Thoughts on Iowa

Last night was certainly a disappointment for liberty-minded voters.  With Ron Paul's effort in Iowa, we certainly hoped for at least a second place finish.  More importantly, the Conservative state of Iowa selected the Progressive Romney as their candidate of choice.  If we allow the establishment to win these primaries and caucuses, we'll be left in November with two candidates who believe in government run health care, indefinite involvement in Afghanistan, and centralized banking and planning.  With an outrageous debt problem caused by years of deficit spending and funded by the Federal Reserve, we can't afford to be left without a candidate who represents real change.

How Dare They Ignore our Declaration of Independence

There is quite a bit of talk this week about the issues with the "indefinite detainment" provision in the National Defense Authorization Act.  Most Defenders of Liberty bring up the Constitutional argument, which is quite sound.  However, I feel it's more important to take a look at an earlier document: The Declaration of Independence.

Our Founding Fathers wrote so eloquently that the reason for declaring independence from the British crown was due to "a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tryanny over [the] states".  Among the facts submitted in this wonderful document was the King's practice of "depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury".

Do we really want to commit the same abuse of government power that our Founding Fathers thought justified a revolution? If this is not an important issue to you then I fear the direction this country is heading.

The Paulinian Republicans vs the rest of them

After last night's debate, it's pretty obvious that Ron Paul is the leader on economic issues.  The majority of the candidates turned to Dr. Paul when expressing their views on spending cuts and the federal reserve.  This appeared to be an effort to seek approval from the consistent defender of limited government and free markets.  At one point last night, Mitt Romney even used Ron Paul's name to establish more credibility for one of his positions.  Is this a desperate ploy by the front-runners to win over some of the Paulinian Republicans?  One thing is for sure, Ron Paul is changing the political landscape in this country and he deserves more attention by the mainstream media.

The Hypocrites of the Left

This afternoon, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) advised Americans to take their money out of Bank of America due to the increase in fees for debit card accounts.  The new fee that banks like BoA are starting to charge is a direct response to the Dodd-Frank bill which limits how much banks can receive on debit card transactions.  Sen. Durbin was a supporter of the bill.  It never ceases to amaze me how out-of-touch these politicians are with the impact of their regulatory behavior. 

By the way - this legislation is also the reason that debit card reward programs have terminated. 

Wake up MSNBC! Social Security is the Biggest Ponzi Scheme Ever Created.

When young people pay into a system that provides benefits to the elderly, and there is no chance that the youth will have the privilege in the future to those same benefits, you have a ponzi scheme.  To make matters worse, the surplus in the trust fund has been used to finance our past federal deficits.  And to top it off the inflationary policies of the Federal Reserve have allowed prices to rise with no equal rise in the amount of benefits to the recipients of the current checks.  Who is the culprit?  Anyone who yields the principles of the free markets to government centralized planning is guilty of leading us down this path of bankruptcy. 

The Cluelessness of the Obama Administration

President Obama could use a good lesson in economics.  If I was the instructor, the first thing I would tell him is a President is not a jobs creator.  However, he can be a job destroyer and that's exactly what his expansion of federal regulation, his imposition of ObamaCare and the threat of raising taxes on the rich is doing to America.  Obama is releasing information about his new "jobs" plan that includes extending unemployment benefits, increasing aid to local governments and prolonging the reduction in payroll taxes.  But the basic principle Obama doesn't understand when it comes to the economy is that the solution to prosperity in this country is ensuring that entrepreneurs can keep the fruits of their labor and can operate in an environment friendly to business.  This exact reason is why Obama's "jobs" plan will do absolutely nothing for our country.  If I was his instructor he would receive a pretty terrible grade.  In reality, the American people are the instructor and their grade of him is being reflected in his diminishing job approval numbers every week.   

The Stupidity of Minimum Wage Laws

The state of California is currently considering a bill (Assembly bill 889) that would require parents to pay babysitters minimum wage, provide breaks every two hours and pay the sitter over-time.  This kind of central planning is absurd.  The advocates will argue that it provides the sitter a better workplace environment and more income.  But what they neglect to see, like in most minimum wage situations, is that it will reduce employment when parents no longer can afford to higher a sitter due to the higher costs created by law.  With that said, the more important question here is: if the government can invade our home economy, is there any limit to governmental power and oversight??