Issues

Europol: Police need powers to tackle virtual money laundering

"The head of the European Union's policing agency warned on Monday that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin were being used for money laundering and called for police to be given more powers to identify criminal suspects operating on the Internet. 'We're seeing that virtual currencies are being used as an instrument to facilitate crime, particularly in regard to the laundering of illicit profits,' said Europol head Rob Wainwright, speaking on the margins of a nuclear security conference in The Hague. Wainwright said police should be given new powers to allow them to identify anonymous participants online and bring them to justice." Continue reading →

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UK financial official: Monetize state debt when deflation risks persist

"There is no need for central banks’ balance sheets to shrink. They could stay permanently larger; and, for some countries, permanently bigger central-bank balance sheets will help reduce public-debt burdens. Even when permanent monetization occurs — as it almost certainly will in Japan and possibly elsewhere — it may remain forever the policy that dare not speak its name. Such reticence may serve a useful purpose. But it must not blind central banks and governments to the full range of policy tools available to address today’s severe debt overhangs." Continue reading →

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Incredible confusions: Why ‘austerity’ if we can just print the money?

"Debt can either be repaid or be defaulted on. Destroying the purchasing power of money through inflation is one way to default on the debt. Simply not paying the debt is the other option. In both cases, savers, ‘thrifty pensioners’, and the customers of banks, insurance companies, and pension funds will suffer, and in the inflationary scenario everybody will suffer greatly. Sadly, the massive printing of money and accumulation of debt that has occurred since the termination of the gold standard and the adoption of limitless state fiat money and pro-growth central banking has now brought us to a point where defaults appear to be unavoidable. This is not some great reset. It is a man-made catastrophe." Continue reading →

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Bitcoins are like ‘glass beads’, warns Danish national bank

"The Danish national bank has released a briefing note firmly declaring bitcoin to not be money, noting that the currency is more like 'glass beads'. Denmark’s national bank is just the latest central bank to inveigh against bitcoin. In January, Malaysia’s central bank warned citizens that 'the Bitcoin is not recognised as legal tender in Malaysia… the public is therefore advised to be cautious of the risks.' In December 2013, the People’s Bank of China banned the country’s financial institutions from trading in the currency, shortly after the former president of the Dutch Central Bank said the currency’s boom was 'worse than the tulip mania'." Continue reading →

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Obamacare and the Original Meaning of the Commerce Clause

Robert J. Pushaw (Pepperdine University – School of Law) has posted Obamacare and the Original Meaning of the Commerce Clause: Identifying Historical Limits on Congress’s Powers (University of Illinois Law Review, Vol. 2012, No. 1703, 2012) on SSRN.  Here is the abstract: Recently, Akhil Amar and Jack Balkin revived the idea that the exercise of unbridled Commerce…

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Louisiana Bill Would Nullify Part of the National Firearms Act of 1934

Current federal law requires that person register certain firearms under title 18 or title 26 of the United States Code. The proposed Louisiana state law provides that a Louisiana holder of a lifetime concealed handgun permit holder may possess certain firearms without complying with the provisions of Title 18 or 26 of the United States Code.

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A defining moment: Give me liberty or give me death!

In St. John’s Church, Henry made a bombastic speech in which he drew a stark line between liberty and tyranny. He ended his speech by announcing “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

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Maryland Marijuana Nullification Continues

Maryland isn’t only about crab cakes and football; it’s about nullification, too. Maryland’s House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed HB 1321, a bill that would nullify some federal drug laws and legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The bill allows those with debilitating medical conditions such as HIV, glaucoma, cancer, PTSD, and other disorders…

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Oklahoma Senate Passes Bill to Ban State Insurance Exchanges

A bill to ban creation of a state insurance exchange under the Affordable Health Care Act  was passed by the Oklahoma State Senate on this month by a 30-8 vote. SB1994 was introduced by Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-33) and Rep. John Echols (R-90) on Feb. 3. The bill would ban the state from participating in…

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Ukraine Goes Cyprus 2.0, To Tax Deposits Over 100,000 Hryvnia

"Ukraine's parliament is to consider draft laws which would ban foreign-currency bank deposits and introduce a 25% tax on interest on deposits in banks and other financial institutions in circumstances where the interest received is more than 5% above the rate set by the National Bank of Ukraine. The proposed amendments to banking and tax legislation were put forward by Yevhen Sihal, who is a member of the country's ruling Party of Regions. In an explanatory note submitted with the drafts, he argued that the higher tax rate will encourage consumer spending, reduce the cost of business loans, and provide extra funding for the country's Pension Fund." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUkraine Goes Cyprus 2.0, To Tax Deposits Over 100,000 Hryvnia