Quote of the Day
Never tell people how to do things.Tell them what to do and
they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
General George S. Patton
Chart of the Day
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| Via Cato Institute |
Judging from news accounts of the arguments, I think the justices will rule that a double standard of copyright rights violates equal protection and Aereo will have to license the content its customers are accessing. However, I wonder if this might lead to the eventual emergence of customizable network bundling where you can pay for just the cable/other channels (or even programs) you want vs. preset mass channel bundling, perhaps something similar to the Pandora music platform. To a certain extent, Hulu does that on a delayed basis.
ObamaScam:
Obama is once again wielding his dubious executive order authority to set up a retirement plan aimed at workers without a 401K plan--the myRA. This will be functionally similar to the concept of a Roth IRA--where you are limited in buying US Treasury debt paying negligible interest. There are some nuances including a cap on accumulated contributions, at which point you have to convert to an IRA.
What I particularly detest is the way the Snake Oil Salesman-in-Chief is selling it, fearmongering based on well-known corrections of the broad stock markets, e.g., starting in 2000 and 2008. "You won't lose a penny..." Well, yeah. The Fed can always print money without real assets behind it. But what he's not telling you is that your saved dollars won't have the same purchasing power if and when you withdraw them in the future--the distinction between nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) dollars. Although official inflation rates seem negligible, this is an artifact of what counts and what is excluded (like food and gas); see below for more authentic/inclusive measures. Of course, the $7 trillion and counting man needs another captive source for his overspending, especially since social security has essentially been running at a deficit since 2010, with the disability fund itself soon to have its reserve exhausted.
Speaking of my own self-directed retirement accounts, which once again reached an all-time high today, I have the option of purchasing assets in my own Roth IRA which hold up during inflationary times while in theory earning a real return. (I would be cautious about timing my investments in a red-hot market; I would not be surprised to see a correction in the near future.) Certainly most bond funds are long overdue a correction, and it looks like China, which has been stockpiling assets including precious metals, is positioning itself to launch an asset-backed yuan, which would pose an unprecedented challenge to the fiat dollar. But my recommendation is that if you have a modicum of budgetary discipline, save up your after-tax income and establish or add to an existing Roth IRA account and consider building up equity positions over time, something you can't do in ObamaScam. Yes, you can invest in something different than ObamaScam...
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| Courtesy of shadowstats |
Facebook Corner
(Cato Institute). See Chart of the Day above.
I would like to see a similar chart for the Iraq war
To the partisan "progressive" trolls in this thread, you mean the same Iraq withdrawal schedule BUSH NEGOTIATED, but Obama did NOT accelerate and in fact tried to extend? Apparently the man who had the judgment to oppose intervention had the judgment to extend it. Because everyone knows Dem-led occupations are more equal. He's succeeded in extending our stay in Afghanistan.
An ongoing thread in Catholics for a Free Market on the anti-market rhetoric of Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodríguez Maradiaga SDB,Archbishop of Tegucigalpa.
Are you in support of those corporations who collude with the state? Are you supporting the protectionism businesses regularly seek? I mentioned collusion in my original post for a reason. You're not addressing my position on corporations with your tirades.
These are gross exaggerations, and as I wrote in my first comment, the only systematic way of eliminating corruption is to limit the size and scope of government. Are you one of those anti-WalMart kooks whom think being big is so bad, that they are willing to effectively tell lower-income people "We are so against being big, we are going to lower your standard of living to protect smaller competitors without economy of scale." These anti-capitalists are just as big cronies as the parasitic capitalists you are speaking of--and this includes the Big Green and consumers/businesses whom eagerly take legally plundered subsidies so Warren Buffett can make it worthwhile to have windpower subsidiaries...
Do I believe in government impeding the free market in any way by bribing companies to manipulate the economy or pick and choose marketplace winners? Of course not. I believe in unilateral free trade, open borders and radically downsizing government at every level. But you're putting the cart before the horse; only the government can legally plunder, and only government can manipulate the economy.
(Drudge Report). 'IMPEACHMENT' IF HE DOES IT AGAIN
Obama was in his rights as Commander-in-Chief to negotiate for the release of POW's, period. There are a number of reasons to criticize Obama on abuse of power and discretion, but this is not one of them . Graham is blowing smoke and knows it.
The commander in chief should follow the law put in place to allow a prisoner exchange. He has broken several laws of the US Constitution and he needs to be removed and have charges brought against him. Worst president of all time ! Bar none
No. Any law that would bind the legitimate exercise of Presidential authority, which this is, is unconstitutional.
(Reason). The hell of war is internal as well as external.
This seems to be a convenient excuse for someone to renege on a contract, which Bergdahl entered into, which is wildly inconsistent with libertarian principles. In fact, the author conceded at the outset that the draft hasn't been in force since the early 1970's. I personally did not support the Afghanistan intervention and am personally appalled by civilian casualties. But whereas I'm supportive of the efforts which released Bergdahl, he is still accountable for his own actions.
(Drudge Report). SENATOR MICHELLE? http://bit.ly/1tMYgpW
I had personally been predicting this move for some time; I've even seen speculation of Michelle running as Hillary Clinton's VP. But I suspect that 2016 will be much different; Illinois state has been in a funk over the past decade dominated by Democratic "leadership"; with Obama's current low approval ratings and a jobless recovery, Sen. Kirk, a GOP moderate, is no Rick Lazio, and Michelle has had no comparable leadership like Hillary's role in HillaryCare. I'm not saying it couldn't happen; a lot depends on circumstances in 2016 and the national Presidential race. If Hillary runs and has coattails, the Dem candidate could pull it out in Illinois because Illinois has a strong Democratic Party, so I don't expect Kirk to win reelection by default. I think a lot will depend on this fall's election; if the GOP can wrestle away the governor's office and make a large dent in the state legislature, I think Michelle's candidacy becomes a more difficult sell. I think a more difficult challenge for Kirk would be the state attorney general Lisa Madigan, whom was probably the second most popular Democrat at the time Obama was elected President, to the point if she had entered the race, Kirk would not have run. However, her state speaker father has become politically radioactive in Illinois; he failed to push through a new state progressive income tax or to make the temporary state income hike permanent. Kirk is a particularly savvy politician whom has rarely lost any election, and I expect his incumbency will be a challenge...
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| See Reason |
Engagements or Weddings
Musical Interval: My iPod Shuffle Series
Simon and Garfunkel, "My Little Town"
