Are Universities Finished?

Higher education in America today is in a crisis .
The diversity thought police pounce on anyone who offers the slightest resistance to them .
Here are a few examples “ Students at pricey Marymount Manhattan College are demanding a veteran professor be fired for allegedly falling asleep during an anti-racism Zoom meeting .
Students at the Upper East Side school claim Patricia Simon , a theater arts associate professor , took a snooze during the virtual town hall last month , and have collected 1,800 petition signatures .
Petition organizer Caitlin Gagnon said ‘ action has only capitalized on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Patricia Simon has exhibited over and over again.
’ Gagnon included a photo of the 30-year prof , and also accused her of enabling ‘ sizeist ’ staffers.
” A ‘ sizeist , ’ by the way , is someone who discriminates against people because of their physical size , e.g.
, requiring an obese person to pay for two seats .
Of course , it doesn ’ t matter if the heavy person occupies two seats .
If you charge more , you are still a sizeist .
If you dare to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are dead in the water .
“ A longtime UCLA professor has been placed on leave after facing backlash over his response to a student ’ s request to postpone the final exam for African American students , considering the impact of George Floyd ’ s death .
Gordon Klein received the email on June 2 , and rejected the request .
UCLA ’ s Anderson School of Management , where Klein has taught since 1981 , said Klein ’ s classes have been assigned to other faculty , saying the following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The lecturer is on leave from campus and his classes have been reassigned to other faculty.
’ ” The Last Gold Rushu202 ... Haynes , Bill Buy New $ 28.00 Even if you like Martin Luther King , you can still get fired , if you say the wrong words .
Look what happened to Ajax Peris : “ In a virtual class lecture , Peris read a portion of King ’ s ‘ Letter from a Birmingham Jail , ’ which contains a couple of uses of the ‘ N-word.
’ On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a video of Peris reading a passage from King ’ s letter , declining to omit the epithet , and expressed outrage at his uncensored reading and called for his termination .
In short order , UCLA ’ s College of Letters and Science referred the matter to the Office of Equity , Diversity and Inclusion for review , and Peris ’ department chair sent a letter to departmental faculty condemning his reading of the passage and noting that he had referred Peris to UCLA ’ s Discrimination Prevention Office .
The chair @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a documentary that included graphic images and descriptions of lynching , as well as narration that , the chair wrote , ‘ quoted the n-word in explaining the history of lynching.
’ ” At Princeton , the situation is even worse .
Matt Taibbi notes that “ on July 4th , hundreds of faculty members and staff at Princeton University signed a group letter calling for radical changes .
.
.
Much of .
.
.
the letter read like someone drunk-tweeting their way through a Critical Theory seminar .
Signatories asked the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to race , demanding ‘ course relief , ’ ‘ summer salary , ’ ‘ one additional semester of sabbatical , ’ and ‘ additional human resources ’ for ‘ faculty of color , ’ a term left undefined .
That this would be grossly illegal didn ’ t seem to bother the 300-plus signatories of one of America ’ s most prestigious learning institutions.
” The Idea of a University Blum , Christopher O .
Buy New $ 24.95 When Joshua Katz , a classics professor at Princeton , protested against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Christopher Eisengruber ‘ personally ’ denounced Katz for using the word “ terrorist.
” Katz was also denounced by his Classics department , which in a statement on the department web page insisted his act had ‘ heedlessly put our Black colleagues , students , and alums at serious risk ’ while hastening to add ‘ we gratefully acknowledge all the forms of anti-racist work that members of our community have done.
’ ” One last example : BLM thugs are trying to oust the outstanding Austrian economist Walter Block from Loyola @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a demonstrably false claim that he supports slavery : “ Walter Block is a professor in the Business school at Loyola University New Orleans .
He has publicly stated that he believes slavery to be wrong because it goes against Libertarianism , not because it is morally wrong .
He has justified women being paid less than men ( see his book Building Blocks of Liberty ) He is allegedly an ableist , too .
While it is important to have professors with different views and opinions and beliefs , racist and sexist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this .
It is harmful to any non-men and any Black people to be taught that slavery isn ’ t morally wrong , to be taught that women don ’ t deserve to be paid and treated equally .
Fight racism , end racism , fire the racists .
Fire Walter Block.
” As if this weren ’ t bad enough , universities are taking advantage of the phony Covid-19 pandemic to offer worse service for about the same astronomical tutition : “ After the sudden closure of college campuses across the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the fate of the fall semester was suddenly placed into question .
All eight schools in the Ivy League have announced fall 2020 decisions as of early July .
Penn , Brown , Cornell , Princeton , and Yale will all have hybrid modes of fall instruction , while Harvard will be completely online for the entire academic year .
Each school has different decisions regarding which class years will come back to campus and where they will be housed during each school ’ s modified fall calendar.
” Entrepreneurial Life : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 5.35 Buy New $ 9.49 Professors have used the situation as an excuse to destroy already weakened academic standards .
“ As COVID-19 has forced classes online , colleges have eased up on graded assignments – even at the prestigious Ivy League schools .
With professors and students advocating for automatic A ’ s or to be given passing grades at the minimum , many college administrations have surrendered highly generous grading policies to give students a break as coronavirus has taken its toll on the country ” .
The crisis in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even if we could get rid of Covid-19 and the PC thought police .
Higher education has been in trouble for a long time .
As the great economist Walter Williams has pointed out , “ According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , in 2016 , only 37 % of white high school graduates tested as college-ready , but colleges admitted 70 % of them .
Roughly 17 % of black high school graduates tested as college-ready , but colleges admitted 58 % of them .
A 2018 Hechinger Report found , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students end up in developmental math and English classes at an annual cost of approximately $ 7 billion , and many of them have a worse chance of eventually graduating than if they went straight into college-level classes.
’ According to the National Conference of State Legislatures , ‘ when considering all first-time undergraduates , studies have found anywhere from 28 percent to 40 percent of students enroll in at least one remedial course .
When looking at only community college students , several studies have found remediation rates surpassing 50 percent.
’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ACT in 2012 met the test ’ s readiness benchmarks in all four subjects ( English , reading , math and science ) .
Cultural Cancer : Treat ... Kane , Daryl Best Price : $ 20.00 Buy New $ 9.95 It ’ s clear that high schools confer diplomas that attest that a student can read , write and do math at a 12th-grade level when , in fact , most can not .
That means most high diplomas represent fraudulent documents .
The falling standards witnessed at our primary and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at tertiary levels .
‘ Academically Adrift : Limited Learning on College Campuses ’ is a study conducted by Professors Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa .
They found that 45 % of 2,300 students at 24 colleges showed no significant improvement in ‘ critical thinking , complex reasoning and writing by the end of their sophomore years.
’ Here is a list of some other actual college courses that have been taught at U.S. colleges in recent years : ‘ What If Harry Potter Is Real ?
’ ‘ Lady Gaga and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Star Trek , ’ ‘ Learning from YouTube , ’ ‘ How To Watch Television , ’ and ‘ Oh , Look , a Chicken !
’ ’ The questions that immediately come to mind are these : What kind of professor would teach such courses , and what kind of student would spend his time taking such courses ?
Most importantly , what kind of college president and board of trustees would permit classes in such nonsense ?
” The dumbing-down process that Walter Williams talks about , though , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ educational standards .
The GI Bill , adopted after World War II , played a big role in lowering standards .
As Tom DiLorenzo has pointed out , “ The damage caused by the program was much more than fiscal .
It made the centralization of education possible for the first time in American history .
That in turn opened the door to the ruinous politicization of higher education that has marked the past half century .
The tool used by government was the college accrediting agency .
A network of them was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work as private buffers between academia and government .
Their purpose was to insure high standards , and prevent government subsidies from leading to government control .
After the second world war , the federal government used various college accrediting agencies to ostensibly guarantee a quality education for veterans .
Only accredited schools could receive G.I .
Bill funds , so the accrediting agencies quickly transformed themselves .
They became the gatekeepers of the tax money and virtual adjuncts of federal power .
This gatekeeper role expanded as federal funding of higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : ... Elder , Alasdair Best Price : $ 14.85 Buy New $ 14.50 ‘ Individual courses as well as whole curriculums ’ must be ‘ attuned to the new tempo of society , ’ wrote J. Hillis Miller , the New York education commissioner .
Traditionalists will fight ‘ a losing battle ’ because ‘ any postwar nostalgic yearning for a college curriculum as it used to be is unlikely to be realized ’ ‘ Higher education may have to lose its life in order to find it again , ’ he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its transformation it may well find that it has helped to create a new world of light and hope.
’ This new world arrived almost immediately , as virtually every college and university in the country clamored for money and students , and willingly threw out traditional standards .
This infusion of tax dollars created , notes Robert Nisbet , ‘ the single most powerful agent of change that we can find in the university ’ s long history.
’ Had anyone objected at the time , he would have been put down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accreditation agencies , private in name only , have tremendous power over colleges and universities , and they are slavish to government ’ s agenda .
Today , these agencies are the major source of political correctness and big-government ideology on college campuses.
” The destruction of higher education is a great tragedy , when one considers the role of the University in sustaining knowledge and culture .
As Cardinal [ now Saint ] John Newman noted in The Idea of a University ( 1873 ) “ The view taken of a University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — That it is a place of teaching universal knowledge .
This implies that its object is , on the one hand , intellectual , not moral ; and , on the other , that it is the diffusion and extension of knowledge rather than the advancement .
If its object were scientific and philosophical discovery , I do not see why a University should have students ; if religious training , I do not see how it can be the seat of literature and science.
” Humankind : A Hopeful H ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 19.59 Buy New $ 19.64 In the face of this sad situation , should parents encourage their sons and daughters to enroll in college ?
I don ’ t know the answer to this .
Studies do show that university graduates earn a substantial premium over those who look for work after high school .
But I ’ d like to suggest that an alternative may be worth consideration .
Private educational institutions that insist on high standards , shun PC nonsense , and teach the values of a free economy and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a better investment for students than the conventional degree program .
As the great educator and entrepreneur Robert L. Luddy has stated : “ Our modern democratic market is a marvel catering to every need and whim of the citizens .
Government has a measure of control over business , but the ultimate control and outcome is determined by the minute-to-minute decisions of the buyers , users , and customers .
The market also reflects the values of our citizens including fairness , equal opportunities , and the widest range of choice as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of every business in their hands ( iPhones ) with a plethora of buying prerogatives .
Buying habits , and thus the market , are rapidly changing as users abandon department stores in favor of online ordering and delivery without ever leaving the home .
Even food and grocery providers now participate in this new landscape with cooked meals delivered at the precise location and time desired , as dictated by the buyer .
America continues to demonstrate the wisdom of our Founders , exhibiting an extraordinarily high standard of living and decency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and businesses solve most of the challenges that our political democracy fails to resolve .
Private education and homeschooling are blossoming , creating a wide variety of choices for families and students .
Private boards lead and manage public charter schools .
Private companies provide drugs and health care technologies that save lives and solve complex medical challenges .
MOOCs and distance learning ( online universities ) are becoming the norm , disrupting the expensive and lethargic colleges and universities.
” I confess that one such alternative institution is foremost in my mind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard is now a reality .
Their vision ?
A graduate school of Austrian economics .
Throughout its nearly forty-year history , the Mises Institute has been focused on providing support to students of other educational institutions .
Helping students discover the economics of freedom and inspiring them to go on to teach at the university level is and has been a priority for the Institute .
Excellent service that is personal , responsive , and geared towards assisting students in reaching their individual educational and career @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Institute programs .
The Mises Institute ’ s Master of Arts in Austrian Economics is unique .
It is the first graduate program in the United States dedicated exclusively to the teaching of economics as expounded in the works and great treatises of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard .
The goal of the program is to assist students in mastering the principles of this great body of work and putting these principles to use in their chosen endeavors .
To this end , the Institute has carefully selected an outstanding faculty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York University , UCLA , Columbia University , Cal-Berkeley , Rutgers University , and Virginia Tech .
All are accomplished scholars who have lectured or taught at Mises Institute events and published in its journals , books , or online publications .
Many were personal friends or protégés of Murray Rothbard.
” Thanks to the generosity of the Mises Institute ’ s donors , the cost of the program is well below that of other M.A .
programs in economics or the related social sciences , whether traditional or online .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Will we succeed ?
Of that I can ’ t be sure .
But I am sure of this : Our current educational disaster can not continue for very long .
At the Mises Institute , we aim to continue the tradition of education so eloquently expressed by Cardinal Newman .
Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard were among the highest exemplars of the values of Western civilization , and this is what we endeavor to transmit to our students .
The Best of Llewellyn H. Rockwell , Jr .

Higher education in America today is in a crisis. The diversity thought police pounce on anyone who offers the slightest resistance to them. Here are a few examples “Students at pricey Marymount Manhattan College are demanding a veteran professor be fired for allegedly falling asleep during an anti-racism Zoom meeting. Students at the Upper East Side school claim Patricia Simon, a theater arts associate professor, took a snooze during the virtual town hall last month, and have collected 1,800 petition signatures. Petition organizer Caitlin Gagnon said ‘action has only capitalized on a pattern of negligence and disrespect that Patricia Simon has exhibited over and over again.’ Gagnon included a photo of the 30-year prof, and also accused her of enabling ‘sizeist’ staffers.” A ‘sizeist,’ by the way, is someone who discriminates against people because of their physical size, e.g., requiring an obese person to pay for two seats. Of course, it doesn’t matter if the heavy person occupies two seats. If you charge more, you are still a sizeist.
If you dare to challenge the Black Lives Matter terrorists, you are dead in the water. “A longtime UCLA professor has been placed on leave after facing backlash over his response to a student’s request to postpone the final exam for African American students, considering the impact of George Floyd’s death. Gordon Klein received the email on June 2, and rejected the request. UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, where Klein has taught since 1981, said Klein’s classes have been assigned to other faculty, saying the following in a statement on Wednesday: ‘The lecturer is on leave from campus and his classes have been reassigned to other faculty.’” The Last Gold Rushu202... Haynes, Bill Buy New $28.00 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details)
Even if you like Martin Luther King, you can still get fired, if you say the wrong words. Look what happened to Ajax Peris: “In a virtual class lecture, Peris read a portion of King’s ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ which contains a couple of uses of the ‘N-word.’ On June 2, one UCLA student tweeted a video of Peris reading a passage from King’s letter, declining to omit the epithet, and expressed outrage at his uncensored reading and called for his termination. In short order, UCLA’s College of Letters and Science referred the matter to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for review, and Peris’ department chair sent a letter to departmental faculty condemning his reading of the passage and noting that he had referred Peris to UCLA’s Discrimination Prevention Office. The chair also faulted Peris for showing portions of a documentary that included graphic images and descriptions of lynching, as well as narration that, the chair wrote, ‘quoted the n-word in explaining the history of lynching.’”
At Princeton, the situation is even worse. Matt Taibbi notes that “on July 4th, hundreds of faculty members and staff at Princeton University signed a group letter calling for radical changes. . . Much of . . . the letter read like someone drunk-tweeting their way through a Critical Theory seminar. Signatories asked the University to establish differing compensation levels according to race, demanding ‘course relief,’ ‘summer salary,’ ‘one additional semester of sabbatical,’ and ‘additional human resources’ for ‘faculty of color,’ a term left undefined. That this would be grossly illegal didn’t seem to bother the 300-plus signatories of one of America’s most prestigious learning institutions.” The Idea of a University Blum, Christopher O. Buy New $24.95 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details)
When Joshua Katz, a classics professor at Princeton, protested against the letter’s demands, “University President Christopher Eisengruber ‘personally’denounced Katz for using the word “terrorist.” Katz was also denounced by his Classics department, which in a statement on the department web page insisted his act had ‘heedlessly put our Black colleagues, students, and alums at serious risk’ while hastening to add ‘we gratefully acknowledge all the forms of anti-racist work that members of our community have done.’”
One last example: BLM thugs are trying to oust the outstanding Austrian economist Walter Block from Loyola University in New Orleans, based on a demonstrably false claim that he supports slavery: “Walter Block is a professor in the Business school at Loyola University New Orleans. He has publicly stated that he believes slavery to be wrong because it goes against Libertarianism, not because it is morally wrong. He has justified women being paid less than men (see his book Building Blocks of Liberty) He is allegedly an ableist, too. While it is important to have professors with different views and opinions and beliefs, racist and sexist beliefs should not be a part of this. It is harmful to any non-men and any Black people to be taught that slavery isn’t morally wrong, to be taught that women don’t deserve to be paid and treated equally.
Fight racism, end racism, fire the racists. Fire Walter Block.”
As if this weren’t bad enough, universities are taking advantage of the phony Covid-19 pandemic to offer worse service for about the same astronomical tutition: “After the sudden closure of college campuses across the country in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fate of the fall semester was suddenly placed into question. All eight schools in the Ivy League have announced fall 2020 decisions as of early July. Penn, Brown, Cornell, Princeton, and Yale will all have hybrid modes of fall instruction, while Harvard will be completely online for the entire academic year. Each school has different decisions regarding which class years will come back to campus and where they will be housed during each school’s modified fall calendar.” Entrepreneurial Life: ... Robert L. Luddy Best Price: $5.35 Buy New $9.49 (as of 10:54 UTC - Details)
Professors have used the situation as an excuse to destroy already weakened academic standards. “As COVID-19 has forced classes online, colleges have eased up on graded assignments – even at the prestigious Ivy League schools. With professors and students advocating for automatic A’s or to be given passing grades at the minimum, many college administrations have surrendered highly generous grading policies to give students a break as coronavirus has taken its toll on the country”.
The crisis in higher education would not go away, even if we could get rid of Covid-19 and the PC thought police. Higher education has been in trouble for a long time. As the great economist Walter Williams has pointed out, “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016, only 37% of white high school graduates tested as college-ready, but colleges admitted 70% of them. Roughly 17% of black high school graduates tested as college-ready, but colleges admitted 58% of them. A 2018 Hechinger Report found, ‘More than four in 10 college students end up in developmental math and English classes at an annual cost of approximately $7 billion, and many of them have a worse chance of eventually graduating than if they went straight into college-level classes.’
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, ‘when considering all first-time undergraduates, studies have found anywhere from 28 percent to 40 percent of students enroll in at least one remedial course. When looking at only community college students, several studies have found remediation rates surpassing 50 percent.’ Only 25% of students who took the ACT in 2012 met the test’s readiness benchmarks in all four subjects (English, reading, math and science).
Cultural Cancer: Treat... Kane, Daryl Best Price: $20.00 Buy New $9.95 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details) It’s clear that high schools confer diplomas that attest that a student can read, write and do math at a 12th-grade level when, in fact, most cannot. That means most high diplomas represent fraudulent documents. The falling standards witnessed at our primary and secondary levels are becoming increasingly the case at tertiary levels. ‘Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses’ is a study conducted by Professors Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. They found that 45% of 2,300 students at 24 colleges showed no significant improvement in ‘critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing by the end of their sophomore years.’ Here is a list of some other actual college courses that have been taught at U.S. colleges in recent years: ‘What If Harry Potter Is Real?’ ‘Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame,’ ‘Philosophy and Star Trek,’ ‘Learning from YouTube,’ ‘How To Watch Television,’ and ‘Oh, Look, a Chicken!’ ’The questions that immediately come to mind are these: What kind of professor would teach such courses, and what kind of student would spend his time taking such courses? Most importantly, what kind of college president and board of trustees would permit classes in such nonsense?”
The dumbing-down process that Walter Williams talks about, though, was not the beginning of the attack on educational standards. The GI Bill, adopted after World War II, played a big role in lowering standards. As Tom DiLorenzo has pointed out, “The damage caused by the program was much more than fiscal. It made the centralization of education possible for the first time in American history. That in turn opened the door to the ruinous politicization of higher education that has marked the past half century.
The tool used by government was the college accrediting agency. A network of them was originally established in the late 19th century to work as private buffers between academia and government. Their purpose was to insure high standards, and prevent government subsidies from leading to government control.
After the second world war, the federal government used various college accrediting agencies to ostensibly guarantee a quality education for veterans. Only accredited schools could receive G.I. Bill funds, so the accrediting agencies quickly transformed themselves. They became the gatekeepers of the tax money and virtual adjuncts of federal power. This gatekeeper role expanded as federal funding of higher education escalated. The Red Trojan Horse: ... Elder, Alasdair Best Price: $14.85 Buy New $14.50 (as of 03:45 UTC - Details)
‘Individual courses as well as whole curriculums’ must be ‘attuned to the new tempo of society,’ wrote J. Hillis Miller, the New York education commissioner. Traditionalists will fight ‘a losing battle’ because ‘any postwar nostalgic yearning for a college curriculum as it used to be is unlikely to be realized’ ‘Higher education may have to lose its life in order to find it again,’ he writes with glee, ‘and in its transformation it may well find that it has helped to create a new world of light and hope.’
This new world arrived almost immediately, as virtually every college and university in the country clamored for money and students, and willingly threw out traditional standards. This infusion of tax dollars created, notes Robert Nisbet, ‘the single most powerful agent of change that we can find in the university’s long history.’ Had anyone objected at the time, he would have been put down as selfish and undemocratic.
Today, accreditation agencies, private in name only, have tremendous power over colleges and universities, and they are slavish to government’s agenda. Today, these agencies are the major source of political correctness and big-government ideology on college campuses.”
The destruction of higher education is a great tragedy, when one considers the role of the University in sustaining knowledge and culture. As Cardinal [now Saint] John Newman noted in The Idea of a University ( 1873) “The view taken of a University in these Discourses is the following. — That it is a place of teaching universal knowledge. This implies that its object is, on the one hand, intellectual, not moral; and, on the other, that it is the diffusion and extension of knowledge rather than the advancement. If its object were scientific and philosophical discovery, I do not see why a University should have students; if religious training, I do not see how it can be the seat of literature and science.”
Humankind: A Hopeful H... Bregman, Rutger Best Price: $19.59 Buy New $19.64 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details) In the face of this sad situation, should parents encourage their sons and daughters to enroll in college? I don’t know the answer to this. Studies do show that university graduates earn a substantial premium over those who look for work after high school. But I’d like to suggest that an alternative may be worth consideration.
Private educational institutions that insist on high standards, shun PC nonsense, and teach the values of a free economy and a free society may turn out to be a better investment for students than the conventional degree program. As the great educator and entrepreneur Robert L. Luddy has stated: “Our modern democratic market is a marvel catering to every need and whim of the citizens. Government has a measure of control over business, but the ultimate control and outcome is determined by the minute-to-minute decisions of the buyers, users, and customers.
The market also reflects the values of our citizens including fairness, equal opportunities, and the widest range of choice as companies compete. Citizens hold the fate of every business in their hands (iPhones) with a plethora of buying prerogatives. Buying habits, and thus the market, are rapidly changing as users abandon department stores in favor of online ordering and delivery without ever leaving the home. Even food and grocery providers now participate in this new landscape with cooked meals delivered at the precise location and time desired, as dictated by the buyer.
America continues to demonstrate the wisdom of our Founders, exhibiting an extraordinarily high standard of living and decency in our society. Our private institutions and businesses solve most of the challenges that our political democracy fails to resolve.
Private education and homeschooling are blossoming, creating a wide variety of choices for families and students. Private boards lead and manage public charter schools. Private companies provide drugs and health care technologies that save lives and solve complex medical challenges. MOOCs and distance learning (online universities) are becoming the norm, disrupting the expensive and lethargic colleges and universities.”
I confess that one such alternative institution is foremost in my mind. “A long-held vision of both Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard is now a reality. Their vision? A graduate school of Austrian economics.
Throughout its nearly forty-year history, the Mises Institute has been focused on providing support to students of other educational institutions. Helping students discover the economics of freedom and inspiring them to go on to teach at the university level is and has been a priority for the Institute. Excellent service that is personal, responsive, and geared towards assisting students in reaching their individual educational and career goals has been emblematic of all Mises Institute programs.
The Mises Institute’s Master of Arts in Austrian Economics is unique. It is the first graduate program in the United States dedicated exclusively to the teaching of economics as expounded in the works and great treatises of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. The goal of the program is to assist students in mastering the principles of this great body of work and putting these principles to use in their chosen endeavors.
To this end, the Institute has carefully selected an outstanding faculty, with PhDs from prestigious universities including New York University, UCLA, Columbia University, Cal-Berkeley, Rutgers University, and Virginia Tech. All are accomplished scholars who have lectured or taught at Mises Institute events and published in its journals, books, or online publications. Many were personal friends or protégés of Murray Rothbard.”
Thanks to the generosity of the Mises Institute’s donors, the cost of the program is well below that of other M.A. programs in economics or the related social sciences, whether traditional or online.
I urge parents to consider our program. Will we succeed? Of that I can’t be sure. But I am sure of this: Our current educational disaster cannot continue for very long. At the Mises Institute, we aim to continue the tradition of education so eloquently expressed by Cardinal Newman. Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard were among the highest exemplars of the values of Western civilization, and this is what we endeavor to transmit to our students.
The Best of Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.


lewrockwell--2020-07-23--Who’s That Masked Man!

Who’s That Masked Man!

It should be evident by now that the Donald ’ s one and only north star is his own glorification and self-aggrandizement .
That ’ s why he ’ s totally flat-footed at this crucial moment in the pandemic saga .
What he needs to be doing is taking off the gloves for a bare-knuckled counterattack against the Virus Patrol , which is ruining America ’ s economic and fiscal future .
Instead , yesterday he put on the Mask and the tweeted a juvenile boast that he ’ s the most patriotic muzzle-wearer in the land .
Apparently , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t go to reverse his sagging poll results : We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus , and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can ’ t socially distance .
There is nobody more Patriotic than me , your favorite President !
But no , Donald , you ain ’ t no favorite among lovers of liberty , capitalist prosperity , free market opportunity and the constitutional fettering of state power .
After all , you said you came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet there is no more odious set of Swamp Creatures than the camarilla of NIH/CDC/FDA doctors and apparatchiks , along with their Big Pharma and Gates Vaccine lobby allies , who bamboozled you into the folly of Lockdown Nation last March .
Peak Trump : The Undrai ... David A. Stockman Best Price : $ 12.72 Buy New $ 43.07 But now – when its way past time to reverse course and repudiate your malpracticing doctors – you actually genuflect to their Mask Totem , when you should be declaring loudly and unequivocally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus has meet it match in the immune systems of the overwhelming share of Americans , and that it ’ s beating a fast retreat into the archives of still another infectious winter virus that passed through the population and moved on .
On the one hand , the Grim Reaper of Covid has long since vacated the epicenter of its brief rampage in New York , where the foolish actions of Gauleiter Cuomo caused a surge in nursing home infections , sickness and death , which accounts almost entirely for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s WITH-Covid death count during April .
By contrast , during the current month thru July 20 , New York has tested like crazy , but has come up with no cigar with respect to new Covid cases .
Compared to a total of 1,250,000 tests during that 20-day period , only 13,872 have tested positive , and many of those are surely the same people taking and retaking their PCP swab in order to gain license to go back to work .
In any event , the gross positive rate is just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than that if the data were de-duped .
Likewise , there have been an average of just 10 WITH-Covid deaths reported during the first three weeks of July , which self-evidently is a tiny fraction of 500-800 deaths per day – heavily in the nursing homes – reported during April .
Moreover , there is no real mystery as to why the curve is ( thankfully ) plunging to the lower right of the chart and heading right off the page .
This virus like other virulent influenza ’ s strikes the weakest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thereafter tends to meet its match as the immune systems of the healthier parts of the population join the battle .
What that natural progression of the contagion means , of course , is that Governor Cuomo ’ s economically destructive lockdown orders had virtually nothing to do with the coronavirus ’ welcome retreat .
That ’ s evident by comparison with Sweden , which had virtually no lockdowns at all .
As of yesterday , however , the WITH-Covide death rate was 130 per 100,000 persons for New York state overall , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100,000 , respectively , in the Bronx , Queens and Brooklyn .
By contrast , the mortality rate in Sweden has been about 55 per 100,000 , and the preponderant share of those have been people over 70 years , heavily institutionalized in care facilities .
In any event , the chart below says it all .
Governor Cuomo ’ s boot heels did not “ flatten the curve ” relative to the open social and economic regime in Sweden , and also resulted in a 2.5X higher mortality rate on a cumulative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is no “ second wave ” crisis in the so-called hot spot areas of the Sunbelt , either .
Like in the case of New York , the virus is simply moving through the population in a time frame that is a month or two lagged relative to the original contagion ’ s spread in the Northeast ; and , again , it is meeting its match in the immune systems of the healthier parts of the population .
The proof for that is straightforward and is measured by the hospitalization rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plunged from 15-20 % in the early days of the contagion in these new so-called hot spot states , but is now in the low single digits .
The data for new cases , hospitalizations and the hospitalization ratio for the first 20 days of July includes the following : : The Road to Ruin : The ... James Rickards Best Price : $ 2.58 Buy New $ 7.99 In a word , hospitalization rates of 3-6 % are not indicative of a public health crisis or a dread disease laying waste to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are only slightly above the hospitalization rates for normal winter influenza .
The chart below is the CDC ’ s assessment for the 2010-2018 seasons , and shows that the hospitalization rate per infected case has averaged 1.5 % -2.0 % over that eight year period ; and that ’ s against a generous guesstimate of total influenza illnesses , not lab confirmed cases as with the current Covid stats .
Still , the point hardly needs saying .
We do not close the bars , restaurants , gyms , hair salons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owing to the flu .
Yet that ’ s exactly what the Donald ’ camarilla of malpracticing doctors are now urging for the states listed above in the face of a virus that is only slightly more severe than normal .
Stated differently , even now 94-97 % of the ballyhooed “ new cases ” in the so-called Red Zone states are either asymptomatic or result in mild illness and recovery at home .
The fact that what the Donald mistakenly thought was the Greatest Economy Ever is now swamped in unemployment , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fearful , muzzle-ridden public is ultimately the doing of the Masked Man above .
Harry Truman was right .
The buck stops in the Oval Office .
At the end of the day , it was the Donald who empowered Dr. Fauci , who , in turn , paved the way for the governors , public health departments , mayors and lesser officials to attack the livelihoods and well-being of their own constituents in their tens of millions .
To add insult to injury , however , you can leave it to Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to offer New York state as a shinning example to the rest of the nation when , in fact , it ’ s governor is damn near criminally negligent on the state ’ s nursing home death tsunami alone .
Killing the Host : How ... Hudson , Michael Best Price : $ 26.04 Buy New $ 32.95 The fact is , New York ’ s mortality rate per 100,000 is well more than 2X greater than the European basket cases of Italy , Spain and the UK , and is actually more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 9.5X higher than that of Texas .
In the face of such abysmal judgment , the Donald ’ s trademark “ you ’ re fired ” would be the least that might be expected .
But what we got was not just the ostentatious tweet of POTUS in a muzzle , but a renewed signal for the power-grabbing , Trump-hating local Dem officialdom to intensify their attacks on the main street economy .
The Dem rulers of Broward County , Florida , for example , have just now issued an order requiring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visitors in their own homes – upon penalty of fine or jail and subject to county inspector surveillance .
Likewise , County mayor Dale Holness ’ announced a curfew and criminal penalties for having more than 10 people in your own home , or being part of a gathering of more than 10 people inside a PRIVATE RESIDENCE .
Of course , Broward County is just a microcosm of the economy-crushing mayhem that has been unleashed by the Donald ’ s own presumptive subordinates .
This is no longer just a few aggressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New Jersey and Michigan in the early days of the pandemic : What you have now is a veritable army of petty officialdom , enforcers and self-appointed snitches literally tearing apart the fabric of economic and social life in much of America .
Of course , the Donald is clueless about this because the retainers and sycophants who surround him insure he doesn ’ t grasp the enormity of the economic collapse that has been triggered , and which shows no sign of some kind of miraculous “ V ” -shaped rebound .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy was a fragile tinderbox of debt , speculation and malinvestment that was stumbling forward on cyclical fumes and the residual growth momentum of capitalism – even in the face of the giant obstacles to sustainable prosperity stood up by the state and especially its central banking branch .
So any old Black Swan could have triggered the deep recession now underway .
But owing to the sudden , concentrated blunderbuss attacks of Lockdown Nation , this one will prove to be the blackist avian visitor of all .
For instance , nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before in the annals of modern history .
Compared to a peak of 6.6 million UI beneficiaries at the bottom of the Great Recession ( May 2009 ) , there are now upwards of 32 million workers drawing state and Federal UI benefits .
That ’ s more than 20 % of the 158 million employed workers as of February .
Ordinarily , the jolt to income and spending from a 32 million person army of the unemployed would have sent the US economy reeling months ago because in the hand-to-mouth world that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the households have no meaningful financial cushion or rainy day funds .
Of course , that unemployment based income and spending plunge is now being temporarily cushioned by the unprecedented eruption of free stuff from Uncle Sam that was packed into the Everything Bailouts three months ago .
That includes upwards of $ 500 billion of wage support via the PPP program at the SBA , the $ 1,200 helicopter checks which went out to 160 million citizens and especially the $ 600 per week Federal “ top-up ” on UI benefits .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Benjamin Best Price : null Buy New $ 23.39 The impact of the latter in disguising the economic pain implicit in the UI chart above can not be overemphasized .
On a nationwide average basis , the regular state UI program pays about $ 500 per week or an annualized rate of $ 26,000 to covered workers .
In the middle of the night during the frenzied legislative sessions of late March , however , Congress upped the ante to $ 1,100 per week , which annualizes to $ 57,200 .
Them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
But the Federal top-up also costs $ 75 billion per month and has put nearly two-thirds of unemployed recipients in a higher income bracket than when they were on the job drawing a paycheck ; and , also , by your way , producing output of goods and services which are the real building blocks of the macro-economy .
It now comes to pass that at least some of the sleepwalking GOP senators have figured out that you can ’ t shell out a $ 75 billion per month dole for unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to restart or the tattered remains of Washington ’ s fiscal accounts to ever be repaired .
So there is a rather considerable chance that the battle over the impending Everything Bailout 4.0 will be prolonged , and that the giant air-cushion of transfer payments which has disguised the Lockdown Nation disaster will be abruptly deflated in August .
The chart below , in fact , shows how the phantasmagoria of free stuff from Washington since March has tuned upside down the traditional notion of a recession , and especially one where one-fifth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The chart shows total monthly household personal income – including dividends , interest and proprietors profits which mostly goes to the top 10 % – -since January .
Incredibly , during April when the bottom literally dropped out of industries ranging from air travel to neighborhood restaurants and bars , total household income was actually 5 % higher than it was during January – a time when both Wall Street and the Donald claimed the US economy was booming like never before .
Since then , household income has managed to stay right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a loss of wage and salary disbursements that is still running at a negative $ 850 billion annual rate .
What portends for August and many months to come , therefore , is the delayed income and spending contraction of a battered economy which has already experienced a double-digit plunge in the actual production of goods and services .
Needless to say , that ’ s going to shock both Wall Street and the Masked Man alike .
And it will be enough of a blow to voter confidence – even in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as to insure that the best outcome possible on November 3 will be the Mother-of-All-Hanging Chad battles at the Electoral College and Supreme Court , while the likely outcome is a return of the vengeful coalition of Clintonista poltroons and Progressive-Left ideologues to the seats of power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue .
In either contingency , today ’ s lagging indicators of the underlying economic distress generated by Lockdown nation will be aggravated enormously .
These charts on failing rent collections and small business closures are , in fact , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will continue to worsen even if some gussied-up Everything Bailout 4.0 is cobbled together on Capitol Hill before the real election season blood-lettings get underway .
Indeed , on any number of high-frequency variables , the data has already plateaued and that ’ s before the August plunge and the most vicious election battle in modern history have taken their toll .
And now with the new lockdown orders and a renewed MSM campaign of Covid-Hysteria in the Sunbelt , there is indeed a “ second wave ” coming – that is , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defaults and business failures across the length and breath of main street America .
As we said , anyone who actually believed the Donald had any semblance of a plan for MAGA should now be asking “ Who ’ s that Masked Man ” ?
The Best of David Stockman

It should be evident by now that the Donald’s one and only north star is his own glorification and self-aggrandizement. That’s why he’s totally flat-footed at this crucial moment in the pandemic saga.
What he needs to be doing is taking off the gloves for a bare-knuckled counterattack against the Virus Patrol, which is ruining America’s economic and fiscal future.
Instead, yesterday he put on the Mask and the tweeted a juvenile boast that he’s the most patriotic muzzle-wearer in the land. Apparently, there is no place the Donald won’t go to reverse his sagging poll results:
We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!
But no, Donald, you ain’t no favorite among lovers of liberty, capitalist prosperity, free market opportunity and the constitutional fettering of state power.
After all, you said you came to Washington to drain the Swamp, yet there is no more odious set of Swamp Creatures than the camarilla of NIH/CDC/FDA doctors and apparatchiks, along with their Big Pharma and Gates Vaccine lobby allies, who bamboozled you into the folly of Lockdown Nation last March. Peak Trump: The Undrai... David A. Stockman Best Price: $12.72 Buy New $43.07 (as of 11:40 UTC - Details)
But now – when its way past time to reverse course and repudiate your malpracticing doctors – you actually genuflect to their Mask Totem, when you should be declaring loudly and unequivocally the opposite: Namely, that the the coronavirus has meet it match in the immune systems of the overwhelming share of Americans, and that it’s beating a fast retreat into the archives of still another infectious winter virus that passed through the population and moved on.
On the one hand, the Grim Reaper of Covid has long since vacated the epicenter of its brief rampage in New York, where the foolish actions of Gauleiter Cuomo caused a surge in nursing home infections, sickness and death, which accounts almost entirely for the four week surge in the state’s WITH-Covid death count during April.
By contrast, during the current month thru July 20, New York has tested like crazy, but has come up with no cigar with respect to new Covid cases. Compared to a total of 1,250,000 tests during that 20-day period, only 13,872 have tested positive, and many of those are surely the same people taking and retaking their PCP swab in order to gain license to go back to work.
In any event, the gross positive rate is just 1.1% and would probably well less than that if the data were de-duped.
Likewise, there have been an average of just 10 WITH-Covid deaths reported during the first three weeks of July, which self-evidently is a tiny fraction of 500-800 deaths per day – heavily in the nursing homes – reported during April.
Moreover, there is no real mystery as to why the curve is (thankfully) plunging to the lower right of the chart and heading right off the page. This virus like other virulent influenza’s strikes the weakest and most vulnerable population first, and thereafter tends to meet its match as the immune systems of the healthier parts of the population join the battle.
What that natural progression of the contagion means, of course, is that Governor Cuomo’s economically destructive lockdown orders had virtually nothing to do with the coronavirus’ welcome retreat.
That’s evident by comparison with Sweden, which had virtually no lockdowns at all. As of yesterday, however, the WITH-Covide death rate was 130 per 100,000 persons for New York state overall, and 235, 223 and 200 per 100,000, respectively, in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.
By contrast, the mortality rate in Sweden has been about 55 per 100,000, and the preponderant share of those have been people over 70 years, heavily institutionalized in care facilities.
In any event, the chart below says it all. Governor Cuomo’s boot heels did not “flatten the curve” relative to the open social and economic regime in Sweden, and also resulted in a 2.5X higher mortality rate on a cumulative basis.
By the same token, there is no “second wave” crisis in the so-called hot spot areas of the Sunbelt, either. Like in the case of New York, the virus is simply moving through the population in a time frame that is a month or two lagged relative to the original contagion’s spread in the Northeast; and, again, it is meeting its match in the immune systems of the healthier parts of the population.
The proof for that is straightforward and is measured by the hospitalization rate per new case. The latter has plunged from 15-20% in the early days of the contagion in these new so-called hot spot states, but is now in the low single digits. The data for new cases, hospitalizations and the hospitalization ratio for the first 20 days of July includes the following:: The Road to Ruin: The ... James Rickards Best Price: $2.58 Buy New $7.99 (as of 10:20 UTC - Details)
Florida: 207,960 new cases, 6,726 additional hospitalizations= 3.2% ;
; Arizona: 65,968 new cases, 1,962 additional hospitalizations= 3.0% ;
; Tennessee: 36,245 new cases, 1,047 additional hospitalizations= 2.9% ;
; Georgia: 64,284 new cases, 3,996 additional hospitalizations= 6.2% ;
; Arkansas: 13,150 new cases, 883 additional hospitalizations= 6.0% ;
; South Carolina: 35,046 new cases, 1,328 additional hospitalizations= 3.8% ;
; Mississippi: 21,642 new cases, 610 additional hospitalizations=2.8%
In a word, hospitalization rates of 3-6% are not indicative of a public health crisis or a dread disease laying waste to the population. In fact, they are only slightly above the hospitalization rates for normal winter influenza.
The chart below is the CDC’s assessment for the 2010-2018 seasons, and shows that the hospitalization rate per infected case has averaged 1.5%-2.0% over that eight year period; and that’s against a generous guesstimate of total influenza illnesses, not lab confirmed cases as with the current Covid stats.
Still, the point hardly needs saying. We do not close the bars, restaurants, gyms, hair salons, movies, malls etc. every winter owing to the flu. Yet that’s exactly what the Donald’ camarilla of malpracticing doctors are now urging for the states listed above in the face of a virus that is only slightly more severe than normal.
Stated differently, even now 94-97% of the ballyhooed “new cases” in the so-called Red Zone states are either asymptomatic or result in mild illness and recovery at home. The fact that what the Donald mistakenly thought was the Greatest Economy Ever is now swamped in unemployment, business failures, payment delinquencies and a fearful, muzzle-ridden public is ultimately the doing of the Masked Man above.
Harry Truman was right. The buck stops in the Oval Office.
At the end of the day, it was the Donald who empowered Dr. Fauci, who, in turn, paved the way for the governors, public health departments, mayors and lesser officials to attack the livelihoods and well-being of their own constituents in their tens of millions.
To add insult to injury, however, you can leave it to Dr. Fauci. The man had the gall to offer New York state as a shinning example to the rest of the nation when, in fact, it’s governor is damn near criminally negligent on the state’s nursing home death tsunami alone. Killing the Host: How ... Hudson, Michael Best Price: $26.04 Buy New $32.95 (as of 11:40 UTC - Details)
The fact is, New York’s mortality rate per 100,000 is well more than 2X greater than the European basket cases of Italy, Spain and the UK, and is actually more than 4.5X higher than Florida’s and 9.5X higher than that of Texas.
In the face of such abysmal judgment, the Donald’s trademark “you’re fired” would be the least that might be expected. But what we got was not just the ostentatious tweet of POTUS in a muzzle, but a renewed signal for the power-grabbing, Trump-hating local Dem officialdom to intensify their attacks on the main street economy.
The Dem rulers of Broward County, Florida, for example, have just now issued an order requiring homeowners to enforce the mask rule against visitors in their own homes – upon penalty of fine or jail and subject to county inspector surveillance.
Likewise, County mayor Dale Holness’ announced a curfew and criminal penalties for having more than 10 people in your own home, or being part of a gathering of more than 10 people inside a PRIVATE RESIDENCE.
Of course, Broward County is just a microcosm of the economy-crushing mayhem that has been unleashed by the Donald’s own presumptive subordinates. This is no longer just a few aggressive governors like those of New York, New Jersey and Michigan in the early days of the pandemic: What you have now is a veritable army of petty officialdom, enforcers and self-appointed snitches literally tearing apart the fabric of economic and social life in much of America.
Of course, the Donald is clueless about this because the retainers and sycophants who surround him insure he doesn’t grasp the enormity of the economic collapse that has been triggered, and which shows no sign of some kind of miraculous “V”-shaped rebound.
Nor does he realize that the pre-Covid economy was a fragile tinderbox of debt, speculation and malinvestment that was stumbling forward on cyclical fumes and the residual growth momentum of capitalism – even in the face of the giant obstacles to sustainable prosperity stood up by the state and especially its central banking branch.
So any old Black Swan could have triggered the deep recession now underway. But owing to the sudden, concentrated blunderbuss attacks of Lockdown Nation, this one will prove to be the blackist avian visitor of all.
For instance, nothing like this chart has ever been seen before in the annals of modern history. Compared to a peak of 6.6 million UI beneficiaries at the bottom of the Great Recession (May 2009), there are now upwards of 32 million workers drawing state and Federal UI benefits. That’s more than 20% of the 158 million employed workers as of February.
Ordinarily, the jolt to income and spending from a 32 million person army of the unemployed would have sent the US economy reeling months ago because in the hand-to-mouth world that the Donald inherited, 80% of the households have no meaningful financial cushion or rainy day funds.
Of course, that unemployment based income and spending plunge is now being temporarily cushioned by the unprecedented eruption of free stuff from Uncle Sam that was packed into the Everything Bailouts three months ago. That includes upwards of $500 billion of wage support via the PPP program at the SBA, the $1,200 helicopter checks which went out to 160 million citizens and especially the $600 per week Federal “top-up” on UI benefits. Socialism Sucks: Two E... Powell, Benjamin Buy New $23.39 (as of 07:10 UTC - Details)
The impact of the latter in disguising the economic pain implicit in the UI chart above cannot be overemphasized. On a nationwide average basis, the regular state UI program pays about $500 per week or an annualized rate of $26,000 to covered workers.
In the middle of the night during the frenzied legislative sessions of late March, however, Congress upped the ante to $1,100 per week, which annualizes to $57,200.
Them there is different kettles of fish entirely!
But the Federal top-up also costs $75 billion per month and has put nearly two-thirds of unemployed recipients in a higher income bracket than when they were on the job drawing a paycheck; and, also, by your way, producing output of goods and services which are the real building blocks of the macro-economy.
It now comes to pass that at least some of the sleepwalking GOP senators have figured out that you can’t shell out a $75 billion per month dole for unemployment and expect the engines of economic life to restart or the tattered remains of Washington’s fiscal accounts to ever be repaired.
So there is a rather considerable chance that the battle over the impending Everything Bailout 4.0 will be prolonged, and that the giant air-cushion of transfer payments which has disguised the Lockdown Nation disaster will be abruptly deflated in August.
The chart below, in fact, shows how the phantasmagoria of free stuff from Washington since March has tuned upside down the traditional notion of a recession, and especially one where one-fifth of the labor force is unemployed. The chart shows total monthly household personal income – including dividends, interest and proprietors profits which mostly goes to the top 10% – -since January.
Incredibly, during April when the bottom literally dropped out of industries ranging from air travel to neighborhood restaurants and bars, total household income was actually 5% higher than it was during January – a time when both Wall Street and the Donald claimed the US economy was booming like never before.
Since then, household income has managed to stay right at the pre-Covid January level, notwithstanding a loss of wage and salary disbursements that is still running at a negative $850 billion annual rate.
What portends for August and many months to come, therefore, is the delayed income and spending contraction of a battered economy which has already experienced a double-digit plunge in the actual production of goods and services.
Needless to say, that’s going to shock both Wall Street and the Masked Man alike.
And it will be enough of a blow to voter confidence – even in the Trumpite precincts of Flyover America – so as to insure that the best outcome possible on November 3 will be the Mother-of-All-Hanging Chad battles at the Electoral College and Supreme Court, while the likely outcome is a return of the vengeful coalition of Clintonista poltroons and Progressive-Left ideologues to the seats of power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
In either contingency, today’s lagging indicators of the underlying economic distress generated by Lockdown nation will be aggravated enormously. These charts on failing rent collections and small business closures are, in fact, just the tip of the iceberg – and will continue to worsen even if some gussied-up Everything Bailout 4.0 is cobbled together on Capitol Hill before the real election season blood-lettings get underway.
Indeed, on any number of high-frequency variables, the data has already plateaued and that’s before the August plunge and the most vicious election battle in modern history have taken their toll.
And now with the new lockdown orders and a renewed MSM campaign of Covid-Hysteria in the Sunbelt, there is indeed a “second wave” coming – that is, more hemorrhaging of jobs, incomes, defaults and business failures across the length and breath of main street America.
As we said, anyone who actually believed the Donald had any semblance of a plan for MAGA should now be asking “Who’s that Masked Man”?
We’re not.
PEAK TRUMP, IMPENDING CRISES, ESSENTIAL INFO & ACTION
Reprinted with permission from David Stockman’s Contra Corner.
The Best of David Stockman


lewrockwell--2020-07-23--Why This Election Could Be the Most Important Since the US Civil War

International Man : The hysteria surrounding COVID-19 and the government lockdown has completely changed in-person interactions .
How do you think this will impact the way that Americans cast their vote in the presidential election ?
Doug Casey : It ’ s a very bad thing from Trump ’ s point of view .
For one thing , it ’ s severely limiting the number and size of his rallies , which he relies on to keep enthusiasm up .
More people are staying at home and watching television than ever before .
And unless they glue their dial to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mainstream media , which is stridently anti-Trump .
People who are on the fence hear authoritative-sounding talking heads on television , and it naturally influences them away from Trump .
Surviving Fedcoin : How ... Doug Casey Best Price : $ 9.95 Buy New $ 30.00 Furthermore , this virus hysteria is discouraging people from going out—especially older people who are roughly 80 % of the casualties of this virus .
They ’ re less likely to go to vote .
But older people are most likely to be Trumpers because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m assuming that the COVID hysteria will still be with us in November .
Keeping his voters at home is one thing .
But the effects that the hysteria is having on the economy are even more important .
Presidents always take credit when the economy is good and are berated when it ’ s bad on their watch , regardless of whether they had anything to do with it .
If the economy is still bad in November—and I ’ ll wager it ’ s going to be much worse—people will reflexively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being passed out—the $ 600 per week in supplementary unemployment—between the state and federal payments , something like 30 million people are making more now than they were before the virus .
In February , before the lockdown , there were about 3.2 million people collecting unemployment .
Now , there are about 35 million .
So , it seems we have over 30 million working-age people who are .
.
.
displaced .
That doesn ’ t count part-time workers , who aren ’ t eligible for unemployment but are no longer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so will the artificial good times .
Worse , the public has come to the conclusion that a guaranteed annual income works .
This virus hysteria has provided a kind of test for both universal basic income and modern monetary theory—helicopter money .
So far , anyway , it seems you really can get something for nothing .
Even Trump supports helicopter money because he knows it ’ s all over if today ’ s financial house of cards collapses .
Crisis Investing Douglas R. Casey Best Price : $ 1.39 Buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be out of work when the free money ends .
The recognition that the country is in a depression will sink in .
They ’ ll look for somebody to blame .
When things get seriously bad , people want to change the system itself .
There ’ s now a lot of antagonism toward both free minds and free markets .
Polls indicate that a majority of Americans actually support BLM , an openly Marxist movement .
Forget about free minds—someone might be offended , and you ’ ll be pilloried by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re blamed for all the economic problems , even though it ’ s the lack of them that caused the problem .
The idea of capitalism is now considered undefendable .
Widespread dissatisfaction with the system is obviously bad for the Republicans and good for the Democrats , who promote themselves as the party of change .
The bottom line is that this whole episode with COVID is uniformly bad for whatever Trump or the Republicans represent .
It ’ s bad for the old status quo .
International Man : If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will it impact voter turnout ?
Doug Casey : Absolutely .
As I just said , especially among older people who tend to be conservative Republican voters .
But let ’ s be candid .
This election is going to hinge on who cheats the best .
And the Democrats have , over the years , developed far greater expertise in cheating than the Republicans .
Saul Alinsky ’ s “ Rules for Radicals ” wasn ’ t written for the kind of people who vote Republican .
For one thing , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on mail-in votes , which make it easier to cheat .
You can register dead people as voters .
You can register your dog as a voter .
If the fraud is ever even discovered , it won ’ t be until long after the election .
The Last Gold Rushu202 ... Haynes , Bill Buy New $ 28.00 That ’ s only part of it , though .
A high percentage of voting machines are computerized .
Fraud by hacking voting machines is apparently easy to do—and it ’ s pretty untraceable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of planning and boldness .
One of the consequences of this widely acknowledged dysfunction is to delegitimize the whole idea of voting .
As you know , I don ’ t believe in mass democracy , because it inevitably degrades into a system where the poorer citizens vote themselves benefits at the expense of the middle class .
Basically , mob rule dressed in a coat and tie .
But if the populace loses faith in “ democracy ” during a serious economic crisis—like this one—they ’ re going to look for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The US will look more and more like Argentina .
International Man : In previous US elections , there were issues with voter fraud and delays tallying votes in a handful of US states .
If this happens again , do you think that the election results could be contested ?
What would the implications of that be ?
Doug Casey : The election will be contested no matter which side wins because the country has become totally polarized .
No matter who wins , the other side is going to be terminally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is undoubtedly the most important one since 1860 .
The outcome of that was the War Between the States .
The Democrats really want to change the very nature of the US .
If they win , they ’ ll be able to do so , for several reasons .
First , it seems almost certain that they ’ ll make Washington , DC , a state ; there will then be 102 senators voting—and those two from Washington , DC , will without question be left-leaning Democrats .
Second , the 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will undoubtedly be made citizens ; they lean heavily toward the Democrats .
Third , they ’ ll expand the size of the Supreme Court and pack it with leftists .
Fools , Frauds and Fire ... Scruton , Roger Best Price : $ 15.32 Buy New $ 17.40 There could be more , of course .
Perhaps they ’ ll probably reduce the voting age to 16 ; it ’ s already the case in Argentina and a growing number of other countries .
Maybe they ’ ll even engineer a Constitutional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amendment will go , of course , and the rest of the Bill of Rights would be heavily modified .
Most of it ’ s already a dead letter—but that would formalize the change once and for all .
These things would cement the Democrats in office .
But please don ’ t think I support the Republicans .
That would be like supporting tuberculosis just because it ’ s better than terminal cancer .
It used to be pretty simple—the Republicans and the Democrats were just two sides of the same coin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one promoted the warfare state more , the other the welfare state .
But it was mostly rhetoric ; they were pretty collegial .
Now , both the welfare and the warfare states have been accepted as part of the cosmic firmament by both parties .
Now , it ’ s about cultural issues .
Polite disagreement has turned into visceral hatred .
The Dems at least stand for some ideas—although they ’ re all bad ideas .
The Reps have never stood for any principles ; they just said the Dems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Which is why they were always perceived—correctly—as hypocrites .
Things have changed , however .
Antagonism between the right and the left is no longer political or economic—it ’ s cultural .
That ’ s much more serious .
Look at the 20 Democratic candidates that were in the primary debates last summer .
They were all radical collectivists , dedicated statists .
The Republicans were all—with one exception—mealy-mouthed nonentities .
I suspect the Dems will win in November because they actually have a core of philosophical beliefs—and that counts during chaos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re irrational or evil .
Then , whenever a really radical group takes over—and these people are serious radicals—they cement themselves in power .
And it only takes a small number of people working as a cadre to do it .
Into the Lion ’ s ... Maltz , Mr Steve Best Price : $ 14.37 Buy New $ 14.00 With the Russian Revolution , the hardcore Bolsheviks only numbered in the hundreds .
That was enough to take control of a hundred million Russians—and stay in power for 70 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy .
The same thing happened with Fidel Castro in Cuba .
He landed with only 50 or 60 guys , but once he took over the country , his apparatus was able to keep control of it .
Serious , radical populists and socialists can pull that off .
They can say they ’ re working for the people and can promise lots of free stuff .
The hoi polloi want to hear that during a crisis—like the one we ’ re entering .
Once they ’ re in , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out .
International Man : Millennials will soon overtake the baby boomers as the largest adult population .
They ’ ll have a growing impact on elections .
How do you think this will affect the future direction of the country ?
Doug Casey : First of all , I ’ ve got to say that I don ’ t believe in democracy as a method of government .
I understand how shocking that is to hear .
Let me explain .
There ’ s something to be said for a few people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ generally agree on how the world works , to vote on who will speak for them .
That ’ s one thing—and it makes sense .
But it ’ s very different from a gigantic agglomeration of very different , even antagonistic , people fighting for control and power .
Winston Churchill said two things about democracy that appear to be contradictory .
One is that “ Democracy is the worst form of government , except for all the others.
” I would argue that ’ s simply not true .
Perhaps we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other thing that he said was , “ The best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
” He ’ s absolutely right in that quip .
I ’ d have less of a beef with democracy if the government was totally precluded from any intervention in the economy .
The problem is that the institution of government itself is innately , intrinsically , and necessarily coercive .
In a civilized society , however , coercion should be limited .
What does that mean ?
It means that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force and fraud .
That implies a police force to prevent domestic force and fraud , a military to protect the country from invasion , and a court system to allow people to adjudicate disputes without resorting to force .
If the government did nothing but those things , sure you can vote .
But votes would be largely irrelevant .
Actually , an argument can be made that those three things are so important to the conduct of a civilized society that they shouldn ’ t be left to the kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The market can and will do anything that ’ s needed or wanted , better and cheaper than a political instrument like the government .
And at this point , the government doesn ’ t do any of those three things well .
Instead , it tries to do absolutely everything else .
But , getting back to millennials , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( AOC ) , and people like her , are both the current reality and the future of the Democratic Party — and of the US itself .
Why ?
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barmaid into an icon .
But she ’ s cute , vivacious , outspoken , and has a plan to remake the country .
And she ’ s shrewd .
She knows how to capitalize on envy and resentment .
She realized she could win by ringing doorbells in her district , where voter turnout was very low , and about 70 % are non-white .
There was zero motivation for residents to turn out for the tired , corrupt , old hack of a white man she ran against .
Nobody , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , are countering the purposefully destructive ideas AOC represents .
And they have a very limited audience and not much of a platform .
Arguing for sound money and limited government makes them seem like Old Testament prophets .
Collectivism and statism are overwhelming the values of individualism and liberty .
It ’ s exactly the type of thing the Founders tried to guard against by restricting the vote to property owners over 21 , going through the Electoral College .
Now , welfare recipients who are only 18 can vote , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ course , I don ’ t believe in either politics or voting .
But , if you must have voting , it should only be for people 25 or over , who own a certain amount of property , so they have something to lose in the system .
Most important , the government should have zero involvement in the economy .
But , forget about it .
Just the opposite is happening at an accelerating rate .
For the last couple of generations , everybody who ’ s gone to college has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of the professors hold these ideas .
They place an intellectual patina on top of emotion and fantasy-driven ideas .
When the economy collapses in earnest , everybody will blame capitalism .
Because Trump is rich , he ’ s incorrectly associated with capitalism .
The country—especially the young , the poor , and the non-white—will look to the government to “ do something.
” They see the government as a cornucopia , and socialism as a kind and gentle way to expropriate the middle class .
A majority of millennials are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , whites will be a minority in the US .
A straw in the wind is that a large majority of the people who commit suicide each year are middle-class white males—essentially , Trump supporters .
The demographic handwriting is on the wall .
Trump ’ s election in 2016 was an anomaly .
A Last Hurrah .
There ’ s no political salvation coming from the Republican party .
Like Trump himself , it doesn ’ t have any core principles .
It just reacts to the Dems and proposes less radical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t stand for anything .
It ’ s only capable of putting forward empty suits , pure establishment figures like Bob Dole , Mitt Romney , or a Bush .
Or a non-entity like Pence .
That ’ s a formula for disaster in today ’ s demographic and cultural environment .
The Best of Doug Casey

International Man: The hysteria surrounding COVID-19 and the government lockdown has completely changed in-person interactions.
How do you think this will impact the way that Americans cast their vote in the presidential election?
Doug Casey: It’s a very bad thing from Trump’s point of view. For one thing, it’s severely limiting the number and size of his rallies, which he relies on to keep enthusiasm up.
More people are staying at home and watching television than ever before. And unless they glue their dial to Fox, they’ll gravitate towards the mainstream media, which is stridently anti-Trump. People who are on the fence hear authoritative-sounding talking heads on television, and it naturally influences them away from Trump.
Surviving Fedcoin: How... Doug Casey Best Price: $9.95 Buy New $30.00 (as of 06:55 UTC - Details) Furthermore, this virus hysteria is discouraging people from going out—especially older people who are roughly 80% of the casualties of this virus. They’re less likely to go to vote. But older people are most likely to be Trumpers because they’re culturally conservative. I’m assuming that the COVID hysteria will still be with us in November.
Keeping his voters at home is one thing. But the effects that the hysteria is having on the economy are even more important. Presidents always take credit when the economy is good and are berated when it’s bad on their watch, regardless of whether they had anything to do with it. If the economy is still bad in November—and I’ll wager it’s going to be much worse—people will reflexively vote against Trump.
With free money being passed out—the $600 per week in supplementary unemployment—between the state and federal payments, something like 30 million people are making more now than they were before the virus. In February, before the lockdown, there were about 3.2 million people collecting unemployment. Now, there are about 35 million. So, it seems we have over 30 million working-age people who are . . . displaced. That doesn’t count part-time workers, who aren’t eligible for unemployment but are no longer working.
When the supplementary benefits end, so will the artificial good times.
Worse, the public has come to the conclusion that a guaranteed annual income works. This virus hysteria has provided a kind of test for both universal basic income and modern monetary theory—helicopter money. So far, anyway, it seems you really can get something for nothing.
Even Trump supports helicopter money because he knows it’s all over if today’s financial house of cards collapses. Crisis Investing Douglas R. Casey Best Price: $1.39 Buy New $85.47 (as of 11:35 UTC - Details)
Most people will still be out of work when the free money ends. The recognition that the country is in a depression will sink in. They’ll look for somebody to blame. When things get seriously bad, people want to change the system itself.
There’s now a lot of antagonism toward both free minds and free markets. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans actually support BLM, an openly Marxist movement. Forget about free minds—someone might be offended, and you’ll be pilloried by the mob. Forget about free markets—they’re blamed for all the economic problems, even though it’s the lack of them that caused the problem. The idea of capitalism is now considered undefendable.
Widespread dissatisfaction with the system is obviously bad for the Republicans and good for the Democrats, who promote themselves as the party of change.
The bottom line is that this whole episode with COVID is uniformly bad for whatever Trump or the Republicans represent. It’s bad for the old status quo.
International Man: If people are afraid to go out, will it impact voter turnout?
Doug Casey: Absolutely. As I just said, especially among older people who tend to be conservative Republican voters.
But let’s be candid. This election is going to hinge on who cheats the best. And the Democrats have, over the years, developed far greater expertise in cheating than the Republicans. Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” wasn’t written for the kind of people who vote Republican.
For one thing, there’s going to be more emphasis on mail-in votes, which make it easier to cheat. You can register dead people as voters. You can register your dog as a voter. If the fraud is ever even discovered, it won’t be until long after the election. The Last Gold Rushu202... Haynes, Bill Buy New $28.00 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details)
That’s only part of it, though. A high percentage of voting machines are computerized. Fraud by hacking voting machines is apparently easy to do—and it’s pretty untraceable. It’s just a matter of planning and boldness.
One of the consequences of this widely acknowledged dysfunction is to delegitimize the whole idea of voting. As you know, I don’t believe in mass democracy, because it inevitably degrades into a system where the poorer citizens vote themselves benefits at the expense of the middle class. Basically, mob rule dressed in a coat and tie. But if the populace loses faith in “democracy” during a serious economic crisis—like this one—they’re going to look for a strong man to straighten things out. The US will look more and more like Argentina.
International Man: In previous US elections, there were issues with voter fraud and delays tallying votes in a handful of US states.
If this happens again, do you think that the election results could be contested? What would the implications of that be?
Doug Casey: The election will be contested no matter which side wins because the country has become totally polarized. No matter who wins, the other side is going to be terminally unhappy with the result.
This election is undoubtedly the most important one since 1860. The outcome of that was the War Between the States.
The Democrats really want to change the very nature of the US. If they win, they’ll be able to do so, for several reasons. First, it seems almost certain that they’ll make Washington, DC, a state; there will then be 102 senators voting—and those two from Washington, DC, will without question be left-leaning Democrats. Second, the 20 million undocumented people—illegal aliens—now in the US will undoubtedly be made citizens; they lean heavily toward the Democrats. Third, they’ll expand the size of the Supreme Court and pack it with leftists. Fools, Frauds and Fire... Scruton, Roger Best Price: $15.32 Buy New $17.40 (as of 03:56 UTC - Details)
There could be more, of course. Perhaps they’ll probably reduce the voting age to 16; it’s already the case in Argentina and a growing number of other countries. Maybe they’ll even engineer a Constitutional Convention to change everything. The 2nd Amendment will go, of course, and the rest of the Bill of Rights would be heavily modified. Most of it’s already a dead letter—but that would formalize the change once and for all.
These things would cement the Democrats in office. But please don’t think I support the Republicans. That would be like supporting tuberculosis just because it’s better than terminal cancer.
It used to be pretty simple—the Republicans and the Democrats were just two sides of the same coin. Like Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Traditionally, one promoted the warfare state more, the other the welfare state. But it was mostly rhetoric; they were pretty collegial. Now, both the welfare and the warfare states have been accepted as part of the cosmic firmament by both parties. Now, it’s about cultural issues. Polite disagreement has turned into visceral hatred.
The Dems at least stand for some ideas—although they’re all bad ideas. The Reps have never stood for any principles; they just said the Dems wanted too much socialism, too fast. Which is why they were always perceived—correctly—as hypocrites. Things have changed, however. Antagonism between the right and the left is no longer political or economic—it’s cultural. That’s much more serious.
Look at the 20 Democratic candidates that were in the primary debates last summer. They were all radical collectivists, dedicated statists. The Republicans were all—with one exception—mealy-mouthed nonentities.
I suspect the Dems will win in November because they actually have a core of philosophical beliefs—and that counts during chaos. It doesn’t matter that they’re irrational or evil. Then, whenever a really radical group takes over—and these people are serious radicals—they cement themselves in power. And it only takes a small number of people working as a cadre to do it. Into the Lion’s ... Maltz, Mr Steve Best Price: $14.37 Buy New $14.00 (as of 03:45 UTC - Details)
With the Russian Revolution, the hardcore Bolsheviks only numbered in the hundreds. That was enough to take control of a hundred million Russians—and stay in power for 70 years until they totally ran the wheels off the economy.
The same thing happened with Fidel Castro in Cuba. He landed with only 50 or 60 guys, but once he took over the country, his apparatus was able to keep control of it.
Serious, radical populists and socialists can pull that off. They can say they’re working for the people and can promise lots of free stuff. The hoi polloi want to hear that during a crisis—like the one we’re entering. Once they’re in, it’s almost impossible to get them out.
International Man: Millennials will soon overtake the baby boomers as the largest adult population. They’ll have a growing impact on elections.
How do you think this will affect the future direction of the country?
Doug Casey: First of all, I’ve got to say that I don’t believe in democracy as a method of government. I understand how shocking that is to hear. Let me explain.
There’s something to be said for a few people, who share traditions and culture and generally agree on how the world works, to vote on who will speak for them. That’s one thing—and it makes sense. But it’s very different from a gigantic agglomeration of very different, even antagonistic, people fighting for control and power.
Winston Churchill said two things about democracy that appear to be contradictory.
One is that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” I would argue that’s simply not true. Perhaps we can discuss the alternatives someday.
The other thing that he said was, “The best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” He’s absolutely right in that quip.
I’d have less of a beef with democracy if the government was totally precluded from any intervention in the economy. The problem is that the institution of government itself is innately, intrinsically, and necessarily coercive.
In a civilized society, however, coercion should be limited. What does that mean?
It means that a government should be strictly limited to preventing force and fraud. That implies a police force to prevent domestic force and fraud, a military to protect the country from invasion, and a court system to allow people to adjudicate disputes without resorting to force.
If the government did nothing but those things, sure you can vote. But votes would be largely irrelevant.
Actually, an argument can be made that those three things are so important to the conduct of a civilized society that they shouldn’t be left to the kind of people that want to be elected.
The market can and will do anything that’s needed or wanted, better and cheaper than a political instrument like the government. And at this point, the government doesn’t do any of those three things well. Instead, it tries to do absolutely everything else.
But, getting back to millennials, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), and people like her, are both the current reality and the future of the Democratic Party — and of the US itself.
Why? It’s irrational to make a 30-year-old barmaid into an icon. But she’s cute, vivacious, outspoken, and has a plan to remake the country. And she’s shrewd. She knows how to capitalize on envy and resentment. She realized she could win by ringing doorbells in her district, where voter turnout was very low, and about 70% are non-white. There was zero motivation for residents to turn out for the tired, corrupt, old hack of a white man she ran against.
Nobody, except for a few libertarians and conservatives, are countering the purposefully destructive ideas AOC represents. And they have a very limited audience and not much of a platform. Arguing for sound money and limited government makes them seem like Old Testament prophets. Collectivism and statism are overwhelming the values of individualism and liberty.
It’s exactly the type of thing the Founders tried to guard against by restricting the vote to property owners over 21, going through the Electoral College. Now, welfare recipients who are only 18 can vote, and the Electoral College is toothless.
Of course, I don’t believe in either politics or voting. But, if you must have voting, it should only be for people 25 or over, who own a certain amount of property, so they have something to lose in the system. Most important, the government should have zero involvement in the economy. But, forget about it. Just the opposite is happening at an accelerating rate.
For the last couple of generations, everybody who’s gone to college has been indoctrinated with leftist ideas. Almost all of the professors hold these ideas. They place an intellectual patina on top of emotion and fantasy-driven ideas.
When the economy collapses in earnest, everybody will blame capitalism. Because Trump is rich, he’s incorrectly associated with capitalism. The country—especially the young, the poor, and the non-white—will look to the government to “do something.” They see the government as a cornucopia, and socialism as a kind and gentle way to expropriate the middle class.
A majority of millennials are in favor of socialism. By 2050, whites will be a minority in the US. A straw in the wind is that a large majority of the people who commit suicide each year are middle-class white males—essentially, Trump supporters. The demographic handwriting is on the wall. Trump’s election in 2016 was an anomaly. A Last Hurrah.
There’s no political salvation coming from the Republican party. Like Trump himself, it doesn’t have any core principles. It just reacts to the Dems and proposes less radical alternatives to their ideas. It doesn’t stand for anything. It’s only capable of putting forward empty suits, pure establishment figures like Bob Dole, Mitt Romney, or a Bush. Or a non-entity like Pence. That’s a formula for disaster in today’s demographic and cultural environment.
Reprinted with permission from International Man.
The Best of Doug Casey


lewrockwell--2020-07-23--Three Men Who Control Corporate America

Three Men Who Control Corporate America

Airlines , hotel chains—you name it , they all folded when the lockdowns were imposed .
They closed up shop , they took a knee , they opted for bailouts .
Why ?
The CEOs of these corporations are supposed to be hard chargers and ruthless operators .
Why didn ’ t they rebel ?
I could cite several reasons .
Here I want to focus on a little-known and staggering story .
It starts with an analogy .
Imagine an employee of a company who is motivated to speak out against the lockdowns and go public .
Then he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That owner happens to sit on the board of a large hospital .
Epidemics and Society : ... Snowden , Frank M. Best Price : $ 13.95 Buy New $ 16.04 Uh oh .
That owner is SOLIDLY WIRED into official medical reality .
He isn ’ t going to appreciate a naysayer who says the lockdowns are a ridiculous and destructive overreach .
Better to stay quiet .
Better to fit in and go along .
Okay ?
Well , it so happens that three of the most powerful corporate bosses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major hospitals , and these three men run corporations that OWN CORPORATE AMERICA .
The three men are Larry Fink , Joseph Hooley , and Mortimer Buckley .
Buckley is the CEO of the Vanguard Group .
Hooley is the CEO of State Street .
Fink is the CEO of BlackRock .
These three companies are investment funds .
Financial services companies .
Buckley is a board member of the Children ’ s Hospital of Philadelphia .
From 2011 to 2017 , he was chairman of the hospital ’ s board of trustees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s council of the Massachusetts General Hospital .
Fink is the co-chair of the NYU Langone Medical Center board of trustees .
Let ’ s look at their companies : State Street , BlackRock , and Vanguard—known as The Big Three .
The reference is an article at theconversation.com , “ These three firms own corporate America , ” 5/19/17 , by Jan Fichtner , Eelke Heemskerk , and Javier Garcia-Bernardo .
“ Together , BlackRock , Vanguard and State Street have nearly US $ 11 trillion in assets under management.
” After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Best Price : $ 3.39 Buy New $ 6.91 “ We found that the Big Three , taken together , have become the largest shareholder in 40 % of all publicly listed firms in the United States.
” “ In 2015 , these 1,600 American firms [ the 40 % ] had combined revenues of about US $ 9.1 trillion , a market capitalisation of more than US $ 17 trillion , and employed more than 23.5 million people.
” “ In the S & P 500 – the benchmark index of America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is even more extreme .
Together , the Big Three are the largest single shareholder in almost 90 % of S & P 500 firms , including Apple , Microsoft , ExxonMobil , General Electric and Coca-Cola.
” “ What is undeniable is that the Big Three do exert the voting rights attached to these shares .
Therefore , they have to be perceived as de facto owners by corporate executives.
” “ Whether or not they sought to , the Big Three have accumulated extraordinary shareholder power , and they continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fund boom is turning BlackRock , Vanguard and State Street into something resembling low-cost public utilities with a quasi-monopolistic position.
” If the CEO of a corporation whose main shareholder is The Big Three thinks about rebelling against the official medical consensus… And he knows that The Big Three bosses are heavily wired into the US medical complex… Agenda 21 : The Wrenchi ... DeWeese , Tom Best Price : $ 9.38 Buy New $ 17.99 That CEO has one more reason , among others , to forget about being an old-time hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to swallow his anger when he ’ s told to lock down and shut down .
He has one more reason to knuckle under and play the game .
He has one more reason to surrender to a story about a virus and Fauci and Bill Gates .
He has one more reason to stand down and stand aside and watch economic devastation sweep over the land .
2019 - Present 1oz Sil ...
Check Amazon for Pricing .
The Last Gold Rushu202 ... Haynes , Bill Buy New $ 28.00 Imperialism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Best Price : $ 9.09 Buy New $ 5.99 The Best of Jon Rappoport

Airlines, hotel chains—you name it, they all folded when the lockdowns were imposed. They closed up shop, they took a knee, they opted for bailouts. Why?
The CEOs of these corporations are supposed to be hard chargers and ruthless operators. Why didn’t they rebel?
I could cite several reasons. Here I want to focus on a little-known and staggering story.
It starts with an analogy. Imagine an employee of a company who is motivated to speak out against the lockdowns and go public. Then he thinks about the owner of the company. That owner happens to sit on the board of a large hospital. Epidemics and Society:... Snowden, Frank M. Best Price: $13.95 Buy New $16.04 (as of 04:43 UTC - Details)
Uh oh. That owner is SOLIDLY WIRED into official medical reality. He isn’t going to appreciate a naysayer who says the lockdowns are a ridiculous and destructive overreach. Better to stay quiet. Better to fit in and go along.
Okay? Well, it so happens that three of the most powerful corporate bosses in America DO have deep connections to major hospitals, and these three men run corporations that OWN CORPORATE AMERICA.
What?
The three men are Larry Fink, Joseph Hooley, and Mortimer Buckley.
Buckley is the CEO of the Vanguard Group. Hooley is the CEO of State Street. Fink is the CEO of BlackRock.
These three companies are investment funds. Financial services companies.
Buckley is a board member of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. From 2011 to 2017, he was chairman of the hospital’s board of trustees. Hooley serves on the president’s council of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Fink is the co-chair of the NYU Langone Medical Center board of trustees.
Let’s look at their companies: State Street, BlackRock, and Vanguard—known as The Big Three. The reference is an article at theconversation.com, “These three firms own corporate America,” 5/19/17, by Jan Fichtner, Eelke Heemskerk, and Javier Garcia-Bernardo.
“Together, BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have nearly US$11 trillion in assets under management.” After America: Get Rea... Mark Steyn Best Price: $3.39 Buy New $6.91 (as of 05:30 UTC - Details)
“We found that the Big Three, taken together, have become the largest shareholder in 40% of all publicly listed firms in the United States.”
“In 2015, these 1,600 American firms [the 40%] had combined revenues of about US$9.1 trillion, a market capitalisation of more than US$17 trillion, and employed more than 23.5 million people.”
“In the S&P 500 – the benchmark index of America’s largest corporations – the situation is even more extreme. Together, the Big Three are the largest single shareholder in almost 90% of S&P 500 firms, including Apple, Microsoft, ExxonMobil, General Electric and Coca-Cola.”
“What is undeniable is that the Big Three do exert the voting rights attached to these shares. Therefore, they have to be perceived as de facto owners by corporate executives.”
“Whether or not they sought to, the Big Three have accumulated extraordinary shareholder power, and they continue to do so…In many respects, the index fund boom is turning BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street into something resembling low-cost public utilities with a quasi-monopolistic position.”
If the CEO of a corporation whose main shareholder is The Big Three thinks about rebelling against the official medical consensus…
And he knows that The Big Three bosses are heavily wired into the US medical complex… Agenda 21: The Wrenchi... DeWeese, Tom Best Price: $9.38 Buy New $17.99 (as of 04:25 UTC - Details)
That CEO has one more reason, among others, to forget about being an old-time hard charger. He has one more reason to swallow his anger when he’s told to lock down and shut down. He has one more reason to knuckle under and play the game. He has one more reason to surrender to a story about a virus and Fauci and Bill Gates. He has one more reason to stand down and stand aside and watch economic devastation sweep over the land.
SOURCES:
https://theconversation.com/these-three-firms-own-corporate-america-77072
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/about-us/leadership/larry-fink
https://www.bostonfed.org/people/bank/joseph-hooley.aspx
https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/meet-the-new-ceo-of-vanguard-20170714
Reprinted with permission from Jon Rappoport’s blog.
2019 - Present 1oz Sil... Check Amazon for Pricing. The Last Gold Rushu202... Haynes, Bill Buy New $28.00 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details) Imperialism, The Highe... Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich Best Price: $9.09 Buy New $5.99 (as of 04:10 UTC - Details)
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