May 23

Tens of thousands flee socialist Illinois

Illinois was once an international flagship of capitalism, freedom, commerce and manufacturing.

Today the bloated government of Illinois has raised taxes so high that tens of thousands have fled for freer pastures in each of the past several years. See here.

One couple is quoted saying that by moving to Tennessee, they managed to take back 25 percent of their income.

Illinois’ government workers live like royalty among starving peasants. The State now spends so much on retirement pensions for its “workers” that the budget for RETIRED Illinois college professors is higher than the budget for the current entire state university system. See here. (And many Illinois government retirees take their padded pensions and retire elsewhere, such as in lower-tax Florida, Nevada or Texas.)

Illinois government is panicking at the exodus of productive people, and planning to raise taxes even further on those who stay.

Recently the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune–which, like most ‘mainstream’ news editorial boards has cheered government growth for years–conceded that living in Illinois makes no financial sense.

May 19

“Beware of the day we get arms”: Iranian protesters chant as government shuts off internet and cell service

Deadly protests in the southern Iranian city of Kazerun have followed the government’s killing of two protesters and the arrests of many others.

“After anti-riot forces were dispatched to the city from Shiraz, the people charged at them and hand-to-hand clashes ensued,”
Iranian protesters, angry at government corruption, have gathered outside an Iranian police station. The protesters reportedly vow not to leave until those falsely arrested are released.

“Beware of the day we get arms,” they reportedly chanted. See here.

The Iranian government–which controls the internet and cell service–has shut off both in an effort to quell the uprising.

May 19

Over half of all witnesses testifying before congressional committees are government-funded; and almost all request more funding

Over half the witnesses testifying before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives [are] funded directly by the federal taxpayer. In 1995, 35 percent of witnesses were federal employees; of the remaining “public” witnesses, one of every three was a government grant recipient. Grant recipients testified during the 104th Congress roughly 6,000 times: 3,000 times a year, or an average of a dozen times every working day.

And the vast majority of witnesses before such committees ask for more government money as the solution to every problem. See here.

May 18

Australian professor fired by government university for global warming skepticism

James Cook University, a public university and the second oldest university in Queensland, Australia, has fired Professor Peter Ridd for climate skepticism and related “misconduct.” See here.

May 18

Social Security impoverishes: One-third of Americans have less than $5,000 saved for retirement.

A new study by Northwestern Mutual finds that one-third of Americans have less than $5,000 set aside for retirement.

21% of Americans have no retirement savings at all.

SOCIAL SECURITY TO BLAME

Many workers don’t save for the future because they assume they can live on Social Security. But that’s a dangerous, misguided assumption. In a best-case scenario, Social Security will replace about 40% of the average earner’s pre-retirement income. Most seniors, however, need double that amount to live comfortably.

See here.

May 18

Tens of thousands secretly arrested, detained in Chinese indoctrination camps

There are reports that tens–and perhaps hundreds–of Chinese muslims are being held in secret Chinese “indoctrination camps” in the far-western reaches of China.

Most appear to be arrested secretly, without warrant or court process, ans whisked away to the secret camps, where they are often tortured.

Detainees are made to denounce their religious beliefs and swear allegiance to the Communist Party and the Chinese government.

May 16

Deputy who cowered at school shooting will retire with $104,000 pension at age 55

Scott Peterson, the 55-year-old deputy who reportedly cowered outside while an alleged school shooter allegedly murdered dozens inside a Parkland, Florida school, will reportedly receive a six-figure pension for the rest of his life. See here.

Peterson retired in disgrace but is due to collect more than $104,000 a year plus benefits.

Peterson is typical of growing numbers of massively paid, millionaire government bureaucrats who appear to manifest hatred and contempt for private-sector Americans.

Two of the largest recent mass-slaughters of Americans were reportedly committed by retired or undercover government agents. Steven Paddock, a millionaire IRS worker, is said to have opened fire on hundreds of country music listeners in Las Vegas in October 2017. Omar Mateen, an undercover FBI asset, reportedly murdered 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in June 2016.

May 08

Anthropologist: modern universities breed conformity rather than intellectual curiosity

Many have wondered why most college professors conform to stereotype: hopelessly closed-minded worshippers of elitist, ‘leftist’ ideology.

David Graeber, a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, suggests in a recent book that the structure and norms of university life breed conformity.

Something about the experience of grad school, the job market, and pre-tenure trials ends up rendering 99 percent of even the most secure academics utterly incapable of meaningful rebellion. It’s a matter that surely deserves sociological analysis. The tenure system is ostensibly there to give professors the security to experiment with potentially dangerous ideas. Yet somehow the process of obtaining it reduces a good proportion of the most perceptive and sophisticated human beings our society produces to a state in which they can’t imagine what a dangerous idea would even look like.

A summary of these points in the Chronicle of Higher Education can be found here.

May 05

Ten years ago, CBO estimated that Congress would run a $151 billion surplus in 2017. Instead, they ran a $665 billion deficit.

Ten years ago, The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that Congress would run a $151 billion surplus in 2017. Instead, the U.S. ran a $665 billion deficit.

Now the CBO projects $12.4 trillion in additional debt over the next decade.

This represents a more than 50 percent increase to the current national debt, which has already blown past $21 trillion. See here.

May 03

New Report: 1 in 6 seniors are millionaires

An astounding new report about American demographics has been summarized by Bloomberg News service. See here.

Average wealth for retirees has risen more than 100 percent since 1989, to $752,000, and the share of those who are millionaires has doubled.

Also, more retirees—62 percent—are enjoying life without physical or cognitive limitations, according to the data. That number is up from 49 percent in 1963.

Thus, most seniors COULD work.

These astounding findings are significant and show that federal programs such as Social Security and Medicare are regressive. They transfer resources from the poor (i.e., the young) to the rich (i.e., the old).

Also, such programs transfer resources from Blacks, Native Americans and Latinos to Whites. This is because whites have relatively longer live expectancy.

In fact, Social Security and Medicare are second only to the institution of slavery in terms of being the biggest programs in American history that transfer resources from Blacks to whites.