Jul 22
There is an ancient common law rule of corporate management that corporate directors must seek profits over any other concerns. But global elites and governments around the world have spent years trying to force businesses to obey government commands regarding environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) concerns rather than profits. But ESG policies seem to bring …
Nov 12
New York Attorney General Drops Half Its Fraud Case In Closing Arguments Lower Manhattan. November 7, 2019. The downsized “Exxon knew” trial in New York City has ended. The parties await a verdict from Judge Barry Ostrager in the New York Supreme Court. A 3-year investigation by the New York Attorney General into some 4 …
Jun 01
For several years, promoters of catastrophic-manmade-global-warming-by-CO2 hysteria have sought to get the insurance industry to recognize that ‘climate change is real.’ Two years ago, on-again,-off-again-world’s-richest-man Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire-Hathaway (which owns or controls several large insurers including Geico) authored a statement on the subject in his annual investment letter. Buffet noted that most …
Apr 30
The above chart was generated by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and published on Marketwatch.com. It shows the overall price changes of certain products between 1997 and 2017. As you can see, government-subsidized goods (college tuition and books and medical treatment) have increased at rates much higher than inflation. Meanwhile, ‘tech’ products such as TVs, …
Feb 19
Government claims about climate change seem to be closely linked to government claims about “campaign finance.” Every claim of campaign finance reformers is untrue. Election outcomes are barely correlated with campaign ad spending; and to the extent there is any correlation, it is likely that political success (or perceived likely success) CAUSES the spending rather …
Jul 14
The Wall Street Journal is out with a fascinating article about a-mostly-unknown agreement between the U.S. Postal Service and Amazon.com. The U.S. Postal Service has failed to innovate as the world has gone increasingly digital. But in order to stay “competitive” with FedEx and UPS, the Service subsidizes box delivery. Letters pay for the subsidy. …
Feb 01
Every claim of “campaign finance reformers” is false. Every single claim. For-profit corporations actually contribute almost nothing to political campaigns. Common law rules of corporate governance (i.e., the rule that corporations must seek profits as their primary interest) prohibit for-profit corporations from wasting money on politics. (And shareholders could sue them if they did waste …
Jan 31
Just as Michael Moore complained when GM was there and then complained because GM left, haters of Wal-Mart are now complaining that Wal-Mart’s departure from certain neighborhoods is creating “food deserts”! See the Associated Press’s article here. The “food desert” argument is a claim that poor neighborhoods in certain cities are devoid of high-quality grocery …
Jan 26
Government officials purportedly “in charge” of Flint, Michigan ran the City into the ground after decades of corruption. Then the government secretly exposed the people of Flint to polluted, lead-contaminated drinking water. Yet those who trust and worship intrusive, expansive government are now complaining that Wal-Mart, Pepsi, Nestle, and Coca-Cola are offering to provide free …
Jan 26
The U.S., once the global flagship of capitalism, now has the world’s highest corporate tax rates. The New York Times reported this week that Johnson Controls is renouncing its U.S. corporate citizenship by selling itself to Tyco International, based in Ireland. This is designed to reduce the company’s tax bill, which it said should drop …
