Middle Class Dismissed

The Costs of War in Syria

"Politicians want a war to appear cheap, at least up front, while the bureaucrats want bigger budgets. Once the war starts, though, all bets are off, and any political or legal authorization given to the administration to wage war will be a de facto blank check for future unlimited outlays for occupation and conflict on an unlimited timeline. We’ve already seen this in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and while the two countries descended into chaos, the claim was made that since the U.S. regime had 'broken' Iraq and Afghanistan, the taxpayers were now on the hook to finance the 'fixing' of the broken countries. The regime knows that all it needs to do is start a war, and the money will begin to flow indefinitely." Continue reading →

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Germans Hide Cash in Diapers as Swiss Secrecy Crumbles

"With Swiss banks the target of an international crackdown against tax evasion, Germans who avoided taxes by keeping money in Switzerland are bringing wads of cash home and hiding it in odd places. The customs districts bordering Switzerland turned up 20 million euros of undeclared cash last year. In the Bavarian border town of Lindau, where officers once caught a man with 25,000 euros stuffed inside a gingerbread house, 2 million euros of undeclared bills were discovered last year. German border agents also hunt for stacks of papers that point to secret accounts. 'To hold a binder with lots of bank statements, that’s quite a good feeling,' said Georg Kruegers, a German customs officer." Continue reading →

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USA Is #5 in World Economic Competition

"The World Economic Council in Davos, Switzerland has released its list of nations’ ranking in terms of competitiveness. As always, Switzerland is on top. That’s what peace can do for a nation. Also limited central government, respect for property rights, and low crime. Here are the top nations. At the bottom, also as always, are mostly African tribal units that are euphemistically called nations." Continue reading →

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India’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

"When it comes to family planning, women are on the front lines in India, which has carried out about 37 percent of the world’s female sterilizations. Government-imposed quotas and financial incentives for doctors mean 4.6 million women were sterilized last year, many for cash payments and many in the unsanitary and rudimentary conditions that greeted Devi. In neighboring China, the government has since 1979 used the threat of fines and the loss of social services to enforce rules that bar many urban couples from having more than one child. It now is beginning to ease the policy as the population ages and coastal regions face labor shortages." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

India’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

"When it comes to family planning, women are on the front lines in India, which has carried out about 37 percent of the world’s female sterilizations. Government-imposed quotas and financial incentives for doctors mean 4.6 million women were sterilized last year, many for cash payments and many in the unsanitary and rudimentary conditions that greeted Devi. In neighboring China, the government has since 1979 used the threat of fines and the loss of social services to enforce rules that bar many urban couples from having more than one child. It now is beginning to ease the policy as the population ages and coastal regions face labor shortages." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

India’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

"When it comes to family planning, women are on the front lines in India, which has carried out about 37 percent of the world’s female sterilizations. Government-imposed quotas and financial incentives for doctors mean 4.6 million women were sterilized last year, many for cash payments and many in the unsanitary and rudimentary conditions that greeted Devi. In neighboring China, the government has since 1979 used the threat of fines and the loss of social services to enforce rules that bar many urban couples from having more than one child. It now is beginning to ease the policy as the population ages and coastal regions face labor shortages." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

India’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

"When it comes to family planning, women are on the front lines in India, which has carried out about 37 percent of the world’s female sterilizations. Government-imposed quotas and financial incentives for doctors mean 4.6 million women were sterilized last year, many for cash payments and many in the unsanitary and rudimentary conditions that greeted Devi. In neighboring China, the government has since 1979 used the threat of fines and the loss of social services to enforce rules that bar many urban couples from having more than one child. It now is beginning to ease the policy as the population ages and coastal regions face labor shortages." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s Poorest Women Coerced Into Sterilization

Are American taxpayers financially responsible to defend Syrians?

"President Obama has broken new ground. He has argued that not only does the U.S. government have the authority to tax Americans to defend every human being on the planet, but that the president can order military intervention for that reason on his authority alone. Unfortunately, this has led many to believe that his decision to wait until Congress debates the intervention is some sort of victory for constitutional government. It’s not. Nowhere in the Constitution is it stated or implied that American taxpayers are financially responsible for the common defense of the whole world. Military operations are not funded by donations. Taxpayers are compelled to pay taxes by force." Continue reading →

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Global Warming Alarmists Seek to Restrict Air Conditioning

"New York University sociology professor Eric Klinenberg said it is 'indefensible' for people to use air conditioning the way we do. Klinenberg argues that air conditioning requires too much electricity, the generation of which accelerates global warming. 'What’s indefensible is our habit of converting homes, offices and massive commercial outlets into igloos on summer days, regardless of how hot it is outdoors,' wrote Klinenberg. Klinenberg also argued for laws requiring businesses to keep summer temperatures at their facilities above a government-dictated mandatory minimum." Continue reading →

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