Welfare-Warfare State

Head Start finally gets tested — and flunks

"The federal government spent more than $7.9 billion on the program in 2012 alone to provide preschool services for nearly 1 million low-income Americans. There's just one problem: It doesn't work. As the 2010 Head Start Impact Study report notes, 'the benefits of access to Head Start at age four are largely absent by 1st grade for the program population as a whole.' Specifically, the language, literacy, math and school performance skills of the Head Start children all failed to improve. Since 1965, the federal government has spent $180 billion on Head Start." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHead Start finally gets tested — and flunks

France Proposes an Internet Tax

"France, seeking fresh ways to raise funds and frustrated that American technology companies that dominate its digital economy are largely beyond the reach of French fiscal authorities, has proposed a new levy: an Internet tax on the collection of personal data. The idea surfaced Friday in a report commissioned by President François Hollande, which described various measures his government was taking to address what the French see as tax avoidance by Internet companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance Proposes an Internet Tax

U.S. GDP Shrinks. WSJ Says ‘No Reason to Panic.’

"According to the feds, the US GDP shrank 0.1% (annualized) in Q4. These are preliminary figures, of course, and recent revisions have been mostly down. This also comes on the heels of recent news from the UK where the economy shrank, and where, according to The Telegraph, the economy is headed for a 'triple dip.' Most alarmingly, all of this contraction comes as central banks continue to print money like there's no tomorrow, underlying the true weakness in the economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. GDP Shrinks. WSJ Says ‘No Reason to Panic.’

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Says the Country Has Just $217 In The Bank

"After paying public workers' salaries last week, the balance in cash-strapped Zimbabwe's government public account stood at just $217, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Tuesday. Zimbabwe's economy went into free-fall at the turn of the millennium, after President Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms. The move demolished investor confidence in the country, paralysed production, prompted international sanctions and scared off tourists. Zimbabwe's government has warned it does not have enough money to fund a constitutional referendum and elections expected this year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingZimbabwean Finance Minister Says the Country Has Just $217 In The Bank

France ‘totally bankrupt’, says labour minister Michel Sapin

"'There is a state but it is a totally bankrupt state,' Mr Sapin said. 'That is why we had to put a deficit reduction plan in place, and nothing should make us turn away from that objective.' The comments came as President Hollande attempts to improve the image of the French economy after pledging to reduce the country’s deficit by cutting spending by €60bn (£51.5bn) over the next five years and increasing taxes by €20bn. Data from Banque de France showed earlier this month that a flight of capital has already left the country amid concerns that France’s Socialist leader intends to soak the rich and businesses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance ‘totally bankrupt’, says labour minister Michel Sapin

They Voted for Hitler in Austria (and He Put In Gun Controls)

"What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or will ever read in history books. I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide – 98% of the vote. I’ve never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force. Totalitarianism didn’t come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria. Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath. Instead, our only weapons were broom handles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThey Voted for Hitler in Austria (and He Put In Gun Controls)

Two Cheers for the Coming Collapse of the U.S. Economy!

"'At some point, holders of Treasury securities are going to recognize that these unfunded liabilities are going to affect the fiscal capabilities of the government and then you're going to have the same situation that happened in Greece happening in the U.S.,' says Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, who is a professor of economics at San Jose State University and the author of a recent paper on the consequences of a U.S. government default. 'In the short run it's going to be painful, but in the long run it'll be a good thing.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo Cheers for the Coming Collapse of the U.S. Economy!

U.S. military plans to build drone base in North Africa

"The US military plans to set up a base for drones in northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the region as well as allied Islamist extremists, a US official told AFP on Monday. The base for the robotic, unmanned aircraft would likely be located in Niger, on the eastern border of Mali, where French forces are currently waging a campaign against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. If the plan gets the green light, up to 300 US military service members and contractors could be sent to the base to operate the drone aircraft, according to the New York Times." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. military plans to build drone base in North Africa

How Did Americans Survive Until 1892 Without the Pledge of Allegiance?

"The Pledge of Allegiance was composed by Frances Bellamy in 1892. It came about as a commercial promotion of a youth magazine to sell flags and get flags placed atop schoolhouses. Congress formally adopted the Pledge in 1942. The Supreme Court ruled in 1943 (W. Va. Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)) that school children have a right to refuse to participate in saying the Pledge. Mr. Justice Jackson's opinion is readable and worth reading for what it says about the limits to government actions that seek unity, conformity, and affirmation of belief through compulsion. In 1954, Congress added the words 'under God' to the Pledge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Did Americans Survive Until 1892 Without the Pledge of Allegiance?

Peter Schiff on Politics, Precious Metals and President Obama’s Second Term

"Daily Bell: Talk about your father, who is now in jail as a tax protestor. How is he doing? Peter Schiff: He's hanging in there. He's 84. He turns 85 next month. I think he's a political prisoner. He's in jail not because he really violated the law but because he represented a threat to the government's illegal collection of income taxes. So I think it's very unfortunate that my father is in jail and I think it says a lot about the character of our country when we can have a political prisoner." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff on Politics, Precious Metals and President Obama’s Second Term