Quote of the Day
The first characteristic that people look for in a leader is
honesty.
Don A. Sanders
Pro-Liberty Thought of the Day
"We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain." -- Frédéric Bastiat
Bastiat: A Golden Oldie
Image of the Day
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Via Mason Crow on FB
Spoof on the Statist "But Who Will Build the Roads" Meme |
Unacceptable
Facebook Corner
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| Via LFC |
I'm tired of the "progressive" troll corporate bashing, especially in this thread. There are various costs and benefits to corporations, far too nuanced to go into detail here, but there are advantages of economies of scale, specialization and limited liability, some drawbacks including double taxation and regulatory overhead. Limited liability does not mean a corporation can't go bankrupt. While populists and smaller businesses may fear the advantages of scale, lower prices and greater variety benefit the consumer. "Government ownership?" Maybe via a few bailouts, opposed by conservatives and libertarians, during and after the 2008 tsunami. (Keep in mind other interests, including Big Labor, had a vested interest in Big Business.) No such thing as "state capitalism": there is a government-dominated economy, sometimes called "economic fascism". (Government doesn't have to own production to control it; think, for instance, of economically-irrational rent control policies.) Poor people are "externalities" of our captialism? What socialist rubbish, totally ignorant of history: poor people existed throughout human history, for a number of reasons, under various governments, particularly authoritarian regimes (consider North Korea). The significant increase in Chinese living standards since the late 1970's resulted from economic liberalization moves, not "improved" state planning.
(LFC).
"According to a new report, the federal government spent $59 Billion on social welfare programs in 2006. While that number is high, it is nearly half of the taxpayer dollars given to assist corporations. That number, a staggering $92 Billion."
This is "progressive" propaganda. First, in 2011, the total amount of (tax breaks + grants) for the energy industry by CBO amounted to $24B. Essentially 10% of that went to fossil fuels, mostly from a tax break the government used to encourage exploration when oil prices were low (1913--a variation of depreciation called oil depletion, by the way since 1975, not available to Big Oil). Virtually all of the grants or direct subsidies went to the politically favored green energy sector. Second, the CBO pointed out that energy sector "subsidies" accounted for a small percentage of the hundreds of billions in government subsidies. Now personally I don't want the government trying to play favorites in the economy PERIOD, with other taxpayers having to pick up the slack, but trying to scapegoat royalty holders and smaller producers is politically motivated and intellectually dishonest.
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| Via LFC |
I'm not sure I buy the last statement; how would I benefit from my enemy becoming more authoritarian? If anything, the enemy would be more dangerous; free people generally want to make trade, not war. I would instead argue that the terrorists like the attention they are getting, the exaggerated response, and the staggering, disproportionate resources we are using in that pursuit.
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| Via Bastiat Institute |
Assuming an ongoing Fed, which I oppose, certainly not Yellen, monetary felon. More seriously, I would want someone whom renounces the second (full employment) mandate and activist Fed policy, sound money policy. Any inflation hawk or Fed skeptic, like Jim Grant, or rule-based monetarist would be a step in the right direction, but I would probably nominate someone from the free banking perspective, like Steve Horwitz.
Political Cartoon
My iPod Shuffle Series
Claudine Longet, "Love is Blue"
