tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66224815607513211292024-02-19T17:05:32.673-08:00The Answer Is LibertyMaking the World Safe for the IndividualAl Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-643086516379227652014-11-01T04:44:00.002-07:002014-11-01T20:22:30.244-07:00Safe Banking Without The FDIC<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Imagine a bank that only makes home loans. What if it only lent where it was the first lender to be paid back? And only lent up to 70% of a property's non-bubble value? If it it always followed those criteria and only lent to people with good credit, the loans it makes are very likely to be repaid.<br />
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Where the borrower gets the rest of the funds shouldn't matter to a bank that doesn't lend too much and is always paid back first. Such a bank could profitably charge less interest than banks lending the higher risk part of the financing.<br />
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So why can't we have such banks for those that want to have a safe place to deposit their funds? Why do we need the government to insure banks in order to provide a very safe banking option?<br />
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I don't think we need government insurance. All we need are banks that are restricted to this very safe kind of mortgage loan. Those that want safety can put their money in this kind of bank.<br />
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And those who want greater return can go to other banks that make riskier loans and where your deposits are at risk if the bank fails. And government funds would not bail out this kind of bank or its depositors, just as it does not bail out people who invest in the stock market.<br />
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And if either kind of bank fails, the owners of the bank should lose their investment. But the depositors don't have to lose their deposits. The bank's loans and their collateral could be turned over to a new, publicly-traded corporation owned by the depositors, who could either sell or hold their shares in that new entity.<br />
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There's no need for a bank failure to cause depositors to lose all their money. The collateral, the assets the loans were used to buy, still exist. But the bank can no longer pay its depositors their money on demand, so let it cease to be a bank.<br />
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There's no reason to enable unsuccessful bankers to continue to operate. There's no need to spend billions of taxpayer dollars.</div>
Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-6152996737584270482013-05-05T17:45:00.000-07:002013-05-05T17:59:31.496-07:00Solving Unemployment By Making Markets Work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Status of minimum wage in 2006 in United States and territories (Photo credit: <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2006_Minimum_Wage_Map.svg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>)</td></tr>
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Sometimes I think it would be cheaper to eliminate the minimum wage and have the government directly hand the working poor a subsidy for every hour worked than to have the Fed and the government continue destroy the functioning of the marketplace in a vain effort to make unemployment go away.</div>
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I don't like the government doing either thing, but destroying the functioning of markets is far, far worse than a handout based on how much you work, even considering the fraud that might produce. Especially considering the amount of fraud the activities of the Fed enable.</div>
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If we gave every worker earning less $12 an hour a subsidy of 50 cents for each dollar they earned below $12 an hour, those whose labor is only worth $6 an hour would take home $9. Those worth $8 would take home $10, Those worth $10 would take home $11. </div>
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The earned income tax credit may work like this, but I doubt its adjustment is as steep. And workers must wait until the end of the year to qualify.</div>
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No doubt a similar thing could be accomplished by eliminating taxes for the working poor. The payroll tax cut is tiny and not targeted at low wage workers.</div>
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If prices of the lowest price labor were allowed to fall to where employers could afford to hire them, their skills would start to grow again and eventually the subsidy would shrink.</div>
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Republicans won't go for doing something like this because all new spending for the poor is evil. Democrats won't go for it because it disposes of their precious minimum wage, something Republicans don't view as damaging as the actual spending of money.<br />
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The minimum wage has other bad effects too. By placing a floor on what you can earn instead of an escalator, the working poor don't get immediately rewarding for becoming more productive. Earning minimum wage at one job is as rewarding as earning the same wage at another job. Improving one's productivity is only rewarded when your value as an employee rises above the threshold of the minimum wage. <br />
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Which means that those who earn the least get the least positive feedback for their efforts. That's a terrible side effect.</div>
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Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-30232288067801268122013-04-02T18:18:00.001-07:002013-04-02T18:18:51.954-07:00Taxation Without Good Representation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Imagine if you and other parties suing each other had to hire a single lawyer to represent all of you. And you could only pick from a few pre-approved choices. And then that lawyer spent half his time fundraising from people that stand to gain or lose depending on how he handles the lawsuit.</div>
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That would be stupid, of course. Each party needs their own representation. And you should be able to select any lawyer you like. And he certainly should not be allowed to collect money from people who would profit from your interests being poorly represented.</div>
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And yet, we put with all of that from our representatives in Congress. Instead of proportional representation where each kind of voter can select his kind of representative, we only get one representative per district that can't possible represent all the competing interests of the voters. </div>
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Such a representative is beholden to no one and can freely rent his vote to the highest bidder.</div>
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And they need the money, because getting all those voters to think that he's the best one for the job is an expensive effort. </div>
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In a system using proportional representation, the diverse interests of the voters are better represented and less subject to gaming by the monied special interests. </div>
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The solution to the corruption in Washington is not campaign finance reform. The solution is allowing you to have the representation of your choice.</div>
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Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-16082245190510355942013-02-16T19:10:00.002-08:002013-02-16T19:10:56.296-08:00Without Balance, We Will Keep Stumbling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 240px;">Jones! (Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/57537089@N00/377676745" target="_blank">gomattolson</a>)</td></tr>
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We need a balanced budget amendment. There's no reason that the world's richest nation cannot pay its expenses as it goes, even if there is an emergency.</div>
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Say we have an emergency that costs a trillion dollars. We can pay it off over 50 years with a temporary tax, just as you would pay off a mortgage. </div>
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Mind you, I am not proposing more taxes. I'm just saying that true financial emergencies can be dealt with by levying a tax that pays off the amount we need to spend. And that can be done in a predictable way over time. </div>
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In other words, an emergency is not a legitimate excuse to avoid manage one's affairs responsibly. You borrow what you need and you pay it back on a schedule that pays it off.</div>
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Of course, in reality, there are very few few legitimate emergencies. Its just an excuse politicians use to justify their addiction to spending more than is taken in.<br /></div>
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A balanced budget requirement will force Congress to make the hard choices. If they want to spend, they will have to tax. And if the people don't want more taxes, they will have to pus h cuts. I'd even put budgets to a referendum, with the new taxes spelled out.</div>
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Without a balanced budget, we can have tax cuts and spending increases. Everybody can get what they want, until the shit hits the fan and our ability to deal with true emergencies is greatly impaired.</div>
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Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-92173322040547331492012-04-13T04:53:00.001-07:002012-04-13T04:53:28.582-07:00Top Three Common Myths of Capitalism - YouTube<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/qgmk3P5vUrQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-23197809272330190612012-03-11T16:13:00.010-07:002012-03-11T16:39:01.102-07:00A Balanced Budget Amendment We Can Live With<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Election_MG_3455.JPG" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Second round of the French presidential electi..." height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Election_MG_3455.JPG/300px-Election_MG_3455.JPG" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Election_MG_3455.JPG" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">We have to get a balanced budget amendment. I'd like to see any budget with a deficit subject to referendum that also approves immediate taxes to pay it down within 10 years.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">And if we have a war or other emergency that requires spending, Congress should be free to start spending, as long as a referendum that approves or vetoes the spending is arranged promptly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">And we need a tax to pay off the existing debt, all of it, within 50 years in the same amendment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">There's no reason the richest country in the world should operate the way it does. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">The result will be our decline and eventual loss of any power in the world. We cannot expect to compete with other powers technologically and militarily if we don't get our economic house in order.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">A lot of people like to talk about democracy, but actually giving the people control over how much debt they are getting into is not what they have in mind. Many want a process that they can game to their own advantage.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">In the US, the trappings of democracy is used to keep the people under control, not to give the people control over their government. And debt is used to keep the people from understanding the real costs.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Its time we took off the backwards sunglasses.</span></div></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=09f475b5-05ae-45aa-9f0e-134e11f529aa" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-19917163224853413592012-02-18T14:35:00.002-08:002021-03-02T16:07:51.177-08:00Why Income Inequality is A Great and Necessary Thing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Income inequality is a sign that an economy is functioning properly, for people vary greatly in their talents, ambition, tolerance for risk, vision. Some can lead, delegate and inspire, while others cannot. </div>
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Some are great at collaboration, others love confronting difficult challenges. Some are great at squeezing suppliers and others good at pushing people to adopt the next wave of technology. Some know exactly what people want and others are incredibly creative. Some never stop learning.</div>
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Some do none of the above and only want everything defined for them with no risks or growth required.</div>
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How could anyone analyze all of this incredible variability and decide whether people get too much money for their contributions?</div>
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Income inequality rewards the development of all of those qualities. We all benefit from what high producers produce.</div>
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And then they put what they earn in the bank where we can borrow it to make ourselves more productive.</div>
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How is that not beneficial for every person in the country?</div>
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Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-19580222022934904052011-10-22T16:56:00.000-07:002011-10-22T17:00:10.800-07:00Cain stumbling under glare of national spotlight - Yahoo! News<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33318362@N00/2536287364" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=""Fresh" Pizza in Toronto" height="154" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2536287364_7f445f34dc_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 240px;">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33318362@N00/2536287364">pbeens</a> via Flickr</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/cain-stumbling-under-glare-national-spotlight-123918183.html">Cain stumbling under glare of national spotlight - Yahoo! News</a><br />
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</div><div>Don't worry. A man running for president is only joking about killing people. ha ha. what a kidder.<br />
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Here's a clue about telling jokes, Mr. Cain. First, don't joke about death, especially the death of the downtrodden.<br />
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Second, if you are telling a joke, pay attention to whether people laugh or not. If not, let them know you were telling a joke.<br />
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Third, don't lie about your non-jokes way after the fact and expect me to believe you.</div><div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0 0 0;"> Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2011/09/28/herb-cain-answers-palins-flavor-of-the-week-comments/">"Herb Cain" answers Palin's flavor-of-the-week comments</a> (hotair.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://theillogicalseminary.com/2011/10/22/cain-in-vain/">Cain In Vain</a> (theillogicalseminary.com)</li>
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There's nothing crazy about wanting people to interact with each other peacefully.<br />
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That's all liberty is.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The actually crazy ones are those who think only force can solve problems. Lets hope they emerge from their psychosis soon.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Any truly great idea must struggle to gain acceptance. There has never been a better time to return to the great ideas on which this country was founded.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-29990946508717874442011-10-22T11:32:00.000-07:002011-10-22T11:32:20.505-07:00Banking Isn't the Problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Banks_are_bastards.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Reaction to Irish banking and financial crises..." height="225" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Banks_are_bastards.jpg/300px-Banks_are_bastards.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Banks_are_bastards.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div>There's nothing inherently faulty with people lending their money to others or with an intermediary taking part of the action for arranging things.<br />
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Most of the recent problems with banking have a different root cause, namely that the government relieves you of all responsibility for choosing wisely who you lend your money too. <br />
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Your savings are insured. But unlike rational insurance, risky banks are insured at the same cost as prudent banks. That doesn't exactly give banks useful feedback about the risks they are taking.<br />
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On top of that, the government also implicitly guarantees to these banks that they'll never let them go out of business. So they can take all kinds of risk and only suffer when they don't take enough high-paying risks.<br />
<br />
And, over time, those in charge of this insurance take money for gradually loosening standards for what they insure. Yes, Congress is actually corrupt. Sorry to break it to you.<br />
<br />
Oh, sure, Congress clamps down on the banks AFTER bad practices lead to disaster. But then, slowly and inexorably, time and lobbyist cash gradually get Congress to loosen standards. <br />
<br />
The public, who didn't truly understand the causes of the previous disaster, has forgotten about what happened, the political pressure dissipates and Congress returns to subsidizing unreasonable risks.<br />
<br />
But don't worry: you're insured. Unfortunately, unlike any other insurance you've ever bought, behind the scenes, the actual costs are being billed to you. You'll be forced to pay higher taxes in the future to clean up the very disaster the government supposedly protected you from. <br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=d166c260-bd91-45ab-aa25-69dbbcf3ce2d" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-51278820751393095882011-07-20T07:42:00.001-07:002011-07-20T07:42:58.237-07:00Bill Clinton Misinterprets Constitution<div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:One_Dollar.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="One Dollar" height="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/One_Dollar.jpg/300px-One_Dollar.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:One_Dollar.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div>Here's the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/bill-clinton-advocates-constitutional-option-debt-ceiling-132253374.html">article</a>.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Clinton points to this clause in the Fourteenth Amendment: "the validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." as justification for ignoring the debt ceiling. But as I read it, its talking about the debt not being questioned, not new spending not being questioned. Default is not allowed constitutionally. Clearly, paying the interest on our debts SHOULD take precedence over new spending. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Paying the interest on the debt is not the same as paying for new spending. There is more than enough revenue to pay the interest. If Congress and the President followed the Constitution, there's no risk of default.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Of course, the actual language is about whether the US is on the hook for debts incurred by the Confederacy or any losses related to emancipating the slaves.</div><div><br />
</div><div>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Section 4.</b> The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void."</span></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=dbc0c141-cd34-4f8a-b609-2c7df1158ce0" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-12053706573102055252011-06-07T18:38:00.000-07:002011-06-07T18:46:08.181-07:00Unintended Consequences<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration_timeline.gif" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Graph demonstrating increases in United States..." height="210" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/US_incarceration_timeline.gif/300px-US_incarceration_timeline.gif" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration_timeline.gif">Wikipedia</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/06/06/1-of-2-suspects-arrested-in-east-palo-alto-baby-shooting-death">Another sad story</a>. An infant was shot and killed, this time in Silicon Valley.<br />
<br />
Its unfortunate that those who report these sad stories seldom identify our drug policies as the root cause of a lot of the violence we see.<br />
<br />
When alcohol was illegal during Prohibition, there was a great deal of violence associated with distribution of alcohol. And it evaporated when prohibition was repealed.<br />
<br />
If we simply allowed each neighborhood to decide for itself what drug use was allowed, drug sales would become a peaceful activity governed by the same laws as other industries. And it would take place in limited areas, away from where people raise their kids.<br />
<br />
And I think that's what people really want. They don't need to control everybody's lives. That's not possible under any system. But it is possible to limit where it happens and greatly reduce the violence associated with it.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0 0 0;">Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://blackpoppymag.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/50-years-of-prohibition-and-where-has-it-got-us/">50 Years of Prohibition...and where has it got us?</a> (blackpoppymag.wordpress.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201106/why-the-war-drugs-has-failed">Why "The War on Drugs" Has Failed</a> (psychologytoday.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestvoices/2015136112_warondrugscontinuessouthoftheborder.html?syndication=rss">War on drugs continues south of the border</a> (seattletimes.nwsource.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/drugs/150862/mothers_day_plea_to_end_the_war_on_drugs/">Mothers Day Plea to End the War on Drugs</a> (alternet.org)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://usapartisan.com/2011/06/02/former-world-leaders-war-on-drugs-has-failed/">Former world leaders: War on drugs has failed</a> (usapartisan.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://cafehayek.com/2011/06/prohibition-failed-then-and-it-fails-now.html">Prohibition Failed Then and It Fails Now</a> (cafehayek.com)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=bedcbf2c-3aab-43b3-bdbc-9b0a90c23f15" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-78786466032703367382011-05-30T17:32:00.000-07:002011-05-30T17:35:54.572-07:00Are There Natural Human Rights? - NYTimes.com<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGywdOaxaIk6ozX3kFBBt9Uun1QKcMm-8sWMoWgjnFHYFlIOKI6XvUIkyvscpjm3x6NGrQjjNqFcpqhd7WssRjlMl930pB5d0OwGg1YgMYyS_QqyMuIKRBYmMRNYrAaBGNwhT_KEfNAww/s1600/government_to_secure_rights.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGywdOaxaIk6ozX3kFBBt9Uun1QKcMm-8sWMoWgjnFHYFlIOKI6XvUIkyvscpjm3x6NGrQjjNqFcpqhd7WssRjlMl930pB5d0OwGg1YgMYyS_QqyMuIKRBYmMRNYrAaBGNwhT_KEfNAww/s320/government_to_secure_rights.png" width="320" /></a>The New York Times has an interesting <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/are-there-natural-human-rights/#preview">article on natural rights</a>.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><div>Every human naturally seeks to be free of the coercion of others. No reasonable person is going to give others the ability to coerce him. But cooperating together to prevent such coercion is reasonable. And necessary, because groups of humans attack and control other groups. And this is also true of animals.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Rights are simply a way of specifying what the limits and purpose of such cooperation should be. </div><div><br />
</div><div>And its clear that reasonable people, when aware of all that the state is capable of, would only give it power to protect the interests of those agreeing to its establishment.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Everything beyond that is simply an attempt to hijack the state for one's own purposes, usually to be able to obtain what belongs to others or to control them in other ways. </div><div><br />
</div><div>People give the state the power that it has for one purpose: to prevent coercion. There really is no consent for everything else. If people were presented a checklist with everything the state could potentially do, all reasonable people would (naturally) check the "Protect me from coercion of others and do it for much less than it would cost me to do it myself" checkbox and not check "Do whatever you think is best" checkbox. <br />
<br />
To submit yourself to a security arrangement does not mean you submit yourself to whatever else other people decide.<br />
<br />
No reasonable person would have agreed at the establishment of the state that it should have unlimited power, unless, of course, he planned on being the beneficiary. So either the state, in its ultimate form, is not mutually agreed upon. Or the majority have been fooled. Or gradually, over time, the "social contract" has been eroded and twisted into something that no reasonable person would have agreed to and has no choice but to suffer through.<br />
<div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=db5e21fc-9303-40d4-a716-b5e1db93bff3" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-25449322401852081622011-05-24T04:35:00.000-07:002011-05-24T04:35:59.982-07:00Joplin Needs Your Help<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<h1 style="color: #54647b; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px !important; text-align: left;">Text REDCROSS to 90999 to Give $10. More details <a href="https://american.redcross.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=ntld_nolnav_text2help">here</a>.</h1><br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-19681201976702735622011-04-14T17:32:00.000-07:002011-04-14T17:35:27.874-07:00Federal Debt Grew by $54.1 Billion During Fight to Cut $38.5 Billion - Politics - The Atlantic Wire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43662205@N00/460806652" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="sow and piglets" height="186" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/460806652_ee3644fbe0_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 240px;">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43662205@N00/460806652">micmol </a> via Flickr</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/04/8-385-billion-budget-federal-debt-added-541-billion/36542/">Federal Debt Grew by $54.1 Billion During Fight to Cut $38.5 Billion - Politics - The Atlantic Wire</a>:<br />
<br />
"It took eight, long days for the White House and Congress to agree on $38.5 billion in spending cuts for the rest of fiscal year 2011. In that short period of time, the federal debt increased by $54.1 billion to a total of $14.2642 trillion, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt."<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><div>We need a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced budget, but allows money to be borrowed as long as a tax is immediately instituted that pays it off in 10 years at a constant rate. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So if we borrowed $1 trillion at 5% interest, we'd need additional taxes of $10.6 billion every month for 10 years. </div><div><br />
The only way to know if the people are willing to borrow is to see if they are willing to pay it back.</div></div></div></div></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=fb80e1da-016c-4425-8f93-3a1a872dec38" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-66331398040751980732011-03-14T20:13:00.000-07:002011-03-15T17:45:21.993-07:00We Are Thinking of You, Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7510072@N08/463988257" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Craftsman (職人)" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/463988257_7d5400cd79_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7510072@N08/463988257">subtle_3106</a> via Flickr</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Have you ever made something good in the hopes that it might make a difference in some one else's life?<br />
<br />
I was thinking of this as I drove home in my Toyota, a car that has served me well for the last decade. I thought of the workers and the engineers who put extra effort into something so things might be a bit easier for me.<br />
<br />
And now, in Japan's hour of need, I just wanted to say thanks to all of those people in that very great nation. I know you will pull through and put everything back together, because that is what you have always done.<br />
<br />
I hope that if you feel alone in your struggle that we are thinking of you and hopefully the help we send will make your recovery a little bit easier.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=adc59370-1ee6-405c-8724-a289cda59200" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-36755750468636938072011-03-11T00:12:00.000-08:002011-03-11T00:13:52.470-08:00Why Collectivism Can't Learn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11018968@N00/271423582" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Deaf Government Area" height="144" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/92/271423582_8f26f2dc4e_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 240px;">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11018968@N00/271423582">Editor B</a> via Flickr</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">When individuals make mistakes, they can, if they choose, learn and improve.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">But when government makes mistakes, those paying the price usually have to fight to be heard over the voices of those who have figured out how to profit from the mistake. And years may pass before any action.</span></div></div></div></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=ab048ccf-a250-48cc-8866-607071246358" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-6449025497262995472011-02-12T15:53:00.000-08:002011-02-12T22:50:12.929-08:00Murders Spark Renewed Calls for Cutlery Control Laws<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cutlery.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Various cutlery" height="265" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Cutlery.jpg/300px-Cutlery.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cutlery.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Its about time we restricted access to cutlery and motor vehicles.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/12/new.york.stabbing/">Police: NYC man arrested after going on stabbing, hijacking spree - CNN.com</a><br />
<br />
Ok, so nobody thinks we should stop driving cars. Is it because we are familiar with them and like what they do for us that allows to ignore all the same arguments people make for gun control?<br />
<br />
Control of guns, cars and cutlery is fine when property owners voluntarily contract together to make mutually beneficial rules. Since the neighborhood or village very closely approximates that situation, that is where these decisions should be made.<br />
<br />
When people voluntarily join a situation and are free to leave it, its perfectly legitimate for the participants to make all kinds of restrictions that would be wrong to impose by force.<br />
<br />
In fact, the desire to control what happens where one lives is one of the primary reasons people seek to make rules for everybody else. When people have such control, they feel less need to impose their views on others.<br />
<br />
I think if we supported such hyper-local control, we'd actually have a lot more options. Neighborhoods would actually be a lot more diverse and life would be more interesting in general. <br />
<br />
And we would have had things like smoke-free neighborhoods (which we still don't have) decades ago. And neighborhoods devoted to the smoker as well. Some might see that as a downside, but people are always going to be doing things we don't like, no matter how many laws are passed. <br />
<br />
The important thing is that we each be free to make our own choices.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0 0 0;">Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://reason.com/blog/2011/01/21/new-at-reason-brian-doherty-on">New at Reason: Brian Doherty on Gun Control in the Aftermath of Loughner</a> (reason.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/37885_Gun_Control_for_Me_Not_for_Thee">Gun Control for Me, Not for Thee</a> (littlegreenfootballs.com)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=9f317f37-243b-4768-ac45-19c344b8106a" style="border: none; float: right;" /></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-52269054536670613462011-01-31T12:41:00.000-08:002011-01-31T12:41:57.946-08:00Message to Egypt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Form a new government that recognizes your rights to life, liberty, property and happiness and you can put this turmoil behind you. You don't need to choose between law and order and making the government live by the rule of law.</span></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-513851376354064692011-01-26T16:04:00.000-08:002011-01-26T16:04:08.249-08:00A More Possible Balanced Budget Amendment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Paine.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Thomas Paine; a painting by Auguste Millière (..." height="390" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Thomas_Paine.jpg/300px-Thomas_Paine.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Paine.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">"Government ought to be as much open to improvement as anything which appertains to man, instead of which it has been monopolized from age to age, by the most ignorant and vicious of the human race. Need we any other proof of their wretched management, than the excess of debts and taxes with which every nation groans, and the quarrels into which they have precipitated the world?" -- <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine" rel="wikipedia" title="Thomas Paine">Thomas Paine</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">I'm in favor of a constitutional amendment that requires any new borrowing by government to be coupled with an immediate tax that pays off the new debt within ten years. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">That discipline will allow for emergencies but still force Congress to pay the bills. I understand many would prefer an amendment that allowed for no borrowing at all, but that is considerably harder to get. Let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0 0 0;"> Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/140103-gop-senators-prep-balanced-budget-amendment">GOP senators prep balanced budget amendment</a> (thehill.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48139.html">Rethinking a balanced-budget amendment</a> (politico.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.dakotavoice.com/2011/01/senator-demints-balanced-budget-amendment/">Senator DeMint's Balanced Budget Amendment</a> (dakotavoice.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.allthingsreform.org/2011/01/senator-max-baucus-introduces.html">Senator Max Baucus Introduces Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Citizens United | People For the American Way Blog</a> (allthingsreform.org)</li>
</ul></div></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=d58002c3-0ec8-40ba-a92b-78f007b8fdcb" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-43903612397173713712010-12-01T18:27:00.000-08:002010-12-01T18:27:12.097-08:00The Fed Has Loaned Banks Trillions<div class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Consolidated_Statement_of_Condition_of_All_Federal_Reserve_Banks-LIABILITIES.gif" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Components of the liability side of the Federa..." height="182" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Consolidated_Statement_of_Condition_of_All_Federal_Reserve_Banks-LIABILITIES.gif/300px-Consolidated_Statement_of_Condition_of_All_Federal_Reserve_Banks-LIABILITIES.gif" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Consolidated_Statement_of_Condition_of_All_Federal_Reserve_Banks-LIABILITIES.gif">Wikipedia</a></span></div>According to <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/1201/Federal-Reserve-s-astounding-report-We-loaned-banks-trillions">this Christian Science Monitor article</a>, the Federal Reserve has loaned banks trillions of dollars. More than $9 trillion from a single program. And, yes, Goldman Sachs was one of the happy recipients.<br />
<br />
How can anyone look at this mess with a straight face and still think the Fed should continue to exist.<br />
<br />
Its easy money policies blew up a bubble in the market for the most expensive thing most Americans will ever own, their homes. And in a country where homes were already heavily subsidized by interest deductions, capital gains exclusion, first-time buyer loans and grants, Fanny and Freddy nothing-down loans and probably a half dozen other things.<br />
<br />
One can argue that all this was necessary to keep depositors from losing their money. But aren't they going to be losing it anyway by the time we have a full accounting of all of these swindles?<br />
<br />
How much better things would be if people knew they could lose their deposits when they put them into the bank. Most would not unless a bank proved to a reputable rating firm that it wasn't investing recklessly. We'd have individual institutions failing when they got into trouble, not the entire system going down in secret until the day arrives when our leaders tell us "no one could have seen it coming."<br />
<div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0 0 0;"> Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGm99aBlkC-tbSrkired65-MiLdqQ&url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/1201/Federal-Reserve-s-astounding-report-We-loaned-banks-trillions">Federal Reserve's 'astounding' report: We loaned banks trillions - Christian Science Monitor</a> (news.google.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2010/12/01/fed-fund-data-millions-billions-trillions/">Fed Fund Data: Millions, Billions, Trillions</a> (blogs.wsj.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/01/wall-street-pledged-13t-i_n_790570.html">Wall Street Pledged $1.3T In Junk As Collateral For Fed's Overnight Loans</a> (huffingtonpost.com)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=3ab4fb96-0d0c-4ab3-8948-4f858041c8a2" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-3848415738498807012010-11-23T22:56:00.000-08:002010-11-23T23:02:30.250-08:00Equal Treatment Under the Law<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Screening_in_DTW_Airport.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; display: block; float:right; clear: right;"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Screening_in_DTW_Airport.jpg/300px-Screening_in_DTW_Airport.jpg" alt="From the photograher, Dean Shaddock: This was ..." style="font-size:0.8em;border:none;" width="300" height="226" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both; float: right; width: 300px; ">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Screening_in_DTW_Airport.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></span>All people who fly should be treated equally under the law. If you're a fat cat celebrity, businessman or politician flying in private jets, you ought to have the same groping or ionization options as the rest of us.<div>
</div><div>Maybe then the government would stop this nonsense.</div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="margin-top:10px;height:15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=8d6c7e3c-3545-46f2-87db-0f7ef2486561" alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" style="border:none;float:right" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-59837205415631464472010-11-20T18:04:00.000-08:002010-11-20T18:15:48.839-08:00Don't Worry: It's Free!<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80824546@N00/5038787197" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; display: block; float:right; clear: right;"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/5038787197_08fa185473_m.jpg" alt="After The Protest - Cuts will Kill the Young" style="font-size:0.8em;border:none;" width="240" height="160" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both; float: right; width: 240px; ">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80824546@N00/5038787197">infomatique</a> via Flickr</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(130, 130, 130); -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span>The pattern with the government is the same from situation to situation.<p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">1) They make something free</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">2) The market for private delivery of the same thing dries up. Those few that still want to pay must pay much more than they would have before the government started giving it away for free because the market has shrunk so much</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">3) The same thing happens to alternatives to the thing they made free</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">4) Decisions are now made by those delivering the process instead of the person choosing between the alternatives. Costs and benefits are no longer weighed together or by the person that cares about the outcome the most. Considerations easily described in resumes and sound bites become uber important</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">5) The corporations and unions move in and start influencing the decision makers, carving out expensive niches for themselves</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">6) Things that truly matter but aren't profitable for the politically connected fall by the wayside</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">7) People getting something free put up with it because ditching the free thing for same thing done right is now a super expensive alternative</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">8) Delivering the free thing grows more expensive, much faster than the rate of inflation</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">9) Eventually the tax payers fight back and the costs of delivering the thing are slashed, along with quality. The corporations and unions have to spend and/or threaten more to hang on to their protected positions.</p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">10) Those getting the service for free now have to spend all their time at rallies and fine tuning the stories about how badly they're being treated.</p></span><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span>Happens with health care. Happens with roads. Education. City services. Anything they give away for free or heavily subsidized.</span></p></span> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="margin-top:10px;height:15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=5ace3c92-7d9c-4f56-8040-0e17de133144" alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" style="border:none;float:right" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-28583794352787852592010-11-12T23:27:00.000-08:002010-11-13T19:55:45.612-08:00Obama Warns Asian Countries on Exports<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IADBmap.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; display: block; float:right; clear: right;"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/IADBmap.png/300px-IADBmap.png" alt="map of Inter-American Development Bank members..." style="font-size:0.8em;border:none;" width="300" height="136" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both; float: right; width: 300px; ">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IADBmap.png">Wikipedia</a></span></span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AC0BB20101113">In a speech today</a>, Obama urged the Asian countries to buy more US products. "One of the important lessons the economic crisis taught us is the limits of depending primarily on American consumers and Asian exports to drive economic growth." <div>
</div><div>As if its the selling of products to Americans that's the problem and not the massive borrowing the US has been doing.
</div><div>All the speeches in the world will not resolve US trade imbalances.
Imports will ALWAYS be greater than exports when a country consumes MORE than it produces.
When you borrow trillions and subsidize consumer borrowing by keeping interest rates abnormally low, imports HAVE to go way up.
You're borrowing the LABOR of others; it has to be delivered somehow. That means someone in some other country is working to produce something.
Borrowing creates jobs alright. Just not for the borrower.
</div><div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size:1em;margin:1em 0 0 0;">Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://r.zemanta.com/?u=http%3A//www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/12/united-states-barack-obama-asian.html%3Fref%3Drss&a=28370786&rid=5514e8f5-64d8-4ec6-bdb4-baf5fee40754&e=4722dab65a929bf4534ecf27508ba8be">Obama seeks more Asian market access</a> (cbc.ca)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/business/global/11group.html?_r=5">You: Obama Suggests a Global Economy Less Dependent on U.S.</a> (nytimes.com)</li></ul></div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="margin-top:10px;height:15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=5514e8f5-64d8-4ec6-bdb4-baf5fee40754" alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" style="border:none;float:right" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6622481560751321129.post-65429063931701903672010-07-08T21:05:00.000-07:002010-07-08T21:09:49.476-07:00<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px; "><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EconomistHomePrices20050615.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d6/EconomistHomePrices20050615.jpg/300px-EconomistHomePrices20050615.jpg" alt="Inflation-adjusted home prices in Japan (1980–..." style="border:none;display:block" width="300" height="310" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EconomistHomePrices20050615.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><div>If dollars are created in order to stimulate, everybody pays higher prices because of inflation. Demand has merely been moved, a little from everybody in random amounts, depending on what they by and where the stimulus is spent, becomes a lot for whoever is handed the stimulus first. </div><div>
</div><div>There's no magic. Nothing is created. Those very small amounts are very difficult to measure. The constant small changes happening in markets hide the tiny losses the stimulus creates via price changes.</div><div>
</div><div>If you were the person handed those stimulus dollars and you decide to burn them instead, no one is affected. The creation and the dollars balance each other out.</div><div>
</div><div>But there are real effects of stimulus. There is the loss of the labor of those who would have had to work to produce the free stuff they're getting because of stimulus. There's a real decline in the total amount of capital when capital is invested in unproductive things that people are not willing to pay for and that do not result in the capital being paid back and even increased.</div><div>
</div><div>If you don't spend the dollar bills you have, they don't compete with other dollars and prices are slightly lower for everyone. Which is actually what's happened since the housing bubble collapsed and everybody's reduced their spending. They are getting a lot more for their money whenever they spend.</div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="margin-top:10px;height:15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=5b46d67b-0339-43b9-bf8a-4138eadff6fa" alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" style="border:none;float:right" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Al Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849809556416101947noreply@blogger.com0