Miscellany: 4/07/14

Quote of the Day
The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter.
Winston Churchill

Poor, Poor Pitiful Me....

Bribes aren't like they used to be, huh, Jim? For your audacity in suggesting that "hard-working" Congressmen deserve a raise, you join this year's nominees for Jackass of the Year.

A Couple of Comments on Financial Newsletter Discussions

• GM Is In Trouble. A well-known investment newsletter writer, whose satire on GM I've republished in the past, points out the same pattern of nonsense that took place during the housing bubble is coming into play in the auto loan market. GM's resurrection is largely due to easy auto credit. "In 2010, roughly 70% of GM's loans was around $8.6B. Today almost all of GM's outstanding loans are subprime and the total outstanding amount is more than $22B." In short, just as sub-prime mortgage owners bought too much house for their means, today's car buyers are buying too much car. This will not end well. Another notable statistic: "In total, Americans are paying interest on astounding $61T worth of debt."
• Canadian vs. US Banks. Banks are a favorite target of demagogues. I am hardly a pro-banking shill, but I'm so sick and tired of populist nonsense; I keep pointing out banking has hardly been laissez faire. I've pointed out dysfunctional policies like unit (vs. branch) banking, which among other things did not let banks adequately diversify their customer base, especially an issue in more agricultural areas. But perhaps some statistics make the point by themselves: "Since 1840, only 14 Canadian banks have failed." To put this in perspective, nearly 6000 US banks failed in the 1920's, and another 5600 or so during the Depression. Even as recently as 1989 more than 530 banks failed. One wonders how the "progressives" who love Canada's socialized healthcare don't seem to be in the slightly bit interested in why banking in Canada has been much more stable--is it because the bankers or regulators are so much smarter--or does it reflect bad American regulatory policies?

Yes, The Dems Knowingly LIED to You



Facebook Corner

(Independent Institute). Senior Fellow Benjamin Powell: "In a free market, consumers would ultimately pass judgment on which methods are best through buying and abstaining from buying. The real lesson is that government should neither arbitrarily penalize nor subsidize either 'green' or traditional auto companies."
There are two issues here: the crony Big Auto Dealer cartel which is blocking competition and Big Green tax subsidies, loans/guarantees or other government gimmicks. The former is morally indefensible, and the latter is an inexcusable violation of free market principles.

(Reason). Jeb Bush is Right: Illegal Immigration - Like Legal Immigration - is an "Act of Love"
We have a broken immigration system which deprives hard-working people from a valid worker visa, maintains an absurd quota system, makes it difficult for us to attract professional and entreprenurial talent whom can make a difference from day 1, makes it difficult to retain many of the best students from our colleges and universities. 

Jeb Bush and Rand Paul are on the right path. We need to stop judging hard-working people, most of them God-fearing people, whom look to work around cumbersome, anti-growth immigration policies where playing by the rules leaves your chances all but impossible. Immigration is a win-win proposition, and we need vastly liberalized immigration policies. If the GOP sees themselves as a family values party, it won't abide by policies tearing families apart, rip children from the only homes they've ever known.
If the United States cannot protect and defend its own boundaries, what makes you think it can or wants to protect and defend your property's boundaries?
You mean, like the Kelo decision?

(IPI). Take 2 minutes to stop Illinois' next tax hike. Send an email to your representative today and ask them to take a stand against the progressive tax hike. Click here to contact your representative: http://illin.is/PGuXZn
It would accomplish economic prosperity the same way it did from the early 1940s, until the 1980s when Reagan cut the taxes on the rich and tripled our national debt,which every republican president in my life time has only added too.bring back those tax rated, fix our tax policy,things would be slot better.Clinton is the only president in my lifetime not to add to our debt...he balanced the budget and raised taxes on the rich.
Historical fallacy. Clinton ran a deficit during each of his first 4 years.The four years we had a surplus were under a GOP Congress, literally the first time in decades (all while the Dems controlled the House). It had ZERO to do with Clinton's tax-and-spend policies, which the GOP blocked since his first 2 years in office.

Another delusional economics-illiterate "progressive" troll ignorant of history. The 1983-1990 expansion was one of the largest in American history, even bigger than the 1991-1999 expansion that the troll wants to credit to Clinton, but was based on the policies of his two GOP predecessors. Jobs expanded by almost 20 million under Reagan-Bush (not including Bush's part of the second expansion), and contrary to the troll's state of denial, federal revenues grew both despite of and because of Reagan's tax rate cuts. The problem? The spendthrift Dems were in control of the House and/or Senate. They managed to spend more than Reagan brought in.

It's amazing how ignorant one troll can be. He's probably one of the clueless people whom have been brainwashed to believe FDR brought us out of (vs. exacerbated) the Depression. In fact, the GOP briefly recaptured Congress after WWII and enacted modest tax reform, Despite a huge drop in federal spending, the economy boomed. But few seem to remember that it was JFK and LBJ whom passed the biggest tax reform since Harding and Coolidge. But as strong as revenues grew, Dems managed to spend it all and then some. The troll needs a refund from his incompetent high school history teacher.

(Tom Woods). Explains he and his family will take a vacation in Boston around the start of June.
My impersonation of Tom Woods in Boston:
Tour Guide: "Here is where the Boston Tea Party took place when King George raised the price of tea."
Tom: "Actually, the Tea Act of 1773 lowered the tax on tea in order to...."
*family rolls eyes*
Probably not what 5 little girls think of when they hear a tea party in Boston...On a more serious note, I remember how a tourist guide in 1995 debunked the Boston Massacre... The Crown would have been so proud.

(IPI). Illinois businesses, especially the smallest ones, should not be treated like piñatas. Illinois is already the fifth-worst state for small businesses, according to the second annual Small Business Friendliness Survey. The progressive tax would put even more strain on entrepreneurs by raising taxes on 75% of Illinois' small businesses.
Yeah [discussant] union sure do suck huh. The things theyve done are terrible like weekends, 8hr workdays, 40hr work wks, overtime pay, berheavment, defined senority, child labor laws, living wages, holiday pay, vacation pay, etc. ALL brought to you by the UNION labor movement. Quit watching faux news.
A union know-nothing troll spouting propaganda! Economic growth enables employers ON THEIR OWN without corrupt legally-protected union monopolists to offer higher pay or benefits without bought-and-sold corrupt Dem politicians or social policies. Higher growth drives investment, productivity and the demand and competition for labor,

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Glenn McCoy via Townhall

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series

Meatloaf, "I'd Do Anything For Love"

Miscellany: 4/06/14

Quote of the Day
To many time we confuse motion with progress.
Cyclops

Real American Soldiers






Facebook Corner

(IPI). State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia is the chief sponsor of a bill that would prohibit “any and all marketing and advertising to the public for charter school enrollment and recruitment made by a charter school or school district.”
She is also the sponsor of bills that would eliminate the charter school commission and extend the virtual charter school moratorium.
State Rep. Ron Sandack recently asked Chapa LaVia, when they were debating the bill in the House to end the state charter commission, what the logic was behind crafting the bill.
Chapa LaVia responded: “There is none.”
This is not hard to figure out. She's motivated by her crony union political support; the unions don't want any competition and don't want to give up a penny of confiscated tax revenues from families whose kids go to private school.
I'm just going to put it out there. And to be honest I didn't and I don't read this stuff nor do I truly know where I stand. But I do know this. If your children misbehaved the way they do in public schools at a private school their butt would be kicked out. Quit blaming the system and take some responsibility as a parent please
This is crony unionist nonsense! One would think that that public school monopolists are stuck with a flood of unruly children. It is little more than excuses; corrupt administrators do have zero tolerance for some things: boys pretending their index fingers are the barrels of guns, a little boy's kiss on a girl's cheek becomes "sexual harassment", suspending a 5-year-old over her discussing use of a Hello Kitty bubble gun, etc. No, we need to get rid of tenured mediocre teachers, an end to corrupt collective bargaining like layoff policies that discriminate against younger, more talented teachers, an end to corrupt subjective teacher evaluations---and more competition, instead of holding parents' education taxes hostage. We need nationwide reforms like parent trigger laws, which can empower a majority of parents to enact substantive reforms like turning a failing school into a public charter school under private management.

(Reason). Question for libertarians (and other thoughtful people): Do you think a CEO's political donations, a business's personnel decisions, or a company's social causes should ever be a factor in deciding whether to patronize a firm or boycott it?
I think that most libertarians are palpably hypocritical on this issue. Marriage has been a social/religious construct, not a political one, and the idea that some libertarians want to use the perverse monopoly force of the State to intervene, on behalf of political correctness, on social norms or religious institutions in the private sector, is unacceptable. To see marriage and family, institutions that have evolved to promote social stability and preservation over thousands of years across cultures and religions, in arbitrary, presentist terms is patently absurd.

Does an employer have a right to promote or terminate for arbitrary reasons (assuming no contractual terms otherwise)? Do consumers have individual or collective rights to purchase or boycott over trivial reasons? Yes. However, the libertarian stance should on principle be against majoritarian infringements on the negative liberties of people. A more moral position is to argue against any use of force or abuse that tends to have a chilling effect on unalienable rights, including political opinions. All of us have opinions which may alienate some special-interest group. I personally think that Warren Buffett serves as a useful idiot for one of the worst Presidents in American history, an embarrassment to the memory of his late father, a member of the Old Right. But I would not boycott his companies' goods and services, just because I think he has sinned against the interests of the free markets and free trade. He has but one opinion among over those of 310 million people. Mozilla showed bad judgment by throwing Eich under the bus over past expressions of opinion. I have been a long-time user of Mozilla products, but I may look at my alternatives now to register my protest against the fascists.

(Bastiat Institute). An assistant philosophy professor at Rochester Institute of Technology wants to send people who disagree with him about global warming to jail.
There aren't many jobs for professional philosophers outside of academia, which is why I stopped with a minor to my first Master's. There's a difference between skepticism and denial, e.g., agnosticism vs. atheism. We should not be surprised at this: I think the scientific community has been corrupted by intervening in politics, by journal censorship of opposing points of view, by the violations of Climategate. But given the groupthink of Progressivism on university campuses, why does it not surprise me that a politically-oriented philosophy professor would resort to not only censorship, but prosecution of different stances? He can't be satisfied by debating others; he wants to implement a Progressive version of the Inquisition. Never mind the ideals of academic freedom; never mind our tradition of free expression. Socrates is turning over in his grave.

Acts of Kindness





Circle of Life



Fathers and Daughters Part 2





Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Henry Payne and Townhall

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series

Harry Chapin, "Cat's In the Cradle". I work with some great guys whom love their kids. One guy proudly shows a picture of his preteen daughter with her first deer kill. Another dad, with in-demand IT skills, could work almost anywhere but took his present job to be near his Little League-age son; I've volunteered to relieve him on a couple of Saturday's so he could attend his son's games. I've done some late afternoon shift coverage for another proud dad, whom got to see his middle-school daughter open her softball season with a double and whose son pitches for his high school team.

It's so important to be there for your children. I remember one of my brothers-in-law whom swore that if and when he had kids, he would be a different kind of dad to his kids. (I don't know what his issues with his father were.) But I remember visiting my sister a few years later and saw him come home from work late afternoon and head straight for "cave (alone) time" with his home computer for a couple of hours which ended roughly about the same time my sister was getting the kids ready for bed. It was none of my business, of course; I know his job was stressful and he was a wonderful provider for my sister and their kids. But you don't get those years back. I remember my best friend in San Antonio whom I would visit every Christmas break from Houston; his first priority after work was a solid hour of playing with his young son...

Miscellany: 4/05/14

Quote of the Day
A man who dares to waste an hour of time 
has not discovered the value of life.
Charles Darwin

Pro-Liberty Thought of the Day

Political Scumbags of the Month

NY Mayor in Name Only de Blasio declared war on public charter schools in winning the political support of corrupt, anti-competitive teacher unions. Illinois Governor Quinn has basically sold out his modest commitment to education choice in yet another sellout of kids sentenced to unacceptably failing public schools and an uncertain future. For that, they join the year's already long list for this year's mock Jackass of the Year.

Courtesy of Eric Allie via IPI

Some Acts of Kindness--Which Can't Be Legislated







Fathers and Daughters



From this video's notes:

A US mother had her labour induced early so her terminally ill husband could see their baby daughter before he died.  Mark Aulger, 52 was diagnosed with colon cancer in April last year, which later led to pulmonary fibrosis. On January 16, the couple learned the condition was fatal. Their daughter wasn't due for another two weeks, so they decided to have the labour induced. Mark Aulger held his daughter Savannah for about 45 minutes after her birth. Soon after Mr Aulger fell into a coma.... Her husband died five days later with his daughter Savannah in his lifeless arms.

Facebook Corner

(IPI). CTA has effectively fired the blue line operator who fell asleep and crashed a train into the O’Hare International Airport terminal. The agency also announced it is changing how rail operators are scheduled as a result of a review of the crash.
Wait a minute. they make the guy work a gazillion hours because they don't want to hire more people.
then when there is an accident because of employees physical condition they ream the poor bastard and say oh we will change that.
Stop making excuses for someone whom knowingly went to work in a tired state; your first professional responsibility in that role is public safety. Suppose an airline pilot was on call but had a buzz (too much alcohol): it's better to scrub the flight than gamble on the public's safety over the pilot's performance. I do agree both union and management should not have let her work, especially after she had been written up earlier over a related issue.

(Drudge Report). Japan orders military to strike any new North Korea missile launches...
We need cooler heads to prevail--the last thing we need is an Asian regional war. And no more American blood and treasure getting in the middle of disputes out of this hemisphere. This thread seems full of war-mongering neo-cons.

(Independent Institute). Professor J. Huston McCulloch: "Although corporations should (under the Freedoms of Association and of Petition) have the right to lobby concerning legislation or regulations that will directly affect their business, it does not seem unreasonable to block publicly traded corporations with an explicitly commercial purpose from overt political contributions to candidates or political parties, so long as their shareholders are free to contribute to explicitly political organizations directly and without limit."
I disagree. What is the fundamental difference between lobbying and having a voice in promoting the candidacy, say, of a politician whom promotes win-win free free market and free trade policies, downsizing/decentralization government, lower/flatter tax policies and regulatory burden? Why should a small shareholder be deprived of a voice that larger shareholders may individually have? Are their rights attenuated simply because they are a stakeholder in a corporation? Isn't it an arbitrary, unconscionable distinction that mocks the principle of equal protection that some free associations are more equal than others in having a political voice?

There is little, if any evidence behind the urban legend of corporations buying elections after SCOTUS rightly ruled the arbitrary ban on corporate political speech was unconstitutional. I am so sick and tired of this feeble-minded bogeyman of the country being run by corporations, the most ludicrous conspiracy theories. No corporation has a vested interest in this country running up a $17.5T debt, a budget that spends almost two-thirds on individual benefits, not on so-called common defense and judicial protection of negative liberties, and at least another $85T in unfunded liabilities.

(Independent Institute). "Fear is in almost all cases a wretched instrument of government, and ought in particular never to be employed against any order of men who have the smallest pretensions to independency." —Adam Smith
I like it. I would replace the word "government" with religion to make the statement even more poignant. Incidentally, the later is used as an effective tool by the former to bring people in line, despite their interests. Give to God what is God's, Give to the government what is the governments. A more terrible sentiment, or perscription for human wellness has not arisen to take the place of that.
What a load of garbage! Religions do not hold a government's monopoly on force. Authoritarians have, of course, co-opted religion. And a perverse interpretation of one of my favorite verses makes it worse; I see it as promoting the independence of religion and state. Virtue is response to a higher moral code; it cannot be legislated by the State but is a freely chosen response by the believer.

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Michael Ramirez via Townhall

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series

Joan Osborne, "One of Us". Not a fan of tatoos,  piercings and face/tongue jewelry, but Joan had one of the truly brilliant singles of the 90's, and the opening song for the mid-2000's award-winning family fantasy series, one of my favorites, Joan of Arcadia; the series featured an American teen Joan of Arc to whom God appears in various personas and gives missions.

Miscellany: 4/04/14

Quote of the Day
A lifetime of happiness!
No man alive could bear it, 
it would be hell on earth.
George Bernard Shaw

Insult of the Day

From another's Facebook post: "Know how to brainwash a liberal? Give them an enema!"

The Oxymoronic Affordable Care Act

From the Independent Institute:

Senior Fellow John Graham: "Premiums are going through the roof. Those who are profiting from Obamacare are loathe to criticize it too openly. And yet, WellPoint, a large insurer, has just announced that it expects to demand 'double-digit plus' rate increases in the Obamacare exchanges in 2015."

Illinois v. Economic Growth



In Education, Teachers, Administrators, Politicians, Kids Come First



Facebook Corner

(IPI). Earlier this month, 28 attorneys general, including Illinois’ Lisa Madigan, sent a letter to major convenience retailers including Rite Aid, Walmart and Walgreens, urging them to stop selling tobacco products in their stores. This came shortly after CVS voluntarily announced that it would completely phase out sales of tobacco products by October 2014.
But since when is it an attorney general’s job to badger companies into selling or not selling legal products? Isn’t Lisa Madigan supposed to enforce the laws that are actually on the books, not make businesses conform to her personal preferences?
Typical crony relationship. CVS is nervous that smoker-tolerant competitors may pick up market share at their expense. I've never smoked anything, and a sister-in-law's mother paid a stiff price for her habit. But prohibition may actually exacerbate the problem, and the people generally dislike Big Nanny. Leave this decision to the individual, his doctor, and his family. My Dad had picked up the habit in the military, but gave up the habit for the sake of his young, growing family by the time I was in primary school.
I have NEVER smoked or drank alcohol BUT I think it is time for the government to butt out of people's business!! Before long the government will be telling us when we can go poop!
Don't give them ideas. Remember, singer Sheryl Crow's campaign against global warming included limiting oneself to one square of toilet paper per use....

(Catholic Libertarians.) Many Catholic libertarians have criticized and lamented the Catholic social teaching of distributism as if it is not compatible with true capitalism, but I think there are a couple misunderstandings taking place. Firstly, distributism must in no way be confused with "redistribution", which is socialism. Secondly, when distributists describe it as being in opposition to both socialism and capitalism, it doesn't take long to realize the "modern capitalism" they are referring to is actually corporatism, not true free-market capitalism―a frequent and unfortunately understandable mistake. As I understand it, I believe that the Church's teachings of distributism and subsidiarity are both the desired and the natural outcomes that would eventually and only result from pure voluntaryism. Catholic anarchists Dorothy Day and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as libertarian theologian and apologist G.K. Chesterton were all distributists.
"According to distributists, property ownership is a fundamental right and the means of production should be distributed [not to be confused with "redistributed"] as widely as possible rather than being centralized under the control of the state (state socialism), a few individuals (plutocracy), or corporations (corporatocracy). Distributism therefore *advocates* [without the use or threat of force] a society marked by widespread property ownership and...maintains that such a system is key to bringing about a just social order." Distributists advocate guild systems, families as social units, artisan culture, cooperatives and subsidiarity, and they stand against state control, corporate control, unions, social security and banks.
Please correct my understanding if I'm mistaken, but that sounds a lot like libertarianism to me. ~Mark
Let's not put lipstick on a pig. The pope's rhetoric in the exhortation is basically a copy-and-paste from pedestrian social democrat talking points; he caricatured capitalism of a type that doesn't exist in any advanced economy and embraces the urban legend of social darwinism. It is clear to anyone that the pope is clearly sympathetic to redistributional policies and he goes out of his way to praise politics as a profession. He believes in government intervention in the free markets, and the pontiff, who infamously asked who he was to judge gays, has no problems judging the rich.

I am so sick and tired of left-wing nutjobs spouting conspiracy theories of the wealthy elite. Corruption is related to the magnitude and breadth of the State. Anyone who remotely calls himself a libertarian doesn't put the cart before the horse: under corporatism or economic fascism, the super-regulatory State essentially runs the economy, with any private role at most nominal in nature. I don't care if the number of phenomenally wealthy is large or small; what I care about is the free market which makes the average consumer better off,

Via National Review

The vindictive fanaticism of the radical Left is in full force in the Mozilla scandal, and they demand to know: Have you now or have you ever been a supporter of traditional marriage?: http://natl.re/1k9bWMD
Fellow libertarians are particularly hypocritical about this. I don't have a problem with gay activists disagreeing with those of us whom support the traditional definition of marriage. But this was not about a prohibition of a gay person's lifestyle or relationship (or calling their commitments "gay marriage"); it was a disagreement over government co-opting the traditional institution of marriage. This was a form of economic aggression against someone simply for expressing his unalienable right of free speech, and no libertarian should tolerate that.

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Michael Ramirez via Townhall

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series

Beyonce (ft. Jay Z), "Crazy in Love"

Miscellany: 4/03/14

Quote of the Day
The more corrupt the state, 
the more numerous the laws.
Cornelius Tacitus

The Political Myth of the "War on Woman"

This blog has attacked the 77 centers for years. The idea that businesses intentionally discriminate against talented female workers is preposterous. Take, for instance, men working on dangerous oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico vs. elementary school teachers fighting for the few vacancies--convenient hours, commute, etc., 3 months off every summer. Salaries reflect demand/supply, productivity. It's not "discrimination"--if it was, staffing companies could arbitrage the difference.

The fact that Obama repeats the 77 center lie exposes his lack of personal integrity; he is either economically-illiterate or a cynical demagogue. But lets move on to the equally illiterate focus on alleged discrimination in prices for women's goods and services. Say, for instance, a woman's hair takes longer to cut or a garment requires special handling to clean--or suppose that women on average live longer or incur more medical expenses. Equality depends on context. For example, suppose men live 10 years in retirement on average and women 14. To pay out the same monthly payment means on average women are getting 4 years of pension benefits men aren't getting--in what universe is that "fair"? What's fair reflects the expected liabilities....

One of the ludicrous examples of political correctness is Wimbleton; the female champion gets paid as much as the male--but plays fewer sets to win a match--and in my opinion the men's matches are far more competitive and entertaining. I am more likely to pay to watch top male athletes go at each other. (I do prefer looking at lady athletes, but that's a different topic..)



Facebook Corner

(IPI). Pensions run by Illinois politicians are much riskier than self-managed retirement accounts.
Just look at the results of Chicago’s pension funds. The police pension fund has just $0.25 for every $1 needed to pay out future benefits. The firefighter fund has just $0.31. Those funds are broke, and without real reform they’ll run dry in just a few years. 
I was enrolled in a 403B several years ago as a visiting prof at a central Illinois university for a year. Let's get real, people: anyone in a public employee union who didn't see danger in pension (state contribution) holidays and other gimmicks the Tribune traces back at least to 1994 is a fool. Wise stewardship of the people's hard-earned tax money does not include juggling bills at the end of the month, deciding which one gets paid. My own contributions, even without vested matching state funds, have earned a decent return; why? Because it's my own money for retirement. I didn't trust in some politicians whom likely never think beyond the next election and likely will never be in office when the unsustainable Baby Boomer retirements are in full force forcing a choice between deferred obligations and essential services.
Illinois Policy Institute but a legaly binding contract was signed by the employer and the membership. Comes down to keeping your word on both sides.
No. Unduly transferring costs to future taxpayers is not a reasonable agreement. It would be like your telling your bank, "I've decided instead of paying off my loan this year, I'll pay it off at some future date." There are all sorts of risks--e.g., you're paying off your loan in ever cheaper dollars. The State of Illinois is indebted to a number of parties: why are retirees more equal? Bondholders also have contracts with the state, not to mention other vendors. What about their contractual rights?
That is why [different comment thread] public union workers should pay into SS. In many other states, public union workers pay into SS.
I was reminded of this when I recently reviewed my social security statement. During my 5 years as a professor at state schools (including Wisconsin and Texas), the only time during my job history (including work/study in undergraduate school) I did not pay into SS was my one year teaching in Illinois.
http://www.forbes.com/.../2013/04/24/why-401ks-have-failed/\
I don't recall working for any company offering pensions. 401K's have been the rule, not the exception, at least since the 1980's. Why? They realized the largest generation, the Baby Boomers, hitting retirement and with longer lifespans, were going to be unsustainable. If businesses knew this was unsustainable decades ago, why is the public sector now only beginning to get the message years after Baby Boomers have already started to draw on social security? 

The residential troll points out pensions are a better deal--yeah, maybe if the plan is well-financed--but the State of Illinois has been playing games trying to limit state contributions for at least 20 years. For the unions to start bitching now are years late and billions of dollars short. It's not going to happen; deal with it.

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Lisa Benson and Townhall

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series

Justin Timberlake (with Timbaland), "SexyBack"

Miscellany: 4/02/14

Quote of the Day
Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way
that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.
Sherry Rothfield

Nanny of the Month



Facebook Corner

(IPI). Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pension proposal cleared the first of several hurdles shortly after House Speaker Michael Madigan unveiled a measure today that sets a course for property tax hikes on homeowners and benefit cuts for City Hall workers. The proposal could be on a fast-track through the General Assembly. The bill cleared a House committee today on a 6-4 vote, setting it up for consideration by the full House. Then it would need to get through the Illinois Senate, where Senate President John Cullerton, an Emanuel ally, has set a hearing on the pension measure.
It was amusing to hear the spendthrift party griping about lack of votes from the GOP to bailout Dem commitments to crony unionists which asks for almost no concessions from current and short-term prospective retirees and looks for yet another increase on property owners. Be really careful of what you wish for: it's harder to demagogue when you're in power.
This pension deal is nothing but a sellout the working men and women of the city of Chicago. They should be ashamed of themselves after promising all this for all these years all of a sudden now it's a problem it used to be that a promise made us a promise kept not anymore it's time to say goodbye to the mayor of Chicago and he like somebody that represents us and not himself
Oh, COME ON! Nobody, including the union, is gullible enough to believe what I call the "Wimpy Law of Politics": "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Where were the union gangsters when their bought-and-sold Dem allies decided to fritter away money that should have gone into the pension fund on other tax-and-spend priorities? Do you think it's fair for the next, smaller generation to bail out, at their own expense, spendthrift politicians' promises to the largest generation Baby Boomers, whom will likely live decades in retirement?

(IPI). It is likely that fewer than 2 million of the nation’s previous 48 million uninsured now have private insurance coverage as a result of the health-care overhaul.
I may not like the PPACA in it's entirety (meaning, I don't think it's perfect, but it's certainly better than what we had), but nobody lost any coverage that was worth a damn. And often, their NEW plans were cheaper, and better than the previously held junk insurance.You should re-investigate those claims, they're not all what they seem (shocker). http://www.washingtonpost.com/.../a-hard-hitting-anti.../
This "progressive" shill literally knows nothing. I've personally debunked these talking points dozens of times--the allegation of junk policies (keep in mind each state has an insurance regulator, and any contract breach has legal ramifications) amounts to a statistically insignificant number; the allegations of insurance companies whom will drop drop you as soon as you get sick and other political fear-mongering urban legends. No, you are not getting superior health care--it is true some people are socializing their own personal healthcare costs and they are happy other people are being forced by the government to pay their costs. But the people who are being forced to pay other people's healthcare, over and beyond true risk sharing are NOT getting 'better'; they're not only inheriting a system where central planners are micromanaging your doctor's treatment, but they are getting saddled with extra-cost, unwanted, unneeded "benefits" which reflect special interest groups corruptly trying to socialize their costs. Only gullible "progressives" could buy this piece of crap after decades of mismanagement of healthcare programs which have always blown past budget from a party that has never balanced a federal budget in decades of federal legislative control and run up a $17T federal debt with at least another $85T in unfunded senior entitlement liabilities.

(IPI). A recent study conducted by researchers at Harvard University showed that a child born into poverty in Illinois has only a 6.1% chance of earning an annual wage of more than $100,000 by the time they’re 40 — one of the lowest rates among all 50 states.
It also found that the areas with the highest rates of income mobility were those with the highest-quality schools.
Parents of students in Illinois' lowest-performing schools want the option to send their child to a higher-quality school. In fact, a recent We Ask America survey showed nearly 50% would use the money currently being spent on their children at a public school to pay tuition at a school of their choice.
Now they are attacking education pretty sure They will soon be telling everyone that sun is 34.4% brighter everywhere else. Education isn't cheap put the money where our children need it most.
Trust parents to spend their own tax money on the most competitive schools for their own kids.
The state constitution says the state is supposed to provide 50% + $1 of school funding. Because of our budget woes we not only don't come close to that, we're dead last in the nation in state funding for schools at 27%. If we're going to fix our schools it's not going to be by letting for profit charters and private schools skim more profits off the top. It's going to be by junking our failed flat income tax and enacting a fair graduated tax that will take pressure of the property tax system that funds most of our schools now.
The resident troll believes in throwing good money after bad. Forget all the statistical facts at "investing" multiples of what was spent decades ago with statistically insignificant improvements to show for it. It doesn't explain how Catholic schools can outachieve public schools at a fraction of the cost. And here he goes again, trying to steal ever more money out of other people's pockets; pathetically corrupt little man.

Political Humor

The White House says it’s surpassed its goal for people enrolled in Obamacare. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you make something mandatory and fine people if they don't do it, and keep extending the deadline for months. - Jimmy Fallon

[The White House also says it's surpassed its goal for student achievement in Common Core: more than half of children were able to sign their names in the blank underneath "Pay to the Order of the IRS $17.5T" on the front page of the exam.]

The Department of Agriculture is encouraging grandparents to read their grandchildren bedtime stories about nutrition. Stories like “Goodnight Kale,” “James and the Giant Organic Peach,” and “The Little Engine That Could, Thanks to His High-Fiber Diet.” - Seth Meyers

[But not "Green Eggs and Ham", and grandparents are warned against giving the kids warm raw milk at bedtime.]

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Glenn McCoy and Townhall

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series

Gary Wright, "Phantom Writer". Some of the best songs don't chart well or even make it to the artist's greatest hits compilation. Gary had a monster solo breakthrough in the mid-70's with "Dream Weaver" and "Love is Alive". I had bought the album just to get this song which got some but not a lot of airplay. I brought it unopened to my pre-med friend Joe's party; let's just say Wright has some experimental, acquired-taste tracks (like "I Am the Sky") and Joe pulled the album before it ever got to my favorite tune.

Miscellany: 4/01/14

Quote of the Day
What can be added to the happiness of a man 
who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?
Adam Smith

Via Drudge Report

APRIL FOOLS!

(And May... And June....And....)

What if a Libertarian Worked for Border Control?



Facebook Corner 

(Cato Institute). Obamacare, at its root, is about wealth redistribution
There wouldn't need to be wealth redistribution if the rich quit being ass holes hording trillions of dollers, like the FED, and gave back a little more to the people that allowed for them to make all that money, that the rich will never spend anyways. When you force people to work for you for practically no money that is called slavery, something this Libertarian is opposed to more than slightly higher taxes. Since when did Libertarianism become Communism for the rich, allowing for cronies to keep more money, and shitting over the little guy.
This progressive troll reminds me of that scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" where a bank run triggered a run on the Bailey S&L. George tries to plead with depositors to give him some time as per their share agreement. After all, how does a financial institution make money? Not by collecting magic fairy dust in some safe, but in the case of the S&L, home mortgages paid off over time.

The Politics of Envy is morally corrosive and self-defeating. Past economic success is not indicative of future success. Let's suppose that the troll is just overlooking people whom buy government bonds, invest in long-term capital-intensive projects which may not see any positive cashflow for years. It's none of his business, of course, what other people make or own. The salient question is, if businesses or individuals are allegedly hoarding cash, why are they not investing? The bottom line is they don't see profitable alternatives; there's too much risk. And bad fiscal, regulatory, and monetary policy exacerbate the problem. The sad thing is the troll doesn't understand that he and his fellow trolls are reaping the rewards of their own counter-productive policies.

Political Humor

Connecticut beat Michigan State, the team that President Obama had picked to win the whole tournament. It completely busted his bracket. Which explains why today Connecticut got a fruit basket from Vladimir Putin. - Jimmy Fallon

[Separately, Obama released his picks of Senate Democrats for this fall's election.]

The Secret Service arrested a man today after he tried to scale a fence at the White House. They reportedly said to the man, “Sorry, but you still have two more years, Mr. President.” - Seth Meyers

[Obama explained that he was simply demonstrating proper technique on how to cross the Arizona border to a visiting group of undocumented aliens...]

Troll Stomping

from an IPI thread:
[Discussant], what are you drinking? Politicians get payed off by big business and control all. Get off the backs of the unions!!!!!!! Rahm is a big disappointment to me.......
What load of crap! Tell me, what business is buying out all these parasite Democrats, and what are they getting for all this money? It's mostly the corrupt public unions.
 How about former politicians and their pensions. No one is talking about them? Just the unions......
 Because the bulk of pension costs was corruptly kicked to future taxpayers, whom find that essential services are getting cut at their expense. Why don't you get this? Economics-illiterate "progressive" trolls!


Harmon’s proposal would provide a tax relief for 94% of Illinoisans, including everyone making up to $200,000. The proposal would replace Illinois’ antiquated, regressive flat tax with rates that offer tax cuts to the overwhelming majority, while maintaining adequate revenue to protect vital investments in education, health and human services, and public safety. (click here to learn about the proposal)

On the pending fiscal cliff some politicians in Springfield are prepared to drive the state off, Harmon was blunt:
Do I really have to explain who has the money to move, to sell his home at a loss, the motive to move to a more business-friendly, taxpayer-friendly state like Texas?

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Eric Allie via IPI

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Series

Mary Chapin Carpenter, "Grow Old Along With Me"