Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Economists: End Or Drastically Downsize the Fed
Economists: End Or Drastically Downsize the Fed
uh oh, NYU and Columbia are joining the "End The Fed" movement? whatever will be next? :)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Posner Gets It Wrong on Macroeconomics - Clifford F. Thies
"Of course, progressives believe that people in the private sector are basically idiots and, so, probably don't even know what they're making after taxes. This is an article of faith in their religion and, believing in freedom of religion, I'm not going to disparage them for this belief. This is why I distinguish progressives from the crackbrained."
Posner Gets It Wrong on Macroeconomics - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Daily
Posner Gets It Wrong on Macroeconomics - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Daily
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Road To A Downgrade (WSJ)
The Road To A Downgrade (WSJ)
a short recap of the salient facts, and the simple meaning thereof, from the Journal editorial team
a short recap of the salient facts, and the simple meaning thereof, from the Journal editorial team
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
A Pro-Free-Market Program for Economic Recovery | George Reisman
one of the "Austrian" school masters teaching us what was once the "American" way, go figure!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Ruins of Afghanistan's Monument Valley (WSJ)
The Ruins of Afghanistan's Monument Valley (WSJ)
the assault on civilization is relentless, priceless treasures of archaeology now irrevocably damaged - Genghis Khan took no interest in them since they were not made of gold and silver, but the radical, aggressive monotheism of the nomads has proven intractable, the embedded genetic deviances of exponential and incalculable consequence - monolithism, monotheism of various types are very appealing and infectious to populations experiencing tyranny while deprived of the intellectual tools to reach a proper understanding of the cause
the cynical exacerbation of these fundamental contradictions, by ad hoc realpolitik is simply not sustainable because at some point the exhaustion of US moral capital will impinge on the ability of even the large US corps, the primary clients of the state, to operate freely in world markets without some aggression or other - at precisely the moment when the whole world is necessarily riveted by the spectacle of a giant rolling recession in the US, and its rippling consequences worldwide, the magnifying glass of exponential significance has been squarely placed on the US challenge, to make a giant upgrade in governmental morality and international morality, a challenge that the EU is making a spectacular, historic hash job of!
this is the point at which I make my pitch for Liberty, of course - the US can meet this challenge confidently because the fundamental strengths of the constitutional ideology are ever relevant to the present and eternal menace to civilization, aggression, ever relevant to the security of what is held by the US to be self evident truth - if I have discovered a point of difference with Mises (I have very few! before you faint from my shocking impertinence) it is on the singularity of civilization, I would speak of cultures as plural and civilization as singular - the constitution permits no abdication of the natural, self-evident humanism of classical liberal ideology, it is the "mission statement" of the nation, the implicit purpose of all state action, and therefore the irrevocable cornerstone of foreign policy
it is a misnomer to call the libertarian position "isolationist" in any other sense except that it is ideologically "isolationist" to the classical liberal humanism, Liberty requires that the US relationship with the rest of the world be driven by the friendships and business relationships of the people, without a partial application of state power in favor of this or that corporation/industry, no matter how large and lucrative a 'cash cow' it presents for the state - the state can only be consistent and principled in its use of counter-aggression when it is firmly committed to the principle of non-aggression that derives from the humanist premise, and applies across cultures and continents
speaking to this specific issue, Liberty recognizes the criminality of the taliban aggression against intellectual capital owned by all the people, likewise Liberty recognizes the duty to arrange and execute effective counter-aggression to prevent the vandalism of the peoples' treasures - swift, targeted action is the need of the hour, and it follows most smoothly from crystal clarity in the "mission statement", and Liberty is the mission statement of the constitution and the nation, an eagle that soars far above the paralysis of "left" versus "right"
[this vandalism really annoyed me, it should have been prevented - is it a case of empty lip service to the stone masonry of the ancient world?]
the assault on civilization is relentless, priceless treasures of archaeology now irrevocably damaged - Genghis Khan took no interest in them since they were not made of gold and silver, but the radical, aggressive monotheism of the nomads has proven intractable, the embedded genetic deviances of exponential and incalculable consequence - monolithism, monotheism of various types are very appealing and infectious to populations experiencing tyranny while deprived of the intellectual tools to reach a proper understanding of the cause
the cynical exacerbation of these fundamental contradictions, by ad hoc realpolitik is simply not sustainable because at some point the exhaustion of US moral capital will impinge on the ability of even the large US corps, the primary clients of the state, to operate freely in world markets without some aggression or other - at precisely the moment when the whole world is necessarily riveted by the spectacle of a giant rolling recession in the US, and its rippling consequences worldwide, the magnifying glass of exponential significance has been squarely placed on the US challenge, to make a giant upgrade in governmental morality and international morality, a challenge that the EU is making a spectacular, historic hash job of!
this is the point at which I make my pitch for Liberty, of course - the US can meet this challenge confidently because the fundamental strengths of the constitutional ideology are ever relevant to the present and eternal menace to civilization, aggression, ever relevant to the security of what is held by the US to be self evident truth - if I have discovered a point of difference with Mises (I have very few! before you faint from my shocking impertinence) it is on the singularity of civilization, I would speak of cultures as plural and civilization as singular - the constitution permits no abdication of the natural, self-evident humanism of classical liberal ideology, it is the "mission statement" of the nation, the implicit purpose of all state action, and therefore the irrevocable cornerstone of foreign policy
it is a misnomer to call the libertarian position "isolationist" in any other sense except that it is ideologically "isolationist" to the classical liberal humanism, Liberty requires that the US relationship with the rest of the world be driven by the friendships and business relationships of the people, without a partial application of state power in favor of this or that corporation/industry, no matter how large and lucrative a 'cash cow' it presents for the state - the state can only be consistent and principled in its use of counter-aggression when it is firmly committed to the principle of non-aggression that derives from the humanist premise, and applies across cultures and continents
speaking to this specific issue, Liberty recognizes the criminality of the taliban aggression against intellectual capital owned by all the people, likewise Liberty recognizes the duty to arrange and execute effective counter-aggression to prevent the vandalism of the peoples' treasures - swift, targeted action is the need of the hour, and it follows most smoothly from crystal clarity in the "mission statement", and Liberty is the mission statement of the constitution and the nation, an eagle that soars far above the paralysis of "left" versus "right"
[this vandalism really annoyed me, it should have been prevented - is it a case of empty lip service to the stone masonry of the ancient world?]
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Lord Monckton on the Environmentalist hoax (video)
there are 5 parts to it, a priceless bit about Al Gore later on, and RK Pachauri
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Are we forgetting what "freedom" is? the Mises vision explained
Lew Rockwell speaking to the Houston Mises Circle, Jan 23, 2010 (video)
25 pithy minutes, Rockwell has that Misesian ability to load every sentence with meaning, to make every word count
25 pithy minutes, Rockwell has that Misesian ability to load every sentence with meaning, to make every word count
topical thoughts on civil disobedience, the Lokpal agitation
I think the Lokpal is a great idea, it would be of high value in an otherwise normally functional republic, I would congratulate each and every Indian who got off his behind and hit the streets, but the specific society of India has a unique historic legacy of divine right endogamous hierarchy enforced by state coercion to which the major political party/ies and the society in general adheres, and for the maintenance of which no other viable alternative exists except dynastic cronyism
the fight here is not for regime change, the removal of a tyrant or party, the fight is for the moral soul, the conscience of the nation, because an end to state corruption would simultaneously mean the end of the millennia-old business model of the aryan endogamous hierarchy - sadly, history provides no cause whatsoever to hope or believe that such an outcome is possible without the use of coercive force, that Sonia Gandhi is going to turn into Mayawati, Manmohan Singh is going to turn into Nitish Kumar, the state is going to become free of corruption because of "civil disobedience" - the myth that the british left India because of "civil disobedience" is a profound insult to the memory of those brave soldiers who mutinied in defense of their generals, the memory of the patriot generals themselves, Shah Nawaz, Dhillon and Sehgal, and above all, to the memory of the widely popular Subhash Bose, who had earlier been coerced into resigning the Congress presidency by Gandhi's paroxysm of petulance, before organizing a military strategy to oust the brits
for the agitation in India to become a real movement it needs ideological clarity and a specific objective/s (like 'swaraj') as cleaner government is hard to define and quantify, rather it is a reflection of the rule of law, a measure of the competence of the executive branch - what is "rotten" in this Denmark is not a single, rogue king but rather the whole dynasty and the whole ideology, the casteism that is its' bread, the violence that is its' wine, the human vileness at its' very centre; a single, dramatic gesture (Hamletian or Gandhian, makes no difference) cannot substitute for the principled humanism of Ambedkar's classical liberal ideology
Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, the Swami, the Anna, these are people of impeccable intentions, so the question is not whether the civil society can get another law passed, rather can the civil society effect a revolution in the moral climate of government? without actually taking the reins of power the proper way? the honest answer is, no, not without understanding liberal economics, not without a locus of Indian humanism, not without becoming Ambedkarite in the process - the noblest of intent will be wrecked on the anvil of ignorance, the stoutest of morals drained by delusion, in the blind repetition of history not yet understood
Ambedkar challenged the bahujan majority of India to be patient but steadfast on the mission to capture state power in the constitutional way, in which cause this agitation of the civil society is beside the point because it is unable to add to the Ambedkarite theoretical understanding of why this state is immoral in the first place, why bolshevism so fascinates the upper castes, why rule of law was better under the brits, why liberal thought and Indian culture were thriving under the brits
that is why this is a last hurrah of Gandhism, regardless of the Lokpal bill's journey and outcome, and like all other Gandhism, in reality it will be of minimum impact for the poor, and maximum publicity for window dressing cases
the fight here is not for regime change, the removal of a tyrant or party, the fight is for the moral soul, the conscience of the nation, because an end to state corruption would simultaneously mean the end of the millennia-old business model of the aryan endogamous hierarchy - sadly, history provides no cause whatsoever to hope or believe that such an outcome is possible without the use of coercive force, that Sonia Gandhi is going to turn into Mayawati, Manmohan Singh is going to turn into Nitish Kumar, the state is going to become free of corruption because of "civil disobedience" - the myth that the british left India because of "civil disobedience" is a profound insult to the memory of those brave soldiers who mutinied in defense of their generals, the memory of the patriot generals themselves, Shah Nawaz, Dhillon and Sehgal, and above all, to the memory of the widely popular Subhash Bose, who had earlier been coerced into resigning the Congress presidency by Gandhi's paroxysm of petulance, before organizing a military strategy to oust the brits
for the agitation in India to become a real movement it needs ideological clarity and a specific objective/s (like 'swaraj') as cleaner government is hard to define and quantify, rather it is a reflection of the rule of law, a measure of the competence of the executive branch - what is "rotten" in this Denmark is not a single, rogue king but rather the whole dynasty and the whole ideology, the casteism that is its' bread, the violence that is its' wine, the human vileness at its' very centre; a single, dramatic gesture (Hamletian or Gandhian, makes no difference) cannot substitute for the principled humanism of Ambedkar's classical liberal ideology
Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, the Swami, the Anna, these are people of impeccable intentions, so the question is not whether the civil society can get another law passed, rather can the civil society effect a revolution in the moral climate of government? without actually taking the reins of power the proper way? the honest answer is, no, not without understanding liberal economics, not without a locus of Indian humanism, not without becoming Ambedkarite in the process - the noblest of intent will be wrecked on the anvil of ignorance, the stoutest of morals drained by delusion, in the blind repetition of history not yet understood
Ambedkar challenged the bahujan majority of India to be patient but steadfast on the mission to capture state power in the constitutional way, in which cause this agitation of the civil society is beside the point because it is unable to add to the Ambedkarite theoretical understanding of why this state is immoral in the first place, why bolshevism so fascinates the upper castes, why rule of law was better under the brits, why liberal thought and Indian culture were thriving under the brits
that is why this is a last hurrah of Gandhism, regardless of the Lokpal bill's journey and outcome, and like all other Gandhism, in reality it will be of minimum impact for the poor, and maximum publicity for window dressing cases
Friday, June 24, 2011
topical thoughts on land acquisition, POSCO and Singur
The POSCO case demonstrates the monstrosity of "imminent domain" crashing into the right of "catalytic property" and resulting in the sort of mess that makes perfectly well meaning people conclude that no other option is left but "majoritarian tyranny" or aggression. I will talk about the non-aggressive solution in a little bit, but to set the scene first: what has happened is some unfenced, unused government owned land, allocated to a large infrastructure project by a multinational, has been homesteaded by local farmers who are growing cash crops on it. The state wants to clear the homesteaders with a small compensation while the homesteading farmers are demanding the same compensation for vacating the land that title holding property owners received. Activists and agitators have arrived on the scene muddying up all this cozy deal making between the state and giant mercantile interests for "development" - how else could we have development unless the almighty, benevolent state does it for us?
India is being wracked by repetitions of this sort of statist predation of property rights, with the same common theme of state aggression and large corporate interests. In the forests where India's indigenous libertarian people reside, most of the property rights are held without title deed, but the problem has surfaced even where no homesteading issue complicates the affair, like in Bengal where only privately owned farm land was in play. There we are confronted with a "majoritarian tyranny" issue, as a minority of farmers chose not to sell their land and Tata's new Nano car project fell through. The political fallout proved disastrous for the ruling communists at the election.
The happy thought of communist downfall aside, the first thing that almost anyone would embrace about a free market, is that it would compel such deals to be concluded peacefully between buyers and sellers, with the state playing no other part except the prevention (or termination) of aggression. If there are 500 farmers then it is up to the buyer to persuade them as a group or as individuals. The farmers who need the money most will very likely sell first, while others for whom farming is working well enough may hold out for a higher price. In any case 500 sales have to be closed, as sellers have different prices because they value the land according to their individuality.
In tightly knit communities the farmers may choose to bargain collectively if they are aware of the buyer's larger interest. This will probably result in a higher total cost for the land but it saves the buyer the costs of closing 500 deals. The case of 400 farmers 'Yea' and 100 farmers 'Nay' can only occur if a price is being fixed. The 100 'Nays' all have a price at which point they will switch to 'Yeas'. It is an error to think a price fixed by the state is "just" when it is in fact coercion. It is usually a strong persuasion in rural communities when most of one's neighbors want to do something anyway, so I see no reason why "majoritarian tyranny" has to be kicked in at a certain fixed number. Such haste is aggression against precisely those who value the land most, and who wish to push the price higher. How could it be "just" to coerce them? Why shouldn't they demand more comprehensive compensation, like equity sharing? Cash today is not gold or silver, it is a piece of paper that loses value unless expertly invested, whereas land is a capital asset that earns and earns and earns. So is "cash for land" truly a just exchange in this context? or is it the exploitative consequence of a fatal information asymmetry?
How the farmers arrive at their agreement is of no concern to the state so long as no aggression occurs. The state's idea of "national interest" is simply the interest of the politicians, bureaucrats and their clients, more appropriately termed "criminal interest". There is NEVER a "national interest" in the aggression of rights, it is always a criminal interest.
ADDENDA:
it is the government's duty to put a fence or employ a guard or whatever, the government has no business holding land just for holding it and using it to extort - if you have to enforce "imminent domain" then the compensation to homesteaders has to be negotiated, without coercion, based upon loss of income they will experience - whenever the state makes life "easy" for one person it is at the cost of "uneasiness" for someone else, always, by an immutable economic law
Swami Agnivesh came up during the JP movement, he knows there is no substitute for parliament when rule of law has collapsed
India is being wracked by repetitions of this sort of statist predation of property rights, with the same common theme of state aggression and large corporate interests. In the forests where India's indigenous libertarian people reside, most of the property rights are held without title deed, but the problem has surfaced even where no homesteading issue complicates the affair, like in Bengal where only privately owned farm land was in play. There we are confronted with a "majoritarian tyranny" issue, as a minority of farmers chose not to sell their land and Tata's new Nano car project fell through. The political fallout proved disastrous for the ruling communists at the election.
The happy thought of communist downfall aside, the first thing that almost anyone would embrace about a free market, is that it would compel such deals to be concluded peacefully between buyers and sellers, with the state playing no other part except the prevention (or termination) of aggression. If there are 500 farmers then it is up to the buyer to persuade them as a group or as individuals. The farmers who need the money most will very likely sell first, while others for whom farming is working well enough may hold out for a higher price. In any case 500 sales have to be closed, as sellers have different prices because they value the land according to their individuality.
In tightly knit communities the farmers may choose to bargain collectively if they are aware of the buyer's larger interest. This will probably result in a higher total cost for the land but it saves the buyer the costs of closing 500 deals. The case of 400 farmers 'Yea' and 100 farmers 'Nay' can only occur if a price is being fixed. The 100 'Nays' all have a price at which point they will switch to 'Yeas'. It is an error to think a price fixed by the state is "just" when it is in fact coercion. It is usually a strong persuasion in rural communities when most of one's neighbors want to do something anyway, so I see no reason why "majoritarian tyranny" has to be kicked in at a certain fixed number. Such haste is aggression against precisely those who value the land most, and who wish to push the price higher. How could it be "just" to coerce them? Why shouldn't they demand more comprehensive compensation, like equity sharing? Cash today is not gold or silver, it is a piece of paper that loses value unless expertly invested, whereas land is a capital asset that earns and earns and earns. So is "cash for land" truly a just exchange in this context? or is it the exploitative consequence of a fatal information asymmetry?
How the farmers arrive at their agreement is of no concern to the state so long as no aggression occurs. The state's idea of "national interest" is simply the interest of the politicians, bureaucrats and their clients, more appropriately termed "criminal interest". There is NEVER a "national interest" in the aggression of rights, it is always a criminal interest.
ADDENDA:
it is the government's duty to put a fence or employ a guard or whatever, the government has no business holding land just for holding it and using it to extort - if you have to enforce "imminent domain" then the compensation to homesteaders has to be negotiated, without coercion, based upon loss of income they will experience - whenever the state makes life "easy" for one person it is at the cost of "uneasiness" for someone else, always, by an immutable economic law
Swami Agnivesh came up during the JP movement, he knows there is no substitute for parliament when rule of law has collapsed
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Ron Paul - The Keys to Economic Growth
Ron Paul - The Keys to Economic Growth
"First and foremost, we must create a sound U.S. currency backed by gold or some other commodity respected by the market. No nation in history with a rapidly depreciating currency has attracted private capital. Unless and until we prohibit the Treasury and Federal Reserve from essentially creating money and credit from thin air, we cannot restore the U.S. economy.
"First and foremost, we must create a sound U.S. currency backed by gold or some other commodity respected by the market. No nation in history with a rapidly depreciating currency has attracted private capital. Unless and until we prohibit the Treasury and Federal Reserve from essentially creating money and credit from thin air, we cannot restore the U.S. economy.
· Second, we must create a favorable regulatory environment for U.S. business. This cannot be stressed enough. When businesses don’t know what’s coming next from the EPA, when Obamacare spikes their healthcare costs, or when the Dodd-Frank bill adds almost unknowable regulatory compliance burdens, businesses simply will not expand and hire. It is time to start shrinking the federal register.
· Third, we must stop spending trillions of dollars overseas on foreign wars. There is no point in debating a foreign policy we cannot afford. It no longer matters what neoconservatives want. Our interventionist foreign policy is financed on credit, and our credit limit has been reached. Our economy would be infinitely better off if those trillions of dollars had never been removed from the private economy or added to our debt.
· Finally, we must completely revamp the U.S. tax system and move to a territorial model that does not tax foreign source income. U.S. corporations are sitting on more than a trillion dollars in foreign earnings that cannot be repatriated to the U.S. because of taxes. We need to stop taxing unpatriated funds to bring those earnings home. Better yet, we need to abolish the income tax altogether."
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
What Is Liberalism? - Ludwig von Mises
What Is Liberalism? - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Daily
boy, do we need a refresher on this! might as well get it from the master himself
boy, do we need a refresher on this! might as well get it from the master himself
Thursday, June 2, 2011
How to Slow Economic Progress - Stephan Kinsella - Mises Daily
How to Slow Economic Progress - Stephan Kinsella - Mises Daily
a significant clarification on the issue of intellectual property, I thought, the relative scarcity/non-scarcity of ideas and material things is important - what I would question is how this would apply to a case like copies of Microsoft Windows being sold on the street in Asia? because the economic aggression occurs as soon as the buyer begins using the software, other users of the software who paid full price are hurt - are we saying that once Windows has been released to market anyone can make copies for sale? or make copies using a different name? I am not understanding how software as a business model is a product of state decreed monopoly, unless perhaps the IBM-MS relationship is seen in terms of IBM's near-monopoly position at the time being a product of progressive era fiat, which in turn enabled MS to establish a near-monopoly in PCs
the whole issue dates to the very genesis of secrecy, as the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world was captured by war, and subsequently taken "off-market" so to speak or, taken to market for profit as best suited the imperial state, whereas the earliest accumulations of knowledge were voluntarily funded by the society and whatever was of praxeological value or "consequential knowledge" was available to all, the post-war old theocracy world became deprived of its' intellectual fountains but still clings as hard as it can to the spiritual and moral compass of that era - it turns out the centralization of the knowledge, required at that time to enable the best minds from geographically diverse places to work together on elevating quality, was also the Achilles' heel of the old theocracy
a market may in theory develop for ideas that are valuable, but the nature of entrepreneurial ideas is such that they are rarely a "sure thing", so it takes a leap of faith for an entrepreneur and investor to have a go at it, the idea's value is only realized after it has come to market in physical form, that is my personal hunch why a marketplace for ideas has not developed beyond the entrepreneur-investor framework
a significant clarification on the issue of intellectual property, I thought, the relative scarcity/non-scarcity of ideas and material things is important - what I would question is how this would apply to a case like copies of Microsoft Windows being sold on the street in Asia? because the economic aggression occurs as soon as the buyer begins using the software, other users of the software who paid full price are hurt - are we saying that once Windows has been released to market anyone can make copies for sale? or make copies using a different name? I am not understanding how software as a business model is a product of state decreed monopoly, unless perhaps the IBM-MS relationship is seen in terms of IBM's near-monopoly position at the time being a product of progressive era fiat, which in turn enabled MS to establish a near-monopoly in PCs
the whole issue dates to the very genesis of secrecy, as the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world was captured by war, and subsequently taken "off-market" so to speak or, taken to market for profit as best suited the imperial state, whereas the earliest accumulations of knowledge were voluntarily funded by the society and whatever was of praxeological value or "consequential knowledge" was available to all, the post-war old theocracy world became deprived of its' intellectual fountains but still clings as hard as it can to the spiritual and moral compass of that era - it turns out the centralization of the knowledge, required at that time to enable the best minds from geographically diverse places to work together on elevating quality, was also the Achilles' heel of the old theocracy
a market may in theory develop for ideas that are valuable, but the nature of entrepreneurial ideas is such that they are rarely a "sure thing", so it takes a leap of faith for an entrepreneur and investor to have a go at it, the idea's value is only realized after it has come to market in physical form, that is my personal hunch why a marketplace for ideas has not developed beyond the entrepreneur-investor framework
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Cut Military Spending, Sell US Gold: Ron Paul - CNBC
Cut Military Spending, Sell US Gold: Ron Paul - CNBC
way to go, if you're serious about the debt and liberating the US$ from its' current unconstitutional stranglehold, a neo-medieval noose around the greatest republic ever built
way to go, if you're serious about the debt and liberating the US$ from its' current unconstitutional stranglehold, a neo-medieval noose around the greatest republic ever built
Friday, May 13, 2011
"The Revolution Must Continue"
"The Revolution Must Continue"
As you know by now, I am running for President.
Since our last campaign together, a Revolution has been launched. And look how far we have come in just a few short years!
With your help, our efforts in 2008 caught their attention. Campaign for Liberty's founding guaranteed the further spread of our message.
Now more Americans across the country than ever before are waking up to our ideas, and the cause of Liberty is being advanced.
As I take our battle into 2012, there will be so much for all of us to do. That's why I urge you to continue your generous and loyal support for my friends at Campaign for Liberty.
Campaign for Liberty will remain the primary vehicle for our ideas and political battles.
They will continue to lead the fight against the Fed. They will continue their fight to stop renewal of the Patriot Act and the advancement of Real ID.
They will seek to repeal Obamacare and stop other Big Government expansions at the federal, state, and local levels. And they will continue to educate, train, and equip thousands of activists across the country.
The Revolution must continue through the vital work of Campaign for Liberty.
However, since I've been so involved with their battles, we all feel it is best if we go way beyond the letter of the election law during this campaign.
So you'll be seeing a lot less of me at Campaign for Liberty's website.
Since the statists could use C4L's promotion of my speeches and appearances as something other than advancing shared goals, most will not be posted on their site.
But, their important work will continue. I hope you'll visit CampaignforLiberty.com often and continue your active participation in C4L.
During this vital time for our nation and our freedom, Campaign for Liberty has my full support. I trust they will also have yours.
For Liberty,
Ron Paul
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
a treasure trove of libertarian literature
Mises Institute online library
"The most complete online offering of the literature of the Austrian School and libertarian ideas, including books, journal articles, and other writings, sorted by author or any method you choose"
"The most complete online offering of the literature of the Austrian School and libertarian ideas, including books, journal articles, and other writings, sorted by author or any method you choose"
Monday, April 11, 2011
Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles - Jesus Huerta de Soto
"The result is astonishing: an 875-page masterpiece that utterly demolishes the case for fiat currency and central banking, and shows that these institutions have compromised economic stability and freedom, and, moreover, are intolerable in a free society."
Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles - Jesus Huerta de Soto
Mises Institute does it again! what a great resource for scholars available at their fingertips, I think MI is leaving money on the table not doing a subscription based online library
Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles - Jesus Huerta de Soto
Mises Institute does it again! what a great resource for scholars available at their fingertips, I think MI is leaving money on the table not doing a subscription based online library
Friday, April 8, 2011
Gold takes $1475 level, Oil takes $112 level, US$ stakes new 52-week low
UPDATE: Oil took out the $113 level by the close, on a 2.25% surge - USD gave up the 75 level
The Anticapitalistic Bias of American Intellectuals - Ludwig von Mises
The Anticapitalistic Bias of American Intellectuals - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Daily
the professional intellectuals, especially of the mediocre kind, gravitate towards direct/indirect employment by the state as a praxeologically rational choice ("benefits" and "security", I hear, are big keywords) as employment by the markets is hazardously related to the quality of results produced by one's intellectual efforts, and the jeopardy of competition measured in those terms
the persistence of caste systems well into the capitalist age cannot be explained by Mises, although his observations are completely accurate, because what he saw was the practical application of the idea in "secure the fruits of liberty to ourselves and for our posterity", whereby the perpetuation or (capitalistically inevitable) annihilation of the caste system is a matter entirely reserved to the volition of those indicated by "ourselves" and "our posterity" or, in other words, it is entirely up to the signatories of the constitution and their offspring to admit of any amendment to the definition of "ourselves" and "our posterity", only from which would then result the swift dismantling of the caste system in favor of a capitalistically rational society of high individual mobility and low information asymmetry - such a society, however, will put into rapid obsolescence ideas and philosophies (like eugenics) that derive from the false conception called "race", along with all other endogamous hierarchies that are predicated on unearned wealth secured by the application of state force, in defiance of nature's own distribution of human abilities
the professional intellectuals, especially of the mediocre kind, gravitate towards direct/indirect employment by the state as a praxeologically rational choice ("benefits" and "security", I hear, are big keywords) as employment by the markets is hazardously related to the quality of results produced by one's intellectual efforts, and the jeopardy of competition measured in those terms
the persistence of caste systems well into the capitalist age cannot be explained by Mises, although his observations are completely accurate, because what he saw was the practical application of the idea in "secure the fruits of liberty to ourselves and for our posterity", whereby the perpetuation or (capitalistically inevitable) annihilation of the caste system is a matter entirely reserved to the volition of those indicated by "ourselves" and "our posterity" or, in other words, it is entirely up to the signatories of the constitution and their offspring to admit of any amendment to the definition of "ourselves" and "our posterity", only from which would then result the swift dismantling of the caste system in favor of a capitalistically rational society of high individual mobility and low information asymmetry - such a society, however, will put into rapid obsolescence ideas and philosophies (like eugenics) that derive from the false conception called "race", along with all other endogamous hierarchies that are predicated on unearned wealth secured by the application of state force, in defiance of nature's own distribution of human abilities
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Crony capitalism strikes again, Fed juices speculators
David Stockman chimes in again, not a happy camper
"Someone has to stop the Federal Reserve before it crushes what remains of America’s Main Street economy.
In the last few weeks alone, it launched two more financial sector pumping operations which will harm the real economy, even as these actions juice Wall Street’s speculative humors."
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
US Hubris and the Destruction of the Middle Class
America's economic system, which is based upon debt and Federal Reserve-generated inflation, benefits a chosen few while destroying the middle class.
"Since the supposed end of this economic recession in late 2009, the number of people added to the food stamp rolls has increased by 8 million. The annual cost for this program will reach $70 billion this year, up from $33 billion in 2007. If the economy is recovering and people are voluntarily leaving the workforce, why have the number of people on food stamps increased by 22% since the official start of the recovery? Why does the number of people going on food stamps go up every month? The answer is that there has been no economic recovery for the average American. Wall Street bankers and the ultra-wealthy elite are the only people who have experienced a recovery."
Gold ironically hits new record on 78th anniversary of FDR's infamous ban
April 5, 1933: A day that will live in infamy
the US$1450 level taken out by the gold bulls - another big wave coming up? can't argue against it, really can't...
our central banker has "no idea" about gold, by his own admission, an admission made with the typical keynesian arrogance, and without a trace whatsoever of shame or remorse deriving from having to reveal such stunning ignorance about money and its' history! personally, I found it *the* seminal moment of the whole darned mess, illuminating in a single, astonishing statement how preposterous the field of professional economics today really is, and how pathetic the thrall in which it holds professional politicians and media intellectuals alike
meanwhile, the US$ struggles mightily to retake the 76 level - another slide to new 52-week lows coming up? can't argue against it, really can't...
UPDATE
Aden sisters bullish on bullion (April 6, 2011, 11:17 a.m. EDT )
the US$1450 level taken out by the gold bulls - another big wave coming up? can't argue against it, really can't...
our central banker has "no idea" about gold, by his own admission, an admission made with the typical keynesian arrogance, and without a trace whatsoever of shame or remorse deriving from having to reveal such stunning ignorance about money and its' history! personally, I found it *the* seminal moment of the whole darned mess, illuminating in a single, astonishing statement how preposterous the field of professional economics today really is, and how pathetic the thrall in which it holds professional politicians and media intellectuals alike
meanwhile, the US$ struggles mightily to retake the 76 level - another slide to new 52-week lows coming up? can't argue against it, really can't...
UPDATE
Aden sisters bullish on bullion (April 6, 2011, 11:17 a.m. EDT )
Monday, April 4, 2011
Weber, Merkel quarrel over helping PIIGS
Commentary: Chancellor rips Bundesbank for lack of ‘solidarity’
this is getting as spicy as brockwurst gets, any minute now a porn studio will release a parody of the torrid Weber-Merkel affair... starring lookalikes of Arnold and Giselle, for ease of translation to US audiences
this is getting as spicy as brockwurst gets, any minute now a porn studio will release a parody of the torrid Weber-Merkel affair... starring lookalikes of Arnold and Giselle, for ease of translation to US audiences
Deals up: Wall Street is dealing again
Commentary: With cash, debt and confidence, M&A is about to boom
that is one of the answers, I suppose, to the question, what are companies and banks going to do with all this cash? what it is is that now TBTF is the thing to be! there is going to be a mad dash to merge one's way to economically irrational scale just to get on the 'preferred' list of the government - hey, if the government is going to be in the business of 'bailouts' then one would be remiss not to adapt accordingly, and to precisely that extent the customer interest will be compromised in the form of higher prices, lower quality, poorer service, all resulting from less competition
that is one of the answers, I suppose, to the question, what are companies and banks going to do with all this cash? what it is is that now TBTF is the thing to be! there is going to be a mad dash to merge one's way to economically irrational scale just to get on the 'preferred' list of the government - hey, if the government is going to be in the business of 'bailouts' then one would be remiss not to adapt accordingly, and to precisely that extent the customer interest will be compromised in the form of higher prices, lower quality, poorer service, all resulting from less competition
Scary interest burden on federal debt... the grinding sound is the economy downshifting
Commentary: Federal government is in a tight spot
one answer is being given here, forecasts for U.S. economic growth cut again
"It’s in a very tight spot.
Reassuring endnote: we’ve been around long enough to remember charting similarly frightening trends in the late 1970s and 1980s. It turned out these trends can be reversed surprisingly quickly by economic growth.
But where is economic growth coming from now?"
one answer is being given here, forecasts for U.S. economic growth cut again
"Battered by poor weather and surging gas prices, the U.S. economy likely grew slower in the first three months of 2011 compared to the end of 2010, according to revised estimates of forecasters.
Over the past few days more than a dozen forecasters have chopped estimates for the first quarter. As a result, the MarketWatch survey of economists now puts the projected rate of growth at 2.4%, down from 2.8% just a week earlier and from 3.5% when the quarter began"
Official death toll in Egypt uprising doubles to over 800
Egypt's health ministry said on Monday that over 800 people were killed in the uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak - more than double the previous estimate of 384
the restraint, the camaraderie with the people shown by the military is the distinguishing feature of the Egypt revolution, but let us never forget the price paid in blood nevertheless - the conscience of an informed and connected global people simply will not go for this any more, this paradigm shift has to be embraced not resisted by state use of force
the restraint, the camaraderie with the people shown by the military is the distinguishing feature of the Egypt revolution, but let us never forget the price paid in blood nevertheless - the conscience of an informed and connected global people simply will not go for this any more, this paradigm shift has to be embraced not resisted by state use of force
Fannie and Freddie executives soaking it in, top 6 took $35 million
A federal watchdog criticized federal regulators' oversight of executive pay packages for top officials at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a report published Thursday.
and these same clowns will be quick to be hollerin about how much Janie Dimon took home!
"The top six executives at the mortgage giants earned $35 million in the last two years, according to the report from the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates the mortgage giants.
The firms were taken over by the government in 2008 and have cost taxpayers $134 billion. Both firms have seen heavy turnover at the senior ranks"
and these same clowns will be quick to be hollerin about how much Janie Dimon took home!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Fed, FX and 'Barclays of New York'
meanwhile, Bernie Madoff calls the whole government a Ponzi scheme
Fed Unveils Discount-Window Loans
Currency Moves Highlight Global Divide
Will Barclays Turn Its Back on Britain?
Fed Unveils Discount-Window Loans
Currency Moves Highlight Global Divide
Will Barclays Turn Its Back on Britain?
Monday, March 28, 2011
Treasury prices fall for eighth day
Comments by St. Louis Fed’s Bullard, other speakers in focus
"Yields on 10-year notes (UST10Y 3.45, +0.01, +0.32%) rose 2 basis points to 3.46%, after touching 3.49% earlier.
The bond market’s now in the midst of the longest string of days with rising 10-year yields since 2002.
The yield on the five-year note (UST5YR 2.20, +0.04, +1.95%) rose nearly 4 basis points to 2.2%.
The one exception, however, was the 30-year bond (UST30Y 4.50, -.00, -0.09%) , which saw its yield fall less than 1 basis point, to just under 4.5%."
Exports not boosted by weak US$ - buyers expect more weakness?
hmmm, the US$ weak as heck, but exports still down... meanwhile, consumers feel the $4+ gas squeeze
Sunday, March 27, 2011
$2,000 gold by year’s end?
Commentary: Gold bugs not worried by last week’s lackluster end
Dan Norcini at his new Trader Dan’s Market Views website had a reasoned analysis of Friday: “…the U.S. dollar’s technical-chart picture is horrendous. It had broken through a critical support level near 77 on the USDX (DXY 76.34, +0.12, +0.16%) last week and had further descended down towards the tremendously important 75 level. … The ugly truth is that the dollar was on course for a major crisis if it violated the 75 level.”
“Enter the Fed officials today and yesterday. Apparently the strategy was to get several of the FOMC governors to hit the airwaves talking about ending the QE program. … Result? Up goes the dollar and down goes the precious metals market. Coincidence? I hardly think so.”
Dan Norcini at his new Trader Dan’s Market Views website had a reasoned analysis of Friday: “…the U.S. dollar’s technical-chart picture is horrendous. It had broken through a critical support level near 77 on the USDX (DXY 76.34, +0.12, +0.16%) last week and had further descended down towards the tremendously important 75 level. … The ugly truth is that the dollar was on course for a major crisis if it violated the 75 level.”
“Enter the Fed officials today and yesterday. Apparently the strategy was to get several of the FOMC governors to hit the airwaves talking about ending the QE program. … Result? Up goes the dollar and down goes the precious metals market. Coincidence? I hardly think so.”
Thomas Jefferson's Cut-and-Paste Bible
Our third president sought to separate the words of Jesus from the 'corruptions' of his followers
Rastafarians will enjoy this one, especially ones who are tired and bored stiff by the criticism that we are not christian enough, or not orthodox enough
Rastafarians will enjoy this one, especially ones who are tired and bored stiff by the criticism that we are not christian enough, or not orthodox enough
Friday, March 25, 2011
hmm, is Schumpeter's prophecy coming to pass?
A Nation of Dropouts Shakes Europe (WSJ)
I happen to think the amoral, ultra-bohemian set (like the Bloomsbury group) that Schumpeter thought was the inevitable product of capitalist wealth is really a product of unearned wealth, or wealth gained by use of force, over and above the proper market value (empire, in the case of the Bloomsburians) - for example, if a state bureaucrat earns $75K whereas his real market value is $50K then human nature will view the additional $25K as a 'free money' cushion, resulting in a consumption behavior that reflects the self-indulgence of the old aristocrats - once this sense of an economic cushion is internalized the human desire for upward mobility adjusts itself to its' maintenance, the aspirations for one's children naturally incorporate the same privileges of reduced labor for increased wealth, and also obviously foster a willingness to fight to defend the conditions which make the cushioning possible (the same can be said of corporate workers who work in cartelized industries, the same phenomenon is seen, the same subversion of capitalist values)
these are the people whose children develop unrealistic worldviews, adopt consumption behaviors beyond their earning powers and harbor a bizarre combination of guilt and contempt for the unprivileged in society - this departure from bourgeois values simply does not occur spontaneously, but it certainly has the potential to devalue liberty and demoralize democracy very badly, precipitating a quite ruinous crisis in the society - I don't think the US is too far behind Europe in this regard, there is no cushion of time available for inaction and indecision
I happen to think the amoral, ultra-bohemian set (like the Bloomsbury group) that Schumpeter thought was the inevitable product of capitalist wealth is really a product of unearned wealth, or wealth gained by use of force, over and above the proper market value (empire, in the case of the Bloomsburians) - for example, if a state bureaucrat earns $75K whereas his real market value is $50K then human nature will view the additional $25K as a 'free money' cushion, resulting in a consumption behavior that reflects the self-indulgence of the old aristocrats - once this sense of an economic cushion is internalized the human desire for upward mobility adjusts itself to its' maintenance, the aspirations for one's children naturally incorporate the same privileges of reduced labor for increased wealth, and also obviously foster a willingness to fight to defend the conditions which make the cushioning possible (the same can be said of corporate workers who work in cartelized industries, the same phenomenon is seen, the same subversion of capitalist values)
these are the people whose children develop unrealistic worldviews, adopt consumption behaviors beyond their earning powers and harbor a bizarre combination of guilt and contempt for the unprivileged in society - this departure from bourgeois values simply does not occur spontaneously, but it certainly has the potential to devalue liberty and demoralize democracy very badly, precipitating a quite ruinous crisis in the society - I don't think the US is too far behind Europe in this regard, there is no cushion of time available for inaction and indecision
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
when you have a yen for something you have a yen for something
The Japanese Currency Intervention - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily
"At best, the G7 currency intervention will simply postpone the inevitable adjustment of world currencies to a change in demand for yen. At worst, the Bank of Japan can enforce a permanent depreciation through money creation, which will redistribute wealth from Japanese relief agencies and average citizens into the pockets of manufacturers."
"At best, the G7 currency intervention will simply postpone the inevitable adjustment of world currencies to a change in demand for yen. At worst, the Bank of Japan can enforce a permanent depreciation through money creation, which will redistribute wealth from Japanese relief agencies and average citizens into the pockets of manufacturers."
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
No Treason, no. 1 - Lysander Spooner - Mises Daily
No Treason, no. 1 - Lysander Spooner - Mises Daily
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That two men have no more natural right to exercise any kind of authority over one than one has to exercise the same authority over two. A man's natural rights are his own against the whole world; and any infringement of them is equally a crime whether committed by one man or by millions; whether committed by one man calling himself a robber (or by any other name indicating his true character) or by millions calling themselves a government.
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It would be absurd for the most numerous party to talk of establishing a government over the less numerous party, unless the former were also the strongest as well as the most numerous: for it is not to be supposed that the strongest party would ever submit to the rule of the weaker party, merely because the latter were the most numerous.
And as matter of fact, it is perhaps never that governments are established by the most numerous party. They are usually, if not always, established by the less numerous party — their superior strength consisting in their superior wealth, intelligence, and ability to act in concert.
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Our Constitution does not profess to have been established simply by the majority, but by "the people" — the minority as much as the majority.
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If our fathers, in 1776, had acknowledged the principle that a majority had the right to rule the minority, we should never have become a nation — for they were in a small minority as compared with those who claimed the right to rule over them.
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Majorities, as such, afford no guarantees for justice. They are men of the same nature as minorities. They have the same passions for fame, power, and money as minorities and are liable and likely to be equally — perhaps more than equally, because more boldly — rapacious, tyrannical, and unprincipled, if entrusted with power.
There is no more reason, then, why a man should either sustain or submit to the rule of a majority than of a minority. Majorities and minorities cannot rightfully be taken at all into account in deciding questions of justice. And all talk about them in matters of government is mere absurdity.
Men are dunces for uniting to sustain any government or any laws except those in which they are all agreed. And nothing but force and fraud compel men to sustain any other. To say that majorities, as such, have a right to rule minorities, is equivalent to saying that minorities have, and ought to have, no rights except such as majorities please to allow them.
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It is not improbable that many or most of the worst of governments — although established by force, and by a few, in the first place — come, in time, to be supported by a majority. But if they do, this majority is composed in large part of the most ignorant, superstitious, timid, dependent, servile, and corrupt portions of the people; of those who have been overawed by the power, intelligence, wealth, and arrogance; of those who have been deceived by the frauds; and of those who have been corrupted by the inducements of the few who really constitute the government.
Such majorities, very likely, could be found in half, perhaps in nine-tenths, of all the countries on the globe. What do they prove? Nothing but the tyranny and corruption of the very governments that have reduced such large portions of the people to their present ignorance, servility, degradation, and corruption — an ignorance, servility, degradation, and corruption that are best illustrated in the simple fact that they do sustain the governments that have so oppressed, degraded, and corrupted them.
They do nothing toward proving that the governments themselves are legitimate, or that they ought to be sustained, or even endured, by those who understand their true character. The mere fact, therefore, that a government chances to be sustained by a majority, of itself proves nothing that is necessary to be proved in order to know whether such government should be sustained or not.
The principle that the majority have a right to rule the minority practically resolves all government into a mere contest between two bodies of men, as to which of them shall be masters and which of them slaves: a contest, that — however bloody — can never, in the nature of things, be finally closed so long as man refuses to be a slave.
Why Is Unemployment So High? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily
Why Is Unemployment So High? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily
Resources were misallocated during the boom period. In the standard Austrian theory of the business cycle, the boom period leads entrepreneurs to start too many long-term projects, for which there are insufficient real savings. The underlying capital structure of the economy becomes distorted, and it takes time for market forces to clean up the mess after the bubble pops. For certain pockets of the labor force, the "optimal" thing to do is wait it out. (See my "sushi article" for a simple numerical example of how this all can play out.)
In some respects this process is what Keynesians interpret as a "fall in aggregate demand," when businesses and consumers come to believe they are on an unsustainable trajectory and slam on the brakes. Of course, only the Austrians recognize that the boom really is unsustainable, whereas the Keynesian efforts to prop up spending only perpetuate the problem and postpone the genuine recovery.
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The government made low-skilled workers artificially more expensive. In July 2009, the federal minimum wage (due to legislation from 2007) rose from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. Thus, anyone with productivity worth more than $6.55 but less than $7.25 per hour to an employer was turned into a money-losing proposition when he otherwise would have been profitable to hire.
The government made unemployment more financially attractive. By extending unemployment benefits repeatedly, the federal government has made it easier for job-seekers to maintain unreasonable expectations as they try to find new work.
The government is making employee health benefits more expensive by an unknown amount. "Obamacare" is leading to rising health-insurance premiums for employers, but on top of that the total impact is unknown, because of court challenges and Republican promises to reform or even repeal the legislation. Consequently, employers have an incentive to postpone long-term hiring decisions until the issues are resolved.
The Fed is making long-term planning far more difficult. Although most analysts think that the Fed's policies reduce unemployment while possibly risking high price inflation, I submit that the paralysis striking the private sector is partially due to Bernanke's unprecedented actions. If thousands of business owners are stocking up on canned goods and gold, because they think there is a small but definite possibility that the dollar may crash within a few years, that doesn't bode well for expanding employment opportunities.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Leaders Struggle to Define Next Moves (Libya)
Libyan Regime Is Hemmed In as No-Fly Zone Is Quickly Established, but Divisions Emerge Over the Long-Term Mission
I don't get it, what's to define, it has already been defined by the masters - feudal, dynastic model aristocracies are incompatible with capitalism and will always cause enormous social stress, civil war, and so on - the whole model has to give way to representational government, private property, rule of law as well as free markets and individual liberties agreed upon by the whole world as fundamentally human (unless you're a racist, in which case you have already constructed many types of human in your mind, you will recognize the only sense in which men are equal in this world are their rights)
the utter silliness of the "can't have my oil!" attitude when unless they sell oil it is they who can have nothing! capitalism is not a competition between nation states, and to properly participate in the capitalist world order nation states MUST liberate their citizens to establish untrammeled people-to-people relations across the world, own property and do business as they please - turning the state guns on non-violent people for wishing a change of government is something that has to be phased out as a relic of a barbaric history, in order to earn the term civilization
I don't get it, what's to define, it has already been defined by the masters - feudal, dynastic model aristocracies are incompatible with capitalism and will always cause enormous social stress, civil war, and so on - the whole model has to give way to representational government, private property, rule of law as well as free markets and individual liberties agreed upon by the whole world as fundamentally human (unless you're a racist, in which case you have already constructed many types of human in your mind, you will recognize the only sense in which men are equal in this world are their rights)
the utter silliness of the "can't have my oil!" attitude when unless they sell oil it is they who can have nothing! capitalism is not a competition between nation states, and to properly participate in the capitalist world order nation states MUST liberate their citizens to establish untrammeled people-to-people relations across the world, own property and do business as they please - turning the state guns on non-violent people for wishing a change of government is something that has to be phased out as a relic of a barbaric history, in order to earn the term civilization
Saturday, March 19, 2011
a vital monetary lesson from the 19th-c Brits
Currency and Banking Reform in 19th-Century Britain
convertibility to specie is vital, yes, and fractional reserve lending also has to be done transparently, if at all, without the illusion that deposits are equally safe in any bank - in other words, two banks operating at 1:5 ratio do not represent identical safety for deposits simply deriving from that ratio, the quality of management is critical
convertibility to specie is vital, yes, and fractional reserve lending also has to be done transparently, if at all, without the illusion that deposits are equally safe in any bank - in other words, two banks operating at 1:5 ratio do not represent identical safety for deposits simply deriving from that ratio, the quality of management is critical
Friday, March 18, 2011
Nock, Nock, Nocking on Liberty's door
The State Can Do No Wrong - Albert J. Nock, American Mercury, 1936
Audio - MP3
"Therefore, the sum of the whole matter is that if and when the people of this country drop the neomedieval conception of the State as an institution completely dissociated from morality, and adopt the republican conception expressed in the Declaration, the thoughtful and intelligent citizen may reasonably be expected to interest himself in the course of the nation's politics; but until then he may reasonably be expected to do nothing of the kind."
Audio - MP3
"Therefore, the sum of the whole matter is that if and when the people of this country drop the neomedieval conception of the State as an institution completely dissociated from morality, and adopt the republican conception expressed in the Declaration, the thoughtful and intelligent citizen may reasonably be expected to interest himself in the course of the nation's politics; but until then he may reasonably be expected to do nothing of the kind."
Is QE3 Ahead? asks Lew Rockwell
Is QE3 Ahead?
the sep '10 rally setting up near 'classical' (it's eerie, really!) wave shapes, with 5-wave steady climbs, 3-wave orderly retraces - if the pattern holds, the retrace gives way to a strong wave 5 up, with the 'real' correction to follow after
all assuming of course that a new bull market started in mar '09, making sep '10 wave 3 of the rally - the bears could read it as wave C of a retrace, and I'm not talking of "permabears", even the Aden sisters are still bearish long term - here's why I'm giving... ummm, 'unorthodox', 'unconventional' weightage to volume because I know "primary dealer" activity is quite capable of moving price action as if its' on rocket fuel! so, I'm watching how the larger herd is reacting, are they buying in? one should be seeing green bars dominating the volume story, instead we still have sub-average volume on rallies and big volume on sell-offs
*too* classical wave shapes + unorthodox herd behavior = reflation roulette wheel is still spinning... you want to watch the insiders, are they buying on the dips? you see, managers and analysts think from quarter-to-quarter, their reference point is their peer group, they can post a 'win' in their column based upon that - you cannot, it is your money, your family, you have to think safety and long term security first
the sep '10 rally setting up near 'classical' (it's eerie, really!) wave shapes, with 5-wave steady climbs, 3-wave orderly retraces - if the pattern holds, the retrace gives way to a strong wave 5 up, with the 'real' correction to follow after
all assuming of course that a new bull market started in mar '09, making sep '10 wave 3 of the rally - the bears could read it as wave C of a retrace, and I'm not talking of "permabears", even the Aden sisters are still bearish long term - here's why I'm giving... ummm, 'unorthodox', 'unconventional' weightage to volume because I know "primary dealer" activity is quite capable of moving price action as if its' on rocket fuel! so, I'm watching how the larger herd is reacting, are they buying in? one should be seeing green bars dominating the volume story, instead we still have sub-average volume on rallies and big volume on sell-offs
*too* classical wave shapes + unorthodox herd behavior = reflation roulette wheel is still spinning... you want to watch the insiders, are they buying on the dips? you see, managers and analysts think from quarter-to-quarter, their reference point is their peer group, they can post a 'win' in their column based upon that - you cannot, it is your money, your family, you have to think safety and long term security first
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Europe Blinks on Bank Test
Regulators Seen Easing 'Stress' Gauge, Undercutting Effort to Restore Confidence
kinda defeats the whole point, doesn't it? well, it all depends on what you interpret the "point" to be... the cozy collusion of high finance and government, improperly understood as it is by the intellectual opinion makers, is liable to cause more public fury and quite impossible political turmoil
UPDATE:
Europe Buys Breathing Space
"Until the market knows who will bear the ultimate costs of clearing up Europe's debt mess, governments and banks will pay the price in higher borrowing costs. But to get an answer, the market may need to apply yet more pressure."
kinda defeats the whole point, doesn't it? well, it all depends on what you interpret the "point" to be... the cozy collusion of high finance and government, improperly understood as it is by the intellectual opinion makers, is liable to cause more public fury and quite impossible political turmoil
UPDATE:
Europe Buys Breathing Space
"Until the market knows who will bear the ultimate costs of clearing up Europe's debt mess, governments and banks will pay the price in higher borrowing costs. But to get an answer, the market may need to apply yet more pressure."
Friday, March 4, 2011
full proceeding of House FinServ Cmte Bernanke testimony
link to full proceeding of House Fin Serv Cmte Bernanke testimony (windows media)
Barney Frank seems to think that doom-and-gloom predictions that have not materialized disqualify further inputs from those sources, whereas the thing to remember is that the administration had predicted 4% GDP growth early in '10 and 7% late in '10 and the reality was a little over half of that prediction - of course that other wonderful prediction that unemployment would be contained under 8% by the stimulus packages turned out to be a little demon that is still making insulting faces at the genie
whatever recovery there is results from the extraordinary resilience (speaking of the buildup of savings), creativity (speaking of the likes of Apple) and work ethic (speaking of those whose labors have increased from payroll cuts at the firm) of the American people, who have not stopped doing the right thing just because their government is frustrating and infuriating them relentlessly, by refusing to act in alignment with their actions, stubbornly reflating failed ideas the people have rejected, certainly intuitively and increasingly consciously
an example is indefinite suspension of mark-to-market accounting, the institutionalization of the TBTF concept as a "necessity", after having raised it as a "problem", the rather naked cronyism between finance and government that has infuriated the people - an example is the stubborn denial that a massive paradigm shift has occurred in the perception of home ownership and real estate, not to mention labor mobility in the age of globalization and the life options presented, i.e. stimulus designed from past behavior will not have the expected effect (this of course is a perpetual hazard of the Keynesian way)
frustrating savers with artificially low interest rates does not make sense, because the loss of appetite for credit has nothing to with the rates in this present time, and is not going to accelerate significantly for a longish while, whereas acceleration in savings will enable banks to get healthier quicker - as the whole system is restructuring and rebalancing in a typically complex, human way, essentially what I am saying is that as far as employment is concerned getting smaller, local banks lending is the key, not a mountain of capital reserves at the top, and of course I am always also saying, not by "policy", by freedom
link to full proceeding of House Fin Serv Cmte Bernanke testimony (windows media)
Barney Frank seems to think that doom-and-gloom predictions that have not materialized disqualify further inputs from those sources, whereas the thing to remember is that the administration had predicted 4% GDP growth early in '10 and 7% late in '10 and the reality was a little over half of that prediction - of course that other wonderful prediction that unemployment would be contained under 8% by the stimulus packages turned out to be a little demon that is still making insulting faces at the genie
whatever recovery there is results from the extraordinary resilience (speaking of the buildup of savings), creativity (speaking of the likes of Apple) and work ethic (speaking of those whose labors have increased from payroll cuts at the firm) of the American people, who have not stopped doing the right thing just because their government is frustrating and infuriating them relentlessly, by refusing to act in alignment with their actions, stubbornly reflating failed ideas the people have rejected, certainly intuitively and increasingly consciously
an example is indefinite suspension of mark-to-market accounting, the institutionalization of the TBTF concept as a "necessity", after having raised it as a "problem", the rather naked cronyism between finance and government that has infuriated the people - an example is the stubborn denial that a massive paradigm shift has occurred in the perception of home ownership and real estate, not to mention labor mobility in the age of globalization and the life options presented, i.e. stimulus designed from past behavior will not have the expected effect (this of course is a perpetual hazard of the Keynesian way)
frustrating savers with artificially low interest rates does not make sense, because the loss of appetite for credit has nothing to with the rates in this present time, and is not going to accelerate significantly for a longish while, whereas acceleration in savings will enable banks to get healthier quicker - as the whole system is restructuring and rebalancing in a typically complex, human way, essentially what I am saying is that as far as employment is concerned getting smaller, local banks lending is the key, not a mountain of capital reserves at the top, and of course I am always also saying, not by "policy", by freedom
link to full proceeding of House Fin Serv Cmte Bernanke testimony (windows media)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
food prices climb 8th month of record highs
Food Prices Reach Record High (WSJ)
"But while the world isn't yet facing a food crisis..." - exactly, the Austrian idea is this is very much a monetary phenomenon, (excepting weather causes) driven not by real demand and supply issues, but the perception of those issues formed by the investor community trading paper assets - my guess is money is being pumped into banks to stimulate lending on Main St. especially in housing, whereas banks not being charitable exercises, having balance sheet repair objectives ongoing, and institutional managers are simply investing it in what people absolutely need like food commodities since the uncertainty is too great as to where else robust, sustainable demand can be found... er, we're not talking about Apple iPads right at this moment :)
what I find interesting is that the teenagers' stuff led retail sales in Feb, along with the more predictable high-end like Saks, meaning parents are being selectively discretionary for the children, a sign I still read as caution remains the watchword for consumers - the other glimmer of course is that unemployment claims stayed under 400,000 while 200,000 new private sector jobs were created, a few months of good news strung together may do wonders for mood - some of my customers are right back to pre-recession levels in sales, the international share of revenues growing pretty nicely
Food Prices Keep Surging, More Expensive Cheerios Ahead?
and here is the Richmond Fed's governor on growth and employment expectation for '11 and '12, and why he thinks the food and energy run ups are passing events without significant risks to CPI (it would seem to me CPI is a pretty useless number with regard to consumers unless compared to wage rate increases, which are very sluggish and lagging the CPI by orders of magnitude)
Q&A: Fed’s Lacker Sees Inflation ‘Trending Up’
"But while the world isn't yet facing a food crisis..." - exactly, the Austrian idea is this is very much a monetary phenomenon, (excepting weather causes) driven not by real demand and supply issues, but the perception of those issues formed by the investor community trading paper assets - my guess is money is being pumped into banks to stimulate lending on Main St. especially in housing, whereas banks not being charitable exercises, having balance sheet repair objectives ongoing, and institutional managers are simply investing it in what people absolutely need like food commodities since the uncertainty is too great as to where else robust, sustainable demand can be found... er, we're not talking about Apple iPads right at this moment :)
what I find interesting is that the teenagers' stuff led retail sales in Feb, along with the more predictable high-end like Saks, meaning parents are being selectively discretionary for the children, a sign I still read as caution remains the watchword for consumers - the other glimmer of course is that unemployment claims stayed under 400,000 while 200,000 new private sector jobs were created, a few months of good news strung together may do wonders for mood - some of my customers are right back to pre-recession levels in sales, the international share of revenues growing pretty nicely
Food Prices Keep Surging, More Expensive Cheerios Ahead?
and here is the Richmond Fed's governor on growth and employment expectation for '11 and '12, and why he thinks the food and energy run ups are passing events without significant risks to CPI (it would seem to me CPI is a pretty useless number with regard to consumers unless compared to wage rate increases, which are very sluggish and lagging the CPI by orders of magnitude)
Q&A: Fed’s Lacker Sees Inflation ‘Trending Up’
Australia's Second Exchange Could Open in October (WSJ)
Australia's Second Exchange Could Open in October
the green shoots of competition struggling to crack heavy rocks of regulation
"The firm has applied for a "maker-taker" pricing model, where traders adding liquidity to the market receive a small payout while those taking the other side of offers pay a small fee. ASIC said Thursday it has no plans to ban this type of model.
However, with ASX still acting as the country's lone clearer of stock trading, costs aren't expected to move lower too quickly."
Australia's Second Exchange Could Open in October
the green shoots of competition struggling to crack heavy rocks of regulation
"The firm has applied for a "maker-taker" pricing model, where traders adding liquidity to the market receive a small payout while those taking the other side of offers pay a small fee. ASIC said Thursday it has no plans to ban this type of model.
However, with ASX still acting as the country's lone clearer of stock trading, costs aren't expected to move lower too quickly."
Australia's Second Exchange Could Open in October
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Saif Gadhafi's life sounds like what Robin Leach wished he could gossip about
"Saif Gadhafi was born in Tripoli in 1972—the Libyan dictator's eldest son by his second wife. He carved out a niche as a pro-Western liberal, in contrast to his hard-line father and siblings. In 2002, he enrolled at LSE and began work on a Ph.D. thesis on "the role of civil society in the democratization of global governance institutions."
Seen as the presumptive heir of an oil-rich North African country, he became a fixture in London society. Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son and Britain's special trade envoy, hosted him at Buckingham Palace in October 2007. Saif later repaid the prince's hospitality in Tripoli.
In 2008, he moved into a £10 million ($16.3 million) mansion in London's tony neighborhood of Hampstead Garden Suburb, near a street known as Billionaire's Row.
He also became friends with Nat Rothschild, scion of the legendary banking dynasty. Over time, Mr. Rothschild hosted Mr. Gadhafi at an engagement party in Greenwich Village; a shooting weekend in the English countryside; and the family villa in Corfu, Greece."
link to WSJ article
Seen as the presumptive heir of an oil-rich North African country, he became a fixture in London society. Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son and Britain's special trade envoy, hosted him at Buckingham Palace in October 2007. Saif later repaid the prince's hospitality in Tripoli.
In 2008, he moved into a £10 million ($16.3 million) mansion in London's tony neighborhood of Hampstead Garden Suburb, near a street known as Billionaire's Row.
He also became friends with Nat Rothschild, scion of the legendary banking dynasty. Over time, Mr. Rothschild hosted Mr. Gadhafi at an engagement party in Greenwich Village; a shooting weekend in the English countryside; and the family villa in Corfu, Greece."
link to WSJ article
Why the Dollar's Reign Is Near an End
For decades the dollar has served as the world's main reserve currency, but, argues Barry Eichengreen, it will soon have to share that role. Here's why—and what it will mean for international markets and companies.
experts chit chat about currencies, the Fx trade and capital flows (video)
UPDATE:
Bridgewater’s Dalio sees China, U.S. dollar relationship ending
experts chit chat about currencies, the Fx trade and capital flows (video)
UPDATE:
Bridgewater’s Dalio sees China, U.S. dollar relationship ending
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
$100 crude a "tipping point"?
ominous portents for the nascent "recovery"
the question I suppose is how much of this is Libya reaction, and whether the market really wants to shrug it off - the USO chart sure looks poised for a strong up wave, having completed a pretty classic 3-wave correction, so it could well be a case of Libya simply triggering a psychological number of a well established uptrend, also confirmed by the volume trend - a sharp run up from $100 would almost certainly be a blow to the main street mood, and have rippling effects
the question I suppose is how much of this is Libya reaction, and whether the market really wants to shrug it off - the USO chart sure looks poised for a strong up wave, having completed a pretty classic 3-wave correction, so it could well be a case of Libya simply triggering a psychological number of a well established uptrend, also confirmed by the volume trend - a sharp run up from $100 would almost certainly be a blow to the main street mood, and have rippling effects
Regulating 'mental activity': the commerce clause as thought monitor
Regulating 'mental activity': the commerce clause as thought monitor
quite incredible judgment, really is - this is what results from the intellectual bastardy of the "living constitution" concept, essentially a license for "we'll make it up as we go along", or in other words, our right to rule (yep, I know how it sounds!) and maintain hierarchy by coercion IS the point of the constitution, not minarchy itself, federality itself, individual liberty itself, sound currency itself, etc... so it cannot be read like it was meant by rich, white, gentlemen of the 18th century, it must be read according to the current pleasure of rich, white gentlemen of today... we've got this state-ordered step-laddered caste society going on in which social and economic mobility is shrinking at alarming speed, and having to keep twisting the constitution around to fit these strategies is no doubt proving a great annoyance and frustration for the elites...
the "general welfare" clause is the other one, just incredible abuse, really - the word "general" has been completely weaselled of its' profound import, as practically every idea proposed is "special welfare" instead, attempts to justify wealth redistribution in violation of the principle that all taxes apply equally to all - where is the egalitarian passion for equality in the sense Jefferson actually used it? ah yes, the egalitarian passion is for clinging to state power under every manner of bankrupt saintly pretext
quite incredible judgment, really is - this is what results from the intellectual bastardy of the "living constitution" concept, essentially a license for "we'll make it up as we go along", or in other words, our right to rule (yep, I know how it sounds!) and maintain hierarchy by coercion IS the point of the constitution, not minarchy itself, federality itself, individual liberty itself, sound currency itself, etc... so it cannot be read like it was meant by rich, white, gentlemen of the 18th century, it must be read according to the current pleasure of rich, white gentlemen of today... we've got this state-ordered step-laddered caste society going on in which social and economic mobility is shrinking at alarming speed, and having to keep twisting the constitution around to fit these strategies is no doubt proving a great annoyance and frustration for the elites...
the "general welfare" clause is the other one, just incredible abuse, really - the word "general" has been completely weaselled of its' profound import, as practically every idea proposed is "special welfare" instead, attempts to justify wealth redistribution in violation of the principle that all taxes apply equally to all - where is the egalitarian passion for equality in the sense Jefferson actually used it? ah yes, the egalitarian passion is for clinging to state power under every manner of bankrupt saintly pretext
Inflation, subsidies, rebates, plantings... Asia in a tizzy
Moves to Soften Blow Could Backfire On Asian Countries, Economists Argue
meanwhile, the supply adjusts to demand, a recipe for unintended consequences brewing as usual...
Food-Price Fall Seen as Plantings Rise
interestingly, I saw this Hayek interview where he recounts his last meeting with Keynes about some of his famous disciples, weeks before his death, in which Keynes distanced himself from Keynesianism and with his usual indefatigable confidence said he would be the most resolute enemy of inflation, "turn public opinion around like that" *snapping fingers* - I just find this stuff hilarious and mind-boggling at the same time, just astonishing
meanwhile, the supply adjusts to demand, a recipe for unintended consequences brewing as usual...
Food-Price Fall Seen as Plantings Rise
interestingly, I saw this Hayek interview where he recounts his last meeting with Keynes about some of his famous disciples, weeks before his death, in which Keynes distanced himself from Keynesianism and with his usual indefatigable confidence said he would be the most resolute enemy of inflation, "turn public opinion around like that" *snapping fingers* - I just find this stuff hilarious and mind-boggling at the same time, just astonishing
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Letterman exposes "too dumb", "stupid" perpetual adolescence of progressive men
02/24/11: Sen. Rand Paul on David Letterman's Late Show, where Letterman admits his unreasoned, emotional loyalty to progressive ideology
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Federal Reserve Is Causing Turmoil Abroad (WSJ)
Few protesters in the Middle East connect rising food prices to U.S. monetary policy. But central bankers do.
Mr. Melloan, a former columnist and deputy editor of the Journal editorial page, is author of "The Great Money Binge: Spending Our Way to Socialism" (Simon & Schuster, 2009)
Mr. Melloan, a former columnist and deputy editor of the Journal editorial page, is author of "The Great Money Binge: Spending Our Way to Socialism" (Simon & Schuster, 2009)
Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era - Thomas C. Leonard
Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era
showing clearly the 'race'/caste motivations driving pretty much all of modern statism will prove one of the final and tough challenges of libertarian history and theory (to which Rastafarians can be expected to respond affirmatively) - as well as a difficult one because "there still must be other countless errors of the same sort that no living man can yet detect, because of the fog within which our type of Western culture envelops us” (Myrdal, 1944)
Mises I. bloggers taking note with interest (from whom I got the link)
UPDATE:
looks like Leonard is writing a full treatment of this subject, here is an introduction - I can't think of any who need to read this more than the socialistic/fascistic intellectual elites of the Pan-African movement, they are the new scourge of Africa this class of conference-hoppers
showing clearly the 'race'/caste motivations driving pretty much all of modern statism will prove one of the final and tough challenges of libertarian history and theory (to which Rastafarians can be expected to respond affirmatively) - as well as a difficult one because "there still must be other countless errors of the same sort that no living man can yet detect, because of the fog within which our type of Western culture envelops us” (Myrdal, 1944)
Mises I. bloggers taking note with interest (from whom I got the link)
UPDATE:
looks like Leonard is writing a full treatment of this subject, here is an introduction - I can't think of any who need to read this more than the socialistic/fascistic intellectual elites of the Pan-African movement, they are the new scourge of Africa this class of conference-hoppers
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A Renegade History of the United States, reviewed by Riggenbach and Woods
A Renegade History of the United States - Jeff Riggenbach - Mises Daily
Riggenbach offers another interesting read - all I would say is if the exclusive pursuit of pleasure resulted in the birth of jazz, "America's classical music" (US Congress), complete with full time professional musicians, supported no doubt partially by middle-class patrons stepping down the (segregated) social ladder for access to alcohol during prohibition years, the praxeology of this event would be inseparable from the "authentic culture" Af-Ams brought with them from the continent, more so than libertine pleasure seeking which has rarely (if ever) produced any abiding fine art - both "pleasure" and "puritan" principles have co-existed in the black community, presenting much the same set of social conflicts as presented by the dichotomy of "repatriation" and "reparation", or that of "nationalism" and "integration", as contradictory threads in the evolution of Af-Am theology and ideology
(one of the views I hold, not yet established academically, is that Pan-Africanism is an american and christian contribution to black thought that predates the rise of the Marcus Garvey movement by at least David Walker's "Appeal")
Riggenbach offers another interesting read - all I would say is if the exclusive pursuit of pleasure resulted in the birth of jazz, "America's classical music" (US Congress), complete with full time professional musicians, supported no doubt partially by middle-class patrons stepping down the (segregated) social ladder for access to alcohol during prohibition years, the praxeology of this event would be inseparable from the "authentic culture" Af-Ams brought with them from the continent, more so than libertine pleasure seeking which has rarely (if ever) produced any abiding fine art - both "pleasure" and "puritan" principles have co-existed in the black community, presenting much the same set of social conflicts as presented by the dichotomy of "repatriation" and "reparation", or that of "nationalism" and "integration", as contradictory threads in the evolution of Af-Am theology and ideology
(one of the views I hold, not yet established academically, is that Pan-Africanism is an american and christian contribution to black thought that predates the rise of the Marcus Garvey movement by at least David Walker's "Appeal")
Our Superficial Scholars, a Rhodes scholar laments the 'liberal arts'
Our Superficial Scholars
the same could be said of our professional economists, they look startled and bewildered by straight questions, and are reduced to babbling minutiae when their shallow understanding is exposed and contrasted with the inherent vanities of their jargon
the same could be said of our professional economists, they look startled and bewildered by straight questions, and are reduced to babbling minutiae when their shallow understanding is exposed and contrasted with the inherent vanities of their jargon
Why Investors Can't Get More Cash Out of U.S. Companies
Why Investors Can't Get More Cash Out of U.S. Companies
from the Journal's resident "intelligent investor" a la Benjamin Graham
from the Journal's resident "intelligent investor" a la Benjamin Graham
Friday, February 18, 2011
China Raises Reserve Ratio to 19.5%
China Raises Reserve Ratio to 19.5%
if a huge country keeps a 1:5 capital ratio going while the rest of the world pursues the thin ice of 1:15 it takes no keynesian 'rocket science' to figure out what will result "in the long run" - if you care about preserving the value of your savings, where would you put your money? in which scenario would your assets enjoy greater price stability? trust your instincts, people, for goodness sakes', if you ever do it, trust yourselves now
if a huge country keeps a 1:5 capital ratio going while the rest of the world pursues the thin ice of 1:15 it takes no keynesian 'rocket science' to figure out what will result "in the long run" - if you care about preserving the value of your savings, where would you put your money? in which scenario would your assets enjoy greater price stability? trust your instincts, people, for goodness sakes', if you ever do it, trust yourselves now
Spot Silver Hits 30-year Highs
Spot Silver Hits 30-year Highs
calling Long John Silver, calling Long John Silver, time to trade in the beard, old boy, and get respectable again
calling Long John Silver, calling Long John Silver, time to trade in the beard, old boy, and get respectable again
to hell with Dodd-Frank and Basel III, says the empire
Banks Find Loophole In Capital Rules (WSJ)
Barclay's wants to skate on the thin ice of sub 2% capital reserves, to hell with Dodd-Frank and Basel III - the Rothschild era financial empire (only ignorantly described as free market capitalism) was built on fractional reserves, sovereign debt and warfare anyway, so why would they want to change what works so well for them? I think they will work the formula to death, quite literally, history does not indicate any probability of self-correction, only obstinacy in a dogged resolve founded on error but cultivated over millennia - theft is an adequate method for acquiring wealth, but never wisdom
all that is needed is for the professional ignorami of the economics community to keep parroting self-serving lies about the "market failures", the pernicious "runs on banks", the frequent (completely rational) "panics" that reserves are vaporous, the need for sovereign theft of capital on behalf of the mythic "stability of the system", and soon enough the Keynesian dream of a global monopoly fiat currency system will be in place - a few libertarians hollering at the gates of democracy are hardly a cause for concern to the high and mighty, are they? a few well-aimed bullets, a few prison sentences, perhaps a dictator or two, perhaps a new populist utopia (Wanted: charismatic global messiah for environmentalism; prior knowledge not critical, relevant training will be provided, long hair is preferred) and poof! the problem disappears, right? :)
UPDATE from FT:
Lehman seeks $10bn clawback in Barclays suitBy Greg Farrell in New York
Published: November 17 2009 00:48 | Last updated: November 17 2009 00:48
Attorneys representing the estate of Lehman Brothers filed a lawsuit on Monday against Barclays Capital, seeking to claw back as much as $10bn (£5.9bn) that it claims was transferred to the UK bank last year in the frenzied days following Lehman’s bankruptcy.
The suit is the culmination of a one-year quest by Alvarez and Marsal, the consultancy hired by Lehman following its sudden bankruptcy filing in September 2008, to determine whether billions of dollars worth of assets were improperly transferred to Barclays when it negotiated a deal to acquire the remains of Lehman.
Barclay's wants to skate on the thin ice of sub 2% capital reserves, to hell with Dodd-Frank and Basel III - the Rothschild era financial empire (only ignorantly described as free market capitalism) was built on fractional reserves, sovereign debt and warfare anyway, so why would they want to change what works so well for them? I think they will work the formula to death, quite literally, history does not indicate any probability of self-correction, only obstinacy in a dogged resolve founded on error but cultivated over millennia - theft is an adequate method for acquiring wealth, but never wisdom
all that is needed is for the professional ignorami of the economics community to keep parroting self-serving lies about the "market failures", the pernicious "runs on banks", the frequent (completely rational) "panics" that reserves are vaporous, the need for sovereign theft of capital on behalf of the mythic "stability of the system", and soon enough the Keynesian dream of a global monopoly fiat currency system will be in place - a few libertarians hollering at the gates of democracy are hardly a cause for concern to the high and mighty, are they? a few well-aimed bullets, a few prison sentences, perhaps a dictator or two, perhaps a new populist utopia (Wanted: charismatic global messiah for environmentalism; prior knowledge not critical, relevant training will be provided, long hair is preferred) and poof! the problem disappears, right? :)
UPDATE from FT:
Lehman seeks $10bn clawback in Barclays suitBy Greg Farrell in New York
Published: November 17 2009 00:48 | Last updated: November 17 2009 00:48
Attorneys representing the estate of Lehman Brothers filed a lawsuit on Monday against Barclays Capital, seeking to claw back as much as $10bn (£5.9bn) that it claims was transferred to the UK bank last year in the frenzied days following Lehman’s bankruptcy.
The suit is the culmination of a one-year quest by Alvarez and Marsal, the consultancy hired by Lehman following its sudden bankruptcy filing in September 2008, to determine whether billions of dollars worth of assets were improperly transferred to Barclays when it negotiated a deal to acquire the remains of Lehman.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
What Can the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility Teach Us? Thorstein Polleit
What-Can-the-Law-of-Diminishing-Marginal-Utility-Teach-Us
Axel Weber understands this, I'll bet, he doesn't want to be remembered as the traitor who shafted the Germans to save the lazy and the criminal :)
Axel Weber understands this, I'll bet, he doesn't want to be remembered as the traitor who shafted the Germans to save the lazy and the criminal :)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Obama: Get U.S. on Wi-Fi track | The Detroit News
Obama: Get U.S. on Wi-Fi track | detnews.com | The Detroit News
I hadn't realized there was a new plan, this time 98% of Americans will get 4G broadband in 5 years at a cost of $5 billion - does this mean the gov is going to compete with AT&T and Verizon? a twist of good old Lenin, but at least he had really read von Mises (unlike Keynes) on price mechanism failure and felt the need to "organize competition"
I hadn't realized there was a new plan, this time 98% of Americans will get 4G broadband in 5 years at a cost of $5 billion - does this mean the gov is going to compete with AT&T and Verizon? a twist of good old Lenin, but at least he had really read von Mises (unlike Keynes) on price mechanism failure and felt the need to "organize competition"
hmm, Axel Weber does not want the ECB chair? Why, I wonder
Merkel Likely to Press Weber to Step Down
intriguing noises from Germany indeed - I have to say, that Angela Merkel has real courage, I like her
intriguing noises from Germany indeed - I have to say, that Angela Merkel has real courage, I like her
Suspicion Of Forex Gouging Spreads (WSJ)
Suspicion Of Forex Gouging Spreads (WSJ)
another one of those "oops, sorry" moments for the regulated 'market maker' cartel
Rogoff and Rajan Discuss Risks of Currency War
another one of those "oops, sorry" moments for the regulated 'market maker' cartel
Rogoff and Rajan Discuss Risks of Currency War
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Rand Paul: U.S. Senate Floor - 02/02/11
excellent speech, from a 'regular guy' politician, with "keen intellect and rare passion" (McConnell) - the mid-term exit polling indicated a 4:1 preference for military cuts, and a 2:1 preference for entitlement cuts, over welfare cuts - it would seem to me the whole point of "compromise" would be to most accurately enact the will of the people
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
the assault on Internet freedom, from John Kerry's brother
these idiots are going to "protect" us? from who, Google and Facebook? these people drone on with their 100-year old, tired set of lies and scare tactics as if people are still buying it - let's find a "problem" so we can get our greedy fingers into this $10 trillion pie - get it straight, people, what this means is that when you give your data to Google or Facebook, the government wants to look at it too, because you're too dumb, you see, so this type of idiot is going to "protect" you! :)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Chimera of a Perfect State of Mankind - Ludwig von Mises - (Audio)
The Chimera of a Perfect State of Mankind - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Media (Audio File)
I wonder how Mises would have reacted to me interpreting The Bible as a parable of the rise and fall of crime and state (so long as he did not stomp off in disgust!) - I have some idea (speculative, I did not know him personally) how Rothbard might have reacted, i.e. "with glee" :) especially if done with the rigor and depth I admire so much in the masters - for the first time in my life I am actually becoming enthused by the prospect of full time scholarship for a few years, as a libertarian framework for interpreting the Mahabharata is also quite spontaneously beginning to take shape in my mind - both books are about the birth of nations, the conflicts and contradictions of state formation and empire, and both offer magnificent insight into the human and economic dynamics at work - this is some really fun stuff to do, I hope I get to do it soon
(others have remarked that when the bug of liberty bit them it inspired a whole slew of new labors out of them - in my case, the Bible book was started with the intention of making Leonard Howell's framework for Bible interpretation more widely accessible to the Rastafarian movement - making this stuff thorough enough for Mises and Rothbard is a whole other level of labor, which I actually enjoy a lot)
I wonder how Mises would have reacted to me interpreting The Bible as a parable of the rise and fall of crime and state (so long as he did not stomp off in disgust!) - I have some idea (speculative, I did not know him personally) how Rothbard might have reacted, i.e. "with glee" :) especially if done with the rigor and depth I admire so much in the masters - for the first time in my life I am actually becoming enthused by the prospect of full time scholarship for a few years, as a libertarian framework for interpreting the Mahabharata is also quite spontaneously beginning to take shape in my mind - both books are about the birth of nations, the conflicts and contradictions of state formation and empire, and both offer magnificent insight into the human and economic dynamics at work - this is some really fun stuff to do, I hope I get to do it soon
(others have remarked that when the bug of liberty bit them it inspired a whole slew of new labors out of them - in my case, the Bible book was started with the intention of making Leonard Howell's framework for Bible interpretation more widely accessible to the Rastafarian movement - making this stuff thorough enough for Mises and Rothbard is a whole other level of labor, which I actually enjoy a lot)
Was Gandhi a libertarian? one libertarian pundit thinks so
the libertarian pundit Riggenbach making a preliminary case for Gandhi the libertarian
The frustration some libertarians feel about people swallowing the FDR illusion is the very same frustration I feel when I read (or hear) things like this, especially from people who can easily relieve themselves of the error with a little more study - shouldn't libertarians always look into the revisionist literature as well as the court versions? I really wish he had taken Gandhi a shade more seriously and looked into it just a bit more.
I probably belong in the class of online "pontificators" Riggenbach derides as not understanding all pacifism to be libertarian in essence, because indeed I do not have such an understanding, no doubt due to my ignorance and lack of education. The attention given to Gandhi is inextricably related to the widespread fallacy that his movement was responsible for the independence of India, while I give the greater credit by far to Subhash Bose of the Indian National Army who was the second most popular leader in India by only a few % points, while everyone else, like Nehru, trailed very far behind those two.
Gandhi's "civil disobedience" methods did not in fact achieve much else except a mobilization of the middle classes, and an energization of the ambitious statists like Nehru. Other historical forces were at play, not least WW-II. In my view, as also of some revisionist scholars, the refusal of the soldiers to obey orders, to let their generals be executed for treason - the crisis that actually brought the empire down - was the most libertarian act of all in those events. Gandhi was responsible for needlessly conceding to the act of partition, something that caused human suffering, mayhem and death on a scale unknown in peacetime India before. When courageous statesmanship was needed Gandhi failed.
My big problems with Gandhi are his sabotaging of the democratic process again and again, and his eventually deadly introduction of religious politics into the movement for self-rule. He imposed his will on the Congress by the veiled threat that if he was disobeyed he would take it to the streets, where he had carefully cultivated a saintly image. That is a type of coercion he never chose to apply against any other unjust institution in India. The self-governing village republics that must sound so idyllic to libertarians like Riggenbach would in fact have been caste states, no less coercive for their "social" method of law enforcement. Only in profound ignorance of hindu tradition and social realities could one entertain that Gandhi's 'Ram Rajya' represents a type of libertarian utopia.
Riggenbach's error is commonplace, so I forgive him. Gandhi's hypocrisy, the gap between what he admired - the Thoreau, the Tolstoy, the Christ - and the actions and decisions he took only become visible when one gets beyond the official 'saintly' Gandhi. The liberty he himself demanded from the brits was not the same he was willing to share with his own people, but this Riggenbach was understandably not able to grasp.
The US is a republic that practised slavery and "manifest destiny" and "jim crow" and today practises "war on drugs" and "war on terror" and so on, so perhaps there may not be the same sense of urgency about the total abolition of caste, rather the sense that through gradual reform the thing will slowly disappear. This would be gross error, as the history of India is littered with reform movements, one of which became Buddhism, and another intitiated by the christian king Ram Mohan Roy gave birth to the Congress, yet caste has persisted and remains a brutal reality today from which the ONLY relief the people have received is via the democratic, republican, liberal, humanist constitution written by Dr. Ambedkar.
What we call "independence" is a transfer of state power from one imperial class to another older, even worse, more inhumane one, and the man who supervised the transition, at the cost of the horrors of partition, and the man who endorsed the only bolshevik as the prime minister, is who our libertarian pundit wishes to embrace in the libertarian tradition. Gandhi may have been a "pacifist", Mr. Riggenbach, but he fails that other important test - he gave in to evil. Do we look into what a politician does, or only what he says?
I respectfully disengage from the embrace of Gandhi issued by the Mises Institute.
The frustration some libertarians feel about people swallowing the FDR illusion is the very same frustration I feel when I read (or hear) things like this, especially from people who can easily relieve themselves of the error with a little more study - shouldn't libertarians always look into the revisionist literature as well as the court versions? I really wish he had taken Gandhi a shade more seriously and looked into it just a bit more.
I probably belong in the class of online "pontificators" Riggenbach derides as not understanding all pacifism to be libertarian in essence, because indeed I do not have such an understanding, no doubt due to my ignorance and lack of education. The attention given to Gandhi is inextricably related to the widespread fallacy that his movement was responsible for the independence of India, while I give the greater credit by far to Subhash Bose of the Indian National Army who was the second most popular leader in India by only a few % points, while everyone else, like Nehru, trailed very far behind those two.
Gandhi's "civil disobedience" methods did not in fact achieve much else except a mobilization of the middle classes, and an energization of the ambitious statists like Nehru. Other historical forces were at play, not least WW-II. In my view, as also of some revisionist scholars, the refusal of the soldiers to obey orders, to let their generals be executed for treason - the crisis that actually brought the empire down - was the most libertarian act of all in those events. Gandhi was responsible for needlessly conceding to the act of partition, something that caused human suffering, mayhem and death on a scale unknown in peacetime India before. When courageous statesmanship was needed Gandhi failed.
My big problems with Gandhi are his sabotaging of the democratic process again and again, and his eventually deadly introduction of religious politics into the movement for self-rule. He imposed his will on the Congress by the veiled threat that if he was disobeyed he would take it to the streets, where he had carefully cultivated a saintly image. That is a type of coercion he never chose to apply against any other unjust institution in India. The self-governing village republics that must sound so idyllic to libertarians like Riggenbach would in fact have been caste states, no less coercive for their "social" method of law enforcement. Only in profound ignorance of hindu tradition and social realities could one entertain that Gandhi's 'Ram Rajya' represents a type of libertarian utopia.
Riggenbach's error is commonplace, so I forgive him. Gandhi's hypocrisy, the gap between what he admired - the Thoreau, the Tolstoy, the Christ - and the actions and decisions he took only become visible when one gets beyond the official 'saintly' Gandhi. The liberty he himself demanded from the brits was not the same he was willing to share with his own people, but this Riggenbach was understandably not able to grasp.
The US is a republic that practised slavery and "manifest destiny" and "jim crow" and today practises "war on drugs" and "war on terror" and so on, so perhaps there may not be the same sense of urgency about the total abolition of caste, rather the sense that through gradual reform the thing will slowly disappear. This would be gross error, as the history of India is littered with reform movements, one of which became Buddhism, and another intitiated by the christian king Ram Mohan Roy gave birth to the Congress, yet caste has persisted and remains a brutal reality today from which the ONLY relief the people have received is via the democratic, republican, liberal, humanist constitution written by Dr. Ambedkar.
What we call "independence" is a transfer of state power from one imperial class to another older, even worse, more inhumane one, and the man who supervised the transition, at the cost of the horrors of partition, and the man who endorsed the only bolshevik as the prime minister, is who our libertarian pundit wishes to embrace in the libertarian tradition. Gandhi may have been a "pacifist", Mr. Riggenbach, but he fails that other important test - he gave in to evil. Do we look into what a politician does, or only what he says?
I respectfully disengage from the embrace of Gandhi issued by the Mises Institute.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Is Egypt’s military with or against Mubarak? former ambassador weighs in
it is not Mubarak, tomorrow another Mubarak will follow, because human nature will keep us supplied with a small percentage of people who gravitate to state power from greed - it is not important to cogitate on the personality of Mubarak, it is vital now to understand the structure which enables this to occur, exactly how this violent theft of a civilization is constructed, we must understand this and dictate accordingly to the state (until it "withers away" altogether) if we are to entertain any hope of bequeathing liberty and prosperity to our children
why? because of the destructive capabilities these idiots now possess, thanks to capitalism, we are not talking about bows and arrows, we are not talking about guns that kill one person at a time, we are talking about a tonnage of explosives that can blow up the whole planet many times over! this is a new experience for civilization, the perpetual terror of what states may do - the people have to maintain an "eternal vigilance" as Babasaheb Ambedkar said, or the problem of criminals in government will enslave you forever, because in a globalized system escape to freedom will not be possible, there will be no freedom left
military ordinance is the most TOTAL waste of a civilization's wealth that states ever invented, there exists absolutely NO way for them to be used in their normal course that the net economic yield or civilizational outcome is positive, absolutely NO way - it is up to an informed people to rid the planet of this menace (not to mention lost economic opportunity) by global popular demand - it is a survivalist aspiration of world civilization, I truly believe, and an inspiring goal for all who love liberty - take the guns away from these goons, let them go earn a living by adding value to the economy
Thursday, January 27, 2011
S&P cuts Japanese sovereign debt to AA-
S&P cuts Japanese sovereign debt to AA-
I think historians of the future will find it to be our generation's "blind spot" that such colossal economic fallacy - or disguised criminality, based upon your interpretation of events - could have persisted so long into the age of information
the history of states is littered with such blind spots nursed by the ruling elites for their convenience, but their efforts to conserve those advantages through inevitable crises results in the blind spots taking over the entire public discourse, the consequence being a catastrophic self-destruction in a few decades
I think historians of the future will find it to be our generation's "blind spot" that such colossal economic fallacy - or disguised criminality, based upon your interpretation of events - could have persisted so long into the age of information
the history of states is littered with such blind spots nursed by the ruling elites for their convenience, but their efforts to conserve those advantages through inevitable crises results in the blind spots taking over the entire public discourse, the consequence being a catastrophic self-destruction in a few decades
Egypt and Yemen make a charge for liberty, following brave Tunisia
Egypt makes a charge for liberty, following brave Tunisia
regime change by the people, what's not to like? this is the good stuff, it is up to the people to make the 21st century the century of freedom
Updates:
Mohd. El Baradei returns to join the peoples' agitation
the people of Yemen join the fight for freedom with gusto
Egypt cracks down, the US is dogged by contradiction of interest and principle
regime change by the people, what's not to like? this is the good stuff, it is up to the people to make the 21st century the century of freedom
Updates:
Mohd. El Baradei returns to join the peoples' agitation
the people of Yemen join the fight for freedom with gusto
Egypt cracks down, the US is dogged by contradiction of interest and principle
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Can Austrian Theory Explain Construction Employment? - Robert P. Murphy
Can Austrian Theory Explain Construction Employment? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily
the foreign money was looking for 30-year debt to buy most, the Fed has some influence on the 30-year rate but not an absolute or automatic one, and in this case Greenspan's efforts in 04 and 05 to budge the rate upwards failed, revealing the fallacy of the "omnipotent Fed"; bondholders simply look at the Fed as ONE of their considerations even at the best of times - the "irrational exuberance" for indecipherable derivatives is best dealt with by markets, by letting the chips fall, letting companies die, letting banks die, letting gamblers burn, the last thing one would want is to institutionalize a grotesque concept like "too big to fail" and its' incestuous sister "systemic risk" - that is what Greenspan would not have bought, the whole TBTF argument, preferring to treat the whole thing as another bigger S&L or LTCM type issue, with a mechanism, a time frame, a projection of numbers, and as clear a roadmap for interest rates as possible, thereby not permitting uncertainty to descend like a heavy pall
I would place the greater proportion of the blame for "real resource misallocation" on Fannie, Freddie and the gamut of political weightage placed on single family home ownership, whereas the free market may have directed more of the capital into affordable apartment buildings, easing labor mobility, making realty more liquid and lowering the price bar of real ownership - a quite salutory result for workers, thus also from a political perspective I would think
can we imagine for a minute, just for a fun exercise, the result if the political weightage were placed on school ownership instead of home ownership? if parents had an economic interest in their schools they would suddenly begin to perform the quality control function the founding fathers wished to place in their hands, and which they have been persuaded to abdicate to the teachers' unions instead
it is quite pointless to speak of the unemployment without taking in context the colossal vanity inherent in attempting to central plan a society's labor requirements 50 years into the future, which is our infamous 'Brock Model'; it simply cannot be done without severe distortions resulting in the economy, and now the price is being paid in altogether needless pain by workers - the tragedy is not in the flight of manufacturing jobs to China, or the flight of clerical jobs to India (which I heard Dr. Kissinger call "strategic failure" today, perhaps from the conservative instinct to protect 'yesterday' against the uncertainty of 'tomorrow', one will have to wait and listen to the full interview on WSJ's friday night feature, "The Big Interview") - the tragedy is our inability to do the better jobs we are creating here and now, the sub-market speed of adaptation and innovation in education resulting from faulty fundamentals, I mean, does Apple have to open a college to teach people how to use iPads?
the foreign money was looking for 30-year debt to buy most, the Fed has some influence on the 30-year rate but not an absolute or automatic one, and in this case Greenspan's efforts in 04 and 05 to budge the rate upwards failed, revealing the fallacy of the "omnipotent Fed"; bondholders simply look at the Fed as ONE of their considerations even at the best of times - the "irrational exuberance" for indecipherable derivatives is best dealt with by markets, by letting the chips fall, letting companies die, letting banks die, letting gamblers burn, the last thing one would want is to institutionalize a grotesque concept like "too big to fail" and its' incestuous sister "systemic risk" - that is what Greenspan would not have bought, the whole TBTF argument, preferring to treat the whole thing as another bigger S&L or LTCM type issue, with a mechanism, a time frame, a projection of numbers, and as clear a roadmap for interest rates as possible, thereby not permitting uncertainty to descend like a heavy pall
I would place the greater proportion of the blame for "real resource misallocation" on Fannie, Freddie and the gamut of political weightage placed on single family home ownership, whereas the free market may have directed more of the capital into affordable apartment buildings, easing labor mobility, making realty more liquid and lowering the price bar of real ownership - a quite salutory result for workers, thus also from a political perspective I would think
can we imagine for a minute, just for a fun exercise, the result if the political weightage were placed on school ownership instead of home ownership? if parents had an economic interest in their schools they would suddenly begin to perform the quality control function the founding fathers wished to place in their hands, and which they have been persuaded to abdicate to the teachers' unions instead
it is quite pointless to speak of the unemployment without taking in context the colossal vanity inherent in attempting to central plan a society's labor requirements 50 years into the future, which is our infamous 'Brock Model'; it simply cannot be done without severe distortions resulting in the economy, and now the price is being paid in altogether needless pain by workers - the tragedy is not in the flight of manufacturing jobs to China, or the flight of clerical jobs to India (which I heard Dr. Kissinger call "strategic failure" today, perhaps from the conservative instinct to protect 'yesterday' against the uncertainty of 'tomorrow', one will have to wait and listen to the full interview on WSJ's friday night feature, "The Big Interview") - the tragedy is our inability to do the better jobs we are creating here and now, the sub-market speed of adaptation and innovation in education resulting from faulty fundamentals, I mean, does Apple have to open a college to teach people how to use iPads?
Monday, January 17, 2011
Is There a Conservative Case for QE? - Robert P. Murphy
Is There a Conservative Case for QE? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily
no meaningful engagement with the history of economic thought can be derived from extrapolating our nuomenal abstractions onto it as a filter - "dialectical materialism", "class struggle", "mode of production", "primitive accumulation" "aggregate demand" "multiplier effect" (I'm starting to feel ill from repeating this nonsense, I'll stop now)
if one is honest and serious one must use the vocabulary of concepts common to all civilization, like money, property, price, savings, liberty, trade, finance ("usury"), taxation, excise, subsidy, and so on - all deriving from the human activity of exchange for mutual benefit, and none intrinsically presenting the challenge Lord Keynes felt to "revolutionize the entire field [of economics]" in a sustained fit of imperial arrogance and intellectual dishonesty called "pure genius" (Samuelson) - no other field attracts charlatans with such regularity as economics, for obvious reasons
(I mean, the guy was not even trying to win elections, like Marx was! in a century marked by gigantic hubris it is hard to find one more destructive of civilization than of Keynes)
no meaningful engagement with the history of economic thought can be derived from extrapolating our nuomenal abstractions onto it as a filter - "dialectical materialism", "class struggle", "mode of production", "primitive accumulation" "aggregate demand" "multiplier effect" (I'm starting to feel ill from repeating this nonsense, I'll stop now)
if one is honest and serious one must use the vocabulary of concepts common to all civilization, like money, property, price, savings, liberty, trade, finance ("usury"), taxation, excise, subsidy, and so on - all deriving from the human activity of exchange for mutual benefit, and none intrinsically presenting the challenge Lord Keynes felt to "revolutionize the entire field [of economics]" in a sustained fit of imperial arrogance and intellectual dishonesty called "pure genius" (Samuelson) - no other field attracts charlatans with such regularity as economics, for obvious reasons
(I mean, the guy was not even trying to win elections, like Marx was! in a century marked by gigantic hubris it is hard to find one more destructive of civilization than of Keynes)
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