Essays

Carlo Ponzi, Alias Uncle Sam

"We are not placing a burden on our children. We are placing a burden on ourselves. The government is borrowing money to pay for the systems. We are therefore raising our level of indebtedness. Our children are not going to be burdened with this; we are going to be burdened with it when the kids get smart enough to pull the plug. They are going to stiff the creditors who have bought Treasury bonds and Treasury bills, and that means the banks that have bought them, the money market funds which have bought them, the retirement funds which have bought them, and anyone else who has bought them, including the central banks of the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCarlo Ponzi, Alias Uncle Sam

Anthony Wile: Sit Silently … as Bombs Burst in Air

"This is one of the reasons that my family has decided to relocate back to the hills of Switzerland. I have truly had enough of this behavior. What makes Switzerland so bloody special? It is comprised of a populous that respects the privacy and rights of others to determine their own destiny. It is a society that is comprised of people who believe in the right of an individual to act in one's own self-interest but not to the detriment of others. It is a society that boasts the lowest corporate rate and among the lowest personal tax rates in the world – yet has arguably the highest standard of living on the planet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnthony Wile: Sit Silently … as Bombs Burst in Air

Fraud: Medicare vs. Walmart

"In 2010, Medicare disbursed $524 billion. The number of people receiving funds in 2012 was 49.4 million. For comparison, take a very large business that has high revenues. Number three is Walmart with $447 billion. Walmart has 100 million customers a week. How large is fraud against Medicare? It runs about $60 billion a year. How large is fraud committed against the Walmart company? A large fraud against Walmart reported recently was a $13 million credit card and gift card fraud. A recent large fraud case against Medicare was $430 million. Earlier this year, there was another large case of $452 million against Medicare." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFraud: Medicare vs. Walmart

Yes, Virginia, Social Security Really Is Going Bankrupt.

"At the heart of every defensive of Social Security's actuarial solvency is a series of lies. It is difficult to know who started the lie, but if you follow the lies, you always get back to the truth, and the truth is admitted by the Trustees of the Social Security trust fund. This is the best-case scenario. There is a worse-case scenario: the inevitable one." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYes, Virginia, Social Security Really Is Going Bankrupt.

The Odyssey of Sound Economics

"As they say, it is always darkest before the dawn. And Lew Rockwell, on a shoestring budget, founded the Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics (LvMI's official name). What is more, he did so in the face of furious opposition from the same billionaires who had chosen to downplay Mises, financed the diffuse GMU program, and forced Rothbard out of Cato. Sound economics finally had an institutional home. What is more, truth, if made accessible, can spread like a prairie fire. Ron Paul has inspired thousands with his message of liberty. These thousands are a huge potential seedbed for future growth in the causal-realist Austrian School." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Odyssey of Sound Economics

The Sad History of U.S. Peace Negotiations

"Negotiating for peace to prevent war is not the forte of U.S. governments. The Iranian story is yet to be written, but the press is now reporting that the U.S. and Iran have agreed for the first time to one-on-one negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham wants none of it, stating that 'The time for talking is over.' After all, just take a look at all the U.S. military bases surrounding Iran. Sadly, with the above graphic, combined with the U.S.'s history of not negotiating peace, it's not looking so good for those of us who don't want more foreign wars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Sad History of U.S. Peace Negotiations

Sheila Bair’s Bailout Blame Game

"During the summer of 2011 Sheila Bair stepped down as chairman of the FDIC and set herself to work on a tell-all book on the financial crisis. Bair’s book, Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from Itself, was released in late September. As part of the promotion of the book she had an interview with The Wall Street Journal during which, consistent with her public reputation, she confided that she 'hates bailouts.' However, a careful study of board minutes, supporting memos, and transcripts of FDIC board meetings during the crisis reveals a different reality." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSheila Bair’s Bailout Blame Game

“But there is no inflation!” – Misconceptions about the debasement of money

"There is no end to ‘quantitative easing’. It will have to continue forever. There is no ‘exit strategy’. The central banks are digging themselves – and all of us – an ever deeper hole. These forecasts have been accurate so far and they continue to be my forecast for the future. And here is another forecast: The present measures will over time be seconded with others that in my book I label ‘nationalization of money and credit’, that is, institutional investors will be coerced via legislation and regulation to remain invested in certain asset classes, the war on cash and the war on off-shore will continue and intensify, ultimately we will see capital controls." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“But there is no inflation!” – Misconceptions about the debasement of money

James Altucher: Why I Won’t Vote

"People get very upset about this voting thing. I’m accused of being unpatriotic, for instance. Or my little 10 year old told me, 'more people will run stop signs if we don’t have a President.' She associates a President with a magical parent. Perhaps projecting her own sense that I don’t give her enough boundaries for her to figure out where the edge of childhood ends and adulthood begins. I let her run a Stop sign when I don’t set a bedtime, or turn her TV off. She wants a President who will tell her when to 'STOP!' So here are some reasons for not voting. I’m not asking anyone to agree with me. Many people like to vote. Do things that you like to do." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJames Altucher: Why I Won’t Vote