Mar

24

Erie County/Western New York Tea Party on March 28th

Filed Under Buffalo, New York State, Taxation | 2 Comments

Erie County-Western New York Tea Party

Details at the Albany’s Insanity Blog

More at Political Class Dismissed

Dec

22

End the Ponzi Scheme

Filed Under Economics, National, Ron Paul, Taxation | Leave a Comment

Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk
December 22, 2008

Government and Fraud

Billions of dollars were recently lost in the collapse of Bernie Madoff’s self-described Ponzi scheme, in which too-good-to-be-true returns on investments were not really returns at all, but the funds of defrauded new investors. The pyramid scheme collapsed dramatically when too many clients called in their accounts, and not enough new victims could be found to support these withdrawals. Bernie Madoff was running a blatant fraud operation. Fraud is already illegal, and he will be facing criminal consequences, which is as it should be, and should act as an appropriate deterrent to potential future criminals. But it seems every time someone breaks the law, politicians and pundits decide we need more laws, even though lack of laws was not the problem.

The government itself runs a fraud much bigger than Madoff’s. Our Social Security system is the very definition of a Ponzi, or pyramid scheme. If the government truly had an interest in protecting people’s savings, they would allow people to opt out of Social Security altogether. We would cut wasteful spending, such as our overseas empire, to honor current obligations to seniors, and eventually phase the program out. Instead, as with Enron and Sarbanes Oxley, I expect new, unrelated legislation to be proposed that further damages freedom in the name of protecting us, amidst loud proclamations that they have made the world safe.

READ ON

Jul

4

Some Thoughts on Secession Day 2008

Filed Under Economics, History, National, Taxation, The American Revolution | Leave a Comment

“A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicity.” — Thomas Jefferson

I turned the TV on briefly this morning. CNBC interviews McCain and Obama, the two economic and constitutional illiterates running for President of the United States. They talk about their presidential plans on managing the economy, that is stifling “our own pursuits of industry and improvement” and tweaking the voluminous income tax codes, that is how much they will “take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

Obama says managing the economy is “too much for one man to wrap his head around”, so he relies on his economic advisers, leftist intelligentsia and captains of Wall Street. He says they meet the approval of CEO’s around the country. I suppose these are the same CEO’s whose excessive remunerations and corporate profits he wishes to control.
McCain was asked about Obama wanting to raise taxes to pay for U.S. wars and he wanting to cut taxes (which actually means borrow and inflate to pay for the wars, an important point which was not even touched upon), McCain ignores the question and says “but we are winning!”

Thomas DiLorenzo is right, Independence Day is not what Thomas Jefferson would be celebrating today.

Jul

3

Bovard on The Capsizing of American Democracy

Filed Under Jim Bovard, Libertarian, Taxation | 2 Comments

Politicians have divided America into two blocs of voters labeled “more deserving of others’ paychecks,” and “less deserving of their own paycheck.”

Some somber thoughts for this Dependence Day, July 4th, 2008.

The Capsizing of American Democracy
by James Bovard, Posted June 30, 2008

American democracy is capsizing as a result of the vast increase in the number of government dependents and government employees. This has created a voting bloc that overwhelms every other potential force. H.L. Mencken quipped in the 1930s that the New Deal divided America into “those who work for a living and those who vote for a living” — a division truer now than ever before.

In the era of the Founding Fathers, few things were more dreaded than “dependency” — not being one’s own man, not having a truly independent will because of reliance on someone or something else to survive. One of the glories of America was the possibility that common people could become self-reliant with hard work and discipline. Prof. John Philip Reid, the author of The Concept of Liberty in the Age of the American Revolution, summarized 18th-century political thinking:

Property was independence; lack of property was servility, even servitude…. A man without independent wealth could easily be bought and bribed. A man of property had a will of his own.

This was part of the reason that many of the states initially required a property qualification for voters. Sir William Blackstone, whose work on the English constitution profoundly influenced Americans, observed that a property qualification for suffrage was necessary because if the property-less “had votes, they would be tempted to dispose of them under some undue influence or other.” Thomas Jefferson warned, “Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition.”

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Feb

2

The Illogic of Stimulus Packages

Filed Under Economics, Federal Reserve, National, Taxation | Leave a Comment

“We are in our present position because government has burdened us with taxes, spending, debt, regulations, subsidies, guarantees (to lenders, for example), trade restrictions, fiat money, and other impositions. Between the endless domestic schemes and war, we are being crushed by the weight of the state. We don’t need a stimulus. We need freedom.”

The Goal Is Freedom: An Unstimulating Idea
January 25, 2008

by Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman is the editor of The Freeman and “In brief,” and a contributor to The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. TGIF appears Fridays. Comments welcome.

“It’s like taking a bucket of water from the deep end of a pool and dumping it into the shallow end. Funny thing — the water in the shallow end doesn’t get any deeper.”
That’s how George Mason University economist Russell Roberts describes the logic — rather, illogic — of the economic “stimulus” proposals that everyone and his uncle are proposing.

If we needed further demonstration of the folly that is the American political-economic system, there it is. The leaders of the interventionist state and the candidates who aspire to command it will continue to produce this inanity until people see it for the balderdash it is and resoundingly reject it.

READ ON

Jan

24

Ron Paul’s REAL Economic Stimulus Plan

Filed Under Economics, Federal Reserve, Republican Party, Ron Paul, Taxation | 2 Comments

Ron Paul Unveils a REAL Economic Stimulus Plan

Four-pronged approach will strengthen the economy by reforming taxes, cutting spending, improving monetary policy and eliminating burdensome regulations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2008

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA –Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has unveiled a comprehensive economic revitalization package. The four-pronged plan is designed to stem the current economic slide and address the unsound governmental policies that are harming Americans’ pocketbooks.

“Real economic reform must address the underlying reasons for the current economic malaise,” said Ron Paul. “This plan is more than just a band-aid for our economy; it fundamentally reforms four areas where government policies are damaging our national economy. When enacted, my plan will provide both short-term stimulus, and lay the groundwork for long-term prosperity.”

The comprehensive economic revitalization plan is available online at: http://www.RonPaul2008.com/Prosperity.

The four areas that the plan covers are:

1. Tax Reform: Reduce the tax burden and eliminate taxes that punish investment and savings, including job-killing corporate taxes.

2. Spending Reform: Eliminate wasteful spending. Reduce overseas commitments. Freeze all non-defense, non-entitlement spending at current levels.

3. Monetary Policy Reform: Expand openness with the Federal Reserve and require the Fed to televise its meetings. Return value to our money.

4. Regulatory Reform: Repeal Sarbanes/Oxley regulations that push companies to seek capital outside of US markets. Stop restricting community banks from fostering local economic growth.

Congressman Paul has written or co-sponsored numerous bills to enact the policies in his plan. In Congress, he has been a champion of lower taxes and limited government.

Congressman Paul is the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology. In Congress, Dr. Paul has never voted for a tax increase or for an unbalanced budget.

Jan

24

Ron Paul and the economy - The Real Economic Doctor vs. Dr. Frankenstein

Filed Under Economics, Federal Reserve, Republican Party, Ron Paul, Taxation | Leave a Comment

Amongst the static of disinformation and smearing that is the mainstream media, it’s refreshing to see that at least some take the issues seriously and the issue that is now taking center stage is the troubled economy.
What has become an epiphany to some is the fact that Ron Paul was warning about coming economic troubles for a long time, usually the lone voice among the presidential candidates both Republican and Democrat. While the others were furthering the company line of an economy that was strong with low inflation, low unemployment and a soaring stock market with no end in sight, Dr. Paul was warning that the artificially induced euphoria caused by FED policies of manipulated interest rates and money printing and the government policies of increased expenditure on warfare and welfare programs was leading to a whopper of a economic hangover. First came the housing bubble with its mortgage mess, then the fact that unemployment and inflation was rising, the dollar was collapsing and then the unsettled stock market.
The politicians, pundits, establishment economists and FED honchos that now have egg on their face are scurrying around promising to avert economic disaster by prescribing the disease as the cure, stimulus packages of artificially low interest rates and corporate and social welfare. So many quacks and only one true doctor.

Ron Paul on Glenn Beck Jan 23, 2008 - AUDIO AND TRANSCRIPT HERE

Ron Paul on MSNBC - Jan 23, 2008

Ron Paul with Neil Cavuto on Fox - Jan 23, 2008

Oct

29

Ron Paul on Economics

Filed Under Economics, Federal Reserve, Ron Paul, Taxation | 3 Comments

PART 1:

PART 2:

Oct

9

Ron Paul On The Phony Social Security Trust Fund

Filed Under Republican Party, Ron Paul, Taxation | 2 Comments

Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk Column
October 9, 2007

Keeping Promises to Seniors

With our country’s finances stretched thin, our credit limit fast approaching, and our currency inflated to the breaking point, there is no indication yet of any urgency on the part of Congress to rein in spending. The predictable answer to the government’s voracious spending habits is this week’s proposal by some Democratic Congressional leaders for tax increases to pay for operations in Iraq . Here at home, however, there are promises our seniors heavily rely upon. We must keep these promises.

An analysis of the Social Security “Trust Fund” shows we are not doing a credible job of keeping these promises. Official reports show the trust fund having assets of $2.1 trillion. In reality, those dollars are just IOUs the government is writing to itself when it borrows from the fund to spend on unrelated programs. There are no real assets in the Social Security Trust Fund. This is similar to taking money out of your savings account, spending it, then replacing it with an IOU to yourself, and calling that IOU an asset.

In addition, this money we owe to our seniors is not even included in official budget deficit figures. In fiscal year 2006 alone, $185 billion was borrowed from Social Security. The official deficit was reported to be $248 billion. The actual deficit for 2006 would be $433 billion when combining the two. This sort of accounting would land private sector executives in prison for fraud.

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Aug

6

Bridge Utopians

Filed Under Economics, Taxation | Leave a Comment

The day the I35 West Bridge in Minnesota collapsed, I turned the television on to see what the news reporters had to say about the tragedy. In between the information about how many people were confirmed dead and injured, the bulk of the reporting amounted to a witch hunt to find who was responsible. The talking heads seemed frustrated with all the usual politicians, pundits and engineers they could dig up to speculate as to what caused the collapse and who the incompetents were that could be crucified. Nobody was willing to point fingers yet, but what was amusing was the solutions that some of them already conceived for a cause that they didn’t even understand. Mike Barnicle on MSNBC’s Hardball lamented repeatedly that the federal government is not big enough to handle such problems, “The government has to get bigger to help governors in various states”. But the problem that stifles the plans of big government utopians like Barnicle is “how are we going to pay for it?” Rep. Barney Frank said, “Well we’re gonna get it from taxation and one way we can do that, frankly, in my judgment, is end the war in Iraq.”
Frank went on to say, “I was in Congress on September 10th, 2001 and I know, factually, there was no money in the, in the budget at that time for the war in Iraq and since then we’ve found $500 billion. So, sometimes, I think I should go find the guy who found that $500 billion and ask him if he can find some of that for us here.”
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