Economics

Ron Paul Interview with Charles Goyette

"It would be impossible to find someone in Washington who knows more about monetary and fiscal policy, the Federal Reserve, free markets, Austrian economics, and gold and silver than former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. From warning about the consequences of Nixon’s abandonment of the dollar’s ties to gold, to alerting the country to the calamity that would be the Iraq war, to his statement in Congress describing with shocking precision in advance just how the housing bubble would inflate and burst, Dr. Paul has demonstrated that his views must be taken very seriously, indeed." Continue reading →

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The Fleeting Beauty of Bubbles and Bonds

"The political calculus is simple: the bottom half of households don't vote, don't contribute to political campaigns and don't have enough income to borrow huge sums of money to enrich the banks. They are thus non-entities in the fiscal-monetary project of maintaining the power structure of the Status Quo. All the Status Quo needs to do is borrow enough money to fund social programs that keep the masses passive and silent. Unfortunately for the Powers That Be, the cost of placating the rapidly increasing marginalized populace is rising much faster than tax revenues." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fleeting Beauty of Bubbles and Bonds

The Fleeting Beauty of Bubbles and Bonds

"The political calculus is simple: the bottom half of households don't vote, don't contribute to political campaigns and don't have enough income to borrow huge sums of money to enrich the banks. They are thus non-entities in the fiscal-monetary project of maintaining the power structure of the Status Quo. All the Status Quo needs to do is borrow enough money to fund social programs that keep the masses passive and silent. Unfortunately for the Powers That Be, the cost of placating the rapidly increasing marginalized populace is rising much faster than tax revenues." Continue reading →

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How long copyright terms make art disappear

"Copyright is a type of censorship—in this case, it suppresses the dissemination of books caught in the copyright 'black hole' as a result of the combination of copyright terms, the orphan works problem (which is a result in part of the lack of a requirement for copyright registration formalities and renewal requirements)." Continue reading →

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Dear New Yorkers: Here’s Why Your Rent Is So Ridiculously High

"While the average rent for available apartments in New York City is now over $3,000, the U.S. Census Bureau says renters in New York City were only paying a median of $1,125 in 2011. What gives? The answer is, there are lots of cheap apartments in New York. You just can't get one of them, because they're rent controlled, and tenants with great rent controlled deals cling to their apartments until they die. In Manhattan below 96th Street, 35% of rent regulated apartments are occupied by a tenant who has lived there for more than 20 years. Less than 3% of market-rate tenants have been around that long." Continue reading →

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Nepal police seize smuggled gold bound for India

"Nepal police seized 35 kilograms of gold on Wednesday, smuggled over the border from China and bound for India, where demand for the precious metal was soaring, officers said. The shipment, worth two million dollars on the black market, was the biggest ever seized by police in Nepal in what is an increasingly lucrative cross-border smuggling racket, the officers said. The gold was discovered in a truck in the capital Kathmandu after police trailed the vehicle following a tip off, superintendent Uttam Kumar Karkee told AFP. He said that smugglers have been using land routes after authorities stepped up customs inspections at airports." Continue reading →

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Smuggled Gold worth $5 billion to hit India this year

"India's efforts to curb gold imports are backfiring as the country already started to suffer from illegal gold transactions. Reports said old style gold smuggling is back in the country as series of restrictions by the government makes it difficult for the importers to buy from abroad while smugglers are offering much lower prices. Analysts said smuggling became a lucrative affair after the rise in customs duty on gold imports and people risking their necks to smuggle in gold. They added that smugglers got an opportunity after being sidelined for nearly 15 years due to liberalized policies of the government on gold imports." Continue reading →

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Not All Insurers Game for State Exchanges: The Consumer Impact

"As more insurers decide to pack up and leave certain states as health exchanges start to take form, experts say consumers are going to be left feeling the pain. Over the last few weeks, several departure announcements have sent a ripple through the health insurance industry, as companies weigh whether or not they want to play ball under Obamacare. So far, California has experienced the biggest migration with Aetna (AET), UnitedHealthcare (UNH) and Cigna (CI) leaving the state’s exchange, Covered California. Fifteen states and D.C. are in the process of creating their insurance exchanges before the 2014 deadline; when individuals must purchase insurance or face a fine." Continue reading →

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Why marijuana taxes are such a burning question

"In November, Colorado voters will decide on a proposed 15% excise tax, plus a 10% state sales tax, on all retail cannabis sales. In addition, Denver might levy its own 5% tax on pot sales made within the city. City officials say that 5% tax, along with other fees and state revenue, could add over $9 million annually to Denver's coffers. But advocates for legal marijuana say excessive taxes will drive people away from state-controlled cannabis and back to the black market. 'When you start thinking about it, in terms of what that's going to do to the cost to the consumer for cannabis, it's pretty ridiculous,' says Westword, Denver's weekly alternative paper." Continue reading →

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America’s Corporate Tax System Ranks a Miserable 94 out of 100 Nations in “Tax Attractiveness”

"A couple of economists at a German think tank put together a 'tax attractiveness' ranking based on 16 different variables. The statutory tax rate is one of the measures, of course, but they also look at policies such as 'the taxation of dividends and capital gains, withholding taxes, the existence of a group taxation regime, loss offet provision, the double tax treaty network, thin capitalization rules, and controlled foreign company (CFC) rules.' The United Arab Emirates has one of the world’s most attractive corporate tax systems, notwithstanding having the highest corporate tax rate. Unfortunately, the United States remains mired near the bottom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Corporate Tax System Ranks a Miserable 94 out of 100 Nations in “Tax Attractiveness”