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Sunday, April 17, 2016

Miscellany: 4/17/16

Quote of the Day
I came to America because of the great, great freedom which I heard existed in this country. 
I made a mistake in selecting America as a land of freedom, 
a mistake I cannot repair in the balance of my lifetime.
Albert Einstein

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Guest Post Comment: What Bernie Sanders Should Learn While at the Vatican

Note: My comment was still awaiting moderator approval at the time of this edit, The socialist commenter Frase tried to argue it was the 1930-1979 "democratic socialism" policies which made the US economy great and that Acton Institute, a Catholic free market think tank, is basically a tool of the oligarchy. I don't see any reason for Acton Institute to reject my comment, but even if not, I think my comments are worthy of publication on their own merit here.

rguillem  -> Ken Frase
This opinion is a revision of history, pure propaganda. Our economy became the largest in the world during the Gilded Age, a period of a limited federal government and without corrupt special interest union monopoly protections:
"How many Americans are aware that, astonishingly, the real earning power for the average American doubled during the Gilded Age? And further, most Americans don’t realize that compared to other periods in American history, “[i]n terms of real wage growth, …real wages of unskilled labor rose 1.43 percent per year during the Gilded Age, [but only] 0.56 percent per year during the Progressive era, and only .44 percent per year from 1990 to 2006.” In comparison, the economic growth and earning power of average Americans during the Obama administration has seen a significant decline?" http://www.wethepeoplegame.com/blog/the-gilded-age/
Socialist propagandists, like this commenter, rely on abused "bait and switch" economic statisitcs that, among other things, don't track income migration, don't look at benefits or purchasing power improvements. Even the Gini coefficient, a well-known income inequality statistic, has remained steady since the 1960's on a more reliable personal level (vs., say, fractured household income). The Gini coefficient actually rose during 47-60 when counterproductive wage/price controls were removed--entirely predictable. http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2013/12/05/the-major-trends-in-us-income-inequality-since-1947-n1757626/page/full

Political Humor



Political Cartoon
Courtesy of Bob Gorrell via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Donna Summer, "This Time I Know It's For Real". Summer's last Top 10 hit; the musical background sounds like a Rick Astley soundtrack. This wraps up my Summer retrospective. My Rod Stewart series begins with my next daily post.

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