We the People

The Federal Reserve is the culprit

2009-02-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

The Case for Natural Money

2009-02-25T18:03:00.000-05:00

Read the full article here

Economic Recovery Requires Capital Accumulation, Not Government "Stimulus Packages

2009-02-25T18:01:00.001-05:00

Read the article here.

Tooth Fairy Economics

2009-02-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

So the "stimulus" package, a dagger through the heart of the economy, has passed. The geniuses who govern us, who insist that seizing the produce of the voluntary economy and devoting it to arbitrary projects will make us wealthy, have had their victory.

Read the full article here.

Synchronized Boom, Synchronized Bust - Marc Faber

2009-02-18T16:47:00.001-05:00

The world has gone from the greatest synchronized global economic boom in history to the first synchronized global bust since the Great Depression. How we got here is not a cautionary tale of free markets gone wild. Rather, it's the story of what can happen when governments ignore market signals and central bankers believe in endless booms.

Excellent article. Read it here.

Taxing the rich will create jobs - Rapper

2009-02-13T17:56:00.001-05:00

Capitalism Needs a Sound-Money Foundation

2009-02-12T18:04:00.000-05:00

Let's give the Fed some competition. Abolish legal tender laws and see whose money people trust. Read the full article here.

CBO: Obama stimulus harmful over long haul

2009-02-07T16:46:00.001-05:00

President Obama's economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

Read it here.

US Inflation Could Hit 200%: Dr. Doom

2009-02-06T18:43:00.000-05:00

The US risks being hit by Zimbabwe-style hyperinflation and there are signs that the world's biggest economy risks turning into a banana republic, Marc Faber, author of the Gloom, Doom & Boom report, told CNBC's "Asia Squawk Box."

Read it here.

Cures for Our Economic Disease

2009-02-06T18:06:00.000-05:00

I have recently had several opportunities on various news programs to discuss the economy and what is wrong with the so-called economic stimulus package. I have said over and over what we shouldn’t be doing, and now I’d like to explain what we should be doing.

Read the full article here

An Austrian Recommendation for President Obama

2009-02-04T18:38:00.001-05:00

A lot of people get annoyed with Austrian economists because they tend to be so dogmatic (we prefer the term consistent) and because they cloak their strictly economic claims with self-righteousness (we prefer the term morality). After a good Austrian bashing of the latest call to steal taxpayer money and waste it on something that will make a given problem worse, the stumped critics will often shout, "Oh yeah? Well do you guys have a better idea?"

Read the full article here.

Ron Paul Talks About the Economy on Morning Joe 1-27-09

2009-01-27T20:36:00.001-05:00

Obama's So-Called Stimulus: Good For Government, Bad For the Economy

2009-01-27T18:20:00.001-05:00

The Future of Gold

2009-01-27T17:53:00.000-05:00

EXCELLENT EXCELLENT ARTICLE. Read here.

The World Won't Buy Unlimited U.S. Debt

2009-01-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama has spoken often of sacrifice. And as recently as a week ago, he said that to stave off the deepening recession Americans should be prepared to face "trillion dollar deficits for years to come."

Read the full article here.

Can Fiscal Stimulus Revive the US Economy?

2009-01-25T19:05:00.000-05:00

Most economists and various commentators are in agreement. They hold that the US government must sharply increase its spending in order to arrest the economic crisis that could turn into a prolonged slump.

Read the full article here

Bin Laden: Goal is to bankrupt U.S. (2004)

2009-01-25T18:44:00.003-05:00

"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript.

Interesting look back at this article here

The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism

2009-01-21T18:40:00.001-05:00

In essence I see the function or operation of government as the taking of resources from the most productive members of society and re-distributing them to the least productive members of society resulting in the overall impoverishment of the whole.

There are always exceptions, but in general those who are employed by the government are inferior to those employed in the private sector. Not only that, but by and large they have a huge sense of “entitlement”. They seem to believe they should have lifetime job security, a superior pension system (if Social Security is so great why is it that government employees and elected officials all are outside the Social Security system?) while they gave the public poor service and are among the least productive workers on the planet.

Read the full article here.

HYPERINFLATION

2009-01-18T20:01:00.000-05:00

Fed Vice Chairman refuses to disclose recepients of money

2009-01-15T20:01:00.001-05:00

Zimbabwe, Here We Come!!!

2009-01-14T19:35:00.000-05:00

When History Repeats

2009-01-12T17:32:00.000-05:00

Stimulating Our Way to Rock Bottom - Ron Paul

2009-01-12T17:19:00.002-05:00

Who is going to be left standing, to tax in the private sector, to pay for all these public sector make-work jobs? Is Washington really to be considered some sort of savior for creating unproductive jobs in place of the productive jobs they
eliminated.

The truth is our economic problems are due to loose monetary policy, central economic planning, and the parasitic expenses of government. Unless we assess these problems honestly, we unfortunately have a long way to go until, like the junkie, we hit rock bottom.

Read the full article here.

Former bank of England official predicts dollar collapse

2009-01-10T18:24:00.002-05:00

Americans must prepare themselves for a massive collapse in the dollar as investors around the world dump their US assets, a former Bank of England policymaker has warned. Read the full article here.

New Fed/Inflation Poster from DailyPaul.com

2009-01-10T17:14:00.005-05:00

Click HERE to download a free.pdf version of it.

BERNANKE ADMITS, "INFLATION IS A TAX"

Obama Stimulus Plan

2009-01-08T20:02:00.000-05:00

The Crisis in 10 Points

2008-12-31T12:04:00.000-05:00

The 2007–2008 financial crisis had its genesis in the United States housing markets, but it rapidly spread to other economies, first to the United Kingdom, but then almost everywhere else, including such unlikely spots as Iceland whose banking system collapsed.[1] Because events in the United States triggered the crisis, this essay will concentrate on the US causes although they had their many counterparts elsewhere.

Click here for the full essay.

Real business is hard work

2008-12-30T20:16:00.001-05:00

Honestly, it's much easier to sit at a desk at home and gather long-term capital gains (which may or may not be productively invested) or tax-free earnings than put up with the guff of real business. And if this is the case, then who's going to risk everything to hire people and "get America working again"?

Read the full article here.

There's No Pain-Free Cure for Recession - Peter Schiff

2008-12-29T13:01:00.002-05:00

Taking the theories of economist John Maynard Keynes as gospel, our most highly respected contemporary economists imagine a complex world in which economics at the personal, corporate and municipal levels are governed by laws far different from those in effect at the national level.

Individuals, companies or cities with heavy debt and shrinking revenues instinctively know that they must reduce spending, tighten their belts, pay down debt and live within their means. But it is axiomatic in Keynesianism that national governments can create and sustain economic activity by injecting printed money into the financial system. In their view, absent the stimuli of the New Deal and World War II, the Depression would never have ended.

Read the full article here

Inflation and Those Who Love It

2008-12-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Most folks share an illusion that the Fed prints money and it gets spread across the whole economy evenly like peanut butter on bread. But that picture is all wrong. Whenever the Fed ‘injects liquidity’ one should think of molasses being poured from a pitcher into certain sectors of the economy while other sectors will receive it later - when the dollars are worth less and buy less.

Banks, Wall Street and vested interest sectors that the Federal Government pumps money into get first crack on those dollars. The folks on Main Street, the rank and file Consumers, get them much later about the same time we notice that everything seems to ‘cost more’.

Read the full article here.

What is a Dollar Bill Worth?

2008-12-27T08:56:00.002-05:00

A common fallacy is that the worth of the dollar is indirectly tied to the gold at Fort Knox. Dead wrong! Another is that the dollar is tied to the nation’s GDP/GNP/purchasing-power parity. There is some truth to this, as the dollar’s worth ‘floats’ or fluctuates with the exchange rates of other currencies like the Euro and Yen, but what is a dollar actually worth?

Read the full article here

Government and Fraud

2008-12-22T16:34:00.002-05:00

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.

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.

Read the full article here.

Manmade Global Warming Theory 'Arrogant'

2008-12-19T20:54:00.001-05:00

Obama's War - Patrick J. Buchanan

2008-12-19T18:13:00.001-05:00

America, without debate, is about to invest blood and treasure, indefinitely, in a war to which no end seems remotely in sight, if the commanding general is talking about four years at least and the now-and-future war minister is talking about four decades.

Would Dwight D. Eisenhower--who settled for the status quo ante in Korea, an armistice at the line of scrimmage--commit his country to such an open-ended war? Would Richard Nixon? Would Ronald Reagan?

Hard to believe. George W. Bush would. But did not America vote against Bush? Why is America getting seamless continuity when it voted for significant change?

Read the full article here

The multi-trillion dollar Ponzi structures run by the United States government

2008-12-18T12:07:00.003-05:00

Madoff’s inspiration came from Charles Ponzi, the Italian-born American immigrant who promoted an investment plan in the early 1900s’ that traded postal coupons. Rather than paying investors from legitimate investment returns, Ponzi hit upon the innovative idea of paying out early investors with money collected from new investors.

The Social Security Administration runs its “trust funds” with precisely the same methods used by Madoff and Ponzi. As money is collected by from current workers, the funds are then dispersed to those already receiving benefits. None of the funds collected are actually invested, so no investment returns are ever generated. Those currently paying into the system are expected to receive their returns based on the “contribution” made by future workers. This is the classic definition of a Ponzi scheme.

The United States Government runs its own balance sheet based on the Ponzi principal as well. Our national debt always grows and never shrinks. As existing debt matures, proceeds are repaid by issuing new debt. Interest payments on existing debt are also made by selling new debt to investors. The whole scheme depends on an ever growing supply of new lenders, or the willingness of existing lenders, to continue to roll over maturing notes. Of course, as was the case with Madoff, if enough of our creditors want their money back, the music stops playing.

While Madoff took elaborate steps to conceal his scheme, the U.S. government operates in broad daylight. It truly is amazing how faith in government is so pervasive that many can believe that politicians will succeed where private individuals fail, and that governments are somehow immune to the economic laws that govern the rest of society. Like those unfortunate to have been duped by Madoff and Ponzi, the world is in for a rude awakening.

Read the full article here.

Madoff and the Failure of the SEC

2008-12-18T11:59:00.001-05:00

This is a perfect case study showing that the SEC is incapable of protecting investors as well as free-market institutions can.It failed to save investors from the house of cards made up of mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps, and collateralized debt obligations that resulted from the housing bubble. Now it has failed to protect thousands more individuals and charities from something as simple and old as a Ponzi scheme!

It seems that this event will place people into one of two camps. Either people will be disillusioned with the SEC and realize that the only function that it seems to be able to do well is to stand in the way of the free market's self-policing mechanism, or they will come to the erroneous conclusion that there is too little regulation and that the SEC needs more power to protect investors.

I fear that the latter will be the majority, but even so, many will come to see that less government is the real way to protect people. Tragically, it is in the nature of government, when its failures are exposed, to claim that if only it had more power it could have performed its duties in the manner it had promised.

Read the full article here.

Depression Survival Tactics

2008-12-17T18:31:00.002-05:00

Excellent article by Karen De Coster. I have just listed the main points; you can read the full article HERE.

1. Your credit score is important. If underwriting standards go back to where they should be (and used to be),banks will favor people who use credit lines responsibly and pay debt down timely.
2. Avoid buying a new car unless you absolutely have the cash flow to absorb the payment.
3. Stop eating out so often, and for goodness sakes, do some grocery shopping and put the brakes on the carry-out orders.
4. Starbucks should be an occasional treat for most of us. On a consistent basis, it is a huge waste of your money.
5. Use coupons. However, don’t use the excuse of coupons to buy something that you probably shouldn’t be buying.
6. Take advantage of sales, double coupons, buy-one-get-one-free sales, freshness/quality options, etc.
7. Buy frozen foods, canned goods, and paper products in large lots when they are on sale.
8. Don’t use the excuse of a clearance or sale to buy something that you probably shouldn’t be buying. Don’t use clearances and sales and bargains and Black Fridays as an excuse to overspend or rack up debt
9. Security in your home becomes more necessary when economic times are harsh and the riffraff become more daring. A home defense shotgun is a good start, followed by a pistol and a concealed weapons permit.A security system – from a major company such as ADT will deter all but the professional criminals.
10. When people wander malls with no purpose, they tend to buy things they don’t need, and yes, things they don’t even want a week or a month later.
11. Get Rid of Your Land Phone. Family plans for cell phones are so cheap now that it rarely makes sense to have a land phone anymore.
12. Take care of your house. Don’t let things crumble and become withered. Avoid outlandish expenses.
13. Take care of your fitness needs.Now is the time to be healthy and fit, and to stay that way.
14. Avoid personal spending traps like iTunes, books, and useful electronic gadgets like computers, iPods, satellite radio, and BlackBerry.Determine where your spending waste is and try to cut back on that stuff where and when it makes sense.

It is up to each individual to determine his or her highest-priority needs and most useful wants, and strike a sensible balance between them

Ron Paul answers policy questions

2008-12-16T16:52:00.004-05:00

Huffington Post interview. Read it here

Ron Paul Answers Your Questions: Part One - NYTIMES

Ron Paul Answers Your Questions: Part TwoNYTIMES

Over 650 Scientists Challenge Global Warming "Consensus"

2008-12-16T16:07:00.000-05:00

Twelve times more than those that put their names to the IPCC report

Read the full report here

Congressman Jack Kingston's reply to a constituent

2008-12-16T09:09:00.001-05:00

Dear Nathan: Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 7321, the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act. After listening to the debate and reading as much as I could on this bill, I voted against it because of a number of concerns. Primarily, there are a number of very large, very important industries who would like federal assistance right now. Many such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns, AIG, and a number of large financial institutions have received federal assistance. Some of these companies received federal funds through legislative acts, other received money due to measures taken by the Federal Reserve. In either case, taxpayers have to foot the bill- a bill that totals $3.2 trillion in 2008 alone. While the complete impact of these actions remain undetermined, these rescues have put the federal government in the business of picking winners and losers. For example, Bear Stearns received $131 billion, but their competitor Lehman Brothers was told "no," and subsequently went out of business. An alternative to a government bailout of GM, Ford, and Chrysler would be voluntary reorganization under chapter 11 bankruptcy laws. This would allow the "Big Three" to renegotiate business arrangements such as leases, union contracts, and credit contracts. Chapter 11 has been utilized by Delta, United, WorldCom (now MCI) and Texaco. These are all large companies that deliver essential goods. While the size of these companies and their payrolls contracted, they remained in business and emerged stronger and more competitive. For example, Chapter 11 would allow them to revisit the United Auto Workers wage scale which is an enormous financial burden on these companies. UAW jobs are not highly-skilled jobs; however, the average hourly labor cost at Chrysler is $75.86 and $73.26 at GM (based on SEC filing and annual reports from the company). The average hourly wage of a Toyota worker is $48, and the average of all private-sector workers is $25.36. Additionally, UAW workers that have lost their jobs can participate in the "job bank" program. This allows them to collect 95% of their salaries while not working. A contract like this is way out of line with other wages. This legislation creates a "car czar" to oversee the actions of these companies, therefore injecting the federal government into day-to- day operations of the "Big Three." This powerful person would have the authority to override purchases, contractual obligations, management decisions, human resources matters, and even marketing decisions. After witnessing the federal government's mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina, immigration reform, and the Wall Street bailout, it's hard for me to see how Washington will be able to turn the GM, Chrysler, and Ford around. Thank you for contacting me on this issue. Sincerely. Jack Kingston Member of Congress
Source: Campaignforliberty.com

U.S. Economy : The Philosopher's Stone

2008-12-16T08:58:00.001-05:00

9 Is Not 11 (And November Isn't September) - Arundhati Roy

2008-12-15T09:51:00.003-05:00

The Mumbai attacks are only the most recent of a spate of terrorist attacks on Indian towns and cities this year. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur, and Malegaon have all seen serial bomb blasts in which hundreds of ordinary people have been killed and wounded. If the police are right about the people they have arrested as suspects, both Hindu and Muslim, all are Indian nationals, which obviously indicates that something's going very badly wrong in this country.

Read the full essay here

Congress Votes for Misemployment

2008-12-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

GM, Chrysler and Ford are all operating at losses. They have failed business models. Sadly, they do not employ people in a profit-making enterprise. Rather, they ‘misemploy’ people to manufacture losses, and have been doing so for decades.
For years, the Big Three have rolled over in the face of trade union threats. On a per car basis, these companies today endure costs that are on average $600 higher than those faced by foreign competitors for cars that they manufacture in the United States. How is it possible for any bailout to counter this acute competitive disadvantage?

GM already owes debts of some $42 billion and Ford some $32 billion. How is it that an injection of a mere $15 billion of public money will succeed? It won’t. The Big Three are a financial ‘Black Hole’.

If that were not so, why is it that Cerberus, the private equity company that owns Chrysler, will not put in another penny? These financial and business ‘wizards’ clearly see that the Big Three cannot survive without massive and long-term public subsidies. Clearly, they also see a ‘Black Hole’.

Read the full article here

Iraqi reporter throws shoe at Bush

2008-12-14T16:25:00.001-05:00

U.S army prepares to invade the U.S.

2008-12-14T15:38:00.001-05:00

Obama’s Political Pork-Barrel Infrastructure

2008-12-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

The taxes, government debt, and inflationary central bank money creation that is used to finance all such schemes creates unemployment in the private sector so that politicians can buy votes with taxpayer dollars by doling out government make-work jobs. What is seen are the government make-work jobs; what is unseen by the average citizen is all the private-sector jobs that are destroyed or which never materialize because they’ve been crowded out by government.

Read the full article here

Zimbabwe introduces $500 million note

2008-12-12T16:34:00.000-05:00

Zimbabwe's central bank is introducing a $500 million note -- the highest current denomination -- as the once-prosperous southern African nation battles against spiraling hyperinflatio

Read the full article here.

Bankruptcy Doesn't Equal Death

2008-12-11T16:27:00.001-05:00

The auto industry could use the process to get competitive.

The spectacle of corporate magnates from Detroit pleading to be on Uncle Sam's dole is a sordid one. So why aren't more Americans appalled? One reason is widespread misunderstanding -- much of it sowed by these auto makers -- about the size of their firms. The Big Three, we are told, are "too big to be allowed to fail."

Read the full article here

The Christian Axis of Evil

2008-12-11T07:56:00.001-05:00

....it doesn’t matter whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. There is still absolutely no reason why the United States would be justified in attacking and invading a sovereign country – no matter what we thought of that country’s ruler, system of government, economic policies, religious intolerance, or human rights record.

There is no telling how many thousands of Christian Americans that Bush administration lapdogs Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, Lindsey, Thomas, and Boone have influenced. I am sure there are many other Christian leaders and wannabe leaders who, because they likewise serve as cheerleaders for the president, the war, and the military, are candidates for membership in the Christian axis of evil. Identify them, mark them, avoid them – and speak out against them if you can. It is only when Christians learn to look behind the façade of religious piousness that cloaks these Christian warmongers that the influence of the Christian axis of evil will be destroyed.

Read the full article HERE

Bailouts and Bankruptcy

2008-12-10T18:40:00.001-05:00

Let's not allow Congress and members of the bailout parade panic us into allowing them to do things, as was done in the 1930s, that would convert a mild economic downturn into a true calamity. Right now the Big Three auto companies, and their unions, are asking Congress for a $25 billion bailout to avoid bankruptcy. Let's think about that a bit.

What happens when a company goes bankrupt? One thing that does not happen is their productive assets go poof and disappear into thin air. In other words, if GM goes bankrupt, the assembly lines, robots, buildings and other tools don't evaporate. What bankruptcy means is the title to those assets change. People who think they can manage those assets better purchase them

Two vital marketplace signals are the profits that come with success and the losses that come with failure. When these two signals are not allowed to freely function, markets operate less efficiently. To be successful a business must take in enough revenue not only to cover wages, rents and interest but profits as well. In order to accomplish that feat executives must not only satisfy customers but they must do it in a manner that efficiently utilizes all of their resources. If they fail to cover costs, it means that resources are not being used efficiently and/or consumers don't value the good being produced relative to some other alternative. When a firm routinely fails to turn a profit, there are bankruptcy pressures. The firm's resources, workers, building and capital become available to someone else who might put them to better use. When government steps in with a bailout, it enables executives to continue mismanaging resources.

Read the full article by economist Walter E. Williams here

Should the Big Three Be Allowed to Fail?

2008-12-10T18:32:00.001-05:00

Big Three workers make $73/hr, Toyota's $48, the average manufacturing worker makes $32). Why should U.S. taxpayers subsidize these losers?

Whether a Honda, GM, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, or VW, currently each and every car still requires one engine and four wheels. Each manufacturer uses basically the same domestic and overseas suppliers, and each has dealers selling its cars (most dealers represent a broad spectrum of brands and will sell whatever car the market wants). The argument that GM closing its doors would result in the loss of 2 million jobs or more is ludicrous as the competitors that pick up the slack will hire workers and buy more from their suppliers. While that may not be good for Detroit, it may be good for the Carolinas or Tennessee.

Simply, business shifting from certain players in the industry to others is called competition. Capitalism and competition are the forces that have made the U.S. the most successful economy for many decades. Granted, it is a harsh reality, but it works, and so far no other system has come even close to creating as much wealth for most of its agents.

The choice is clear: Either the Obama administration can continue on the path of nationalizing entire segments of our economy (so far banking, insurance, auto - next, health, airlines...) and run them into the ground. Or it can let poorly managed companies fail, thereby making it easy for successful businesses and new entrepreneurs to buy the assets of these organizations. Step back and let the markets work their magic instead of blaming the market for ills that were created by special interests and poorly designed regulations.

Read the full article here

Oracles of Doom

2008-12-10T18:21:00.002-05:00

Look at the full list here

My favorite is Peter Schiff. Check out this video on youtube. Peter Schiff was economic adviser to Ron Paul during his presidential bid. Ofcourse, Ron Paul has been predicting the economic collapse for several years now. His name should have figured in this list.

Is America on a Downward Slope?

2008-12-10T18:03:00.001-05:00

Our country was founded upon the principles of freedom, responsibility, and opportunity to succeed or fail. Government was supposed to play a limited role in our lives. Government’s function was to defend against foreign invaders, provide basic services, enforce the laws, and maintain the public infrastructure of the country. Over time government has incessantly intervened in the economic system and by successive steps has moved the country toward socialism. Millions of Americans are now totally dependent upon handouts from the government. This policy of government expansion through the use of credit at the expense of taxpayers is detrimental to the rest of society. Interventionist wars, undeclared by Congress, and maintaining military bases in 117 countries were not envisioned by the Founding Fathers. The more we consent to government intervening in our lives, the more freedom that we lose. We are now experiencing the utmost intervention by government in our 222 year history.

Read the full article here

Yes, we will get out of the frying pan, but we will wind up in the fire.

2008-12-10T08:27:00.001-05:00

Read the full article HERE.

The plan to upgrade America's deteriorating bridges and roads, increase energy efficiency in buildings, computerize health records, and increase use of broadband is certainly laudable and economically constructive unlike the visionless money-wasting programs of the historically incompetent Bush administration. While this lunch may be a lot tastier than what has been dished out in the last 8 years, the bill is still going to have to be paid one way or the other however.

An examination of the federal government's record so far in handling the housing crisis (which I would like to remind you that it helped to create and encourage) indicates that government action in that arena has so far been ineffective. Before the credit crisis U.S. foreclosures were running around a million a year.

Meanwhile the Auto bailout proceeds in Washington. The current figure being discussed is $15 billion, which should stave off bankruptcy for the big three until sometime in the Spring of 2009. After that of course, another bailout will be needed and probably another and even another as well. The idea of a Car Czar is catching on adding another bureaucratic layer to an industry that is drowning because of its own bureaucratic sludge. Expect the auto bailout figures to rise next year, just as the banking/broker bailouts will. Add these figures to the up to one trillion dollars in the Obama proposed infrastructure spending - or at least that's the initial figure (pick whatever multiple you like to come up with the actual one).

It is my belief that all of these government programs and the ones that follow will indeed save the economy and once again make it robust, at least for awhile. It is not possible to spend almost unlimited amounts of money without causing inflation. When the spending is coming from essentially printing the money being spent, you can add major currency devaluation and the possibility of hyperinflation. Yes, we will get out of the frying pan, but we will wind up in the fire.

The Demise of the Middle Class

2008-12-09T17:19:00.000-05:00

The struggles of the American middle-class since 1970 become very clear when looking at the next two charts. Their buying power has plunged when you factor in the massive loss of buying power of the US dollar. Over this 35+ year period, both spouses were forced into the workplace to keep the family afloat. It also explains the massive growth in consumer debt and lack of personal savings. The middle-class was not necessarily acting irresponsibly. It was acting out of desperation and necessity.

Gun Control: Protecting Terrorists and Despots

2008-12-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

The fact is that firearm technology exists. It cannot be uninvented. As long as there is metalworking and welding capability, it matters not what gun laws are imposed upon law-abiding people. Those that wish to have guns, and disregard the law, will have guns. Gun control makes violence safer and more effective for the aggressive, whether the aggressor is a terrorist or a government.

And now for a world government

2008-12-08T22:37:00.001-05:00

Gideon Rachman says global governance is plausible

Give up your sovereignty to world government - CFR

2008-12-03T09:33:00.004-05:00

In the age of globalization, states should give up some sovereignty to world bodies in order to protect their own interests- Richard Hass (president of CFR)

"The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is the American Branch of a society which originated in England... (and) ...believes national boundaries should be obliterated and One-World rule established."
- Carroll Quigley, member of Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), mentor to Bill Clinton

"The main purpose of the Council on Foreign Relations is promoting the disarmament of U.S. sovereignty and national independence and submergence into an all powerful, one world government."
- Admiral Chester Ward, former CFR member and Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy

In 2002 Rockefeller, honorary chairman of the CFR, authored his autobiography “Memoirs” wherein, on page 405," Mr. Rockefeller writes: “For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents such as my encounter with Castro to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as "internationalists" and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."

In 2005, CFR task force co-chairman Robert Pastor testified in Congress in front of the Foreign Relations Committee: "The best way to secure the United States today is not at our two borders with Mexico and Canada, but at the borders of North America as a whole." The CFR task force he headed called for one border around North America, freer travel within it, and cooperation among Canadian, Mexican and American military forces and law enforcement for greater security. It called for full mobility of labor among the three countries within five years, similar to the European Union.

Pastor wrote in Foreign Affairs:

"The U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments remain zealous defenders of an outdated conception of sovereignty even though their citizens are ready for a new approach. Each nation's leadership has stressed differences rather than common interests. North America needs leaders who can articulate and pursue a broader vision... Countries are benefited when they changed these [national sovereignty] policies, and evidence suggests that North Americans are ready for a new relationship that renders this old definition of sovereignty obsolete.

Prominent members and corporate members of CFR

The Neo-Alchemy of the Federal ReserveThe Neo-Alche

2008-12-03T09:11:00.000-05:00

As the printing presses for the bailouts run at full speed, those in power are no longer even pretending that the new giveaways will fix our problems. Now that we are used to rewarding failure with taxpayer-funded bailouts, we are being told that this is “just a start,” more funds will inevitably be needed for more industries, and that things would be much worse had we done nothing.

Read the full article here

US masses naval-air-marine might in Arabian Sea opposite India, Pakistan, Iran

2008-12-02T18:02:00.000-05:00

Three US aircraft carriers with strike groups, task forces and nuclear submarines have piled up in the waters of the Arabian Sea opposite the shores of India, Pakistan and Iran, and in the Persian Gulf. DEBKAfile's military sources report that the US began massing this formidable array of floating firepower at the outset of the Islamist terrorist attack on the Indian city of Mumbai last Wednesday, Nov. 26.

How Gun Control Laws Contributed To the Mumbai Slaughter

2008-11-30T23:10:00.002-05:00

An interesting article, from October, 2005. This is a long article but very interesting. You can read the full article HERE
I have just taken a few excerpts below:

Gun Control And Self-defense Against Terrorism In India
by Abhijeet Singh
Colonial Roots of Gun-Control

The fact that there is no documented evidence of any terrorists ever having used licensed weapons to commit an act of terror on Indian soil seems to be of no consequence to our Government.

Curtailing gun ownership, to curb violent crime, through denying licenses or making legal arms & ammunition ridiculously expensive is based on flawed reasoning. The fact is that licensed firearms are found to be used in a statistically insignificant number of violent crimes; motorcycles & cars are far more dangerous. The certainty that a potential victim is unarmed is an encouragement to armed criminals. Less guns, more crime. Most violent crimes involving firearms are committed using untraceable illegal guns. Terrorists or the mafia are not going to be deterred by gun-control laws, they will be willing and able to procure arms of their choice and use them to commit crimes irrespective of any laws. Ironically in India it is cheaper (by several times) to buy the same gun in the black market than it is to buy it legally!

"Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You'll pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins." -- Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, Mafia hit man

Closer home take the case of the Godhra carnage and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Would wanton mobs have slaughtered so many innocent people with such disregard to consequences if their potential victims had been armed and ready to defend themselves? A serious consideration should be given to an armed civilian population as a solution to religious and racial riots as well as other crimes. Since all criminals are instinctively driven by self-preservation allowing legal ownership of firearms by law abiding citizens would act as a serious deterrent. This will make sure that if the Govt. fails to do its duty to protect the life and liberty of its citizens (as it has so often done in India's recent past), citizens will be able to protect themselves.

I do not condone violence or a violent solution to problems, but there can be no justification for not letting people be prepared to defend their own and their families' lives and property. When one is surrounded by mobs bent on setting you on fire and the like, in a country where policing is non-existent, owning firearms by people will have a great deterrent effect on mobs. Of course, if I could sue the police for not giving me complete protection, then I might feel differently (but don't count on it). But by law the State cannot be at fault for not protecting its citizens -- so if the cops take 25 minutes (or several hours) to respond to your call, and in those 25 minutes a criminal kicks open your door, shoots you and your wife, rapes your 11-year-old daughter, and beats your baby to death, that's just tough luck. What about incidents like 1984 and Godhra, where the local administration and police wilfully neglected their duty to protect the citizens of this country?

The author also answers some objections such as:
1.Won't legal owners of arms use the firearms to kill and murder others?
2.Won't there be a free for all during riots?
3.What about domestic violence and firearms?
4.What about accidents?
5.What about firearm assisted suicides?
6.Are there any working systems and what are the results?

FDA finds traces of melamine in US infant formula

2008-11-26T13:01:00.003-05:00

Traces of the industrial chemical melamine have been detected in samples of top-selling U.S. infant formula, but federal regulators insist the products are safe. The Food and Drug Administration said last month it was unable to identify any melamine exposure level as safe for infants but a top official said it would be a "dangerous overreaction" for parents to stop feeding infant formula to babies who depend on it.
Melamine is the chemical found in Chinese infant formula - in far larger concentrations - that has been blamed for killing at least three babies and making at least 50,000 others ill.
Previously undisclosed tests, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the FDA has detected melamine in a sample of one popular formula and the presence of cyanuric acid, a chemical relative of melamine, in the formula of a second manufacturer.
FDA scientists said then that they couldn't set an acceptable level of melamine exposure in infant formula because science hadn't had enough time to understand the chemical's effects on infants' underdeveloped kidneys. Plus, there is the complicating factor that infant formula often constitutes a newborn's entire diet.

Read the full story here before you decide what to do.

The Bailout Surge

2008-11-24T19:45:00.000-05:00

We must remember that governments do not produce anything. Their only resources come from producers in the economy through such means as inflation and taxation. The government has an obligation to be good stewards of these resources. In bailing out failing companies, they are confiscating money from productive members of the economy and giving it to failing ones. By sustaining companies with obsolete or unsustainable business models, the government prevents their resources from being liquidated and made available to other companies that can put them to better, more productive use. An essential element of a healthy free market, is that both success and failure must be permitted to happen when they are earned. But instead with a bailout, the rewards are reversed – the proceeds from successful entities are given to failing ones. How this is supposed to be good for our economy is beyond me.

Keep Your Eye On the Prize!

2008-11-24T19:43:00.000-05:00

There is currently unprecedented ‘monetary INFLATION’ taking place, and never before in history have so many countries inflated the various money supplies with this much additional money in such a short period of time.

U.S. Pledges Top $7.7 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit

2008-11-24T19:41:00.000-05:00

The U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers after guaranteeing $306 billion of Citigroup Inc. debt yesterday.

Bernanke says he erred in gauging mortgage fallout

2008-11-23T22:27:00.000-05:00

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledges he was wrong in believing that there would be limited fallout to financial markets from risky mortgages that soured after the housing market's collapse.

The Housing Bubble in 4 Easy Steps

2008-11-23T22:24:00.000-05:00

1. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to as low as 1% so that after inflation we had negative interest rates.

The Myth that Laissez Faire Is Responsible for Our Present Crisis

2008-11-23T22:22:00.001-05:00

The news media are in the process of creating a great new historical myth. This is the myth that our present financial crisis is the result of economic freedom and laissez-faire capitalism.

What is the Free Market?

2008-11-23T22:17:00.000-05:00

The Free market is a summary term for an array of exchanges that take place in society. Each exchange is undertaken as a voluntary agreement between two people or between groups of people represented by agents.

The Austrians Were Right

2008-11-22T07:53:00.000-05:00

Many Americans are hoping the new administration will solve the economic problems we face. That’s not likely to happen, because the economic advisors to the new President have no more understanding of how to get us out of this mess than previous administrations and Congresses understood how the crisis was brought about in the first place.

Americans Know ‘American Idol’ Star Better than American History

2008-11-21T18:42:00.001-05:00

More than twice as many Americans – 56 percent -- know that Paula Abdul is a judge on “American Idol” as know that the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” comes from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (21 percent)

A reader makes a very interesting point in the comments section of this article.

General Motors to invest $1 BILLION in Brazil plant- MONEY TO COME FROM U.S BAILOUT!!

2008-11-21T18:21:00.002-05:00

US automobile giant General Motors (GM) plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid in their Latin American unit the kind of problems it is facing at home, EFE reported Wednesday.

According to Jaime Ardila, chief of GM Brazil-Mercosur, the funding will come from the bailout package from the US government.....Read the full story here

Tomorrow you will make history!

2008-11-21T11:28:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow the American people, from sea to shining sea, will take the first nationally coordinated steps to put our elected leaders and the Federal Reserve on notice.

We have been raped and pillaged for over 80 years at the hands of the private bankers who determine and control our lives with the worthless paper they print.

Tomorrow we will tell them that their bailout plan was a fraud and that we MUST return to honest and sound money to save our republic and to return prosperity to our land.

Tomorrow is the day you will tell your grandchildren about when they ask you how you stood to save the republic. You will tell them how you stood with the new patriots, the new founding fathers and declared the end of the tyrannical reign of the Federal Reserve System.

...Or you can tell them, you were watching Seinfeld reruns and eating Doritos while the nation crumbled... It is not to late to get organized. Follow these easy steps to find out where the action is.

1. Login to http://RestoreTheRepublic.net/login.php (you cannot login unless you are a registered user click here to register: http://RestoreTheRepublic.net/sign-up.php)

2. Locate your End the Fed Group at this link http://restoretherepublic.net/user_group_browse.php?groupcat_id=55.

3. Join your End the Fed group by clicking the JOIN GROUP link on that page.

4. Check the group event board, announcements, and discussion board to get up to speed on the groups activities.

5. Comment on the group (the group owner will be notified of your comment)

6. Meet up with your group tomorrow in front of your Fed location and do your duty as an American.

We the people will no longer be abused by the private bankers... tomorrow, you and I and millions like us will etch our names in history.

Forever in Freedom,

Gary Franchi
RTR National Director
http://RestoreTheRepublic.net/Gary

Nov 22 End The Fed Rallies Around the Nation

2008-11-21T06:46:00.002-05:00

Right now, Americans are looking for answers as our nation undergoes another economic crisis. It is a key component of our message that the Federal Reserve system lies at the heart of these financial problems. This weekend, activists will gather at Fed branches across the country to call for the end of the Federal Reserve System and for a return to sound money.

Ron Paul will be speaking around 12:30 pm central at the Houston "End the Fed" rally on Saturday, and while these rallies are not C4L-sponsored events, we wanted to make sure you were aware of this grassroots effort. The organizers of "End the Fed" have provided us with event background and website information, which is included below.

While enjoying the festivities if you are able to attend, please keep in mind that the organizers are promoting a peaceful event. Anything along the lines of vandalism or violence will only discredit the movement and set back our efforts to reform our nation's monetary system.

The battle to reclaim our Republic is just beginning, and it is a fight that we can and will win if we stick together and work hard.

Matt Hawes
Campaign for Liberty
******************************************

On the night of November 22, 1910, a group of bankers met at an elite resort at Jekyll Island, Georgia.

So began the dark conception of the Federal Reserve System, which many economists argue is responsible for devouring the political and financial wealth of America. The U.S. Dollar has seen a better than 98% decline in its purchasing power since that time.

G. Edward Griffin summarizes here: "The purpose of this meeting on Jekyll Island was...to come to an agreement on the structure and operation of a banking cartel. The goal of the cartel, as is true with all of them, was to maximize profits by minimizing competition between members, to make it difficult for new competitors to enter the field, and to utilize the police power of government to enforce the cartel agreement. In more specific terms, the purpose and, indeed, the actual outcome of this meeting was to create the blueprint for the Federal Reserve System." From "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin

On November 22, 2008, ninety-eight years later, End the Fed! will announce the initiation of a grassroots, unfunded, transpartisan citizens movement for Sound Money with rallies at every Federal Reserve Bank and office in the country. Activists will demand an end to private banker control over the nation's money supply and the return to a hard, commodity backed monetary system. Their slogan is simple and direct: "End the Fed! Sound Money for America!"

End the Fed! activists believe that the Federal Reserve Bank, through its inflation of the money supply and the distortion of free markets resulting from its intervention, is responsible for the current financial and economic crisis. They also hold that the current round of "bailouts" and federal government nationalization of large segments of the financial sector further inflates the US dollar and disrupts the proper functioning of the markets and will ultimately serve to plunge the nation into an even more severe crisis, quite possibly even into a serious depression.

End the Fed! supports the passage of Representative Ron Paul's legislation which would repeal the Federal Reserve Act, H.R. 2755.

Rallies will be held in the following 39 cities:

Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Baltimore, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Little Rock, Louisville, Memphis, Minneapolis, Helena, Kansas City, Denver, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Washington, D.C.

The End Begins November 22nd

To sign up for End the Fed go here:

http://www.EndTheFed.US

To find your local ETF group and November 22nd Rally:

http://www.endthefed.us/organize.php
http://www.RestoreTheRepublic.net
http://endthefedusa.ning.com
Join the End the Fed Meetup:

http://www.RonPaul.Meetup.com/186

Please keep in mind that the End the Fed project is purely a grassroots undertaking‚ and‚ as such‚ is not run by C4L. All questions and other items of business should be taken care of by contacting those in charge through the information given on their website. Also‚ because we are not in charge of this project‚ C4L cannot make any guarantees about it. This email is provided as an informational service to our members. By participating in End the Fed, you take full responsibility for any issues arising from that participation.

Why I Choose Low-Quality Healthcare

2008-11-20T21:05:00.001-05:00

"I do not want to be forced to conform to someone else's guidelines. I want the healthcare I desire. Call it high quality or low quality; I could not care less. Simply allow me to make my decisions — informed or ill informed — based on my evaluation of the options. Only then am I free." - Jim Fedako

Read the entire article by Jim Fedako here.

11/20/2008 Peter Schiff On Fast Money - "The Man Who Called The Collapse"

2008-11-20T20:08:00.000-05:00

Congressman Ron Paul on Financial Services Hearing - The Dollar, Bernanke and Paulson

2008-11-20T18:43:00.000-05:00

CRASH COURSE

2008-11-20T18:32:00.002-05:00

DOW 7552 S&P 752. How did we get into this economic crisis? In order to know where we are headed, we have to know where we are. And in order to know where we are, we have to know where we came from. The CRASH COURSE is a must see for all those who are concerned about the economic tsunami that has hit us. If you don't have time for the whole course, chapter 19 is a summary. But it is worth exploring all the chapters especially about how money is created and the history of money in the U.S.

Meet the Federal Reserve

2008-11-18T20:17:00.005-05:00

26 min. This is must see video for all true American patriots. Recorded in May 2008 at the 44th Annual conference on Bank Structure and Competition hosted by the Federal Reserve of Chicago. This video features Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, and Jerry Nelson, Corporate Communications for the Federal Reserve with Gary Franchi, Managing Editor of Republic Magazine.

Bernanke is questioned about the Amero and Nelson reveals some little known facts about the FED. Is it really a private bank? Is the Amero on the horizon? What were US Notes printed by John F. Kennedy? Is our money toxic? What happened to the gold in the Treasury? These questions and more are answered in this expose’ about the Federal Reserve System, from the mouth of the Federal Reserve.

Source : Restore the Republic

The Humpty Dumpty Economy

2008-11-17T18:07:00.000-05:00

Before the current economic crisis became apparent to all, the most popular fable used to describe America’s uncanny economic resiliency was the story of Goldilocks. It was argued that our economy was skipping down a sunny path of moderate growth, low inflation and rising asset prices. However, a much better parable for our economy over the last decade would have been the story of Humpty Dumpty: a bloated, fragile shell perched on the top of a dangerously high stone wall. This week, all the government’s horses and all of its men scrambled to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Read the full article here

Bail Out flip-flop

2008-11-17T17:48:00.000-05:00

Who did the bailout money go to???

2008-11-17T17:39:00.000-05:00

"It is just outrageous that the American people don't know that Congress doesn't know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone,'' the Oklahoma Republican (Jim Inhofe) told the Tulsa World.

"It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don't know. There is no way of knowing.''

Click here for full article

Fed Reserve refuses to identify recipients of $2 trillion

2008-11-17T17:11:00.000-05:00

I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.
Thomas Jefferson

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral

Click here for the full article

"If a patient dies, tough.''

2008-11-17T16:58:00.000-05:00

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. - Thomas Jefferson

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Jack Rosser's doctor says taking Pfizer Inc.'s Sutent cancer drug may keep him alive long enough to see his 1-year-old daughter, Emma, enter primary school. The U.K.'s National Health Service says that's not worth the expense.

Rosser, 57, was told the cost of Sutent, 3,140 pounds ($4,650) per treatment for his advanced kidney cancer, was too high for the NHS -- the government agency that funds the nation's health care. The resident of the town of Kingswood, in southwest England, has appealed the decision twice, and next month may find out if his second plea is successful.

``It's immoral,'' Rosser's wife, Jenny, said. ``They are sentencing him to die.''

Click here for the full article

COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU IN THE GOOD OL' U.S. OF A.!! Government decides your life is not worth the treatment, gov't decides what drug you should get, govt decides who get's the treatment and how soon. This is what you get when you want govt to provide for you from cradle to grave. This is how the govt ends up owning you. We are giving up our God given inalienable rights to individual liberty and freedom to the govt.

I will post an article later on how the govt meddled with our health care system, giving rise to bureaucies and HMOs and driving up the cost of healthcare.

Almost accurate prediction of economic collapse

2008-11-15T06:31:00.000-05:00

The following video was made on March 17,2008. Most of the things that he predicted have happened in the past couple of months. You can check out more of his videos on his youtube site.