Life is not the way it's supposed to be.
It's the way it is.
The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.
Virginia Satir
Obama's Anti-Small Business Fact of the Day
Entrepreneurialism is down from 11% to 7% under the Obama administration's reign...Unless the government listens and allows independent economists to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on each new "idea" the Congress or regulatory agent gets, this [$1.8T] drag on the economy will only get worse. - Garrett BaldwinQuoting the Fed Reserve Chiefs: Sad but Funny
- "The fact that our econometric models at the Fed, the best in the world," reads the autumn public record in 1999, "have been wrong for 14 straight quarters does not mean that they will not be right in the 15th quarter." - Alan Greenspan
- On October 31, 2007: "It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve – nor would it be appropriate – to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions." - Ben Bernanke
- On March 28, 2008: “At this juncture… the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency.” - Helicopter Ben
- On July 20, 2008: “The GSEs are adequately capitalized. They are in no danger of failing.” - "Helicopter Ben" Bernanke
- On June 3, 2009: "The Federal Reserve will not monetize the debt." - Ben Bernanke
- On December 5, 2010: “One myth that’s out there is that what we’re doing is printing money. We’re not printing money.”
Government Gone Rogue
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| Courtesy of The Libertarian Republic |
The (Negative) Bush/Obama Economic Freedom Trend
We're now behind Canada and Chile in our own hemisphere....
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| Courtesy of Cato Institute |
Los Angeles has a bad pension problem, and we are mere years vs. decades from trade-offs in essential services. (Another current headline on Pension Tsunami is that in NYC, more cops are drawing pensions than there are active-service officers.) You have retirement programs for pensions and healthcare. Los Angeles has a clause reserving the right to modify healthcare benefit terms. A few years back, Los Angeles in a cost-containing move gave employees a choice of a fixed healthcare benefit or an inflation-adjusted benefit if they chose to contribute an additional amount. At the risk of oversimplification, Lavin found some penumbra that asserts that fixed benefits are unfair to workers/retirees and ordered a reinstatement of inflation-adjusted benefits. So apparently the clause about being able adjust retiree benefits has no legal status but an activist judge can pick and choose precedents to rationalize how a fixed benefit is unconstitutional. I want Judge Lavin's mortgage banker to file suit, arguing that he is paying off his mortgage in cheaper, debased currency, that fixed mortgage payments are intrinsically unfair to lenders...
On the Right of "Progressive" Journalism Professors to Circulate Obnoxious Opinions
I was on a Fox News webpage reading a story of how "progressive" vandals had debased a statue of Ronald Reagan when I saw a link describing a University of Kansas associate professor of journalism, David Guth; Guth allegedly responded to the recent Navy Yard tragedy by posting the following tweet: "#NavyYardShooting The blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters. Shame on you. May God damn you."
As a former professor I am always concerned about academic freedom, but more relevant is Guth venting a personal opinion, as is his right under the First Amendment. I am not familiar with the specifics of being put on leave: did he issue the tweet referencing his position at the college?
I personally find the tweet unreasonable and I think that he has done a disservice to journalism programs and professionals by engaging in uncivil behavior, setting a bad example for students. I have been occasionally critical of the NRA, but only a tiny percentage of gun owners abuse their rights, and many crimes of violence involve unregistered weapons. The murderer bears sole responsibility for his actions, depriving others of their unalienable right to live. Wishing harm to family members of people whom disagree with you is unconscionable.
Look, the guy is a jerk, and I think he's inflicted damage to his own reputation. He will probably be known more for his uncivil behavior than his professional scholarship. But don't give him the publicity he is seeking. He has a constitutional right to espouse obnoxious views; threats to his job are unjust. He has lost my professional respect. I think students can find better professors to study under.
Political Cartoon
Time to cut the anchor...
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| Courtesy of Michael Ramirez and Investors.com |
Stevie Wonder, "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
