I like a person who knows his own mind and sticks to it;
who sees at once what, in given circumstances, is to be done, and does it.
William Hazlitt
Pro-Liberty Thought of the Day
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| Via Learn Liberty |
Five Great Presidents
Updates from the Institute for Justice
Free Jane from economic jail.... Even though I'm a low-carber, I say, "Let the people eat (Jane's delicious) cake..."
It's legal to sell raw milk in Oregon--so long as you don't tell anyone about it. Help restore free speech (including paid speech) to Oregon...
Michelle has her White House veggie garden, but if you live in Georgia, you can get fined $50/day for doing the same....
Facebook Corner
Can someone explain to me in as simple manner as possible, why the Federal Reserve sucks? I always hear people complaining about them, but I am just not sure why.
There are several reasons, including, but not restricted to, its historical performance, its dual mandate, its lack of accountability and transparency, and its violation of free market principles. Banking in the US had a number of dysfunctional regulations, things like being unable to open branches across states or diversify--or maintain Treasuries for reserves at a time Washington actually paid down debt. There were seasonality issues, particularly in the farmbelt. So you saw a lot of bank failures you didn't see, say, in Canada. The Fed was supposed to be a lender of last resort, but there were waves of bank failures post-1929, a generation after the Fed was born. The Austrian and Chicago Schools of Economics both outline a number of serious Fed blunders in the 1920's and 1930's. The second mandate, full employment, is a political, not monetary criterion, which can conflict with the overriding principle of currency stabilization. Many of us see inflation as a backdoor poor man's tax, but there is no accountability beyond Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation of multi-year contracts. On the last point, I might direct you to the free banking blog including Selgin and Horwitz among others; Selgin also made a recent appearance at the annual Cato Institute monetary conference.
This is a response to some wonkish responses from pro-Fed discussant in a related thread.
The idea that the purchasing power of the dollar has been magically stable since 1980 is absurd. The dollar today buys about a third of what it did then; inflation has averaged over 3% since then and inflation hit 4% in 2007, while US growth has slipped down from a roughly 3% long-term trends line.
(LFC). In a libertarian society, how would we deal with dead beat dads who run off on expecting mothers or abandon children altogether?
I would argue that consensual partners have a contractual obligation and responsibility to support their child, and whatever judicial or arbitration concept would enforce that contract. Just like some of us argue marriage should be privatized (say, to religious organizations), the same could be argued for family law.
(Libertarian Republic) "Though the people support the government, the government should not support the people." -Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland, the last decent Democrat President
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Michael Ramirez and Townhall |
Rick Springfield, "Jessie's Girl". Irresistible guitar work--and who can't identify with those epic bridge verses, the frustration of realizing the chemistry just isn't there for the target of your unrequited love? I can't say I've gone through this experience involving the significant others of friends or family, but there have been times I've fallen for a girl already in a relationship with another man I never met, and the same feelings come into play.
Michigan Cops Shoot Bambi At Point-Blank Range
