May 11

Government health care regulation driving more people to do their own dental work.

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Health care is probably the most regulated industry in the world. Much of this regulation subsidizes demand without increasing supply, causing prices to rise. Consequently, health care costs have generally risen much faster than inflation. Now, more and more people are simply avoiding government “health care” altogether and seeking to treat themselves. Here is a story about the increasing number of people who have been driven away from the overregulation and high prices of government-approved dental care and are opting to do their own dental fillings.

If people were more free to purchase their own CAT scan machines, MRI machines and other medical devices, the prices of such technology would come down quickly. If people were free to make their own medical purchases over the counter without government-approved-doctor prescriptions, medicine prices would come down quickly. If people were free to seek health care from non-government-licensed doctors, health would greatly improve for most Americans.

May 10

Scientist discovers that government temperature data for Maine has been systematically altered

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Study the table above. We’ve all heard that government officials have been caught “adjusting” temperature history to make past temps look colder and recent temps look warmer in comparison. Now Mike Brakey, an engineering physicist and heat transfer specialist, has carefully tabulated certain “adjustments” that have been made by NOAA scientists who clearly altered official records between 2013 and 2014 for the state of Maine. Notice that the direction of change is entirely one-directional: temps in the past have been “adjusted” lower for past years.

Even more significantly, the adjustment trends INCREASE as one goes backward in time. Temps between 1895 and 1925 have been generally adjusted lower by 3 to 5 percent; while temps for the period between 1986 and 2014 have been adjusted lower only 0 to 1.3 percent.

These government adjustments have essentially rewritten Maine climate history.

But it’s a “consensus”; Don’t look into it. Nothing to see here.

May 09

Woops! Social Security now expected to be insolvent within 5 years.

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Here’s some big news. A review by Harvard and Dartmouth researchers has found that the Social Security Administration’s actuarial forecasts have been consistently overstating the financial health of the program’s trust funds since 2000.

Specifically, the agency has been ignoring evidence that Americans’ life expectancy has risen more than the agency has projected. A more realistic assessment–conducted with more accurate data from the private insurance industry–reveals that Social Security will have insufficient funds to pay out all its claims as soon as 2020–not 2031 as previously predicted.

May 09

The Tragedy in Baltimore: Too Much Government

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Baltimore has recently been in the news for riots, systemic police brutality and entrenched poverty. Trusters of state interference have sought to blame these tragedies on the private sector, or even on the “1 percent.” Economist John C. Goodman asks:
“Did Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, cause the breakdown of civil order in Baltimore? How about JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels and the world’s richest woman? Is she the cause of all the mayhem?”
Goodman points out:
1) Among the top 100 school districts in the country, Baltimore spending per student ranks number two – trailing only New York.
2) Baltimore spends $17,196 per student – an amount that would pay the tuition at some of the nation’s most exclusive private schools.
3) the Baltimore school system has about 1 teacher or staff person for every 8.3 students.
4) “Baltimore has the highest income and real estate taxes in the state of Maryland.”
5) As a result of this government intrusion and overregulation, “$125 million in taxable annual income in Baltimore vanished between 2009 and 2010,” “as people who create jobs leave the city.”

May 05

April 2015: Antarctic Sea Ice is at an ALL-TIME HIGH

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We are alerted to breaking news (May 2015) that a new record high for antarctic sea ice has been set for the month of April. (Beating last year’s record high.) Ice is now ABOVE AVERAGE VIRTUALLY ALL AROUND THE CONTINENT. The data comes from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

May 04

Central Planners Now Dominate Election Spending, While Claiming Elections Are Bought by Free-Market Capitalists

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There was a time, generations ago, when self-described “liberals” were the biggest proponents of free speech. This was probably because the speech and publications of “liberals” were historically singled out for censorship and persecution more than the speech of any other sector of the American population.

Today, the First Amendment’s protections of free speech and press are under seige by these same so-called liberals. In fact, they have built an immense war chest of money to be used to repeal the First Amendment. Frequently these central planners and socialists condemn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in CITIZENS UNITED V. F.E.C. and proclaim that the decision unleashed “floodgates” of “unlimited” political spending by business corporations.

The truth is exactly the opposite. Democrats outspent Republicans in the elections of 2014 (yet were generally trounced by Republicans). The website Opensecrets.org has released the latest (March 2015) data of the biggest-spending 100 organizations (combining unions, businesses, PACs and corporations). As you can see, the top 100 campaign spenders are overwhelmingly “liberal” and Democratic.

Apr 25

“Adjusted” temperature record to be examined by a team of distinguished scientists

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It has previously been reported in these pages that government agencies have been caught “adjusting” global temperatures upward in recent years and downward for past years to give a greater impression of recent global warming. Some “adjusting” may be warranted: thermometers and temperature measuring equipment have been moved, altered and improved in some cases. But a pattern has emerged suggesting that temps seem to have been altered to show drastic global warming.

According to THE TELEGRAPH, the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) has enlisted an international team of five distinguished scientists to carry out a full inquiry into just how far these manipulations of the data may have distorted our picture of what is really happening to global temperatures.

At this time it appears that the five distinguished scientists include solid names of great respectability, including Terence Kealey, until recently vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham and Professor Roger Pielke Sr, a noted climatologist from the University of Colorado.

Professor Kealey is a brave academic who has harshly criticized government funding of scientific research. Pielke has been occasionally mentioned as a “skeptic” by global-warming alarmists.

Apr 24

Montana Legislature–dominated by “tea party” Republicans for a decade–passes budget MORE THAN DOUBLING State spending since 2011

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The state of Montana is often identified as a “red” western state dominated by libertarian-conservative voters. Its legislature meets only once every two years and legislative candidates tend to get elected upon promises to limit government. The past 3 legislative sessions have seen the most Republican-dominated chambers in Montana history.

Yesterday, April 23, 2015, the Montana House voted 86-14 to approve the state’s $10 billion, two-year budget.

By comparison, the 2011 legislature (also dominated by Republicans who claimed to want to “limit” government) passed a 2-year budget of 3.7 billion dollars ($1.747 billion in 2012 and $1.846 billion in 2013, according to Ballotpedia).

Apr 24

London Daily Mail now admits that the case for co2-driven-global-warming is weakening; most American papers continue censoring “skepticism”

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The London Daily Mail now prints articles admitting, at least, that manmade global warming has “slowed.”

Most major U.S. newspapers (like most major papers in the world) continue to conceal and censor information questioning the major-government position on “climate change.” For example, the LA Times, America’s third largest paper in terms of circulation (though its circulation is dwindling) has an explicit policy that prohibits the printing of any fact that questions the government’s climate-change hysteria.

Apr 24

Federal Employees Are Now so Overpaid that Federal Agencies Set Job Applicant Limits

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Statistically, a federal employee is more likely to die than to quit. Federal employees are paid so much that many hundreds–or even thousands–of applicants now apply for some federal openings, such as openings in the U.S. Postal Service.

In the private sector, this would signal a basic “supply versus demand” solution: wages would be adjusted downward until supply was more equitably balanced with demand. Taxpayers would then get more “government services” for their money.

But supply-and-demand analysis doesn’t seem to apply to government hiring decisions. A 2014 story in the Baltimore Sun revealed that some federal agencies are now (secretly) capping the number of applicants at a given number; say 25. (Those who apply after this secret number is reached are not always told that their applications won’t be considered.)

The Baltimore Sun article is here.