Caste Aspersions

You might think that Isabel Wilkerson ’ s best-selling book Caste : The Origins of Our Discontents might be timely because Kamala Harris is descended both from a high-caste Brahmin mother and a Jamaican father from that island ’ s “ middle-class brown ” caste .
Harris ’ father , a retired Stanford economics professor , appears to be a product of the careful breeding regimen that author Malcolm Gladwell describes in his writings about how his Jamaican mother ’ s ancestors kept themselves distinct from the black masses .
An affluent Jamaican once told me with bemusement : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States and white in Jamaica.
” Americans , with our traditional one-drop rule for lumping people into either black or white , don ’ t understand Caribbean and Latin American gradients , which go back to Spanish times .
For example , on Kamala ’ s birth certificate , Professor Harris entered as his race “ Jamaican , ” which strikes me as a sensible way around the problem of Americans lacking a vocabulary to describe in-between people like himself .
Blackout : How Black Am ... Owens , Candace Buy New $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are caste-like arrangements like this .
Another widespread pattern is occupational castes , such as blacksmiths in Africa .
We also see hereditary despised scapegoat groups , such as the Burakumin of Japan , the now-vanished Cagot of France and Spain , and the descendants of Igbo slaves in contemporary Nigeria .
The South Asian caste system is a colossal work of social construction .
Yet it turns out to have genetic ramifications as well .
Harvard geneticist David Reich ’ s 2018 book Who We Are and How We Got Here explains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large population .
They have been mixing freely for thousands of years .
In contrast , there are few if any Indian groups that are demographically very large , and the degree of genetic differentiation among Indian jati groups living side by side in the same village is typically two to three times higher than the genetic differentiation between northern and southern Europeans .
The truth is that India is composed of a large number of small populations .
We often think of caste as a pointless division of people into arbitrary groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet…the Tamil Brahmins are quite high-achieving for a relatively small group of about 2 million in India and 50,000 in the U.S. , producing the legendary math genius Srinivasa Ramanujan , two Nobel laureates , and the CEOs of Google and Pepsi .
Nature ?
Nurture ?
Both ?
Indeed , Kamala , with her degrees from black Howard U. and plebeian Hastings law school , is likely the least intelligent member of her family , trailing her lawyer sister ( Berkeley and Stanford Law ) , cancer-researcher mother , and economist father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members , Kamala launched her San Francisco political career the old-fashioned way : by having sex with Mayor Willie Brown , who in return gave her a BMW and two taxpayer-funded sinecures .

You might think that Isabel Wilkerson’s best-selling book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents might be timely because Kamala Harris is descended both from a high-caste Brahmin mother and a Jamaican father from that island’s “middle-class brown” caste.
Harris’ father, a retired Stanford economics professor, appears to be a product of the careful breeding regimen that author Malcolm Gladwell describes in his writings about how his Jamaican mother’s ancestors kept themselves distinct from the black masses. An affluent Jamaican once told me with bemusement: “Everybody calls me black in the United States and white in Jamaica.”
Americans, with our traditional one-drop rule for lumping people into either black or white, don’t understand Caribbean and Latin American gradients, which go back to Spanish times. For example, on Kamala’s birth certificate, Professor Harris entered as his race “Jamaican,” which strikes me as a sensible way around the problem of Americans lacking a vocabulary to describe in-between people like himself. Blackout: How Black Am... Owens, Candace Buy New $16.73 (as of 06:22 UTC - Details)
All over the world, there are caste-like arrangements like this. Another widespread pattern is occupational castes, such as blacksmiths in Africa.
We also see hereditary despised scapegoat groups, such as the Burakumin of Japan, the now-vanished Cagot of France and Spain, and the descendants of Igbo slaves in contemporary Nigeria.
On the other hand, it could be argued that the only real system of caste in the world is found among the Hindus of South Asia, Bali, and Silicon Valley , with their thousands of endogamous groups and endless proliferation of rules. Everybody else’s caste system is just a weak-tea metaphor for the Indian straight stuff.
The South Asian caste system is a colossal work of social construction. Yet it turns out to have genetic ramifications as well. Harvard geneticist David Reich’s 2018 book Who We Are and How We Got Here explains:
The Han Chinese are truly a large population. They have been mixing freely for thousands of years. In contrast, there are few if any Indian groups that are demographically very large, and the degree of genetic differentiation among Indian jati groups living side by side in the same village is typically two to three times higher than the genetic differentiation between northern and southern Europeans. The truth is that India is composed of a large number of small populations.
Shop4ever Re-Elect Tru... Buy New $14.99 (as of 06:22 UTC - Details) Harris’ mother was a Tamil Brahmin.
We often think of caste as a pointless division of people into arbitrary groups with no regard to merit. And yet…the Tamil Brahmins are quite high-achieving for a relatively small group of about 2 million in India and 50,000 in the U.S., producing the legendary math genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, two Nobel laureates, and the CEOs of Google and Pepsi. Nature? Nurture? Both?
Indeed, Kamala, with her degrees from black Howard U. and plebeian Hastings law school, is likely the least intelligent member of her family, trailing her lawyer sister (Berkeley and Stanford Law), cancer-researcher mother, and economist father. In contrast to her meritocrat family members, Kamala launched her San Francisco political career the old-fashioned way: by having sex with Mayor Willie Brown, who in return gave her a BMW and two taxpayer-funded sinecures.
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lewrockwell--2020-10-01--What Major Stores Went Bankrupt in 2020?

We are on a record pace for retail store bankruptcies in 2020 .
How many can you name ?
U.S. Retail Bankruptcies and Store Closures in 2020Please consider An Overview of U.S. Retail Bankruptcies and Store Closures in the first half of 2020 In the first six months of 2020 , 18 retailers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , with an additional 11 filing in July through mid-August .
These defaults were concentrated in apparel and footwear , home furnishings , food and department stores , with many prominent retailers filing during this time period , including Pier 1 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stage Stores , J.C. Penney , Tuesday Morning , GNC , Lucky Brand , RTW Retailwinds ( New York & Co. ) , Brooks Brothers , Ascena ( Ann Taylor , LOFT , Lane Bryant , Justice , Catherines ) , Le Tote ( Lord & Taylor ) , Tailored Brands ( Men ’ s Wearhouse , Jos .
A .
Bank , Moores Clothing , K & G ) and Stein Mart .
Inside Trump ’ s W ... Wead , Doug Best Price : $ 5.28 Buy New $ 8.10 From @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more store closure announcements in 2020 than the record 9,500 stores that closed throughout 2019 .
The majority of store closures have taken place in malls , which have seen far less foot traffic due to sustained COVID-19 disruption .
2020 is on track to set the record for the highest number of retail bankruptcies and store closings in a single year .
Based on the trends set through mid-August , our expectation is that more retailers will struggle to navigate the effects of the pandemic—particularly those that are highly levered and mall-based @

We are on a record pace for retail store bankruptcies in 2020. How many can you name? U.S. Retail Bankruptcies and Store Closures in 2020Please consider Please consider An Overview of U.S. Retail Bankruptcies and Store Closures in the first half of 2020
In the first six months of 2020, 18 retailers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with an additional 11 filing in July through mid-August . These defaults were concentrated in apparel and footwear, home furnishings, food and department stores, with many prominent retailers filing during this time period, including Pier 1, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Stage Stores, J.C. Penney, Tuesday Morning, GNC, Lucky Brand, RTW Retailwinds (New York & Co.), Brooks Brothers, Ascena (Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, Justice, Catherines), Le Tote (Lord & Taylor), Tailored Brands (Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores Clothing, K&G) and Stein Mart. Inside Trump’s W... Wead, Doug Best Price: $5.28 Buy New $8.10 (as of 06:23 UTC - Details)
From January through mid-August, there have been more store closure announcements in 2020 than the record 9,500 stores that closed throughout 2019. The majority of store closures have taken place in malls, which have seen far less foot traffic due to sustained COVID-19 disruption.
2020 is on track to set the record for the highest number of retail bankruptcies and store closings in a single year. Based on the trends set through mid-August, our expectation is that more retailers will struggle to navigate the effects of the pandemic—particularly those that are highly levered and mall-based.


lewrockwell--2020-10-01--Elon Does Something Libertarian

Elon Does Something Libertarian

Many libertarians want to like Elon Musk .
He just gave them a reason to .
Not because he has decided to stop relying on government to help him sell electric cars .
But because he came out against government forcing people to submit to injections .
Musk isn ’ t old – or sick – and neither are his kids .
Therefore , he reasons , there is no reason to inject himself or them with a vaccine against a sickness that doesn ’ t pose much if any serious risk to themselves – but which is itself much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them from getting .
Unless it is a novel vaccine , the pending WuFlu vaccine will at best be partially effective – reports have it that the threshold for FDA approval is 50 percent effective – which means 50 percent not effective – and guaranteed to come with a higher risk of serious side effects than the risk of healthy/not-elderly people getting seriously sick from the WuFlu .
Vaccines have a very sketchy record for being safe .
Especially those rushed to market , as the vaccine for the Swine Flu was back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not-small number of previously healthy people became seriously – and permanently – sick after getting needled .
Journalists – there were such creatures , once upon a time – actually reported this .
Trump ’ s America : ... Gingrich , Newt Best Price : $ 0.35 Buy New $ 7.98 Today , they report about the cases !
the cases !
– because their air-time is bought and paid for by the Needlers , who need to maintain the fear in order to get the mandate .
Which Elon has decided he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for him – and for us .
yunestry President Don ... Buy New $ 35.51 Needling the healthy and not-elderly is as unnecessary as forcing people who can swim to wear a life-preserver whenever they go near the water .
Worse , actually – because the latter would be merely silly while the former ( needling the healthy ) is objectively dangerous .
They are trying to force healthy people to assume a greater risk than the risk of the thing which the needling is supposedly meant to protect them from .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government can force you to submit to a medical procedure that you not only can ’ t refuse but which you can ’ t sue for redress in the event you ’ re permanently damaged by it .
It is like being told you must buy a car with a potentially lethal defect and if it maims or kills you , you can ’ t sue the company that made it .
The Best of Eric Peters

Many libertarians want to like Elon Musk. He just gave them a reason to.
Not because he has decided to stop relying on government to help him sell electric cars. But because he came out against government forcing people to submit to injections.
Musk isn’t old – or sick – and neither are his kids. Therefore, he reasons, there is no reason to inject himself or them with a vaccine against a sickness that doesn’t pose much if any serious risk to themselves – but which is itself much riskier than the virus it might protect them from getting.
Unless it is a novel vaccine, the pending WuFlu vaccine will at best be partially effective – reports have it that the threshold for FDA approval is 50 percent effective – which means 50 percent not effective – and guaranteed to come with a higher risk of serious side effects than the risk of healthy/not-elderly people getting seriously sick from the WuFlu.
Vaccines have a very sketchy record for being safe.
Especially those rushed to market, as the vaccine for the Swine Flu was back in the mid ‘70s. A not-small number of previously healthy people became seriously – and permanently – sick after getting needled.
Journalists – there were such creatures, once upon a time – actually reported this. Trump’s America:... Gingrich, Newt Best Price: $0.35 Buy New $7.98 (as of 06:26 UTC - Details)
Today, they report about the cases! the cases! – because their air-time is bought and paid for by the Needlers, who need to maintain the fear in order to get the mandate.
Which Elon has decided he’ll say no to.
Good for him – and for us.
yunestry President Don... Buy New $35.51 (as of 06:26 UTC - Details) Needling the healthy and not-elderly is as unnecessary as forcing people who can swim to wear a life-preserver whenever they go near the water. Worse, actually – because the latter would be merely silly while the former (needling the healthy) is objectively dangerous. They are trying to force healthy people to assume a greater risk than the risk of the thing which the needling is supposedly meant to protect them from.
With indemnity!
You know you’re in trouble when the government can force you to submit to a medical procedure that you not only can’t refuse but which you can’t sue for redress in the event you’re permanently damaged by it. It is like being told you must buy a car with a potentially lethal defect and if it maims or kills you, you can’t sue the company that made it.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Eric Peters


lewrockwell--2020-10-01--2021 – As China’s Golden Ox Rises the US Bald Eagle Will Crash

The Chinese understand the long game and they have infinite patience .
They have always known that they never needed to attack the US , financially or militarily .
Because China has invariably understood that the US would self-destruct .
The Duchess of Sussex who has dragged her poor husband , Prince Harry , into the US election has declared that this will be the most important election in history .
She will most probably be right but for the wrong reason .
Meghan Markle believes a Biden victory is the only way that the US can be saved , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ( which is reciprocal ) .
It probably doesn ’ t matter who wins the election when is comes to stopping the crash of the US economy and currency .
Off the Record : My Dre ... Westerhout , Madeleine Best Price : $ 17.00 Buy New $ 20.99 But what is guaranteed is that Biden ’ s policies will bankrupt America much faster than Trump ’ s .
The profligate democrats will forgive trillions of debt , increase spending and reduce taxes for the masses .
The Chinese have waited patiently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ collapse of the “ capitalist monetary system with the dollar as its prop ” already half a century ago and how right they have been .
THE DAYS OF THE DOLLAR ARE COUNTED A 98 % fall in real terms – against gold – and a 78 % fall against the Swiss franc tells the world that the days of the dollar are counted .
So will we see the US bald eagle crash to the ground and a phoenix in the form of a new world currency emerge like in the 1988 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... Buy New $ 13.99 Well , the dollar crash is guaranteed and a Biden victory will accelerate the move .
But there is unlikely to be a new world currency in the near term .
As the dollar falls and with it the US economy , China will gradually emerge as the next dominant economy and super power .
But this will take time .
Before that we will have chaos in the global financial system , economic collapse in many countries , political upheaval , riots , and wars .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all this .
No not solely .
But just as the coronavirus sped up that fall of the US and world economy , Biden will be the catalyst for an accelerated decline of the US .
Both events would have happened anyway but probably not as dramatically as with these two powerful catalysts – CV and Biden .
Garden of Life Dr. For ... Buy New $ 29.62 ( $ 0.20 / Count ) The coming US election will have bitter consequences for the US and the world whoever wins .
It is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before November 4th but more so after the result is declared .
There will be a plethora of forums where the election result will be disputed and fought like in the courts , the media , the streets , in families and in politics of course .
CHURCHILL – WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE BEACHES The fighting everywhere reminds me of Winston Churchill ’ s speech in parliament in June 1940 after the evacuation of Dunkirk : “ …… we shall fight on the beaches , we shall fight on the landing grounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and in the streets , we shall fight in the hills ; … ” Churchill ’ s speech was obviously to unify and prepare the nation for the major war effort ahead .
But the consequence of the US election will be extremely divisive and damaging for the US whoever wins .
The Best of Egon von Greyerz

The Chinese understand the long game and they have infinite patience. They have always known that they never needed to attack the US, financially or militarily. Because China has invariably understood that the US would self-destruct.
POLITICS AND PRINCES DON’T MIX
The Duchess of Sussex who has dragged her poor husband, Prince Harry, into the US election has declared that this will be the most important election in history. She will most probably be right but for the wrong reason. Meghan Markle believes a Biden victory is the only way that the US can be saved, primarily because she can’t stand Trump (which is reciprocal). It probably doesn’t matter who wins the election when is comes to stopping the crash of the US economy and currency. Off the Record: My Dre... Westerhout, Madeleine Best Price: $17.00 Buy New $20.99 (as of 06:25 UTC - Details)
But what is guaranteed is that Biden’s policies will bankrupt America much faster than Trump’s. The profligate democrats will forgive trillions of debt, increase spending and reduce taxes for the masses.
The Chinese have waited patiently for this moment. They forecast the collapse of the “capitalist monetary system with the dollar as its prop” already half a century ago and how right they have been.
THE DAYS OF THE DOLLAR ARE COUNTED
A 98% fall in real terms – against gold – and a 78% fall against the Swiss franc tells the world that the days of the dollar are counted. So will we see the US bald eagle crash to the ground and a phoenix in the form of a new world currency emerge like in the 1988 Economist article? The Hat Depot Original... Buy New $13.99 (as of 06:25 UTC - Details)
Well, the dollar crash is guaranteed and a Biden victory will accelerate the move. But there is unlikely to be a new world currency in the near term. As the dollar falls and with it the US economy, China will gradually emerge as the next dominant economy and super power. But this will take time. Before that we will have chaos in the global financial system, economic collapse in many countries, political upheaval, riots, and wars.
BIDEN – A CATALYST FOR ACCELERATED US DECLINE
So is a Biden victory going to cause all this. No not solely. But just as the coronavirus sped up that fall of the US and world economy, Biden will be the catalyst for an accelerated decline of the US. Both events would have happened anyway but probably not as dramatically as with these two powerful catalysts – CV and Biden.
Garden of Life Dr. For... Buy New $29.62 ($0.20 / Count) (as of 06:25 UTC - Details) The coming US election will have bitter consequences for the US and the world whoever wins. It is likely to be aggressively fought not just before November 4th but more so after the result is declared. There will be a plethora of forums where the election result will be disputed and fought like in the courts, the media, the streets, in families and in politics of course.
CHURCHILL – WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE BEACHES
The fighting everywhere reminds me of Winston Churchill’s speech in parliament in June 1940 after the evacuation of Dunkirk:
“…… we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills;…”
Churchill’s speech was obviously to unify and prepare the nation for the major war effort ahead. But the consequence of the US election will be extremely divisive and damaging for the US whoever wins.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Egon von Greyerz


lewrockwell--2020-10-01--Turning the Clock Forward

Turning the Clock Forward

If America returned to 1950s family values with obvious improvements ( constitutional civil rights and reasonable environmental regulations ) , would we be turning the clock back or forward ?
There is substantial evidence that this would turn the clock forward , given society ’ s backward trend over the last sixty years –family breakdown , retreat from religion , and educational and moral malaise .
When Attorney General William Barr spoke at the Notre Dame Law School , he attributed this decline primarily to the progressive movement .
Amy Wax and Larry Alexander argued for a return to 1950s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the 1940s to the mid-1960s ) to mend America ’ s torn social fabric and disparate class gap : That culture laid out the script we all were supposed to follow : Get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake .
Get the education you need for gainful employment , work hard , and avoid idleness .
Go the extra mile for your employer or client .
Be a patriot , ready to serve the country .
Be neighborly , civic-minded , and charitable .
Avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of authority .
Eschew substance abuse and crime .
50 Things They Don & rsq ... Hudson , Jerome Buy New $ 16.99 Wax and Alexander do not offer a path back to the script .
Congress has no will to act , and the President can not legislate .
However , a revitalized federal court system , starting with the Supreme Court ( “ SCOTUS ” ) , can lead the way .
President Trump has moved the Court in the direction that would allow it to reverse past activism .
Putting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s seat is the precursor to another four years of Trump that would move the federal courts in this direction for decades to come .
This essay suggests ten key areas of change for SCOTUS , each of which could help turn America around .
These changes might not contain all that needs to be done to restore the republic , but they would move us far down the path .
These categories allow a cohesive , united country to emerge to solve our problems in an innovative process not possible under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Epstein argues that the Fifth Amendment – by mandating compensation for property seized for public use — means that higher tax rates on different people constitute an illegal “ taking.
” Progressive taxes , therefore , are illegal .
The alternative is a flat tax law that could be codified in a couple of hundred pages instead of the current 80,000 pages .
It would be a tremendous stimulus to the economy – perhaps up to a 3 % economic growth rate over time .
Shop4ever Re-Elect Tru ... Buy New $ 14.99 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case because education policy falls under state authority .
The President could say that the Feds have no authority in education and withhold funding from the Education Department .
If the Supreme Court agrees , this process could be repeated in numerous other cases .
The President could issue an Executive Order defunding dozens of agencies that are not constitutionally authorized , leading to a scaled-back Federal government as initially designed .
Also , SCOTUS can declare Federal government regulations unconstitutional in many cases .
Courts can fill in legislative gaps as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state .
These regulatory rollbacks could generate as much as a 2 % economic growth rate over time .
Since tens of thousands of state and local entities are tied to federal regulations hand and foot , the decline of the administrative state would free them as well .

If America returned to 1950s family values with obvious improvements (constitutional civil rights and reasonable environmental regulations), would we be turning the clock back or forward? There is substantial evidence that this would turn the clock forward, given society’s backward trend over the last sixty years –family breakdown, retreat from religion, and educational and moral malaise. When Attorney General William Barr spoke at the Notre Dame Law School, he attributed this decline primarily to the progressive movement.
Amy Wax and Larry Alexander argued for a return to 1950s values (the bourgeois culture that reigned from the 1940s to the mid-1960s) to mend America’s torn social fabric and disparate class gap:
That culture laid out the script we all were supposed to follow: Get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake. Get the education you need for gainful employment, work hard, and avoid idleness. Go the extra mile for your employer or client. Be a patriot, ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded, and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime.
50 Things They Don&rsq... Hudson, Jerome Buy New $16.99 (as of 06:27 UTC - Details) Wax and Alexander do not offer a path back to the script. Congress has no will to act, and the President cannot legislate. However, a revitalized federal court system, starting with the Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”), can lead the way. President Trump has moved the Court in the direction that would allow it to reverse past activism. Putting a strict constructionist in Justice Ginsburg’s seat is the precursor to another four years of Trump that would move the federal courts in this direction for decades to come.
This essay suggests ten key areas of change for SCOTUS, each of which could help turn America around. These changes might not contain all that needs to be done to restore the republic, but they would move us far down the path. These categories allow a cohesive, united country to emerge to solve our problems in an innovative process not possible under the current administrative state.
Category I. Taxation.
Legal scholar Richard Epstein argues that the Fifth Amendment – by mandating compensation for property seized for public use — means that higher tax rates on different people constitute an illegal “taking.” Progressive taxes, therefore, are illegal. The alternative is a flat tax law that could be codified in a couple of hundred pages instead of the current 80,000 pages. It would be a tremendous stimulus to the economy – perhaps up to a 3% economic growth rate over time.
Category II. Federal Agencies and Regulations Revoked.
Shop4ever Re-Elect Tru... Buy New $14.99 (as of 06:22 UTC - Details) The Education Department could be a test case because education policy falls under state authority. The President could say that the Feds have no authority in education and withhold funding from the Education Department. If the Supreme Court agrees, this process could be repeated in numerous other cases. The President could issue an Executive Order defunding dozens of agencies that are not constitutionally authorized, leading to a scaled-back Federal government as initially designed.
Also, SCOTUS can declare Federal government regulations unconstitutional in many cases. Courts can fill in legislative gaps as they did before the rise of the administrative state. These regulatory rollbacks could generate as much as a 2% economic growth rate over time.
Since tens of thousands of state and local entities are tied to federal regulations hand and foot, the decline of the administrative state would free them as well.
Read the Whole Article


Shut Up, Man!

The Robin Hooders and robo-traders do not have enough common sense , apparently , even to lay off the “ buy ” key for a single day in honor of last night ’ s political shit-show .
And the explanation is not hard to find .
The financial markets are so utterly corrupted and broken by the Fed ’ s own monetary shit-show that all it took to trigger another buy-the-dip paroxysm this AM was a lame hint by Stevie Mnuchin – bar of soap in hand – that he ’ s fixing to knee-pad his way up to Capitol @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of fiscal predators lying in wait will again have their way with the hapless Treasury Secy and Wall Street will finally get the Everything Bailout 5.0 that it desperately craves .
What we are getting at is that for all the sanctimonious tut-tutting emanating from the MSM about the Donald ’ s bar-room brawling during the fisticuffs with ( truly ) Sleepy Joe , they are blind , deaf and dumb when it comes to the far larger matter that was at issue on the stage in Cleveland – one that goes way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deep State : How an ... Chaffetz , Jason Best Price : $ 5.03 Buy New $ 17.05 To wit , how is it that a desperate electorate in Flyover America put the Donald in the Oval Office in the first place ?
Self-evidently , it was not that he had a coherent program or any relevant experience , and most certainly not owing to him possessing a temperament even remotely suitable for the job of President .
Even the rubes in the left-behind rust belt precincts of Pennsylvania , Michigan and Wisconsin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Electoral College , understood that the Donald had been an obnoxious braggart and blowhard his entire life .
No , the Donald won because the Establishment and its leading institutions – the Imperial presidency , the PAC-owned Congress , the military-industry-intelligence complex , the Fed , Wall Street , the NGOs and think-tanks and , most of all , the mainstream media – have morphed into an arrogant , elitist , hypocritical , self-perpetuating ruling class that is failing miserably .
And at the center of those great pods of failure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s un-elected , out-of-control central bank – that has enabled the entire establishment to go to seed .
The sheer lunacy of systematic , sustained and heavy-handed falsification of financial asset prices and massive monetization of the public debt has at once : • Alleviated Washington of any financial discipline whatsoever , leaving it free to debt-finance a rogue empire abroad and a mushrooming Welfare State at home without the political inconvenience of taxing the people ; • Tilted the financial system drastically toward debtors and speculators , who have reaped massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of savers and retirees have been crushed and confiscated ; • Turned the corporate C-suites into self-dealing financial engineering joints which have massively pumped corporate cash and balance sheet capacity into Wall Street pleasing stock buybacks and dubious M & A deals to the detriment of productive investment on main street ; • Hammered the purchasing power of workers ’ stagnant wages via its mindless pursuit of 2.00 % domestic inflation in a global market where deflation is the order of the day ; • Off-shored the productive center of main street business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thereby encouraging mercantilist regimes abroad to keep their own export industry wages and costs cheap by buying up and sequestering unwanted dollars .
To be sure , after casting what amounted to a Hail Mary vote for the Donald in 2016 , Flyover America has ( again ) gotten the short end of the stick .
That ’ s because 47 months latter the Donald may well have done less harm than did Joe Biden in the past 47 years , but , still , he has also proven – if there were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no kind of latter day Paul Revere , throwing life , limb and his dubious fortune into saving the Republic from the depredations of the gathering left-wing mobs .
Wyze Cam v2 1080p Indo ... Buy New $ 38.96 To the contrary , the Donald is now , always has been , and forever will be solely in the business of his own self-glorification and the gratification of his insatiable ego .
In fact , the man has raised narcissism to heretofore untrammeled heights and has given megalomania an altogether new definition .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have to marvel at the way in which the conservative pundits and Foxite toadies have succumbed to a modern day rendition of the Naked Emperor .
Last night the Donald was not standing up for America , patriotism , the average Joe , law and order , the Second Amendment , any other part of the Constitution or a better tomorrow .
He was just having a buck naked bar fight because bully-boy rowdyism and chest-thumping intimidation is what he thrives upon .
That is , notwithstanding all the morning-after attaboys from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to cast a few glancing blows on seminal issues like Biden ’ s calamitous embrace of the Green New Deal , the myth of systematic racism and white supremacy , the folly of more Covid lockdowns based on purported “ science ” , and the final wreckage of the badly listing US health care system via nationalization , otherwise known as Medicare-for-All .
In only one case did he draw affirmative blood and that was with respect to the Dems risible Supreme Court packing scheme .
Here , at least , the Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and hard and on an issue that matters greatly .
Indeed , if the transcript which follows had been repeated even a handful of times during the 90 minutes , the so-called Dumpster Fire in Cleveland would have been worth the bother .
But Chris Wallace ’ s one effort at being a neutral moderator with the question “ Will you tell the American people whether or not you will support….packing the court ” ended thus : BIDEN : Whatever position I take on that , that ’ ll become the issue .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak .
You should go out and vote .
You ’ re voting now .
Vote and let your Senators know strongly how you feel .
TRUMP : Are you going to pack the court ?
TRUMP : Are you going to pack the court ?
BIDEN : Make sure you , in fact , let people know , your Senators .
Trump Coloring Book : 3 ... Publishing , Pro-Trump Buy New $ 7.99 TRUMP : He doesn ’ t want to answer the question ( sic ! )
.
BIDEN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the question .
TRUMP : Why wouldn ’ t you answer that question ?
You want to put a lot of new Supreme Court Justices .
Radical left .
BIDEN : Will you shut up , man ?
TRUMP : Listen , who is on your list , Joe ?
Who ’ s on your list ?
BIDEN : This is so un-Presidential .
TRUMP : He ’ s going to pack the court .
He is not going to give a list .
Needless to say , the Donald also may have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he plans to start ; • How many oil and gas jobs he intends to eliminate with his fracking ban ; • Why he wants to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord after China has massively expanded its coal-fired power capacity ; • Whether the criminal gang of Comey-Brennan-Clapper-Rice will be pardoned for blatantly subverting the constitution during the 2016 election to stop the Republican presidential candidate from winning/taking office ; • If there was “ no manifesto , then who faked the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Recommendations ; And host of additional like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alas , the Donald had no time for policy .
Never has .
Elderberry , Vitamin C , ... Buy New $ 24.95 ( $ 0.21 / Count ) His modus operandi is to attack , belittle , insult and smear .
Yet even in that modality , he did manage to do a solid for the public good .
That is , he smoked out the systemic , relentless and shameless mendacity by which the ruling elites deny and expurgate any an all efforts to expose their malign misdeeds .
In this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the documented $ 3.5 million wire transfer from the wife of the ex-Mayor of Moscow and Russia ’ s richest woman , Elena Baturina , to Hunter Biden .
As the Senate committee recently revealed based on actual intercepts from Fedwire : On Feb. 14 , 2014 , Baturina wired $ 3.5 million to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC bank account for a “ Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014.
” Separately , between May 6 , 2015 and Dec. 8 , 2015 , Baturina also sent 11 wires in the amount of $ 391,968.21 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LLC ( BAK USA ) .
Nine of the 11 transactions , totaling $ 241,797.14 were sent from Baturina ’ s accounts to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton bank account , which then transferred to the money to BAK USA .
As it happened , Hunter Biden was no more of a qualified investment manager than he was an expert on Ukrainian gas production , but he was intimately connected to an apparent Dem schmear .
In the case of the above mentioned transfers to BAK USA , it had involved none other than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , who had recently announced in a press release the grand opening of BAK USA ’ s new global headquarters , proclaiming , BAK ’ s decision to locate its global headquarters in Buffalo is another success story for this city and for START-UP NY….the expansion of the global headquarters , one of the first American firms to produce its own-branded electronic tablets , is complete… Buffalo has become a leader in high-tech manufacturing and Bak USA ’ s newly completed expansion in the heart of the city means new jobs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a region already on the move .
Bak USA ’ s successful expansion in Western New York is yet another example of companies coming to New York and staying here to grow their businesses in our state.
” Alas , a year or two latter BAK USA was defunct .
As Stephen Watson of the Buffalo News reported in 2019 , “ The company ’ s recent filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation shows Bak USA has $ 39.4 million in debts and just $ 147,000 in assets.
” Quite a hole , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as the case may be .
Yet when the Donald brought up this smelly chain of events , Sleepy Joe just stiffly swatted it away as a matter completely untrue and fully debunked .
Well , yes , the recipient of the funds was not Hunter Biden ’ s personal checking account , but a Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC bank account and that ’ s where the Dem spin machine attempted a “ gotcha ” .
It seems that Hunter Biden was indeed a co-founding partner along with Devon Archer , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chris Heinz , the latter ’ s stepson and billionaire heir to the Ketchup fortune , in a firm called Rosemont Seneca sans the “ Thornton LLC ” bit .
So according to the Dem spinmeister : Mistaken identity , Fedwire tracking number an all !
Actually not at all .
It seems that the Rosemont trio had reached out to a top-drawer partner to extend their global reach .
That happened to be a Massachusetts-based consultancy called the Thornton Group , hence the added name on the checking account which received the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop the Biden spokesman from insisting that Hunter was not a co-founder of Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC , even though his firm , Rosemont Seneca , was just one lawyer ’ s document removed .
As it further happened , the Thornton piece of the Russian-money receiving LLC was controlled by one James Bulger .
The latter was the son of former Massachusetts state senator and Dem bagman , Billy Bulger , who , in turn , was the brother of the notorious mob hitman James “ Whitey ” Bulger .
The latter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Boston crime lord who turned FBI informant and had been run by none other than , well , Bobby “ three sticks ” Mueller .
That was back in the day when Mueller was perfecting the art of squeezing his targets as he moved up the food chain of purported miscreants .
In any event , James Bulger ’ s firm had a Chinese counterpart called Solebury Thornton ( Beijing ) Consulting Co. , Ltd .
Together Thornton LCC and Solebury Thornton claimed to function as a cross-border capital intermediary whose purpose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its clients by providing advisory services and deal structuring expertise .
Moreover , Bulger ’ s partner in the China side of the enterprise was Michael Lin , who was also the principle behind BAK USA !
Truly , you can ’ t make this stuff up .
So it should not be surprising that the Thornton LLC and Solebury Thornton combo positioned itself as a “ bridge ” between the East and the West by “ combining its Western business experience with its unique Chinese local market insight and network.
” Sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 .
The moral of the story is the modern Democratic Party is anchored in this kind of sleaze and grift ( think the Clinton Foundation ) , yet has the audacity to dismiss any and all attempts to expose the truth as unworthy skullduggery based on nothing other than right-wing conspiracy theories .
Hopefully , during the next debate there will be a moderator who doesn ’ t keep giving Sleepy Joe a hall pass whenever the Donald is asleep at the switch , as he clearly was in this case when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dispatch his opponent .
The Best of David Stockman

The Robin Hooders and robo-traders do not have enough common sense, apparently, even to lay off the “buy” key for a single day in honor of last night’s political shit-show. And the explanation is not hard to find.
The financial markets are so utterly corrupted and broken by the Fed’s own monetary shit-show that all it took to trigger another buy-the-dip paroxysm this AM was a lame hint by Stevie Mnuchin – bar of soap in hand – that he’s fixing to knee-pad his way up to Capitol Hill. Presumably, the bipartisan assemblage of fiscal predators lying in wait will again have their way with the hapless Treasury Secy and Wall Street will finally get the Everything Bailout 5.0 that it desperately craves.
What we are getting at is that for all the sanctimonious tut-tutting emanating from the MSM about the Donald’s bar-room brawling during the fisticuffs with (truly) Sleepy Joe, they are blind, deaf and dumb when it comes to the far larger matter that was at issue on the stage in Cleveland – one that goes way beyond mere manners and decorum. The Deep State: How an... Chaffetz, Jason Best Price: $5.03 Buy New $17.05 (as of 02:10 UTC - Details)
To wit, how is it that a desperate electorate in Flyover America put the Donald in the Oval Office in the first place?
Self-evidently, it was not that he had a coherent program or any relevant experience, and most certainly not owing to him possessing a temperament even remotely suitable for the job of President. Even the rubes in the left-behind rust belt precincts of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, who put him over the top in the Electoral College, understood that the Donald had been an obnoxious braggart and blowhard his entire life.
No, the Donald won because the Establishment and its leading institutions – the Imperial presidency, the PAC-owned Congress, the military-industry-intelligence complex, the Fed, Wall Street, the NGOs and think-tanks and, most of all, the mainstream media – have morphed into an arrogant, elitist, hypocritical, self-perpetuating ruling class that is failing miserably. And at the center of those great pods of failure is the fraud-ridden institution – the nation’s un-elected, out-of-control central bank – that has enabled the entire establishment to go to seed.
The sheer lunacy of systematic, sustained and heavy-handed falsification of financial asset prices and massive monetization of the public debt has at once:
Alleviated Washington of any financial discipline whatsoever, leaving it free to debt-finance a rogue empire abroad and a mushrooming Welfare State at home without the political inconvenience of taxing the people;
Tilted the financial system drastically toward debtors and speculators, who have reaped massive windfall gains, while the meager accumulations of savers and retirees have been crushed and confiscated;
Turned the corporate C-suites into self-dealing financial engineering joints which have massively pumped corporate cash and balance sheet capacity into Wall Street pleasing stock buybacks and dubious M&A deals to the detriment of productive investment on main street;
Hammered the purchasing power of workers’ stagnant wages via its mindless pursuit of 2.00% domestic inflation in a global market where deflation is the order of the day;
Off-shored the productive center of main street business and jobs by fostering a race-to-the-currency-bottom, thereby encouraging mercantilist regimes abroad to keep their own export industry wages and costs cheap by buying up and sequestering unwanted dollars.
To be sure, after casting what amounted to a Hail Mary vote for the Donald in 2016, Flyover America has (again) gotten the short end of the stick. That’s because 47 months latter the Donald may well have done less harm than did Joe Biden in the past 47 years, but, still, he has also proven – if there were ever any doubt – that he is no kind of latter day Paul Revere, throwing life, limb and his dubious fortune into saving the Republic from the depredations of the gathering left-wing mobs. Wyze Cam v2 1080p Indo... Buy New $38.96 (as of 05:32 UTC - Details)
To the contrary, the Donald is now, always has been, and forever will be solely in the business of his own self-glorification and the gratification of his insatiable ego. In fact, the man has raised narcissism to heretofore untrammeled heights and has given megalomania an altogether new definition.
This much is so damn self-evident that you have to marvel at the way in which the conservative pundits and Foxite toadies have succumbed to a modern day rendition of the Naked Emperor. Last night the Donald was not standing up for America, patriotism, the average Joe, law and order, the Second Amendment, any other part of the Constitution or a better tomorrow. He was just having a buck naked bar fight because bully-boy rowdyism and chest-thumping intimidation is what he thrives upon.
That is, notwithstanding all the morning-after attaboys from the Right, the Donald only managed to cast a few glancing blows on seminal issues like Biden’s calamitous embrace of the Green New Deal, the myth of systematic racism and white supremacy, the folly of more Covid lockdowns based on purported “science”, and the final wreckage of the badly listing US health care system via nationalization, otherwise known as Medicare-for-All.
In only one case did he draw affirmative blood and that was with respect to the Dems risible Supreme Court packing scheme. Here, at least, the Donald put the wood to Sleepy Joe good and hard and on an issue that matters greatly.
Indeed, if the transcript which follows had been repeated even a handful of times during the 90 minutes, the so-called Dumpster Fire in Cleveland would have been worth the bother. But Chris Wallace’s one effort at being a neutral moderator with the question “Will you tell the American people whether or not you will support….packing the court” ended thus:
BIDEN: Whatever position I take on that, that’ll become the issue. The issue is the American people should speak. You should go out and vote. You’re voting now. Vote and let your Senators know strongly how you feel.
TRUMP: Are you going to pack the court?
BIDEN: Vote now.
TRUMP: Are you going to pack the court?
BIDEN: Make sure you, in fact, let people know, your Senators. Trump Coloring Book: 3... Publishing, Pro-Trump Buy New $7.99 (as of 05:32 UTC - Details)
TRUMP: He doesn’t want to answer the question (sic!).
BIDEN: I’m not going to answer the question.
TRUMP: Why wouldn’t you answer that question? You want to put a lot of new Supreme Court Justices. Radical left.
BIDEN: Will you shut up, man?
TRUMP: Listen, who is on your list, Joe? Who’s on your list?
WALLACE: Gentlemen, I think we’ve ended this-
BIDEN: This is so un-Presidential.
TRUMP: He’s going to pack the court. He is not going to give a list.
Needless to say, the Donald also may have asked Biden:
What new wars he plans to start;
How many oil and gas jobs he intends to eliminate with his fracking ban;
Why he wants to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord after China has massively expanded its coal-fired power capacity;
Whether the criminal gang of Comey-Brennan-Clapper-Rice will be pardoned for blatantly subverting the constitution during the 2016 election to stop the Republican presidential candidate from winning/taking office;
If there was “no manifesto, then who faked the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Recommendations;
And host of additional like and similar “policy” questions.
Alas, the Donald had no time for policy. Never has. Elderberry, Vitamin C,... Buy New $24.95 ($0.21 / Count) (as of 03:49 UTC - Details)
His modus operandi is to attack, belittle, insult and smear.
Yet even in that modality, he did manage to do a solid for the public good. That is, he smoked out the systemic, relentless and shameless mendacity by which the ruling elites deny and expurgate any an all efforts to expose their malign misdeeds.
In this case, it was with respect to the documented $3.5 million wire transfer from the wife of the ex-Mayor of Moscow and Russia’s richest woman, Elena Baturina, to Hunter Biden. As the Senate committee recently revealed based on actual intercepts from Fedwire:
On Feb. 14, 2014, Baturina wired $3.5 million to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC bank account for a “Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014.”
Separately, between May 6, 2015 and Dec. 8, 2015, Baturina also sent 11 wires in the amount of $391,968.21 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA LLC (BAK USA). Nine of the 11 transactions, totaling $241,797.14 were sent from Baturina’s accounts to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton bank account, which then transferred to the money to BAK USA.
As it happened, Hunter Biden was no more of a qualified investment manager than he was an expert on Ukrainian gas production, but he was intimately connected to an apparent Dem schmear. In the case of the above mentioned transfers to BAK USA, it had involved none other than Governor Andrew Cuomo (D., N.Y.), who had recently announced in a press release the grand opening of BAK USA’s new global headquarters, proclaiming,
BAK’s decision to locate its global headquarters in Buffalo is another success story for this city and for START-UP NY….the expansion of the global headquarters, one of the first American firms to produce its own-branded electronic tablets, is complete…
Buffalo has become a leader in high-tech manufacturing and Bak USA’s newly completed expansion in the heart of the city means new jobs, more economic activity and more momentum for a region already on the move. Bak USA’s successful expansion in Western New York is yet another example of companies coming to New York and staying here to grow their businesses in our state.”
Alas, a year or two latter BAK USA was defunct. As Stephen Watson of the Buffalo News reported in 2019, “The company’s recent filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation shows Bak USA has $39.4 million in debts and just $147,000 in assets.”
Quite a hole, that. Or the residue of plunder, as the case may be.
Yet when the Donald brought up this smelly chain of events, Sleepy Joe just stiffly swatted it away as a matter completely untrue and fully debunked.
Well, yes, the recipient of the funds was not Hunter Biden’s personal checking account, but a Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC bank account and that’s where the Dem spin machine attempted a “gotcha”. It seems that Hunter Biden was indeed a co-founding partner along with Devon Archer, a former staff to John Kerry, and Chris Heinz, the latter’s stepson and billionaire heir to the Ketchup fortune, in a firm called Rosemont Seneca sans the “Thornton LLC” bit.
So according to the Dem spinmeister: Mistaken identity, Fedwire tracking number an all!
Actually not at all. It seems that the Rosemont trio had reached out to a top-drawer partner to extend their global reach. That happened to be a Massachusetts-based consultancy called the Thornton Group, hence the added name on the checking account which received the Moscow wires. Yet that did not stop the Biden spokesman from insisting that Hunter was not a co-founder of Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC, even though his firm, Rosemont Seneca, was just one lawyer’s document removed.
As it further happened, the Thornton piece of the Russian-money receiving LLC was controlled by one James Bulger. The latter was the son of former Massachusetts state senator and Dem bagman, Billy Bulger, who, in turn, was the brother of the notorious mob hitman James “Whitey” Bulger.
The latter, of course, had famously been a Boston crime lord who turned FBI informant and had been run by none other than, well, Bobby “three sticks” Mueller. That was back in the day when Mueller was perfecting the art of squeezing his targets as he moved up the food chain of purported miscreants.
In any event, James Bulger’s firm had a Chinese counterpart called Solebury Thornton (Beijing) Consulting Co., Ltd. Together Thornton LCC and Solebury Thornton claimed to function as a cross-border capital intermediary whose purpose was to facilitate the strategic vision of its clients by providing advisory services and deal structuring expertise.
Moreover, Bulger’s partner in the China side of the enterprise was Michael Lin, who was also the principle behind BAK USA!
Truly, you can’t make this stuff up.
So it should not be surprising that the Thornton LLC and Solebury Thornton combo positioned itself as a “bridge” between the East and the West by “combining its Western business experience with its unique Chinese local market insight and network.”
Sure thing. But stay tuned for Part 2. The moral of the story is the modern Democratic Party is anchored in this kind of sleaze and grift (think the Clinton Foundation), yet has the audacity to dismiss any and all attempts to expose the truth as unworthy skullduggery based on nothing other than right-wing conspiracy theories.
Hopefully, during the next debate there will be a moderator who doesn’t keep giving Sleepy Joe a hall pass whenever the Donald is asleep at the switch, as he clearly was in this case when after landing the punch he failed to dispatch his opponent.
PEAK TRUMP, IMPENDING CRISES, ESSENTIAL INFO & ACTION
Reprinted with permission from David Stockman’s Contra Corner.
The Best of David Stockman


Letter From Tennessee

I asked my 15yo homeschooled Zoomer to write an essay comparing and contrasting socialism and capitalism .
Here is what he said… Socialism is only the means to the end , which is death and destruction .
Capitalism is the answer , the antidote to socialism .
Most Americans today do not want socialism and believe it to be a bad ideology and horrible practice .
Plenty of people alive today in America have witnessed socialism back in their homelands , and they want capitalism , never socialism , or its offspring , communism Socialism , itself , is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the means through which socialists install something worse , whether communism , Leninism , Maoism , Bolshevism , or whatever .
Recently , I saw a video with this statement , “ Don ’ t blame me if you have no money !
” from a lady selling buttons and pins at a table on the street .
Her statement has become a meme for capitalism .
Trump : The Art of the ... Donald J. Trump , Tony ... Best Price : $ 5.63 Buy New $ 8.22 Lenin reportedly said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
True .
Socialism is the ideology , the method , the way , the pattern , the template .
Socialism is the means to the end goal .
Socialists want to make everyone underneath them “ equal ” , taking labor from the productive , and giving its fruits to themselves and the unproductive and underproductive .
Did Stalin not eat well on the wheat that Ukrainian peasants grew , that wheat which he denied the Ukrainians when he starved up to 60 million of them in the Holomodor ?
Did he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tens of millions of innocents ?
Did Castro not ride in limousines , as the rest of the citizenry had to heroically fabricate parts , including those to maintain taxis from the 1950s ?
Did FDR help farmers when he ordered them to pour their cow ’ s milk onto the ground or when he forced them to watch his government agents slaughter American families ’ livestock by the hundreds of thousands ?
Did the current government , an amalgam of Democrats and Republicans over the last hundred years , help the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the economy crashed ( also government-caused ) late in 2019 and demand for the milk crashed as government further shut down the economy over the Covid fear mongering ?
How many milk cows were slaughtered for meat because of government controls ?
Everything the government touches is tainted , maimed , or destroyed .
Socialists ultimately become hypocrites and genociders .
They seek power .
They achieve power through the taking over and expanding existing government .
Wyze Cam Pan 1080p Pan ... Best Price : $ 37.96 Buy New $ 32.30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use violence to achieve their goals .
The important difference between capitalism and socialism : Socialists can not achieve their goals without the iron fist of government , without “ taking over ” the government , because the only way they can force a man to give up his labor for lesser or no value in return is to steal it from him .
That is not capitalism ; it is socialism .
And that takes the government and its extralegal laws and its hired guns to steal from the productive citizen .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not what we have today , from the top down , in government , Wall Street , and corporations .
What we have between corporations and government is obviously fascism .
Capitalism starts with the creative , productive individual and organically works its way upward , growing only through freely made contracts and exchanges of ideas , goods , and services , not through centralized planning , suppression of thought and speech , or “ free ” distribution of the wealth .
Capitalists offer and then move on , or go out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investors or buyers .
Socialist ideas and machinations have to be propped up by the government , by the taxes ( money stolen ) from the labor of the productive citizens .
Super B Complex Vitami ... Buy New $ 16.37 ( $ 0.18 / Count ) It is socialism that usurps power and “ takes over ” governments to crush the people , making them enumerated units of centralized production by stealing their labor and making them impoverished .
Socialism always fails , and it has killed millions , perhaps billions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in America ’ s small businesses , Main Street , and in the free and voluntary exchanges between people .
Keep your labor !
Keep your wealth !
Keep your life and liberty !
Engage in capitalism and stomp on the neck of the deadly viper , the inhuman ideology of socialism !
2 ) Peter Schiff videos , including this one , which prompted the essay : “ Peter Schiff Argues with Marxist Richard Wolff “ , published 28.September 2020 .

Writes a Mom:
I asked my 15yo homeschooled Zoomer to write an essay comparing and contrasting socialism and capitalism. Here is what he said…
Socialism is only the means to the end, which is death and destruction. Capitalism is the answer, the antidote to socialism.
Most Americans today do not want socialism and believe it to be a bad ideology and horrible practice. Plenty of people alive today in America have witnessed socialism back in their homelands, and they want capitalism, never socialism, or its offspring, communism
Socialism, itself, is not the final quest of socialists. Socialism is the means through which socialists install something worse, whether communism, Leninism, Maoism, Bolshevism, or whatever.
Recently, I saw a video with this statement , “Don’t blame me if you have no money!” from a lady selling buttons and pins at a table on the street. Her statement has become a meme for capitalism. Trump: The Art of the ... Donald J. Trump, Tony ... Best Price: $5.63 Buy New $8.22 (as of 10:41 UTC - Details)
Lenin reportedly said, The goal of socialism is communism.
True. Socialism is the ideology, the method, the way, the pattern, the template. Socialism is the means to the end goal. Socialists want to make everyone underneath them “equal”, taking labor from the productive, and giving its fruits to themselves and the unproductive and underproductive. Did Stalin not eat well on the wheat that Ukrainian peasants grew, that wheat which he denied the Ukrainians when he starved up to 60 million of them in the Holomodor? Did he not in is reign of terror murder tens of millions of innocents? Did Castro not ride in limousines, as the rest of the citizenry had to heroically fabricate parts, including those to maintain taxis from the 1950s? Did FDR help farmers when he ordered them to pour their cow’s milk onto the ground or when he forced them to watch his government agents slaughter American families’ livestock by the hundreds of thousands? Did the current government, an amalgam of Democrats and Republicans over the last hundred years, help the country by having millions of farm animals destroyed after the economy crashed (also government-caused) late in 2019 and demand for the milk crashed as government further shut down the economy over the Covid fear mongering? How many milk cows were slaughtered for meat because of government controls? Everything the government touches is tainted, maimed, or destroyed.
Socialists ultimately become hypocrites and genociders. They seek power. They achieve power through the taking over and expanding existing government. Wyze Cam Pan 1080p Pan... Best Price: $37.96 Buy New $32.30 (as of 05:05 UTC - Details)
And there it is: Socialists must use violence to achieve their goals.
The important difference between capitalism and socialism: Socialists can not achieve their goals without the iron fist of government, without “taking over” the government, because the only way they can force a man to give up his labor for lesser or no value in return is to steal it from him. That is not capitalism; it is socialism. And that takes the government and its extralegal laws and its hired guns to steal from the productive citizen.
Capitalism, on the other hand, is not what we have today, from the top down, in government, Wall Street, and corporations. What we have between corporations and government is obviously fascism.
Capitalism starts with the creative, productive individual and organically works its way upward, growing only through freely made contracts and exchanges of ideas, goods, and services, not through centralized planning, suppression of thought and speech, or “free” distribution of the wealth. Capitalists offer and then move on, or go out of business, if they have no investors or buyers. Socialist ideas and machinations have to be propped up by the government, by the taxes (money stolen) from the labor of the productive citizens.
Super B Complex Vitami... Buy New $16.37 ($0.18 / Count) (as of 05:33 UTC - Details) It is socialism that usurps power and “takes over” governments to crush the people, making them enumerated units of centralized production by stealing their labor and making them impoverished. Socialism always fails, and it has killed millions, perhaps billions, along its way.
Capitalism is alive in America’s small businesses, Main Street, and in the free and voluntary exchanges between people.
Keep your labor! Keep your wealth! Keep your life and liberty! Engage in capitalism and stomp on the neck of the deadly viper, the inhuman ideology of socialism!
References:
1) Steven Crowder videos
2) Peter Schiff videos, including this one, which prompted the essay: “Peter Schiff Argues with Marxist Richard Wolff“, published 28.September 2020.
https://youtu.be/hhPmV7kpqE8
3)https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/11/21/do-farm-subsidies-protect-national-security/fdrs-disastrous-experiment


lewrockwell--2020-10-02--Do Debates Even Matter in This Election?

Last night ’ s debate was universally panned as many things not suitable for virgin ears .
Honestly , I don ’ t disagree .
I had no plans on watching it because they are almost always uninteresting , low-information theater .
Last night was no exception .
Mock Joe - I ’ m J ... Malarkey , Ultimate Buy New $ 5.38 Both camps are doing their best to put the best spin on it they can but a couple of observations I think are salient : • Biden was as good as he was ever going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could possibly have been • Chris Wallace was there to make sure Biden stayed on script • The format and questions were all softballs for Biden In that context here ’ s the big question for partisans ( of which I ’ m one ) , “ Do these debates even matter ?
” And my cynical answer is , “ No .
They don ’ t. ” But the more nuanced one is that yes , they do .
They matter for one important reason .
People don ’ t vote based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say what they say .
That ’ s why televised debates are such an important part of a campaign and why they can be turning points in an election .
Gskyer Telescope , 70mm ... Best Price : $ 74.79 Buy New $ 84.99 Jonathan Haidt in his book , The Righteous Mind , laid out a metaphor for how the brain processes information and communicates it to the world .
It boils down to the Elephant and the Rider .
Your hindbrain or right-brain is the Elephant .
It ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decisions .
The Rider is the forebrain or left-brain and it ’ s like the press secretary for the Elephant .
It thinks it ’ s in charge , pulling on the reins of what it ’ s convinced itself is a quarter-horse directing your behavior and your decisions .
It tells you , and more importantly the world , that you ’ re rational and that you are consciously in control of your decisions .
But the reality is The Rider sits on top of The Elephant who is charging ahead because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Rider then just makes up why as The Elephant tramples forward .
Why is this important to the debates ?
This is , in essence , why debates matter .
Elephants vote .
And this take on last night ’ s “ shitshow ” is the correct one .
Men ’ s Daily Mult ... Buy New $ 19.97 There is an army of DNC operatives out there today trying to tell you that Trump lost the debate or that he lied and here are the fact-checks to prove it and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ riders desperately talking to those whose elephants already decided they hate Trump for whatever reason they have .
Trump Derangement Syndrome is real .
What Trump did last night was to project competence and strength .
His best moments were when he looked at Biden and said , “ Joe what are you talking about ?
I just had this guy in my office last week….
” Those moments translate to the Elephants on all sides of the political spectrum that Trump is in control of his office , is informed and despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is right on top of the issues .
This is strength of leadership .
It ’ s alpha male stuff .
Trump made the case loud and clear in the first 30 minutes of the debate that he is President , does the job well , and won ’ t apologize for running the country the way he does .
In a time when there ’ s crazy violence in the streets , millions unemployed and rightfully worried about tomorrow not ten years from now , that ’ s pretty much all he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do was mumble about raising taxes and being fearful of more COVID-19 .
Elephants look at that and see weakness not leadership .
All the talk about decorum and shouting over each other is irrelevant .
Decorum is for dinner parties .
People tune in to the debates to decide who will lead them not who will play by some arbitrary set of rules .
And the more Chris Wallace tried to put Trump in his place the more obvious it was to everyone ’ s Elephant that this was not a level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ...
Gifts , Trump Gag Buy New $ 6.99 Now , as far as this election goes we may not need anymore of this events for one simple reason .
Ratings .
The ratings for the 2016 debates were record-setting .
They needed to be .
So few people had actually seen more than a sound-byte of Trump that they needed to tune in to allow their Elephants to get a measure of him .
By the end of the first debate Trump went from Nazi to ‘ pretty ok ’ in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of the last debate and the five words that won him the election , Trump sealed the deal with millions of undecided Elephants .
He moved them with those words and that pugnacious attitude he has .
This year all he has to do is show those same people that he ’ s just as much a fighter today after four years of endless screeching and lying as he was then .
This adds to an observation I saw on Twitter yesterday about the ratings which struck my Elephant as correct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m about to report .
The poor ratings for last night ’ s debate tell me that there are a lot of Elephants out there that didn ’ t need reassuring .
And if that CBS Poll is an anomaly in this election cycle , namely that it ’ s in any way accurate , then there is little need to go forward with any more of these because it only gets worse for Joe Biden from here… … no matter what the Riders in the Twitterati have to say about it @ @ @ @ @ @

Last night’s debate was universally panned as many things not suitable for virgin ears. Honestly, I don’t disagree.
I had no plans on watching it because they are almost always uninteresting, low-information theater. Last night was no exception. Mock Joe - I’m J... Malarkey, Ultimate Buy New $5.38 (as of 05:34 UTC - Details)
Both camps are doing their best to put the best spin on it they can but a couple of observations I think are salient:
Biden was as good as he was ever going to be Trump was as bad as he could possibly have been Chris Wallace was there to make sure Biden stayed on script The format and questions were all softballs for Biden
In that context here’s the big question for partisans (of which I’m one), “Do these debates even matter?” And my cynical answer is, “No. They don’t.”
But the more nuanced one is that yes, they do. They matter for one important reason.
People don’t vote based on what candidates say but how they say what they say.
That’s why televised debates are such an important part of a campaign and why they can be turning points in an election. Gskyer Telescope, 70mm... Best Price: $74.79 Buy New $84.99 (as of 05:34 UTC - Details)
Jonathan Haidt in his book, The Righteous Mind, laid out a metaphor for how the brain processes information and communicates it to the world.
It boils down to the Elephant and the Rider. Your hindbrain or right-brain is the Elephant. It’s the unconscious mind which makes all the real decisions.
The Rider is the forebrain or left-brain and it’s like the press secretary for the Elephant. It thinks it’s in charge, pulling on the reins of what it’s convinced itself is a quarter-horse directing your behavior and your decisions.
It tells you, and more importantly the world, that you’re rational and that you are consciously in control of your decisions.
But the reality is The Rider sits on top of The Elephant who is charging ahead because it’s already made its decision.
The Rider then just makes up why as The Elephant tramples forward.
Why is this important to the debates?
Elephants were moved in last night’s debate. Riders are on the internet talking about it today but it’s the elephants who vote. PHD Psychologist’s take here: https://t.co/Xm0y7bDQX2 — Adam Friended (@Friended4Ever) September 30, 2020
This is, in essence, why debates matter. Elephants vote.
And this take on last night’s “shitshow” is the correct one. Men’s Daily Mult... Buy New $19.97 (as of 05:34 UTC - Details)
There is an army of DNC operatives out there today trying to tell you that Trump lost the debate or that he lied and here are the fact-checks to prove it and all that rotten nonsense.
Those are riders desperately talking to those whose elephants already decided they hate Trump for whatever reason they have. Trump Derangement Syndrome is real.
It won’t change one vote.
What Trump did last night was to project competence and strength. His best moments were when he looked at Biden and said, “Joe what are you talking about? I just had this guy in my office last week….”
Those moments translate to the Elephants on all sides of the political spectrum that Trump is in control of his office, is informed and despite all of his faults as a person is right on top of the issues.
This is strength of leadership. It’s alpha male stuff. Trump made the case loud and clear in the first 30 minutes of the debate that he is President, does the job well, and won’t apologize for running the country the way he does.
In a time when there’s crazy violence in the streets, millions unemployed and rightfully worried about tomorrow not ten years from now, that’s pretty much all he had to do.
All Biden could do was mumble about raising taxes and being fearful of more COVID-19.
Elephants look at that and see weakness not leadership.
All the talk about decorum and shouting over each other is irrelevant. Decorum is for dinner parties. People tune in to the debates to decide who will lead them not who will play by some arbitrary set of rules.
And the more Chris Wallace tried to put Trump in his place the more obvious it was to everyone’s Elephant that this was not a level playing field. Funny Trump Journal - ... Gifts, Trump Gag Buy New $6.99 (as of 05:34 UTC - Details)
Now, as far as this election goes we may not need anymore of this events for one simple reason. Ratings.
The ratings for the 2016 debates were record-setting. They needed to be. So few people had actually seen more than a sound-byte of Trump that they needed to tune in to allow their Elephants to get a measure of him.
By the end of the first debate Trump went from Nazi to ‘pretty ok’ in a lot of voters’ minds.
By the end of the last debate and the five words that won him the election, Trump sealed the deal with millions of undecided Elephants. He moved them with those words and that pugnacious attitude he has.
This year all he has to do is show those same people that he’s just as much a fighter today after four years of endless screeching and lying as he was then.
This adds to an observation I saw on Twitter yesterday about the ratings which struck my Elephant as correct.
LOL — the first CBS poll I may just take seriously … https://t.co/yoJwo1k8Bs — Cotto/Gottfried (@CottoGottfried) September 29, 2020
Brian may not like what I’m about to report.
The poor ratings for last night’s debate tell me that there are a lot of Elephants out there that didn’t need reassuring.
The first presidential debate of 2020 was widely panned by most observers — and is on track to draw a far smaller audience than the record-setting first debate four years ago. Fast national ratings for the broadcast networks show the debate gathering 28.82 million viewers across ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — a decline of 36 percent from 2016. Four years ago, the big four networks tallied 45.3 million viewers in the preliminary ratings, rising to 49.33 million after time zone adjustments for the live broadcast.
And if that CBS Poll is an anomaly in this election cycle, namely that it’s in any way accurate, then there is little need to go forward with any more of these because it only gets worse for Joe Biden from here…
… no matter what the Riders in the Twitterati have to say about it.
Reprinted with permission from Gold Goats ‘n Guns.
The Best of Tom Luongo


lewrockwell--2020-10-02--Four Myths About Trump, Taxes, and the Economy

International Man : For many years , President Trump has made no apologies for trying to pay the least amount of taxes possible .
He ’ s clearly stated this in many interviews .
His desire to minimize his taxes has brought scorn from many in the mainstream media , and politicians from both sides of the aisle .
These people are of the opinion that paying taxes is an honorable and necessary responsibility .
It brings to mind the wrongheaded saying “ taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society ” , which came from US Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people believe this .
But if that ’ s true , how come low tax locales like Singapore , the Cayman Islands , Monaco aren ’ t backward hell holes , but rather sophisticated and civilized ?
Doug Casey : Almost any lie can be accepted as truth if it ’ s said often enough and with enough certainty .
That absolutely applies to what Holmes said .
It ’ s shameful how people don ’ t think about its meaning , but slavishly repeat it .
A Catholic Vote for Tr ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 13.98 Buy New $ 9.99 Taxes aren ’ t the price we pay for civilized society .
They ’ re a sign of the fact that society is becoming uncivilized .
A civilized society is based on voluntarism .
Taxes are all about coercion .
People don ’ t seem to recognize or remember that before 1913 there was no income tax in the US .
There was no reporting of any kind to the US government .
It was a much more civilized and far freer country then .
As far as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him .
The object should be to cut the size of the US government in half , and cut it in half again , and again .
And along with it , cut the tax burden that it imposes on the average American .
Trump should be proud of himself for cutting his taxes .
It ’ s your patriotic duty as an American citizen to deny revenue to the State and the kind of people that are drawn to it and populate it .
The fact that some people resent others for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ ve been consumed by the vice of envy , which is one of the worst of the vices .
Jealousy says “ if you have something that I want , I ’ ll try to take it from you , just because I want it.
” Envy says “ if you have something that I want , and I can ’ t take it from you , I ’ ll destroy it and hurt you.
” It ’ s speaks poorly of the ethics of the average American , that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not paying “ enough ” taxes to the State .
International Man : We often hear from politicians and the media that some people aren ’ t paying their “ fair share ” in taxes .
Who gets to define what “ fair ” is , and based on what justifications ?
Doug Casey : Whenever you hear the word fair , start running the other way .
Everybody has a different idea of what ’ s “ fair ” — it ’ s an arbitrary concept .
People manipulate its definition to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ determine what might be fair is voluntary mutual agreement .
That ’ s not possible with taxes—there ’ s no voluntarism involved .
They are , in fact , a levy enforced at the point of a gun .
The most creative and productive people tend to have the highest incomes—unless they ’ re crony capitalists , which means they ’ re basically using the government to steal from everybody else .
Productive people shouldn ’ t be penalized for supplying more goods and services to their neighbors—to the market .
The money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have otherwise been used to create more wealth for the whole world .
When it ’ s taken from them by taxes it ’ s mostly squandered on welfare and warfare .
Outdoor Security Camer ... Buy New $ 24.55 The bottom half of the US really doesn ’ t pay any income tax .
They only pay Social Security taxes , roughly a flat 15 % .
It ’ s theoretically a pension program , although in fact it ’ s a Ponzi scheme .
Social Security is bankrupt .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come it will be at the expense of future taxpayers—not because any capital has been set aside .
Social Security is , and always has been , a swindle .
It makes it harder for people to save on their own .
And makes them feel they don ’ t have to .
But it ’ s not a real pension plan ; it ’ s a highly politicized welfare program .
People have been propagandized into believing not just what isn ’ t true , but actually believing the opposite of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hopeless from a philosophical point of view and it ’ s getting worse .
The average American believes Social Security and the income tax are both moral and necessary .
International Man : Doesn ’ t this system—which diverts wealth from productive use into government , which is naturally unproductive—make everyone worse off ?
You would think the lower and middle classes would be clamoring for more wealth creation that would also benefit them .
Instead , many are asking for more wealth to be destroyed .
It seems this sort of thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Casey : Absolutely .
The US government and its welfare programs are actually cementing the lower classes to the bottom of society .
You get what you encourage .
When you give people free money for doing nothing , that ’ s what they ’ ll do .
Take personal responsibility away from a man , and he ’ ll tend to act irresponsibly .
The next step seems to be a guaranteed annual income for everybody where—presumably—where everybody can just sit around Starbucks all day sipping latte and playing with their iPhones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This trend has been building almost 100 years , and the curve is starting to go parabolic .
To use a fashionable word , it ’ s “ unsustainable ” for everyone to try living at the expense of everyone else .
International Man : Another misnomer we often hear is that “ deficits don ’ t matter ” , a saying popularized by Dick Cheney , an ostensible fiscal conservative .
Doug Casey : Well , deficits do matter .
In order to become wealthy you have to produce more than you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the difference builds capital .
And you need capital to create more wealth .
Multivitamin Gummies f ... Buy New $ 13.77 ( $ 0.15 / Count ) Countries without capital are poor .
Places like Zimbabwe , Cuba , and Mauritania .
The only capital they have is sticks and stones .
The US government is in effect training people to consume more than they produce .
Now , you can do that in basically two ways .
One , by borrowing capital that ’ s been saved and created in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , two , you can do it by mortgaging your future .
It ’ s not a pro-survival policy to consume more than you produce .
It ’ s possible for a while , of course , but will wind up in disaster .
The US government is encouraging people to do just that , however , directly and indirectly .
International Man : Yet another misguided , yet popular , saying is that we shouldn ’ t worry about the national debt because “ we owe it to ourselves.
” What ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : It ’ s another glib , gigantic , lie .
“ We ” don ’ t owe it to ourselves .
Some people owe it to some other people .
If it ’ s not paid back somebody is going to walk away disappointed .
In fact , most of the debt is owed to non-Americans .
Directly , in the form of the national debt .
And indirectly , in the form of US dollars outside the US .
For many years the major export of the US hasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wheat .
It ’ s been US dollars .
We run a trade deficit of about $ 800 billion every year .
In exchange , foreigners send us electronics , Mercedes , cocaine , and other real goods .
This has artificially propped up the average American ’ s standard of living .
Those dollars circulate in other countries ; the US dollar is the de facto currency of 50 other countries around the world .
At some point—since the US dollar is backed by nothing—if confidence goes away , those foreigners are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their dollars .
They ’ ll necessarily come back to the US where legal tender laws force Americans to accept them .
There are many trillions of dollars that are now abroad are a liability .
Someday they ’ re going to be traded for US shares of stock , US real estate , US technology , and US labor .
Americans , who have grown accustomed to an artificially high standard of living for many years , are going to have a very real drop in their standard of living when those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sending dollars to the Chinese and other foreigners .
We ’ re also selling US government debt to the Federal Reserve , which then credits the government ’ s accounts at commercial banks with dollars .
But that ’ s another story .
It ’ s all a moving paper fantasy .
It ’ s going to end badly , and end soon .
It could easily destroy everybody ’ s savings .
And that , in turn , could destroy the very basis of society .
The Best of Doug Casey

International Man: For many years, President Trump has made no apologies for trying to pay the least amount of taxes possible. He’s clearly stated this in many interviews.
His desire to minimize his taxes has brought scorn from many in the mainstream media, and politicians from both sides of the aisle. These people are of the opinion that paying taxes is an honorable and necessary responsibility. It brings to mind the wrongheaded saying “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society”, which came from US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Many people believe this.
But if that’s true, how come low tax locales like Singapore, the Cayman Islands, Monaco aren’t backward hell holes, but rather sophisticated and civilized?
Doug Casey: Almost any lie can be accepted as truth if it’s said often enough and with enough certainty. That absolutely applies to what Holmes said. It’s shameful how people don’t think about its meaning, but slavishly repeat it. A Catholic Vote for Tr... McCullough, John Best Price: $13.98 Buy New $9.99 (as of 05:35 UTC - Details)
Taxes aren’t the price we pay for civilized society. They’re a sign of the fact that society is becoming uncivilized. A civilized society is based on voluntarism. Taxes are all about coercion.
People don’t seem to recognize or remember that before 1913 there was no income tax in the US. There was no reporting of any kind to the US government. It was a much more civilized and far freer country then.
As far as Trump minimizing his taxes, congratulations to him. The object should be to cut the size of the US government in half, and cut it in half again, and again. And along with it, cut the tax burden that it imposes on the average American.
Trump should be proud of himself for cutting his taxes. It’s your patriotic duty as an American citizen to deny revenue to the State and the kind of people that are drawn to it and populate it.
The fact that some people resent others for not paying taxes is just evidence that they’ve been consumed by the vice of envy, which is one of the worst of the vices. Jealousy says “if you have something that I want, I’ll try to take it from you, just because I want it.” Envy says “if you have something that I want, and I can’t take it from you, I’ll destroy it and hurt you.”
It’s speaks poorly of the ethics of the average American, that they’ll self-righteously shame their neighbors for not paying “enough” taxes to the State.
International Man: We often hear from politicians and the media that some people aren’t paying their “fair share” in taxes. Who gets to define what “fair” is, and based on what justifications?
Doug Casey: Whenever you hear the word fair, start running the other way. Everybody has a different idea of what’s “fair”— it’s an arbitrary concept. People manipulate its definition to their advantage. The only way to determine what might be fair is voluntary mutual agreement. That’s not possible with taxes—there’s no voluntarism involved. They are, in fact, a levy enforced at the point of a gun.
The most creative and productive people tend to have the highest incomes—unless they’re crony capitalists, which means they’re basically using the government to steal from everybody else.
Productive people shouldn’t be penalized for supplying more goods and services to their neighbors—to the market. The money they give to the government in taxes would have otherwise been used to create more wealth for the whole world. When it’s taken from them by taxes it’s mostly squandered on welfare and warfare. Outdoor Security Camer... Buy New $24.55 (as of 05:35 UTC - Details)
The bottom half of the US really doesn’t pay any income tax. They only pay Social Security taxes, roughly a flat 15%. It’s theoretically a pension program, although in fact it’s a Ponzi scheme. Social Security is bankrupt. If anyone gets it in the years to come it will be at the expense of future taxpayers—not because any capital has been set aside.
Social Security is, and always has been, a swindle. It makes it harder for people to save on their own. And makes them feel they don’t have to. But it’s not a real pension plan; it’s a highly politicized welfare program. People have been propagandized into believing not just what isn’t true, but actually believing the opposite of the truth. The situation is actually pretty hopeless from a philosophical point of view and it’s getting worse. The average American believes Social Security and the income tax are both moral and necessary.
International Man: Doesn’t this system—which diverts wealth from productive use into government, which is naturally unproductive—make everyone worse off? You would think the lower and middle classes would be clamoring for more wealth creation that would also benefit them. Instead, many are asking for more wealth to be destroyed.
It seems this sort of thinking helps solidify a backwards system.
Doug Casey: Absolutely. The US government and its welfare programs are actually cementing the lower classes to the bottom of society.
You get what you encourage. When you give people free money for doing nothing, that’s what they’ll do. Take personal responsibility away from a man, and he’ll tend to act irresponsibly. The next step seems to be a guaranteed annual income for everybody where—presumably—where everybody can just sit around Starbucks all day sipping latte and playing with their iPhones, and be paid for it.
This trend has been building almost 100 years, and the curve is starting to go parabolic. To use a fashionable word, it’s “unsustainable” for everyone to try living at the expense of everyone else.
International Man: Another misnomer we often hear is that “deficits don’t matter”, a saying popularized by Dick Cheney, an ostensible fiscal conservative.
Doug Casey: Well, deficits do matter. In order to become wealthy you have to produce more than you consume and save the difference. Saving the difference builds capital. And you need capital to create more wealth. Multivitamin Gummies f... Buy New $13.77 ($0.15 / Count) (as of 05:35 UTC - Details)
Countries without capital are poor. Places like Zimbabwe, Cuba, and Mauritania. The only capital they have is sticks and stones.
The US government is in effect training people to consume more than they produce. Now, you can do that in basically two ways. One, by borrowing capital that’s been saved and created in the past, and consuming it. Or, two, you can do it by mortgaging your future.
It’s not a pro-survival policy to consume more than you produce. It’s possible for a while, of course, but will wind up in disaster. The US government is encouraging people to do just that, however, directly and indirectly.
International Man: Yet another misguided, yet popular, saying is that we shouldn’t worry about the national debt because “we owe it to ourselves.” What’s your take Doug?
Doug Casey: It’s another glib, gigantic, lie. “We” don’t owe it to ourselves. Some people owe it to some other people. If it’s not paid back somebody is going to walk away disappointed.
In fact, most of the debt is owed to non-Americans. Directly, in the form of the national debt. And indirectly, in the form of US dollars outside the US. For many years the major export of the US hasn’t been Boeings, or IBMs, or wheat. It’s been US dollars. We run a trade deficit of about $800 billion every year. In exchange, foreigners send us electronics, Mercedes, cocaine, and other real goods. This has artificially propped up the average American’s standard of living.
Those dollars circulate in other countries; the US dollar is the de facto currency of 50 other countries around the world.
At some point—since the US dollar is backed by nothing—if confidence goes away, those foreigners are going to want to get rid of their dollars. They’ll necessarily come back to the US where legal tender laws force Americans to accept them.
There are many trillions of dollars that are now abroad are a liability. Someday they’re going to be traded for US shares of stock, US real estate, US technology, and US labor.
Americans, who have grown accustomed to an artificially high standard of living for many years, are going to have a very real drop in their standard of living when those dollars come home.
We’re sending dollars to the Chinese and other foreigners. We’re also selling US government debt to the Federal Reserve, which then credits the government’s accounts at commercial banks with dollars. But that’s another story. It’s all a moving paper fantasy. It’s going to end badly, and end soon.
It could easily destroy everybody’s savings. And that, in turn, could destroy the very basis of society.
Reprinted with permission from International Man.
The Best of Doug Casey