Archive for Geopolitical/Political
Ahh Government’s Health Insurance Coercion IS a Tax
Posted by: | Comments7.22.2010
In case you didn’t notice in the NY Times, The Obama Administration is calling the new health care law forcing people to buy insurance a “tax,” something they were quick to dispute during their push for it.
The reason they are calling it a tax now is to defend it in court against lawsuits by states and other groups – the administration is using the ‘tax’ definition to defend their power to use this law as a power to “tax” that is granted to the government (see there is no express power to force people to buy things so if they can finagle the definition – like all good lawyers do – they can pass judicial muster).
More greasy government brought by greasy politicians – my fingers are getting slippery just typing this…
“Blowback” in Uganda – When Will We Learn
Posted by: | Comments7.19.2010
["We" meaning those who make decisions on such matters]
Here’s the latest terrorist problem – Uganda in Wall Street Journal
One of the most telling moments in the 2008 Republican presidential debate was the interchange between Ron Paul and Rudy Guiliani when Congressman Paul explained the concept of “blowback” (mentions blowback at about 3:20 of the video):
Blowback is the idea taught by our CIA that when the US government interferes in one place in the world it would cause unintended consequences in other places. In Uganda last weekend, we had terrorist bombings that were carried out and financed through Somali Islamic elements who are claiming allegiance to Al Queda – as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
As Ron Paul said, if we continue to station our soldiers on Muslim lands, including keeping soldiers in Saudi Arabia, which is Muslim holy land and very offensive to many Muslims, then terrorist organizations will have an easy time to recruit young hotheads or someone who’s relatives were killed in ‘collateral damage’ or such. Paul gave the example – would Christians like it if Muslim soldiers were stationed in the Vatican? The displeasure of the US by more and more young/armed Muslims continues to grow – and we can expect these problems to pop up in more and more areas. And, by the way, we don’t have the army to police 150+ countries.
President Obama won in 2008 in large part because a good chunk of his supporters thought he would end the wars. In a sign that the Military Industrial Complex is going full force, Obama has expanded the wars. It is likely that the ‘blowback’ will expand too – at a major cost to all, especially our incredibly brave soldiers.
Paperwork Nightmare for Small Business
Posted by: | Comments7.14.2010
Just sent this off to Ed Markey:
Note: I am barely civil any more in these letters – the things this Congress has done go so beyond ridiculous I can’t even discuss them without getting heated…I am on both knees praying that many of Ed’s friends lose their job in 4 months – Ed won’t because for some reason, in my district, no one of substance runs for Congress
Jevons’ Paradox and Energy Conservation
Posted by: | Comments7.14.2010
For those of you debating whether energy efficiency is worth the effort – considering Jevons’ Paradox about energy efficiency should come into your thinking process. Here is an interesting discussion about nuclear energy and Jevons’ Paradox:
British economist William Stanley Jevons argued that increased efficiency = increased use – if you think about it, it is very true…
When Gov’t gets Big Everyone Goes “Under the Table”
Posted by: | Comments7.8.2010
My favorite line is the first one:
“There is no one in Greece that has not bribed a doctor.” This statement from a man sitting on his balcony, smoking a cigarette in a suburb south of Athens. It is difficult to find anyone here in Athens who does not admit to some kind of corruption.
This is what happens when you have socialism - if you have national health care and lines, people with money pay to skip the line; if taxes are too high, people deal in cash – tax free. If someone runs afoul of regulations, people BRIBE the inspectors.
The solution is simple Read More→
Your Congress Just Approved a Budget – “Deemed as Passed”
Posted by: | Comments7.6.2010
What does this mean? It means that there is no actual budget, but it allows Congress to continue to spend money without restrictions. A fictitious 1.12T dollar budget was passed as part of another bill – if they did not do this, they would have to wait until a real budget passed before they could spend in fiscal year 2011.
What does this mean for you? The disciples of Krugman will ensure that the budget will explode and Uncle Ben Bernanke, who is already gassing up the choppers, will be distributing increasingly worthless pieces of paper (US dollars) across the land in record proportions.
Financial Tip
Take a lesson from Mexicans: real assets hold value when the government abuses the value of the country’s currency.
Even More Howard – “Obama Worst President in My Lifetime”
Posted by: | Comments7.5.2010
Howard Davidowitz says it and I agree…
Some points from this great interview:
On inheriting a bad economy:
Ok blame Bush on the excessive spending, “I think Bush was a disaster…Obama was given a bad hand. How come we don’t we have a budget for the United States of America (this year)?”
“We are going broke – Medicare, Medicaid…and he (Obama) added another program based on… numbers that were a fraud.”
“We’re doing NOTHING about ANYTHING!”
On Afghanistan:
“I was in the (US) Army…in 4 months I qualified for 8 weapons…we’ve been training the Afghanis for SEVEN years…what’s going on now?…(Afghans) are stealing our money! (see WSJ article on $3B of stolen funds).”
On the BP spill:
“Obama sat in his office for 50 days and didn’t call the president of BP”
Comparing Jimmy Carter to Obama:
“Carter wasn’t as confident…” He feels Obama is much more confident in his wrong ideas than Carter was in his…” (this is a great point – Carter had terrible ideas but so lacked confidence that he lost support, but Obama comes across super confidently – which makes people think he knows what he’s talking about – but his ideas are just as bad).
See the video here:
Gov’t Picking Winners in the Tanning Booth Industry
Posted by: | CommentsTanning services at tanning salons hit with 10% tax starting June 2010 but “qualified physical fitness facilities” down the street offering tanning services will not be hit with the tax…
7.2.2010
On commemoration of the day our forefathers declared their independence, I thought I would share just one of the ways that today’s troop of politicians puts our freedoms in the toilet. I am specifically talking about economic freedom and messing with someone’s livelihood.
Wall Street Journal – Federal Tax Burns Some Badly…
I’m sure you didn’t notice this, nor did most Congressmen notice this, in the Obamacare bill (mainly because most Congressmen didn’t read it) but one of the provisions passed to help pay for this ‘program’ causes government to pick ‘winners’ in the tanning booth industry. How?
Apparently, and I didn’t have time to read the 1 million page health care bill (so I can really understand why my Congressman didn’t have time to either) but a new tax on tanning booths of 10% is currently in force – for tanning salons- but tanning at health spas was exempt (due to some timely lobbying from that industry – GREASY politicians at work – according to the WSJ article linked above, Botox was to be hit with the ‘botax’ but the American Medical Association lobbied that away).
So what’s going to happen? People tanning at tanning salons will refuse to pay the extra 10% tax and get their tans at a health spa( qualified physical fitness facilities as the law titles them – “qualified” eh? Are you kidding me? I’m so glad over 50% of Congress is made up of lawyers, because we need people to come up with these official-sounding phrases) where there is no tax. In addition, tanning salon owners now have to purchase expensive new sfotware and pay higher accounting fees to keep track of this new ‘decree.’
Some of you might defend this with the line of reasoning used to include this tax in the bill – ‘a cancer causing activity should be taxed since this is health care bill funding needed.’ I’ll respond to that 2 ways – one is, if you want to go down that road, let’s address the biggest health problems in our country – WESTERN DIET-RELATED ‘DISEASES.’ Heart disease, stroke, cholesterol and other related issues are directly linked to what we eat. Many cancers are also related to either what we eat or what we do (with smoking and yes, UV exposure being some causes). Two, who are you to tell one group of people you can have something and another group you can’t have something – who gave you that right? The only way you the reader would properly understand the danger of these actions by Congress is to HAVE CONGRESS TAKE SOMETHING FROM YOU ARBITRARILY. And the way they are going, look out – maybe you own an ice cream store (causes obesity) or a movie theater (causes sloth), or maybe you are an office worker in a potential target industry. If you don’t step up now, there may be no end to what these people will do.
But why are we singling out tanning salon owners?
LIKELY BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T LOBBY TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. Congress picking on minorities to get their boondoggle ‘funded’ (you do know that that thing is not fully funded don’t you? That’s part of the reason for hedge fund manager David Einhorn’s talk titled “Good News for the Grandchildren“). So now, some tanning salons will simply close – put out of business by their government – the US government has effectively chosen winners in this industry with their tax policy (shouldn’t surprise you – they picked winners in other businesses including the financial business – backing AIG, B of A, and Wells while letting Lehman fail – with your money of course).
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of convoluted bills being passed by Congress with a myriad of mish mash provisions that we, average citizens, can’t keep track of. When they pass a 2,000 page bill, they KNOW we won’t read it – we expect them to represent us well – but they don’t. Back room deals for the fitness center industry and the AMA to the detriment of tanning salon owners is unacceptable. Government needs to be minimized – because if I sat down, I couldn’t dream up of some of the foolish bills this Congress comes up with – I would not have thought of a tanning booth tax – but hey, some dork intern at some Congressman’s office (likely with pale, sickly skin 
) came up with this one.
And Congress is not alone in this – in my own state of Massachusetts, we have “customized” laws. I have a friend who’d like to open up a unique concept in the wine business. If you heard the idea, you would think it was a good idea too. However, under current MA law, it is not allowed. Why? I’m not sure but likely sometime years ago, someone in the liquor lobby paid off someone in my state’s esteemed legislature to make this rule.
This won’t end unless we elect people who respect our freedoms. Some of us may not be hit now, but in the future, we will be and then we will all understand.
Note:
For a lamentation from a thoughtful private fund manager regarding how difficult it is to invest when the government interferes in business on a daily basis according the “applause meter,” click HERE.
Running for Political Office – The “Prototype”
Posted by: | CommentsThis is great!
Predicting the Wall in Germany 70 Years Before
Posted by: | Comments6.21.2010
I just read this interesting summary of the 19th century book “Pictures of a Socialist Future” by Eugene Richter on the Mises.org website and it made me interested in buying this book – read here:
Mises – Pictures of a Socialist Future
Here is an excerpt from the review:
What inspired Richter to make these grim — yet uncannily accurate — predictions about the “socialistic future”? The most plausible hypothesis is that Richter personally knew the leading socialists from the German Reichstag, and saw them for what they were. I submit that he repeatedly peppered the socialists with unpleasant hypotheticals, from “Under socialism, who will take out the garbage?” to “What will you do if skilled workers flee the country?” When socialist politicians responded with hysteria and evasion, Richter drew the natural inference: “If this is how these ‘idealists’ deal with critical questions before they have power, just imagine how they’ll deal with critical actions after they have power!”
If you enjoy history and economics, this seems to be a worthwhile read – in fact, it’s always enjoyable to read the work of someone who can visualize the future with a solid analysis of current events. This is why you see so many Marc Faber videos on my website!
Enjoy!
Interesting thoughts
Man Illegally Deported and Tortured Can Not Sue the Gov’t?
Posted by: | Comments6/20/2010
In the WTF department, we have a case of a Canadian citizen, passing through the US on his way home (connecting flight), arrested on suspicion of being a terrorist, sent to Syria where he was held and tortured, then returned after A YEAR after being found innocent.
Maher Arar sued the US government but the Supreme Court said he could not sue the government because Congress had not authorized it – WTF (should I start another category named this???) – can’t we say that about many wrongs?
I am quite scared of our government – everyday I read the paper and find some congressman, some senator, our faux civil rights president or the courts damaging our rights – these people are a disgrace to the founders of this country and anyone who sacrificed for its preservation.
Well Water Rights Questioned in Texas
Posted by: | Comments6.19.2010
For those who derive their water from wells, this case is of interest to you. Currently in Texas, a farm owner is disputing a Texas law that controls their right to tap water underground – in fact whether that water belongs to them at all:
Summary at Pacific Legal Foundation
Court Case – The Edwards Aquifer Authority v Day
For those of you who do use wells, and like your water freedom, you may be well served to ensure that your elected officials are of the property rights variety. There is a strong movement in the US that in bits and pieces, is undermining the long held common law property rights that we enjoy in the US – and which protect us as individuals and allow us to settle and invest in our homes. Imagine if you weren’t sure if your land were really yours – would you spend a lot to build a home on that land? Maybe you’d just park a mobile home there. And what if your civil liberties were compromised by law, restricting your rights on your own property, how free and safe would you feel?
Property rights are a pillar of our freedom – make sure yours are protected. Review the current landscape of property rights in your city and state and get involved if necessary.
PS – read about another property rights case in Florida that is questioning private property rights here:
Volokh – this is equally disturbing as Florida tries to take property rights in a “maneuver.”
Seth Klarman – 1929 Taught People a Lesson, 2008-2009 Did Not
Posted by: | Comments6.15.2010
Super successful/elusive Boston hedge fund manager Seth Klarman (Baupost Group) spoke recently at the Ira Sohn Conference (gathering of value investors – e.g. buffet types).
In his excellent talk, he covered many topics including value investing, the economy, and various opinions. One interesting observation – he compared public reaction to crisis in 1929 to the public reaction to difficulties during 2008/2009. He pointed out that in 1929 people learned a lesson – save more/avoid excessive debt (where for years after, the savings rate in the US was strong); whereas last year, people learned nothing (from Barrons):
The government rescue will inflate the next financial market bubble. He said that while many learned to shun leverage as a lesson from the Great Depression, “the bailout has endowed a generation without any long-lasting lesson.” Huge deficits with no end, entitlements and the beneficence of foreigners mean no margin of safety. “We are kicking problems down the road,” he and many others at the conference said, and he added that if the government doesn’t rein in spending, a disaster like war or a currency collapse would leave the nation in great trouble. Slower economic activity with a margin of safety will help, and will take time. “No rational investor would want to rely on prayer,” Klarman says.
Here is an example of the new attitude where people have no qualms about not paying their debt – from the New York Times:
NY Times -Don’t Pay Don’t Fret
Seeing things like this, I disagree with Seth on one point – people did learn a lesson in 2008/9 – a lesson particularly taught by our government:
If you spend too much and you have friends in Washington we’ll bail you out.
If you run a company into the ground, but politicians need your money or votes we’ll bail you out (beneficiaries: GM, GS).
If you do the right things – save money, keep bills low, and don’t get in trouble, we’ll raise your taxes, give you ZERO interest on your bank account, and cause your savings to lose value to inflation (affected parties: most senior citizens and a few other fools dumb enough not to spend into oblivion and get a bailout)
There seems to be a rapidly falling level of care to shirk one’s bills and take a handout – something I think that government has fomented. If an increasing number of people feel less responsible, that bodes ill for our country. With the behavior of our “leaders,” I can understand why people are increasingly feeling this way (“if ‘they’ they a bailout, I should get one too” – people are saying)- though it still worries me. Time will tell what happens – we can only ignore or prepare…In the meantime:
Before I finish, I thought you’d enjoy more comments from Seth Klarman.
One bit of market wisdom from Seth:
“We’d rather underperform a huge bull market than get clobbered in a bear market” (from Reuters)
Also – here is a speech that Klarman gave at MIT in 2007 – he reflects on patient value investing and discusses the problems at the time and the dangers in the credit market (before the crash). This is good stuff!
Ron Paul on Foreign Policy
Posted by: | Comments6.10.2010
This is a good compilation video showing Ron Paul’s consistency on foreign policy over the past 30 years – I am impressed with his character. Check it out: