By Les Dunaway
“When institutions protect the liberty of individuals, greater prosperity results for all.”
Adam Smith in “The Wealth of Nations”, 1776
This truth is a key measure of the fitness of a government to survive. When any government fails this test, the citizens of that government must resort to another statement, written the same year:
…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
Well, we now have President Obama’s plan to “to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working”. A long list of business leaders had little hope that the speech would contain anything substantive. They were proven right. What we got was more of the same, both in terms of the programs offered and the tax increases to pay … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
During the budget debate last December, during the lead-up the the debt-ceiling debate, … I’ve listened to statements made by various politicians, pundits and some real people. I’ve concluded that there really are people who believe that we can just raise taxes to support any desired level of spending. When they are asked about the example of Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, … they respond “Well, that’s Europe; … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
The past weeks have made it clear that there’s a lot of folks in our country who don’t understand that the liberal give-away is over. The time that Maggie Thatcher foretold when she said “The trouble with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money” has come.
I’m not referring to those who are simply in denial. I’m talking about people who … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
Well, Charlie Rangel thinks Congress looks like a ‘bunch of clowns’ for not raising taxes. I got a news flash, or two, for you Charlie. First, yes, many in Congress do look like clowns for their complete lack of understanding of economics. Second, they’ve been looking like clowns for decades. Oh, and by the way, there’s several in the Executive Branch wearing fright wigs, rubber noses and … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
Well, it happened. Just as the warnings foretold. When will there be some sign of adult behavior in Washington? During the debt cap discussions, the rating companies wrote to the President, the Senate and the House and pointed out that just raising the debt cap would not prevent a rating downgrade. Think about it! Would you see it as positive if your dead-beat neighbor bragged to you … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
Well, it’s been a rough week! With every indication of more rough times to come.
The economy continues to sputter and 1Q11 was worse that we thought [read]
There’s lots of punditry about what the debt ceiling impasse will mean:
By Tom Kiser
This may fall into the category of kibbitzing about a technicality that no one cares about, but the United States Federal Government, as the issuer of our fiat money, cannot collect amounts of that same money and hold the money for future use. If money is collected regardless of by what method then the money must be spent near-real time, regardless of for what purpose, else the … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
This past week has produced demagoguery and asinine statements which will echo down the centuries. However, for all its entertainment value, the conversation has resembled an ER team arguing about what color sutures to use in closing bleeding self-inflicted gashes. It all reminds me of a joke my nurse mother told about a patient who said to the doctor “Doc, it hurts when I do that.” To … Read more...
By J. Randolph Evans
The federal debt is over $14 TRILLION. How big is it?
$14 TRILLION.
To just count to $14 trillion, like 1, 2, 3, and so on, would take
448,000 years.
$14 TRILLION.
That is over $46,000 for every person in the United States (which is as
much as the average person working actually makes in an entire year –
$46,326); for a family of four, it … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
The recession was pronounced “over” in June 2009 – two years ago – and we still have no real recovery and millions of people out of work. What’s going on? A series of charts from Market Watch gives some of the picture [read].
Well, mostly what’s happening is that the historical engine of job growth – start-up business – is sputtering, dragged down by the … Read more...
By Les Dunaway
I want to refer you to a well written, upbeat-but-not-rose-colored-glasses piece in todays WSJ “The Future Still Belongs to America“. I want to highlight one paragraph which is, I believe, is key to the conclusion
New ideas disturb the peace of once-stable cultures. Young people grasp the possibilities of change and revolt at the conservatism of their elders. Sacred taboos and ancient hierarchies totter; women … Read more...