Jul 04

Federal regulations are choking America: We are all 75 percent poorer because of them

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According to a new time-series study by economists John Dawson of Appalachian State University and John Seater of North Carolina State,
U.S. regulations have prevented the American economy from being productive and inventive. Because of this, U.S. GDP is just $16 trillion instead of $54 trillion.

Ronald Bailey writes that “the growth of federal regulations over the past six decades has cut U.S. economic growth by an average of 2 percentage points per year.”

“As a result, the average American household receives about $277,000 less annually than it would have gotten in the absence of six decades of accumulated regulations.” ­

See here.

Jul 03

GAO discovers that some federal employees take YEAR-LONG vacations at taxpayer expense

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Federal workers are practically gods walking among us. They are so overpaid and overrewarded with benefits that they represent modern feudal overlords overseeing peasants.

A new study by the GAO has found that it is not unheard of for federal employees in the Department of Homeland Security to take entire months off of work–and in some cases entire years off–PAID entirely by the taxpayers. See here.

They do this by manipulating sick and leave time, and “trading” such off-time among each other. “Depending on the department and the length of service, each federal employee receives . . . . 4 to 8 hours of both sick and vacation leave [per pay period (every 2 weeks) which accrues.”

That means some employees are receiving 7.8 weeks of vacation each year.

On top of this, if someone needs additional leave for personal or medical emergency, they may receive vacation leave transferred from a fellow employee.

About 2% of all federal employees–4,281 people–went on leave for longer than three months during the fiscal years 2011 through 2013.

219 employees of the DHS alone went on PAID leave for 6 -12 months.

“[O]ver the five years of the study (from 2011-2015), 116 DHS employees were on administrative leave for more than a year costing us over $19.8 million.”

Jul 02

Secret government documents reveal 90 percent of persons killed by U.S. drones have not been the intended targets

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“Secret government documents leaked to The Intercept by a whistleblower show that, according to official figures, 90 percent of people killed in U.S. drone strikes in a five-month period in provinces on Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan were not the intended targets.”

See here (Salon).

And here (The Intercept).

Jun 26

Yale Law School Dean pronounces that climate skepticism is “fraud”

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Former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas once noted that authorities who violate freedom of speech and press always claim they are doing something else.

“Protecting public order,” “preventing violence,” and “stopping terrorism or treason” are common excuses offered by tyrants who defy the First Amendment.

Now, the DEAN of Yale Law School is openly claiming that skepticism of the government’s man-made-carbon-dioxide-global-warming theory falls into a “fraud” exception to the First Amendment. See here. Thus, according to this high-level law professor, government can forcibly suppress such speech.

Jun 26

Contradicting hundreds of news reports, Greenland’s ice surface is well above normal for the date

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Hundreds of newspaper articles and posts on “mainstream” (meaning government-supporting and supported) websites have proclaimed a recent “acceleration” in melting of ice in Greenland.

In fact, satellite footage and data show that the ice pack in Greenland (as mid-summer approaches) is actually above normal.

“Greenland’s surface has gained 530 billion tons of ice since last summer, and is tracking well above normal.” See here.

Jun 24

Hawaiian government now registers all Hawaiian gun owners

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It finally happened. The legislature and governor of a state (Hawaii) have approved a gun registry for all residents who possess firearms.

Hawaii signed a bill Thursday to become the first state to enter gun owners into an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the country.

See here.

Jun 23

Hope for humanity: Britain Leaves EU

Abstract vector color map of Great Britain country coloured by national flag

Abstract vector color map of Great Britain country coloured by national flag

Lift a glass for self determination! It appears the courageous Brits have chosen to exit the European Union.

There is hope!

Jun 23

There are now more non-military government employees who carry guns than there are U.S. Marines

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The U.S. government has been bolstering the powers, privileges and immunities of federal employees for years.

Career federal employees now get 8 weeks of PAID vacation annually. They are paid around twice what a private sector worker in the same field would make (and this does not include the paid vacation!).

Federal workers are increasingly immune from lawsuit, and are protected in a thousand ways from their angry constituents.

There are now more non-military government employees who carry guns than there are U.S. Marines. See here.

Jun 23

American home ownership at lowest in nearly 50 years

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Overregulation by government, near-zero interest rates, student loan debt, and near all-time-low savings rates have devastated home ownership rates.

Home ownership is at its lowest in nearly 50 years, falling to 63.7 percent in 2015. It’s a “decade-long slide” that “is unprecedented in American history,” according to an annual report released Wednesday by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. See here.

The growth of student loan debt has also contributed. Today’s college grads already–in essence–have a mortgage to pay for, thanks to the Student Loan Program, which subsidizes demand and causes tuition costs to rise.

Jun 21

6 per cent of America’s prime-age male population are ex-convicts

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Financial Times recently reviewed the economic problems facing America’s lower-class males. Males of prime working age have abandoned work, as regulation and the criminal justice system have taken their tolls. See here.

“Between 6 and 7 per cent of the prime-age male population was in prison at some point during their lives in 2008.”