Write people's accomplishments in stone and their faults in sand.
Benjamin Franklin
Chart of the Day: Social Security Reserves Dry In 10 Years?
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| Via mrctv |
Things Are Worse Than They Seem...
It's not any one thing but a number of little things. We have chronic water problems in California, Arizona, Nevada and elsewhere; the Brazilian city I visited in 1995, Sao Paulo, which has approximately 20 million residents, is reportedly down to a 60-day reserve. Japan has succeeded in trashing the yen in trying to shock its economy but slipped into recession, and Moody's just cut its debt rating. Europe and its economic powerhouse Germany also seem to be sinking in recession. China is in a slowdown, and it's not clear even a more robust US economy can pick up the slack for emerging markets' soft export destinations; some are comparing the current stock market to 2007 and/or predicting a global recession next year.
By some estimates, up to a third of recent American job gains are tied to the global market. But we still have manipulated near-zero interest rates for over 6 years running, there is a record number on food stamps, dragging median household income and net worth, a decades-low labor force participation rate, the recent holiday shopping weekend is down about 5% from last year. Our federal taxes barely pay for entitlements plus interest on the national debt; the national debt has been growing year after year since 1957; up to 70% of the budget covers individual benefits, and ObamaCare adds to these unsustainably. The oil meltdown will likely adversely affect higher-cost shale operations, a strong source of post-2007 job growth and profits in states like Texas and North Dakota.
I don't have a magic solution, but I think the best step forward is to engage in free market/trade practices and substantive fiscal and monetary policy reform.
Education vs. Propaganda
HT Don Boudreaux, Cafe Hayek
Mother-To-Mother
Facebook Corner
(Libertarian Republic). Caption this (cf. cartoon below).
We need more temporary signs to cover over "future anti-American terrorists"...
(Reason). Rand Paul announced today that he’s definitely running for re-election to his Kentucky Senate seat.
I have my reservations about Rand Paul as of late. He seems to be more and more of a wolf in sheep's clothing. A Neo-Conservative Republican speaking the language of the Libertarian Party. And that greatly disturbs me because it seems to me that he's been drinking from the same Neo-Con well of delusions as most every other right wing politician in Washington, D.C.
Has anyone heard what he's recently said about wanting MORE troops in Afghanistan, as well as Iran? What kind of Libertarian would say these things about our fucked up Foreign Policy, if they weren't being corrupted by the Republicans?
You sometimes have to look at the big picture. Rand is trying to distance himself from the neocon charge of isolationism. And his declaration of war stand is more about making a Constitutional separation of powers argument, not unlike Rangel's quixotic quest to reinstate the draft. I think he finds a certain degree of ambiguity politically useful; he was one of the most sought-after Republicans on the campaign trail this fall. He's a different style politician than his strident father; I think you have to look at the nature and extent of what he's doing, which is different from any other politician. He's broadening his message, he's attracting people who are not necessarily part of the base.
Third party? That's a non-starter; why do you think Ron Paul came back to the GOP after his failed LP candidacy? I think what's more likely is a GOP schism if the Dems collapse like the Federalists. I think the entitlement Ponzi schemes and the debt tsunami will backfire on the Dems, who no longer have a viable centrist wing. The LP comes across as obsessed with drug legalization.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of the original artist via Libertarian Republic |
Andrea Bocelli & David Foster - Adeste Fideles
