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

antarctic sea ice

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

climate change magazines

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”

snowfield

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

change4th_dees

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.

Apr 22

Social Security is a massive transfer from the poor and minorities to whites and the affluent

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Columnist Star Parker is out with a brilliant column today:

Here’s the conclusion of a 2013 study published by the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.: “When considered across many decades — historically, currently and in the near future — Social Security redistributes from Hispanics, blacks and other people of color to whites.”

According to the calculations of the authors of the Urban Institute study, for every $100 that white beneficiaries pay in Social Security payroll taxes, they receive $113 in benefits. But blacks receive only $89 in benefits and Hispanics only $58 in benefits for every $100 they pay in taxes.

There are a number of factors contributing to this disparity.

Social Security penalizes those with shorter lifespans. Whereas national life expectancy is 79 years, for blacks it is 74 years. For black males, it is 71 years.

Social Security is biased toward married households rather than singles, because marrieds can take advantage of spousal benefits. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2008, 32 percent of the adult black population was married compared to 56 percent of the adult white population.

Parker adds:

Social Security taxes preclude wealth creation for low-income workers by taxing away the only funds they have available for investing in real retirement savings.

Median white household wealth, according to Pew, is $141,000, contrasted with $13,700 for blacks and $11,700 for Hispanics. The percentage of whites with IRAs or Keogh plans is 35 percent, contrasted with 10 percent for blacks and 11 percent for Hispanics. The percentage of whites with 401(k) plans is 45 percent, contrasted with 24 percent of blacks and 30 percent of Hispanics.

Apr 21

This is What Happens When Governments Fail: Greece Begins Confiscating Cash Held in Local City Bank Accounts.

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Over time, almost every government comes for all money, all freedom, all property, and to kill all who resist. Today’s Greek government is a case in point: for years, Greek politicians have overspent, expanded their jurisdiction, expanded regulations and raised taxes. Now the country is so deep in debt that the central bankers of the European Union are demanding repayment.

Greece has now issued a decree demanding that all local towns and municipalities send all their cash to the central Greek bank for confiscation. The report by Mish Shedlock is here.

This confiscation of local town funds by the Greek central government will cause many towns to default on payments to their city employees. And the central Greek government will soon reach for more funds, including private funds.

And note how markets automatically arise to heal the dumb decisions of governments: Shedlock reports that yields on two-year Greek bonds is now over 28%. Such high rates are indicative that credit in Greece is so hard to come by that those offering bonds must offer to pay exorbitant amounts in exchange for funds.

Apr 18

Two Phenomena That May Be Related: Voters Becoming Overwhelmingly Libertarian, Democrats Becoming Old and Tired

Goodman

Economist John C. Goodman is out with an interesting column stating that libertarian voters outnumber conservatives and liberals. Specifically, “38 percent of the public identifies as “conservative” and 24 percent as “liberal” in the latest [Gallup] poll,” while at least one major [2006 Cato Institute/Zogby] poll found that fully 59 percent of Americans say they are “fiscally conservative and socially liberal.”

This is interesting because both the “conservative” and “liberal” camps at one time included large numbers of libertarians. However, in recent election cycles, libertarian-leaning voters have moved toward the Republican Party. And the Democratic Party–which once championed privacy, limits on police and surveillance, and due process rights–has moved more exclusively into the area of old-school socialism and simple economic redistribution. Reason Magazine’s Matt Welch is out with a column asking “Why Are the Democrats So Old and Tired?” Welch notes that

If there was to be a Tea Party-style wave of contested Democratic primaries (and there won’t be any time soon), it would likely not be on the issues of drug policy or surveillance (alas!), but rather income inequality, Robin Hood taxes, and jacking up the minimum wage to $15 an hour.