America for a decade? Ya think it's time to get the government out of the economy?

End the Fed

The inflating central bank of the U.S., the Federal Reserve, has got to go. As you can read in this article by Eric Vorhees, the Fed has destroyed the value of our dollar. Time to read Texas Congressman Ron Paul's book, End the Fed. Thanks to lewrockwell.com for posting Eric's article.

The Recession is Over!

The host of "CNBC Reports" just declared on national TV that "the recession is over." Unlike FOX, the neocon channel, CNBC and MSNBC are both of the liberal persuasion. They never met a bailout or tax they didn't like. I wonder how the host is going to feel years from now when we're still in recession. Maybe he better read The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal by Robert Murphy in order to understand what's going on now.

Still want government to protect you?

As I've said and posted many times before, the government fails at everything they do. They failed to stop loons from flying planes into buildings and the Pentagon on 9/11, and they still can't protect us in federal buildings. As you can see in this article, bomb-making materials were smuggled into federal buildings. When is the public going to get it? The government can't protect us, we must protect ourselves.

Happy Secession Day!

When the people in America seceded from Great Britain in 1776, they exercised a right that is fundamental to liberty. Today, as you have hot dogs, soda, or a cold beer or two, remind your kids, friends, and spouse that the second paragraph of the document we are celebrating says that Texas can secede. The Declaration of Independence states: ". . . whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government . . . "

I'm ready for the Lone Star State again. With well over 20 million people, a nice big port, oil, and lots of farm land, Texas would do well nicely as its own independent republic again. At least we would have one benign neighbor (Mexico).

How Much Proof Do You Need?

Since this blog started I've been touting the evils of Keynesian economics and government-run systems like public education. The People's Republic of Kalifornia, as you can read in this article, has a massive budget shortfall and the schools are going to take a major hit. The state is imploding before our very eyes. Unfortunately, as Bernanke prints money like a fool and Obama stimulates our way to the Third World, all of Amerika will look like this soon. How much proof do you need, comrade?

Change we can believe in?

I seem to recall Obama saying things would be different, the war needed to end, etc. And the Democrats kept echoing the same phrases and added how evil the Republicans were for waging war. Hmmm. But as we can see by this article, there's no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. The Dems love war too. In fact, only Democratic presidents waged war the last century. Wilson with WWI, FDR with WWII, Truman the Korean War, Kennedy and Johnson the Vietnam War.

Congress has no guts. Instead of funding, they should shut down the empire and let people around the globe decide their own affairs.

More government tampering

Instead of letting the market work, the government has yet another new law that will stifle the economy. As you can read here, renters are now "protected" from getting kicked out of their apartments if the landlord is foreclosed on. Never mind that the bank wants to deal with the property in their own way, which many mean sprucing it up. The bank may also want to sell the land to an investor, who may want to raze the complex and build something else. It seems the government wants to protect us from every little hazard and risk in the world. Maybe I need a bureaucrat to drive me around to make sure I'm safe and I don't get into an accident. Got one, Barack?

Baby Boomers vs. Millenials?

CNN.com interviewed a young man named Matthew Segal today; he's the head of a new organization name 80millionstrong.org. The "80 million" are the Generation Y Americans, otherwise known as "millenials."

During the short interview, the young Mr. Segal never once mentions capitalism, private property, personal responsibility, hard work, or any other valuable attribute that built this country. Instead, he states that his group wants to convene in Washington D. C. with similar groups to "propose solutions . . . to create legislation." So the government is the solution once again! Instead of reading How Capitalism Saved America by Thomas DiLorenzo and then embracing the most moral economic system yet devised, he does what a typical big-government loving American always does - looks to the government to solve his economic problems.

He also wants special treatment for the millenials. He states that the government should be "freeing the flow of credit," while providing "tax breaks and lower interest rates." Never mind that I may need a loan (I'm a baby-boomer) - this program is for "young companies with young ideas" according to Mr. Segal.

Segal is also upset that "young people are targeted by credit card companies." He admits that many college students use the cards for textbooks, food, shelter, etc., but it doesn't sit well with him. He wants yet another government solution. (I think many of his fellow millenials will be upset if the government starts restricting their credit cards).

He's also upset that kids whose parents have money seem to have an advantage - "parents help subsidize their living, their food, and their transportation costs." Hmm, maybe I should let my two young daughters know now that Matthew disapproves of what I plan to do (help my kids) and maybe I shouldn't do it.

In summary, we have a young man who probably has no training at all in life, liberty, and private property. He's probably been brainwashed by both parents and schools that the market doesn't work, capitalism stinks, and that we need more government. Poor kid. Even if introduced to great sites like mises.org, fee.org, or fff.org, he probably wouldn't get it.

Austrian Business Cycle Theory

Unlike the cranky economics of the Keynesian school, which is taught in government schools, the Austrian school is key to understanding what happens in the economy. This school of thought gets it and predicted the current downturn.

The core of Austrian economics is the Austrian Business Cycle Theory, briefly explained in this article. By studying this theory, people can come to an understanding of the booms and busts of the economy; they will also realize we must get rid of the inflating central bank (the Fed).

Soak the rich? Not!

Politicians love to play the "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer" song. They never tire of it, even though the top 3% wage earners pay 48% of the nation's taxes. So Maryland went after the affluent and started a "millionaire tax" to get more revenue into the state's coffers. The result? The rich went to less-tax states (there was a 33% decline in Maryland's millionaires), and $100 million less flowed into the government. This story appearead on Fox Business News today.

Government programs are disasters

The biggest Ponzi scheme in American history, Social Security, is in bad shape. Another cranky program is also failing - Medicare. Disaster ensues when the government gets involved in health care and retirement, both which should be handled by the private sector.

Read the article and you'll realize why both your taxes and payments into social security are going to increase greatly.

The private sector does it better

For the last 115 years, a private company has been testing many of the items we use at home and work. Shouldn't that be enough? Well, politics is the dirtiest game in town, and it was politics that gave us the inefficient behemoth called OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Somehow, America survived 363 years without the wasteful agency signed into law by the criminal Richard Nixon, the only president ever to resign.

Read this nice article by Mark Thornton on Underwriter Labs, and thanks to the Mises Institute for posting it on their website.

Tea Party video on You Tube

Thanks for coming out to the tax day Tea Party on Wednesday. It was a great sucess, with over 8,000 people showing up in downtown Houston. My speech is on You Tube. Just hit Videos and then type in Christopher Scott Tea Party and a list will come up. Don't forget to watch both parts!

Jefferson knew best

Thomas Jefferson, one of the very few who were actually good at being president, knew the dangers of war and of centralized banking. He reduced the size of the army and the navy, and said "we must stay out of Europe, they are nations of eternal war."

He was also suspicious of the power of judges and the power of central banking. If he could see the Fed today, he'd have a stroke. He said:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."

Tennessee's socialist model doesn't work

Tennessee is one of those states that experimented with "universal health care." Unfortunately for people in Tennessee, they got stuck with socialized medicine, and it doesn't work. Read the article, and notice how fast costs are rising.

No one can repeal the fundamental laws of economics. Government's try, but they always fail. Socialized medicine is terrible around the globe. Let's not get stuck with it here in the U.S.

Maybe there's some hope after all

Russia has now remarked that they think at least a partial return to the gold standard would impose some discipline on the governments of the world. Allright for the Russians! They're starting to figure it out. Read the article, and hope that somehow, someway, the U.S. starts to consider gold once again.

Leave America to get lower costs!

Why spend $175,000 for an operation here when you can go to India and pay only $10,000? Yes, the U.S. government has pretty much wrecked the system, so now the costs are astronomical.

As you can read here in this article, Americans are traveling abroad ("medical tourism") to get high quality, low cost health care. And it's only the beginning. Once we get socialized medicine (I mean "universal health care"), many more of us will be leaving to get better and less expensive care around the globe.

Same old rhetoric on health care

The Houston Chronicle took a turn to the left about ten to twelve years ago if I remember correctly. Prior to that, I had over twenty letters to the editors published, but alas, that is no more. The less the Chronicle prints about free markets and limited government these days, the more happy the editor of the editorial page is.

In tomorrow's Sunday edition they are rolling out yet another tired op-ed about how the government needs to fix health care. Of course, this op-ed was written by a doctor, not an economist. So as usual, there is nothing on the root cause of the crisis. Just symptoms and more state solutions. Stick to the medicine, doc, or take some courses at the Mises Institute.

James Madison knew over 200 years ago what this doctor cannot grasp: once you interfere in the markets, you've messed things up and must continue to meddle, meddle, and meddle, all the time attempting to undo or fix the mess the government's created. I quote Madison:

They have seen, too, that legislative interference is but the first link of a long chain of repetitions; every subsequent interference being naturally produced by the effects of the preceding.

Only off by $2.3 trillion

He's only been in office for two months, and the new left-wing prez has managed to miscalculate the budget. As you can read in this article here, Obama's budget is off by $2.3 trillion. That's not too bad, since he's new at this (sarcasm).

This is just the latest on why we don't want the government involved in the economy. Let the "invisible hand" of the economy run itself. If they would only get out of the way and stop printing paper dollars while regulating and taxing us from cradle to grave, we'd be just fine.

The Gold Standard

Thanks to the Mises Institute for posting another great article by Robert Murphy. Read his concise defense of the gold standard here. Note the chart regarding consumer prices. See how it really starts to go up at the beginning of the 1970's - that's when President Richard Nixon put the final nail in the coffin when he closed the international gold window.

By the way, I own and highly recommend Murphy's book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism.

Minta doesn't get it

Minta Garcia, a bus driver, and her husband, a construction worker, don't understand economics or finances. You see, Minta and her husband bought a house a few years ago in suburban Washington for $800,000. Somehow, they couldn't figure out that a bus driver and a construction worker can't afford a house approaching $1 million.

She hasn't asked for help, but says she is waiting to see if she qualifies for help from you and I (through the confiscation of our taxes by the federal government). Sorry, Minta, time to move into an apartment and save up for a down payment on a house that a bus driver and construction worker can afford. I'm sure you wouldn't stick a gun in my face to steal my wallet. Then why ask the federal government to do it for you?

Inflationary Time Bomb

Kyle Bass understands economics, and he knows the history of what happens when government ratchets up the printing of money. He says we all need to protect ourselves:

“If you are following stocks or bonds (like in 1923 Germany or Argentina in 2001), you are likely to get rope-a-doped because you are not watching the government steal your hard-earned savings with their printing presses,” Bass wrote. “It is time to defend yourselves from this insidious crime against the financially prudent.”

You can read the full article here. Are you prepared?

Geithner refuses to answer question

In front of the House Ways and Means Committee today, new Treasury Secretary Geithner refused to answer a simple question: "Where's the money for the stimulus and other programs coming from?" When pushed to answer, he once again rolled out his tired rhetoric that what he's doing is necessary. He never answered the question on where the money's coming from.

He didn't answer because we know where it's coming from, and we know it's bad: the money will be printed. More fiat currency. Another great increase in the money supply, which is how we got into this mess.

Unfortunately, the cowardly congressman who asked the question allowed himself to be distracted, and another coward took over and asked some irrelevant questions. A dog and pony show that means nothing.

Have you been buying your gold? Is your exit strategy in place?

Why you should read "Meltdown"

Iceland went under, Austria's banks are about to collapse, and England is teetering. The news from China is just as bleak: 70,000 factories have closed in the last few years, and the unemployed from those closings has hit 20 million. Why?

The root cause is that every country now, following our foolish lead, has an inflating central bank. The favorite tool of these banks: fiat currency. Fiat means "of nothing." So all of this supposed "money" is simply paper backed by nothing.

Thomas Woods, one of the best historian/economists in the country, has come out with a great, relatively short book that explains it all. Meltdown: A Free Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse.

If you read it, you will know more than over 95% of the people in the U.S., and then you can figure out and implement a plan to save your investments and yourself. A small price to pay in these turbulent and scary financial times.

Socialized medicine in Japan fails again

Socialism doesn't work because economic calulation is impossible because of the lack of prices. Socializing goods and services leads to long lines, shortages, higher taxes, less quality, and ultimately, rationing.

As you can read here in this article, the socialized hospitals in Japan killed a man because they wouldn't accept him. He was turned down by 14 hospitals! Gee, I can't wait until Obama gives us "change we can believe in" and implements full-blown socialized medicine, I mean "universal health care," here in the America. Not!

Keynesian economics is dead

Well, at least it should be. But the government rolls it out, year after year, teaching it in the schools and using it to "guide" us to prosperity. Well, we know how that's turned out. As Hans Herman-Hoppe stated in his The Misesian Case Against Keynes:

I will show that Keynes's new economics, like that "underworld" tradition, is nothing but a tissue of logical falsehoods reached by means of obscure jargon, shifting definitions, and logical inconsistencies intended to establish a statist, anti-free-market economic system.

Why is the U.S. economy in bad shape? Because of the Federal Reserve, its fiat currency, and devotion to Keynesian economics. When, and only when, we are able to free ourselves from paper money backed by nothing and the cranky economics of Keynes will we be able to return to true prosperity.

Privatize the Postal Service

The U.S. Constitution is a flawed document, with five really bad clauses that are the cause of most of our troubles. Another bad clause, though less dangerous, is the one that allows Congress to establish post offices and post roads.

It's time to override that clause with a Constitutional amendment and end government involvement of the mail. In 2008, the inefficient Postal Service lost $2.8 billion. It must be given help (a bailout) to stay in business.

Privatize the Postal Service by selling it off to UPS, DHL, Airborne, Fed Ex, and any other company that wants a piece. The private sector, with its own money at risk, will do a much better job. The competition will drive costs down and improve service.

Sorry James Madison, Ben Franklin and the rest of the framers, you got this one wrong too.

Do you need any more proof?

All presidents and congresses use Keynesian economists to "help" them guide the economy. Unfortunately for all of us, Keynesian economics, what they teach in high schools and colleges, doesn't work. How do I know? History. Take a look at the current state of California, which is going broke. After years of Keynesian economics, how well is California doing? Take a look from an article on Bloomberg today:

California, the most-populous U.S. state, forecasts it will collect about $42 billion less than it will need to pay its bills over the next 18 months because of the yearlong national recession.

If Keynesian economics was so good, why is California in dire straits? Is there anyone who needs any more proof? The U.S. is in a recession that will last a long time. Time to get rid of Keynesiansim and use free market, or Austrian, economics. Ludwig von Mises and the rest of the Austrians get it. The government and the Keynesians don't.

Is Africa next?

As the mighty U.S. empire continues to spread around the globe (the Pentagon planners have a military presence in about 130 countries now), the question is what part of the planet is next? Could it be Africa? Back in 2007, Bush and his fellow neocons created Africom to "assist" African countries with security and combat terrorism. Of course, all with the permission of those countries that need help. Just like Iraq - they gave permission, didn't they? Here's a short excerpt from the government's African command website:

The command inherits a small but meaningful U.S. military presence already existing in numerous African nations, to include Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, as well as Defense Department personnel assigned to U.S. Embassies and diplomatic missions to coordinate Defense Department programs supporting U.S. diplomacy. Any additional presence on the continent will take place only in full diplomatic consultation and agreement with potential host nations.

This setup is not authorized by the Constitution, but that doesn't seem to stop any politicians these days. Eventually, another continent will despise us. Just like the Founding Fathers and the Framers intended. Not.