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Central Planning vs. Voluntary Cooperation

March 16, 2022

I haven’t posted an article for over a year.

Why? Because I started to value other activities more than I valued writing.

Why? Because all the economic and social problems we have in the U.S. can only be made better by 1) Allowing individuals to make decisions concerning their day to day lives. And 2) Stopping politicians and bureaucrats who wield government power from making decisions for these individuals.

I also found it difficult to come up with new ways to say the same thing over and over again.

But I know that the only way to learn anything is repetition. Monotonous monotonous repetition.

So I’m going to jump back in to the game and see how it goes.

WHO SHOULD MAKE ECONOMIC DECISIONS.

On my site I have a one sentence quote from F. A. Hayek. Volumes have been written on the subject of this quote.

This quote sums up the decision that civilizations have to make on how their societies are going to coordinate their activities.. Here is the quote.

“THE COORDINATION OF MEN’S ACTIVITIES THROUGH CENTRAL PLANNING OR THROUGH VOLUNTARY COOPERATION ARE ROADS GOING IN VERY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, THE FIRST TO SERFDOM AND POVERTY THE SECOND TO FREEDOM AND PLENTY.”

We have never had a society where there were no government enforced rules. Just as we have never had a society where all decisions are made and enforced by individuals wielding government power.

Even though The Soviet Union was centrally planned, they still had black markets and at least the government allowed some industries to have a little freedom to make decisions.

The Unites States constitution set up a free market economy, with some governmental rules.

So neither was totally centrally planned nor totally free.

The quote states that every society is moving in one direction or another. We never arrive at a utopian paradise, because time passes and change happens. But no matter what the changes, we have to understand that the more government decision making we allow, the poorer and less free we become. But if we allow individuals to decide how to order their lives, we become more free and prosperous.

The history of the world is all about this battle of who should make decisions. The consequences on who wins this battle does not just decide what our standard of living will be. But also who lives or dies.

Free market capitalism has lifted multiple millions of people out of poverty. It has also allowed more people to be born. If it wasn’t for the industrial revolution, you and I may never have been born.

China is an example of what we are talking about. Mao killed 10’s of millions of people to bring about his centrally planned communist society. People in China lived in poverty, if they lived at all. But over the last thirty years or so, China has allowed some free market reforms which has lifted the standard of living in China above mere substance living. Even though these people are still not free.

The opposite has happened in Venezuela. Venezuelans standard of living and freedom started being destroyed after Chavez started nationalizing industries. AKA government central planning.

Cuba’s standard of living and individual freedom was destroyed when Castro took control of their economy.

So what direction do you think the U.S. is heading? With The amount of decision making taken over by government central planners in the last thirty years, there is no doubt what road we are traveling.

The question is, do we have enough people in the country who understand that decision making by individuals in a free market is the only way out of our problems?

We have to fight against all government central planning, championed by both Democrats and Republicans

Because if we allow politicians and bureaucrats to take over more and more economic decisions, our standard of living will go down and our individual freedom will go away. And the fact is, this is already happening.

Related Article – Milton Friedman, Moving toward Serfdom.

Categories: Econ. 101, Government and Politics
Tags: Central Planning, Free Markets, Road to Serfdom

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July 4th – 2020

July 4, 2020

I reread the fourth chapter in Thomas Sowell’s book, “The Quest for Cosmic Justice”, every 4th of July. The fourth chapter is titled “The Quiet Repeal of the American Revolution”.

The quiet repeal of our founding principles started in earnest with the progressive era just before 1900. It has picked up momentum over the last 50 years. The Marxists and socialists ideology that was latched onto by the generation from the 60’s, has entered our educational system.

Not surprisingly, a couple of generations have been brainwashed into hating America’s founding principles.

I wish the difference between the American Revolution and all other revolutions was understood by all Americans. Here is what Dr. Sowell writes about these differences.

“The war for American independence was not simply a landmark event in the history of the United States. It was a landmark in the history of the world – and especially a landmark in the history of the evolution of free and democratic societies. It’s international significance was symbolized by France’s donation of the Statue of Liberty to the Unites States on the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and by the creation of a facsimile of this state in China, more than a century after that, by protesters vainly seeking to create a free and democratic government in that country”

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IS SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHERS

“The American revolution was in some ways the most far-reaching of all the great revolutions in history. Other revolutions may have had more sweeping rhetoric, or greater extremes of violence and terror, or more categorical claims of change. They may even have had more radical changes of personnel, as in the change from czarist to Communist rulers in Moscow, while replacing one form of autocratic despotism with another and more bloody from.”

“The French Revolution of the succeeding decade used similar rhetoric, and was supported by such prominent figures in the American Revolution as Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, but nevertheless the French Revolution was grounded on entirely different assumptions and of course took a different path all to characteristic of later revolutions that began with lofty ideals and ended with new and more ruthless despotism.”

“The American Revolution, however, went further in rejecting a basic conception of man and society that goes back thousands of years, and which is still with us today…people with the most diverse philosophic persuasions have proceeded as if what was needed was to replace false doctrines with true doctrines and false leaders with true leaders – the heathens with the faithful, capitalists with socialists, royalty with republicans, and so on. But, unlike the French revolution and the Bolshevik revolution, for example, the American revolution and its resulting constitution established was not simply a particular system but a process of changing systems, practices, and leaders, together with a method of constraining whoever or whatever was ascendant at any given time…. it gave to the common man a voice, a veto, elbow room, and a refuge from the rampaging presumptions of his “betters”….. it was seen by others in the world at large as a landmark in the general struggle for human freedom. That is why it must be opposed by those with more ambitious visions (even if they do not consciously feel any animosity against constitutional freedoms) because, on issue after issue, those freedoms stand between the morally self-anointed and the realization of dreams which have overwhelming importance to them. Some of these dreams revolve around the quest for cosmic justice, in which constitutional constraints may be seen as technicalities to be finessed. Other dreams may be about personal ambitions that can be fulfilled only in a very different kind of society from that established by the Constitution… Ego and ideals are of course not mutually exclusive but may readily exist in the same individual, who may even mistake the former from the latter.”

America was based on the idea that the individual was sovereign. Our founders knew that Government power had to be restrained or else it would be used arbitrarily by politicians and bureaucrats who were in position to wield it. Our Government was established to protect the individual and his property from aggression by these individuals.

In this chapter Sowell quotes a little known speech by Abraham Lincoln given in 1838 (read here) a mere sixty two years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln fears the dangers to our freedom would not come from foreign enemies, but from internal threats.

“If and when the fundamental principles and structure of American government should fall under attack, “men of sufficient talent and ambition will not be wanting to seize the opportunity” and “strike a blow” against free government.”

“What is particularly significant about Lincoln’s warning is that is was based on the vision of what human beings are like and especially what talented and ambitions leaders are like. To Lincoln, the historic achievement of American society in establishing a new form of government in the world was in jeopardy from later elites precisely because that achievement was already history:”

“Lincoln said: The field of glory is harvested, and the crop is already appropriated. But new reapers will arise, and they, too, will seek a field. It is to deny, what the history of the world tells us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not continue to spring up amongst us. And , when they do, they will as naturally seek the gratification of their ruling passion, as others have so done before them. The question is, can the gratification be found in supporting and maintaining an edifice that has been erected by others? Most certainly it cannot.”

“While the ambitions of some might be satisfied with “a seat in Congress, a gubernatorial or a presidential chair,” Lincoln said, “such belong not to the family of the lion or the tribe of the eagle.”

“Lincoln added: “What! Think you these places would satisfy an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon? – Never! Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored. – It sees not distinction in adding story to story, upon the monuments of fame, erected to memory of others. It denies that it is glory enough to serve under any chief. It scorns to tread in the footsteps of any predecessor, however illustrious. It thirsts and burns for distinction; and, if possible. it will have it, whether at the expense of emancipating slaves, or enslaving freemen.”

“Lincoln thought safeguarding those institutions would require a public sufficiently united, sufficiently attached to freedom, and sufficiently wise, “to successfully frustrate his designs.“

We are not just talking about a single person with a tyrannical idea. We are also talking about a tyrannical idea which has many people with political power who want to implement this tyranny.

OUR HISTORY OF LIBERTY IS FADING

But for me here is the part of Lincoln’s speech that really hit me. He is talking about how the spirit of “76” will fade as time passes.

Lincoln said: “I do not mean to say, that the scenes of the revolution are not or ever will be entirely forgotten; but that like every thing else, they must fade upon the memory of the world, and grow more and more dim by the lapse of time. In history, we hope, they will be read of, and recounted, so long as the bible shall be read; but even granting that they will, their influence cannot be what it heretofore has been. even then, they cannot be so universally known, nor so vividly felt, as they were by the generation just gone to rest. At the close of that struggle, nearly every adult male had been a participator in some of its scenes. The consequence was, that of those scenes, in the form of a husband, a father, a son or brother, a living history was to be found in every family – a history bearing the indubitable testimonies of its own authenticity, in the limbs mangled, in the scars of woulds received, in the midst of the very scenes related – a history, too, that could be read and understood alike by all, the wise and the ignorant, the learned and the unlearned. – But those histories are gone. they can be read no more forever. They were a fortress of strength; but, what invading foeman could never do, the silent artillery of time has done: the leveling of its walls. They are gone. – They were a forest of giant oaks: but the all-resistless hurricane had swept over them, and left only, here and there, a lonely trunk, despoiled of its verdure, shorn of its foliage; unshading and unshaded, to murmur in a few gentle breezes, and to combat with its mutilated limbs, a few more ruder storms, then to sink, and be no more.”

“They were the pillars of the temple of liberty; and now, that they have crumbled away, that temple must fall, unless we, their descendants, supply their places with other pillars, hewn from the solid quarry of sober reason. Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence. Let those materials be moulded into general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws:…

“Upon these let the proud fabric of freedom rest, as the rock of its basis; and as truly as has been said of the only greater institution, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The Marxists and socialist insurgents have a great deal of passion but no sober logic and reason. The side that is supposed to be for individual freedom and liberty and the rule of law has lost its passion. But more importantly it has lost the ability to supply the sober reason necessary to combat the passion of the Marxist and socialist insurgents in our midst.

The party of Lincoln, the Republicans, are supposed to be the party of small government. But very few Republican politicians can articulate why freedom is superior to government central planning aka tyranny. So most have neither passion or reason. That’s a bad combination.

Will people on the side of individual liberty become passionate enough to learn the sober reasoning for freedom and liberty, before the passion of the Marxists and socialist insurgents win the day? Only the passage of time will answer that question.

THE CASE FOR FREEDOM

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (read here) was our statement of freedom form tyranny. This document is talking about today as much as it was appropriate in its time. On July 4th, Independence Day, take some time to read the Declaration of Independence. Then tell me it isn’t speaking about the present. This document applies to the past, the present and the future.

BONO TALKS ABOUT THE IDEA OF AMERICA

RAY CHARLES – AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

This gets me everytime.

Related Article: July 4th 2018: Independence Day, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: July 4th: What Does Independence Day Mean? at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: July 4th – Our Choice: Liberty or Tyranny, at austrianaddict.com.

Categories: Government and Politics, Miscellaneous
Tags: Bono, July 4th Independence Day, Liberty or Tyranny, Lincoln Lyceum Speech, Our Lives Our Fortunes Our Sacred Honor, Ray Charles America The Beautiful, The American Revolution, The Declaration of independence, The Quest For Cosmic Justice, Thomas Sowell

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LIBERTY vs. TYRANNY

May 7, 2020

statue of liberty, new york, usa,

Tyranny orange mosaic emblem with background

THE BATTLE FOR FREEDOM

Thomas Jefferson – “The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.”

F.A. Hayek – “The battle for freedom must be won over and over again. The socialists of all parties must be persuaded or defeated if they and we are to remain free men.”

These two quotes describe the existential battle between Liberty and tyranny. As demonstrated in the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, this battle existed in the hearts of men from the beginning. Many people like to tell people what to do. Many people don’t like to be told what to do. And many people are a combination of both.

Each of us accepts varying degrees of governmental tyranny because fighting it has a cost. Each of us assesses the value of liberty differently. For most of us an incremental increase in tyranny isn’t worth the cost of fighting it. But when the value of liberty out weighs the cost of fighting it we start to take a stand and push back.

Tyranny is part of mans DNA. So tyranny is always trying to take away individual liberty. It is like lava flowing from a volcano. Just as it is the nature of lava to consume the ground. It is the nature of tyranny to consume liberty.

This is why, as Hayek states, the battle for freedom must be won over and over. We never arrive at a point where we win the battle, and liberty becomes the normal state of life. Because tyranny is always alive no matter how many stakes have been driven through its heart. It will never die, it is part of the nature of man.

Covid-19 has clearly exposed this battle between liberty and tyranny. Just as the push for Obamacare exposed the battle and was fought by the tea party. Brexit was the push back against the tyranny of the European Union. The election of Trump was the push back against the tyranny of the ruling elites in both parties and the tyranny of the main stream media.

Covid-19 is exposing many of our elite central planners as petty tyrants instead of the ‘public servants’ they claim to be. Many have gotten a taste of power and they like it.

Gov. Whitmer from Michigan, Gov. Coumo from New York, Gov. Beshear of Kentucky are a few examples of tyrants thirsting for more power.

These people think we must bow down to them. We should be thankful that they are public servants sacrificing so much of themselves to help us navigate life’s mine field. Because there is no way we commoners could accurately assess risk, let alone make proper decisions based on that risk. We need our anointed betters to dictate which paths to take. And when these paths lead us either over a cliff or into a cul-de-sac it’s never their fault. And the mainstream media won’t report the failures of the planners. It must be comforting to know that you will never be held accountable for a bad decision because the media is on the side of tyrants.

It is amazing that liberty has survived in America. We fought the tyranny of King George. But the battle didn’t create a permanent state of liberty. John Adams, one of our founders and our second President, got the Alien and Sedition Act passed. The act abridged first amendment free speech rights. It forbade conduct or language leading to rebellion. It was used to arrest, try, and convict news paper editors who were critical of the administration. The constitution was passed in 1787 and the Alien and Sedition Act passed in 1798. That’s eleven years. Obviously tyranny had not been wiped out because we won the battle for freedom against King George.

As far removed as we are from our founding principles, this quote: “Eternal Vigilance The Price Of Freedom”, is more important today than ever. Although we may not have been asleep in our battle for freedom for all these decades. We have taken occasional naps which has put us in our present position of fighting tyranny.

Here are some articles that show us the tyranny of the anointed and the push back by the commoners. The battle is never over.

TYRANNY

This list below could almost be endless. You don’t have to read these if you don’t want to. It is a list to show how much is going on. The headlines say it all.

Dallas Salon Owner Sentenced To 7 Days In Jail, Hit With Thousands In Fines For Refusing To Close, by Breck Dumas, at theblaze.com. Having said what I just said. You have to watch the videos of this arrogant judge lecturing this woman. He is a tyrant.

The Judge said: “..he would consider not giving her jail time if she would agree to close until the governor’s order was lifted and “if she admitted that she was wrong, that she was selfish, and that she should apologize to the elected officials whose orders she violated.”

In other words, “If you bow to authority. Plead for forgiveness for your sins against your anointed betters. I won’t put you in jail.”

Her response is great. She basically told him to go f~<! himself. But in a nice way. His reaction shows how pissed off he is that she didn’t genuflect and beg.

Fortunately this happened today. Texas Supreme Court Orders Dallas Salon Owner Released As Abbott Bans Jailing Citizens For Lockdown Violations, by Tyler Olson, at foxnews.com.

California Liberals Using Corona-Crisis To Transform State, at zerohedge.com. Never let a crisis go to waste.

Media Attack Kristi Noem For Not Panicking And Destroying Her State, by Mollie Hemmingway, at thefederalist.com. Gov. Noem didn’t tow the line with the conventional media wisdom. She must be destroyed.

Kentucky Parents Of 7 Investigated For Abuse After Breaking Social Distancing Rules, by Breck Dumas, at theblaze.com. I’m surprised the FBI hostage rescue team or the SWAT team wasn’t called to “save the children”.

Harvard Law Prof: Coronavirus Is An Excuse To Dump Free Speech, Property Rights From Constitution, by Alana Mastrangelo, at breitbart.com. Never let a crisis go to waste.

As Murder Skyrockets And Criminals Are Released In Chicago, Mayer Threatens Political Dissenters With Arrest, by Daniel Horowitz, at theblaze.com. You release convicted criminals. But threaten to arrest people exercising their First Amendment rights? That doesn’t make sense to me. But it obviously makes sense to tyrants.

Texas Sheriff Sends SWAT Team With Guns Drawn To Arrest Armed Lockdown Protestors, by Breck Dumas, at theblaze.com. Now this is more like what a tyrant would do. You intimidate people with a show of force. And you also don’t care if these situations could escalate and someone may get killed.

FIGHTING FOR LIBERTY

Americans Are Returning To Normal Life Whether State And Local Officials Like It Or Not, by Phil Shiver, at theblaze.com. There is not enough of them to arrest all of us.

NYPD Union President Calls de Blasio ‘An Idiot’ For Asking Officers To ‘Violate People’s Rights‘, by Jeannie Taer, at saraacarter.com. This guy knows that enforcing deBlasio’s law will get citizens pissed off at the police even more than they are.

Boston Shutdown Protesters To Governor, Mayor: ‘We’re Tired Of You Acting Like Wanna-Be Dictators, by Dave Urbanski, at theblaze.com. Wasn’t Boston where the Colonists threw tea into the harbor?

Officials Back Down From Enforcing Coronavirus Orders Against Defiant Texas Restaurant Owner, at truepundit.com.

Shutdown Unrest: From CA To NY, Thousands Across Nation Turn Out For Lockdown Protests, by Amanda Prestigiacomo, at dailywire.com. We don’t like to be told what to do if it seems arbitrary.

New York ‘Snitch Line’ Inundated With Obscenities Memes, at dailydot.com. Every tyrant figures there will never be push back. Some will cave if we just take a stand.

Michigan House Rejects Lockdown Extension, Votes To Sue Gov. Whitmer Instead, at truepundit.com. No comment needed.

Michigan Law School Students Launch Lawsuit At Whitmer’s Lockdown, by Tristan Justice, at thefederalist.com. No comment needed.

Virginia Judge Rules Indoor Gun Range Can Reopen, Dealing A Blow To Gov. Northam’s Shutdown Order, at truepundit.com. Never let a crisis go to waste.

After Getting Blasted For ‘Nazi-Like’ Order That Churches Keep Lists Of Attendees, KC Mayor Backs Down, by Dave Urbanski, at theblaze.com. If you stand up to a bully, there is a good chance he will back down.

CONCLUSION

Elvis Was King, Ike Was President, And 116,000 Americans Died In A Pandemic, by Jeffry Tucker, at aier.org. Excerpt from the article:

“In February 1957, a new influenza A (H2N2) virus emerged in East Asia, triggering a pandemic (“Asian Flu”). This H2N2 virus was comprised of three different genes from an H2N2 virus that originated from an avian influenza A virus, including the H2 hemagglutinin and the N2 neuraminidase genes. It was first reported in Singapore in February 1957, Hong Kong in April 1957, and in coastal cities in the United States in summer 1957. The estimated number of deaths was 1.1 million worldwide and 116,000 in the United States.”

“The population of the U.S. at the time was 172 million, which is a little more than half of the current population. Life expectancy was 69 as versus 78 today. Even with shorter lives, it was a healthier population with lower rates of obesity. To extrapolate the data to a counterfactual, we can conclude that this virus was more wicked than COVID-19 thus far.”

“What’s remarkable when we look back at this year, nothing was shut down. Restaurants, schools, theaters, sporting events, travel – everything continued without interruption. Without a 24-hour news cycle with thousands of news agencies and a billion websites hungry for traffic, mostly people paid no attention other than to keep basic hygiene. It was covered in the press as a medical problem. The notion that there was a political solution never occurred to anyone.”

America Doesn’t Have A Justice System Anymore, by Kurt Schlichter, at townhall.com. Excerpt from the article:

“The good news is that you might get out of future jury duty, because when you are asked under oath about your own biases during a federal criminal case jury selection you would have to answer honestly by responding, “Your Honor, I don’t trust a damn thing anyone in the FBI says.”

“Oh, and if an FBI agent asks if he can ask you some questions, try not to burst into laughter before you reply, “No, I assert my right to remain silent” and call your lawyer.”

“And this sorry state of affairs is all the FBI’s fault.”

Our Dress Rehearsal For A Police State, by Dennis Prager, at dailywire.com. Excerpt from the article:

“But the ease with which police state tactics have been employed and the equal ease with which most Americans have accepted them have been breathtaking.”

“People will argue that a temporary police state has been justified because of the allegedly unique threat to life posed by the new coronavirus. I do not believe the data will bear that out. Regardless, let us at least agree that we are closer to a police state than ever in American history.”

“Police state” does not mean totalitarian state. America is not a totalitarian state; we still have many freedoms. In a totalitarian state, this article could not be legally published, and if it were illegally published, I would be imprisoned and/or executed.”

“But we are presently living with all four of the key hallmarks of a police state:

No. 1: Draconian laws depriving citizens of elementary civil rights.

“The federal, state, county and city governments are now restricting almost every freedom except those of travel and speech”

No. 2: A mass media supportive of the state’s messaging and deprivation of rights.

“…… mainstream mass medium ……. have served the cause of state control over individual Americans’ lives just as Pravda served the Soviet government. In fact, there is almost no more dissent in The New York Times than there was in Pravda.”

No. 3: Use of police.

“Police departments throughout America have agreed to enforce these laws and edicts with what can only be described as frightening alacrity.”

No. 4: Snitches.

“How do the police dispatchers learn of lawbreakers such as families playing softball in a public park, lone joggers without face masks, etc.? From their fellow citizens snitching on them.”

“If you love liberty, you must see that it is jeopardized more than at any time since America’s founding. And that means, among other things, that at this time, a vote for any Democrat is a vote to end liberty.”

The Three Nations Of Covid And A Windbag Named Fauci, by David Stockman, at lewrockwell.com. Excerpt from the article:

“Indeed, with each passing update, the CDC data itself becomes an ever more dispositive indictment of the madness the Donald’s doctors have imposed on the nation. It is now strikingly clear, in fact, that when it comes to Covid-19 there are three nations in America, and that the attempt to shoe-horn them into a one-size fits all regime of state control is tantamount to insane.”

“There is first the Kids Nation of some 61 million persons under 15 years, where even by the CDCs elastic definitions there have been just 5 WITH Covid deaths thru April 28. You needn’t even bother with the zero-ridden fraction of 1 per 100,000 (its actually 0.008) to make the point.”

“That is to say, last year there were about 44,000 deaths among the Kids Nation – so corona-virus accounts for just 0.011% of the total, and in no sane world would it be a reason for shutting down the schools.”

“…..the Parents/Workers Nation. That is the 215 million citizens between 15 and 64, who account for the overwhelming share of commerce, jobholders and GDP.”

“Yet according to the CDC, there have been just 8,267 deaths WITH Covid in this massive expanse of the population, which figure represents a mortality rate of, well, 3.6 per 100,000.”

“But here’s the thing. The normal total mortality rate for the 15-64 years old population is 335 per 100,000. So we are talking about shutting down the entire economy owing to a death rate to date which amounts to 1.1% of normal mortality in the Parents/Workers nation.”

“Finally, we have Grandparents/Great Grandparents Nation, comprised of 52 million citizens. But they account for 32,000 or nearly 80% of the WITH Covid deaths as of April 28 – with 15,000 of these being among those 85 years and older.”

“By way of computation, that’s 61 deaths per 100,000 for the group as a whole and 230 per 100,000 for the 85 years and older.”

“Stated differently, the risk of death posed by Covid-19 is 7,600X greater for Grandparents/Great Grandparents Nation overall than for Kids Nation, and 29,000 times greater for the several million Great-Grandparents afflicted with severe comorbidity and likely as not to be in the care of a nursing home.”

“Needless to say, it did not take a catastrophic experiment with Lockdown Nation to figure this out. It was already known from China and the history of other coronaviruses.”

“If there were any reason or justice left in America, Dr. Fauci and the Scarf Lady and the whole CDC/WHO lobby that brought about this disaster would actually be headed for their own quarantine – the kind that doesn’t happen at home and which can’t be lifted by the whims of the Cuomo brothers or Mayor Robespierre.”

There’s Another Chinese Virus Infecting The Minds Of Intellectuals, by Andrew Klavan, at dailywire.com. Excerpt from the article:

“……. during this Courtesy-of-Wuhan crisis, American tech companies “are proudly collaborating with one another, and following government guidance, to censor harmful information related to the coronavirus. And they are using their prodigious data-collection capacities, in coordination with federal and state governments, to improve contact tracing, quarantine enforcement, and other health measures.”

“Far from regarding this as an evil, or at least as an emergency contingency that needs to be walked back when the crisis ends, the professors believe that big business’ censoring and surveilling of Americans should become the new normal.”

“The idea of the piece was that during this Courtesy-of-Wuhan crisis, American tech companies “are proudly collaborating with one another, and following government guidance, to censor harmful information related to the coronavirus. And they are using their prodigious data-collection capacities, in coordination with federal and state governments, to improve contact tracing, quarantine enforcement, and other health measures.”

“….the Chinese are forcibly harvesting the organs of dissenters and other marginalized groups in their concentration camps. These reports – which sound like something out of some preposterous thriller novel – were confirmed by an international tribunal last year. Mr. Mosher says the Chinese are using technology culled from America to render these prisoners brain dead in order to keep the organs fresh.”

“And yet, many in our academies continue to share our technology and research with China as if they were just another international neighbor.”

Categories: Government and Politics, Miscellaneous
Tags: Aisian Flu of 1957, Breakdown Of The Rule Of Law, Chinese Are Enemies, Corona Virus, Covid-19, Dallas Salon Owner jailed by Judge, Fauci Windbag, Neverr Let A Crisis Go To Waste, Police Not Enforcing State Orders, Police State, Salon Owner Released by Texas Supreme Court, Tyranny vs Liberty

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Must Reads For The Week 5/2/20

May 3, 2020

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON – CORONA, CALIFORNIA AND THE CLASSIC WORLD.

Click here if the video is taken down.

If you are shut in and have some time. Watch this interview. VDH is always insightful. If you don’t have time here are some highlights.

He is at his farm in California being interviewed by Peter Robinson. He starts out talking about what is going on in California literally right outside his window.

But the question from 19:24 to 22:33 sets up this response (22:33 to 25:15)

“I think it’s important we don’t worship science on an alter…….”

“There is not going to be a magic bullet. Science is an evolutionary process that has a bad and a worse choice. But we want immediate and instant perfection”

“So if you tell somebody today, especially in the coastal corridors and elite global community, that if you’re not sixty and your in pretty good health, you’ve got a 99.9% chance of not dying from this virus. They will tell you, I’m can’t take that risk. Because one in a thousand is not good enough for me. Because I’m a blank, blank, blank, I’m a financier, I’m a college administrator, I’m a media elite and the world is so perfect I’m not going to risk it. And more importantly they are shielded.”

“And this is the central truth of this entire epidemic. who are the hero’s of this epidemic? I haven’t called my financial planner. I’ not helped at all by the Stanford Vice Provost of Diversity Inclusion. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think that Rachel Maddow is doing to save the United States. You know who is? Javier Lopez right now working in the almond fields. Or Joe Smith driving all night to Cosco to get toilet paper their by 6 am. Or the guy you call when your freezer blows up and you need food. And he sows up from Home Depot ad he doesn’t have a mask on and you say” Oh my God he doesn’t have a mask on,” because he’s breathing hard because he’s trying to get you a new freezer.”

“I think that’s been good. Because it really tells us that the essentials of life never change. they’re food, fuel, health, housing. And if you can’t get food. If you can’t go to a food market. If you can’t go to a Home Depot to fix something. If you can’t get fuel for your heating. You are not going to live. You can deal without all the other stuff.”

“There are people in the shadows that we neglected. We thought they were global losers and didn’t make it. I was thinking the other day, I was reading Richard the III, just for the heck of it, and I thought this must be a financial planner when a circuit breaker goes out or a baffle on his toilet doesn’t work he’ll say, “Handy man, Handy man, my kingdom for a handyman,”because he’s helpless.”

Starting at 25:20 he talks about China. Here is an excerpt:

“China is taking advantage of the crisis. China, my god, they have a better understanding of our mind than we do. They’re the most brilliant propagandists I’ve ever seen in there dealings with the western liberal mindset…..”

“…..People are starting to blame the Chinese. But remember the difference is that this media…..which is 93% negative to the Presidency, has been regurgitating Chinese talking points. And they’ve said this till were blue in the face that China is being blamed byTrump to deflect from his own culpability. That”s what they’re professing. We’re not getting through our media a dispassionate disinterested view of the threat China poses. I don’t think that’s going to be sustainable. You know why I don’t?”

“Because the modern left worships at the alter of the European Union. and the feel we want to be where the EU is in ten years. And The EUu is sick of China……because they have a much thinner margin of error in terms fuel supplies, GDP, unemployment and there very angry. And so are Canada, Australia, and Mexico. So I don’t see the propaganda is going to work indefinitely. And the other thing is the left wasn’t too worried about Chinese military domination or economic domination………They focused on human rights violations ad China has a whole potpourri of these…..”

“What I’m worried about most is not that we are going to decouple, because we are. But there are two things that really worry me. One is the process of decoupling. Sort of like a divorce…..there all happy after it’s over…..but during the process both sides lie and connive, and were not lying and conniving. I think the Chinese are not going to allow bank accounts to be unfrozen. They’re Not going to compensate companies for their factories and their investments or ay of the money thats stuck over there in China.”

” The second thing is yes we have to have pharmaceuticals. Yes we have to have rare earth minerals. Yes we have to have military technology. Yes we have to have medical supplies.”

but we have spent a large portion, percentage, of our K through 12 and our under graduate experience and our professional schools on what the Chinese would call “fluff”. Social science dash studies courses and we are not turning out the STEM (science, technology, engineering math) students or the math engineering people the we need to get a grip on these key enterprises…… I don’t think we’re prepared yet to be autonomous in the areas we need to be. And we are going to have to be careful because China has a hold over those supply chains.”

At 53:45 he is asked place the U.S, at this present moment in history, to a point the history of the Roman Empire. This is interesting. Watch the last few minutes. It is a really good summation of where we are today.

WALTER E. WILLIAMS – BENEFITS VS. COSTS AND COVID-19

I’ve written about this in two previous articles, Thoughts About Covid-19 Pandemic, Panic, Power, and Solutions? Or Trade Offs?

But Walter E. Williams does a better job at explaining things than most of us. Let him do what he does best.

Excerpts from the article:

“One of the first lessons in an economics class is everything has a cost.”

“That’s in stark contrast to lessons in the political arena where politicians talk about free stuff.”

“In our personal lives, decision-making involves weighing costs against benefits. Businessmen make the same calculation if they want to stay in business.”

“It’s an entirely different story for politicians running the government where any benefit, however minuscule, is often deemed to be worth any cost, however large.”

“Related to decision-making is the issue of being overly safe versus not safe enough. Sometimes, being as safe as one can be is worthless. A minor example: How many of us before driving our cars inspect the hydraulic brake system for damage?”

“We’d be safer if we did, but most of us just assume everything is OK and get into our car and drive away. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 40,000 Americans lose their lives each year because of highway fatalities. Virtually all those lives could be saved with a mandated 5 mph speed limit. Fortunately, we consider costs and rightfully conclude that saving those 40,000 lives aren’t worth the costs and inconvenience of a 5 mph mandate.”

“With the costs and benefits in mind, we might examine our government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first thing to keep in mind about any crisis, be it war, natural disasters or pandemics, is we should keep markets open and private incentives strong. Markets solve problems because they provide the right incentives to use resources effectively. Federal, state and local governments have ordered an unprecedented and disastrous shutdown of much of the U.S. economy in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.”

“There’s a strictly health-related downside to the shutdown of the U.S. economy ignored by our leadership that has been argued by epidemiologist Dr. Knut Wittkowski, formerly the head of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design at Rockefeller University in New York City.”

“Wittkowski argues that the lockdown prolongs the development of the “herd immunity,” which is our only weapon in “exterminating” the novel coronavirus — outside of a vaccine that’s going to optimistically take 18 months or more to produce. He says we should focus on shielding the elderly and people with comorbidities while allowing the young and healthy to associate with one another in order to build up immunities.”

“Wittkowski says, “So, it’s very important to keep the schools open and kids mingling to spread the virus to get herd immunity as fast as possible, and then the elderly people, who should be separated, and the nursing homes should be closed during that time, can come back and meet their children and grandchildren after about 4 weeks when the virus has been exterminated.”

“The bottom line is that costs can be concealed but not eliminated. Moreover, if people only look at the benefits from a particular course of action, they will do just about anything, because everything has a benefit. Political hustlers and demagogues love promising benefits when the costs can easily be concealed. By the way, the best time to be wrong and persist in being wrong is when the costs of being wrong are borne by others.”

“The absolute worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, and possibly its most unrecoverable damage, is the massive power that Americans have given to their federal, state and local governments to regulate our lives in the name of protecting our health.”

“Taking back that power should be the most urgent component of our recovery efforts. It’s going to be challenging; once a politician, and his bureaucracy, gains power, he will fight tooth and nail to keep it.”

In the article it mentions Dr. Knut Wittkowski former head of The Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research design at Rockefeller University. Here is a link to the interview Leading Scientist Claims Lockdown And Quarantine Is A “Human Catastrophe“, at collective-evolution.com. I will put up the video here.

Here is the video.

Click here if it is taken down.

This is what happens when you don’t comply with the big government narrative. YouTube Censors Viral Video Of California Doctors Criticizing “Stat-At-Home” Order, at zerohedge.com.

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS ARE PROUD OF SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. KRISTI NOEM

Although Never Officially Shut Down, South Dakota Governor Unveils ‘Back To Normal’ Plan, by Tristan Justice, at thefederalist.com.

Excerpt from the video:

“I also noted that my role as it relates to public safety is something I take very seriously. But ultimately it is the people themselves that are primarily responsible for their safety,” They are the ones who are entrusted expansive freedoms. They are free to exercise their rights to work, worship, and to play or to stay at home and to conduct social distancing.”

“I’ve been very clear. As Governor, I did not dictate to the people of South Dakota. I did not tell you what activities you could do which ones were officially approved of or not approved of. I didn’t begin arresting or ticketing or fining individuals for exercising their rights. Nor am I going to do that today.”

“……In South Dakota in an unprecedented situation we find ourselves in today it publicly reveals the principles that we hold so dear. It is our people that makes us great. It is not our government……Our State motto is “Under God The People Rule”. That is what our system of government is all about. The people of South Dakota are the source of the power and the legitimacy of our government. Not the media. Not the politicians. Not political parties. That’s a healthy perspective for an elected official to keep in mind…...”

“The plan I’m unveiling today puts the power of the decision making into the hands of the people where it belongs…..I want to thank you for proving the wisdom of our founders by showing that people can and should be rusted to utilize the freedoms and liberties each and every day.“

The number of politicians that speak like this can be counted on one hand. This should give us hope that if we can find one who understands individual liberty and the proper role of government there has to be a few more. The good news is Governor Noem can inspire others to think like she does.

I was in awe when she said “The People of S.D. are the source of the power and the legitimacy of our government. Not the media. Not the politicians, Not political parties. That’s a healthy perspective for an elected official to keep in mind…”

This is masterful. She trusts the people with the burden of responsibility for leading themselves. It is powerful because people respond better when they have skin in the game. She also fires a not so subtle warning shot across the bow of tyrannical media, politicians and bureaucrats.

I have a great deal of respect for Gov. Noem. She is swimming against the current of progressive central planners. But she strikes me as someone who is tough enough to make it all the way upstream.

SATIRICAL HEADLINES

Scientists who Didn’t Predict A Single Thing Accurately For Last Two Months Confident They Know What The Weather Is Going To Be Like In 100 Years, at babylonbee.com.

“WORLD—Authorities in the scientific community who touted faulty COVID-19 models are “pretty confident” they know what the weather is going to be like in 100 years, sources confirmed Wednesday.”

“The scientists say they have settled on a climate model that confirms the earth’s average temperature will be either 1 million degrees Celsius or below freezing, give or take 1 million degrees.”

People Who Go Outside, California Prisons Release Thousands Of Felons To Make Room For Skaters, Surfers, at babylonbee.com.

“We need to free up those prison cells for the really dangerous people, like beachgoers,” said Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference.”

Food Supply Disaster Averted As Chick-Fil-A Miraculously Feeds Entire Nation With Just 5 Chicken Sandwiches, 2 Waffle Fries, at babylonbee.com.

Newly Mustachioed Bill DeBlasio Unveils Special Red Armbands For Police Enforcing Lockdown, at babylonbee.com.

CARTOONS

Political Cartoons by Mike Lester

Political Cartoons by Steve Breen

Categories: Government and Politics, Miscellaneous
Tags: Benefits Vs Costs, Cartoons, Corona Virus, Coronavirus Lockdown, Dr. Knut Wittkowski, Drs Criticizing Stay at Home Order video shut down., Founding Principles, Quarantine Is Human Catastrophe, Satirical Headlines from The Babylon Bee, South Dakota Gov Kristi Noem, Uncommon Knowledge Interview, Victor Davis Hanson, Walter E. Williams

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Coronavirus Consequences: Intended And Unintended

April 8, 2020

HOW DO EXPERTS VIEW THE WORLD

The lens through which experts see a problem is important in understanding why they make the decisions they do. Engineers, chemists, immunologists, economists, lawyers, psychiatrists, social workers, farmers, politicians, and bureaucrats could look at the same thing and see it differently.

IMMUNOLOGIST

The head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Fauci, is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He sees our current crisis through the lens of being an immunologist. The end he seeks is the eradicate the Coronavirus. He chooses means that he believes will bring about the end he seeks.

What he doesn’t see are the consequences produced, outside of eradicating the Coronavirus, by the means he has chosen.

ECONOMICS

Economics isn’t really about finances, making money, business, profit etc. Economic principles are in play in situations that have nothing to do with money and finances.

Economic principles apply to everything in life. Medics on the battlefield perform triage on the wounded soldiers. They are deciding how to allocate their scarce medical resources, including their time, to the most productive use. Some soldiers have a chance to survive if they get immediate care. Some have wounds that can be addressed quickly and fixed later. Some can’t be saved. Triage is how these doctors make these trade offs. If they spend all their time on a soldier that can’t be saved, others will die who could have been saved and some may lose limbs that wouldn’t have.

Each of us has a limited number of hours (24 ) in a day. And we have an unlimited number of ends to choose from. We choose certain ends and also choose the amount of time we are going to allocate to each.

Good economists see the world differently. They do not see one size fits all solutions in a world of scarce means and unlimited ends. They don’t see a decision as a choice between either A or Z . They see decisions as trade offs between A and Z.

THAT WHICH IS SEEN AND THAT WHICH IS NOT SEEN

Frederic Bastiat was an economist in France during the mid 1800’s. His essay, That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen, starts like this: “In the economy, an act, a habit, an institution, a law, gives birth not only to an effect, but to a series of effects. Of these effects, the first only is immediate; it manifests itself simultaneously with its cause – it is seen. The others unfold in succession – they are not seen: it is well for us if they are foreseen. Between a good economist and a bad economist this constitutes the whole difference……the bad economist pursues a small present good, which will be followed by a great evil to come, while the true economist pursues a great good to come, at the risk of a small present evil.”

I’m not picking on Dr. Fauci. Every profession, by the very fact of being specialized, has built in blind spots weather it is politicians, bureaucrats, engineers, lawyers, psychiatrists or social workers.

We have to understand this reality and do a better job of looking at the trade offs instead of the one size fits all solution. The financial cost, the psychological cost and the high cost of agreement, have to be seen and considered in every decision.

I know our politicians and bureaucrats are not weighing all the costs of the decisions they have been made concerning the Coronavirus crisis. And the reason is they see the crisis not as a problem to be “solved”, but as a chance to increase government power, and shrink the rights of the individual. Because “You Never Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste.”

ARTICLES

Complex Systems Collide, Markets Crash, by James Rickards, at dailyreckoning.com. Excerpt from the article:

“Complexity theory has four main pillars. The first is the diversity of actors. You’ve got to account for all of the actors in the marketplace. When you consider the size of global markets, that number is obviously vast.”

“The second pillar is interconnectedness. Today’s world is massively interconnected through the internet, through social media and other forms of communications technology.”

“The third pillar of complexity theory is interaction. Markets interact on a massive scale. Trillions of dollars of financial transactions occur every single day.”

“The fourth pillar, and this is the hardest for people to understand, is adaptive behavior. Adaptive behavior just means that your behavior affects my behavior and my behavior affects yours. That in turn affects someone else’s behavior, and so on.”

“Understanding the four main pillars of complexity gives you a window into the inner workings of markets in a way the Fed’s antiquated equilibrium models can’t. They let you see the world with better eyes.”

“People assume that if you had perfect knowledge of the economy, which nobody does, that you could conceivably plan an economy. You’d have all the information you needed to determine what should be produced and in what number.”

“But complexity theory says that even if you had that perfect knowledge, you still couldn’t predict financial and economic events. They can come seemingly out of nowhere.”

“I make the point that a snowflake can cause an avalanche. But of course not every snowflake does. Most snowflakes fall harmlessly, except that they make the ultimate avalanche worse because they’re building up the snowpack. And when one of them hits the wrong way, it could spin out of control.”

The Costs Are Mounting In This Government-Imposed Economic Collapse, by William Anderson, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article:

“What we are seeing is how many people want governments to respond to a situation characterized by uncertainty. In such circumstances, they demand “solutions” that only can make things worse, and there is no better way to make the masses vulnerable to disease than to impoverish them. Furthermore, theNew York Times and the American Conservative’s one-two punch demanding total subjectivity to the whims of government makes it very difficult for there to be even a smidgen of rational discussion as to what is taking place no matter what one’s ideological stance might be.”

“First, instead of assuming that regulators really intended to minimize costs but somehow proceeded to make crazy mistakes, I began to assume that they were not trying to minimize costs at all……… They were trying to minimize their costs, just as most sensible people do.”

“Politicians are rationally risk averse, and when they shift the costs of their decisions upon the people they ostensibly wish to protect, they are not acting out of character, either of themselves or of the political system. That they wreck the livelihoods of millions of people in the process is of no concern to them and their adoring media. Instead, blame the capitalists.”

“If Getting Us Into $6 Trillion More Debt Doesn’t Matter, Then Why Not $350 Trillion?” at zerohedge.com. Excerpt from the article:

“… in case anyone still hasn’t figured it out, the whole “republican, democrat” split of the population in two rival camps is nothing more than theater meant to distract while those in control loot not only the here and now, but also rob the future generations blind. Because the sad truth is that behind the fake veneer of either progressive ideals of conservative values, politicians on both sides have one simple directive: to perpetuate the broken status quo for as long as humanly possible, and get as rich as possible in the process.”

“A Multitrillion Dollar Helicopter credit Drop”: How The Fed Turned $450 Billion Into $4.5 Trillion, at zerohedge.com. This stimulus bill allows The Fed to print $4 trillion dollars. The bill also allows The Fed to bailout anything or anyone it wants. It also allows it to do it secretly. Why can’t I get a $1 million dollar bailout? I’m a great guy! And I’m great at keeping secrets!

Corona Cash Grab: Pelosi, US Agencies Compile Lists For Phase 4 Stimulus, at zerohedge.com. At what point will this massive amount of debt become too heavy for the real economy to prop up. These geniuses think printing money and going into debt have no consequences. Economic reality will eventually win. And It will be ugly.

Michigan Democrat Governor Begs Feds For Hydroxychloroquine Just Days After Threatening Doctors For Prescribing It, at zerohedge.com. This shows what a B.S. game politics is. I will play politics until I need something to save my a$$.

Stimulus Package Projected To Save The Lives Of At Least 85,000 Government Programs, at babylonbee.com. The Bee is great. This headline is funny because it is true.

The Things You CANNOT Say About Coronavirus, by James Corbett, at guardian.org. If I don’t buy in 100% to what the “Experts” say about the Coronavirus, everyone acts as if I have committed a mortal sin against humanity. Most people will cave when it looks like the crowd is against them. I’m not most people.

How Governments Are Deploying Big Data To Enforce Covid-19 Quarantines, at zerohedge.com. And this article: Kansas Using Residents’ Cell-Phone Location Data To Fight Pandemic, by Tobias Hoonhout, at nationalreview.com. These articles give us insight into how tyrannical politicians can be in the name of doing good. This is surveillance without a warrant. This is essentially what the FBI got the FISA court to do to Trump.

Garcetti To Non-Complying Businesses: ‘We Will Shut You Down, at laist.com. Where do these governors get the power to confiscate a businesses property. In reality this is what they are doing with these shut down rules. Do these rules have the force of law behind them or are these Governors using intimidation to get people to do what they want?

$350k Bond For Man Charged In ‘We Don’t Give A F*** Caronavirus’ Video, at fox19.com. $350,000 bond for a second degree misdemeanor? Seriously? Here is what the Prosecutor said: “Millions of Ohioans are following Governor Mike DeWine’s social distancing order. It’s not a suggestion, it’s the law,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said in a tweet over the weekend. “Gathering in big groups is dangerous, especially to our police when they have to intervene. It’s real simple: stay at home or expect to be prosecuted.”

This is all about intimidating people to do something that is an order (Suggestion) and not a law. These are the very real unintended consequences of Government is doing. This guy committed a mortal sin against the powers that be.

From Denmark, A Clever Way To Stop Panic-Buying And Hoarding, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. This is how you ration scarce resources. Raise the price. But this is really thinking outside the box. One bottle of hand sanitizer $5.73, 2 bottles $143 each. This should be the pricing system for toilet paper and paper towels.

UK Drug Dealer: People Are “Panic-Buying Cocaine And Weed To Cope With Covid-19 Lockdown, at zerohedge.com. In the UK people are panic buying cocaine and marijuana. A dealer said: “…the price of cocaine is set to surge because there are no new shipments coming in from abroad for at least six weeks……When the stock begins to run low, people higher up the chain will charge more or cut the cocaine and decrease its quality.” Economic principles are always in play. Even in the black market. The price will go up to ration the scarcity, or they will cut the quality to extend the supply.

Categories: Econ. 101, Government and Politics
Tags: $350K bond For Corona offender Cincinnati, 4th Corona Stimulus Bill, Complex Systems, Corona Stimulus Bill, Coronavirus, Dr. Fauci Immunologist, Economic collapse, Econonic Principles, Experts, Frédéric Bastiat, Government Use of Force, Hydroxychloroquine, Michigan Governor, Panic Buying Cocaine in UK Corona, Prices ration Hand Sanatizer in Denmark, Solutions vs. Trade Offs, Unintended Consequences, Using Phone Data as Corona Surveillance, WHat is Seen and What is Unseen, You Never Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste

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Solutions? Or Trade Offs?

March 24, 2020

Diagram of tradeoff

I heard this statement the other day about our present Covid 19 “crisis”: ” Do we save lives and kill the economy? Or do we save the economy and kill lives?

I’ve learned from economist Thomas Sowell that in our imperfect world, there are no solutions, there are only trade offs. What does that mean? It means that the two choices above are not the only choices. These choices are stated as all or nothing categorical decisions. But many of “experts” fail to see the incremental trade offs that can be made between these two extremes.

When a “crisis” pops up, a particular “solution” to the crisis is imposed on us by an “expert”. People who criticize the “solution are usually hit with this statement: “Even if it saves just one life, isn’t it worth it?” My answer to that question is, “NO” it is not worth it.

The question implies that there is no limit to the amount of resources that should be used in order to save just one life. But a price is put on life everyday. If these people were serious about “saving just one life” they would fight to get the speed limit reduced to 20 mph. Would any of us be willing to trade off the economic benefits of a higher speed limit as well as our ability to get places faster, for the lives lost in accidents.

The deaths of coal miners and power line workers are an acceptable trade off to have electricity in our homes. Some of the most deadly professions are fisherman, farmers and loggers. Yet we don’t think twice about the trade off of these lives when we eat crab legs or a steak or build a house.

The point is, there is a trade off between lives lost and the goods and services our free market economy produces. In fact the standard of living produced by free market capitalism has saved exponentially more lives than have been lost in the production of that standard of living.

Swine Flu data from 09-10 shows 60 million contracted the virus and 22,469 died. Influenza data for this flu season shows between 38-59 million contracted the flu and between 23,000-59,000 died. These were no big deal to the media. These lives were an acceptable trade off to the powers that be and the media. So why is our present “crisis” different?

Here are some great articles with great information.

Coronavirus Isn’t A Pandemic, by Richard Epstein, at ricochet.com.

Excerpt from the article:

“But why might the dire predictions be wrong? The theoretical answer to the question of how deadly the virus will turn out lies in part in a strong analytical relationship between the rate of spread and the strength of the virus. Start with the simple assumption that there is some variance in the rate of seriousness of any virus, just as there is in any trait for any species. In the formative stage of any disease, people are typically unaware of the danger. Hence, they take either minimal or no precautions to protect themselves from the virus. In those settings, the virus—which in this instance travels through droplets of moisture from sneezing and bodily contact—will reach its next victim before it kills its host. Hence the powerful viruses will remain dominant only so long as the rate of propagation is rapid. But once people are aware of the disease, they will start to make powerful adaptive responses, including washing their hands and keeping their distance from people known or likely to be carrying the infection. Various institutional measures, both private and public, have also slowed down the transmission rate.”

“At some tipping point, the most virulent viruses will be more likely to kill their hosts before the virus can spread. In contrast, the milder versions of the virus will wreak less damage to their host and thus will survive over the longer time span needed to spread from one person to another. Hence the rate of transmission will trend downward, as will the severity of the virus. It is a form of natural selection.”

Coronavirus Overreaction, by Richard Epstein, at ricochet.com.

Here is a point that jumps out at me: “Italy has taken the lead with 6,077 deaths……… which stems, it appears, from a conscious decision not to supply ventilators to anyone over 60.” Death panels anyone?

Excerpt from the article:

“Out of over 367,000 COVID-19 cases reported as of noon March 23, 2020, 16,000 people have died, a rough increase of about 9,500 from the past week. China has contributed about 3,500, a figure that is holding relatively stable — if we are to believe the reporting coming out of the People’s Republic of China — as is Iran’s total of 1,812 deaths (another potentially dubious total). In Spain, the death toll is 2,206. Italy has taken the lead with 6,077 deaths, 85 percent of which are of people over 70, which stems, it appears, from a conscious decision not to supply ventilators to anyone over 60. These four nations make up close to 13,000 deaths or about 82 percent of the total. Taken together, these four countries account for over 13,595 of the 16,097 deaths. The good news here is that the growth rates in both Italy and Spain have turned downward in the past 48 hours.”

“We need a public debate on the political response to COVID-19, and we need it now. I fully understand the need for immediate responses to immediate threats, like fires, but not for crises that may last for three months or more. At this point, everyone knows that people who are elderly, especially those with chronic conditions, should stay out of harm’s way. But that prohibition is self-enforcing because those people know that it is in their best interest to self-quarantine, at least in place of high incidence, but by no means nationally. But for low-risk groups, a different set of precautions may fit the bill — an emphasis on thorough hand washing, reduced work hours, reducing workers per shift, and better availability of ventilation equipment.”

“The central Hayekian principle applies: All of these choices are done better at the level of plants, hotels, restaurants, and schools than remotely by political leaders. Our governors have failed to ask a basic question: When all the individual and institutional precautions are in place, what is the marginal gain of having the government shut everything down by a preemptive order? Put otherwise, with these precautions in place, what is the extent of the externalities that remain unaddressed?”

“Progressives think they can run everyone’s lives through central planning, but the state of the economy suggests otherwise. Looking at the costs, the public commands have led to a crash in the stock market, and may only save a small fraction of the lives that are at risk. In addition, there are lost lives on both sides of the equation as many people will now find it more difficult to see a doctor, get regular exercise, stay sober, and eat healthily. None of these alternative hazards are addressed by the worthy governors.”

Podcast: Richard Epstein Talking With Nick Gillespie About Coronavirus, at reason.com. Listen to this podcast. Epstein makes good sense.

Article here: The Costs Are Mounting In This Government-Imposed Economic Collapse, by William L. Anderson, at mises.org.

Excerpt from the article:

“Federal and local authorities are stretching their constitutional limits well beyond anything our ancestors would have recognized in their attempts to keep people away from each other and prevent social contact.”

“…….. Military terms such as “shelter in place” now are part of ordinary language as governments at every level issue orders, with governors competing to see how they can be perceived as being “in charge” as they bark out increasingly draconian commands, threatening deadly force if necessary.”

What we are seeing is how many people want governments to respond to a situation characterized by uncertainty. In such circumstances, they demand “solutions” that only can make things worse, and there is no better way to make the masses vulnerable to disease than to impoverish them. Furthermore, the New York Times and the American Conservative’s one-two punch demanding total subjectivity to the whims of government makes it very difficult for there to be even a smidgen of rational discussion as to what is taking place no matter what one’s ideological stance might be.

As noted earlier, all of this is a response to the uncertainty of just how much this virus will spread and what its actual effect will be on the health of Americans. What we do know (at least at this point), however, does not exactly raise our confidence in American politicians and the media, especially the elite media.

Prevention Expert:Data Shows Our Fight Against Coronavirus May Be Worse Than The Disease, by James Barrett, at dalywire.com.

Excerpt from the article:

“…..By taking an “at war” approach to fighting COVID-19 — widespread shutdowns and isolation of the entire population — rather than a “surgical strike” approach focusing on the truly vulnerable, Katz argues, we have set ourselves on the path to “uncontained viral contagion and monumental collateral damage to our society and economy.”

“The reason this is so dire, he underscores, is that our current approach is rapidly causing severe damage socially, economically and in terms of public health.”

“I am deeply concerned that the social, economic and public health consequences of this near total meltdown of normal life — schools and businesses closed, gatherings banned — will be long lasting and calamitous, possibly graver than the direct toll of the virus itself,” Katz writes.”

“While the stock market might rebound, many businesses and thus many jobs, may never come back, a result that has massive societal ramifications. Meanwhile, by stretching our limited health care resources “so widely, so shallowly and so haphazardly,” we are likely setting ourselves up for failure on multiple levels.”

Never Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste

Thomas Sowell: “The first rule of economics is scarcity, there are not enough resources to meet the desires and needs of everyone. The first rule of politics is to ignore the first rule of economics.”

If that is the first rule of politics than the second rule of politics is: Politicians are always trying to increase the power of government. But when a crisis hits that effort increases exponentially.

I don’t like the fact that the multiple trillion dollar “Stimulus” bill will bail out banks and corporations that previously used The Feds printed money to buy back their stock in order to prop up their stock price. You and I also know that this will end up being more like 4 trillion dollars when you add everything up. This 2-4 trillion is all debt. This debt will be purchased directly or indirectly by the Federal Reserve’s printing press. We are piling more debt on top of what we all ready have. This is what we did in the 2008 crisis (TARP Bailout). Non of the 08 debt has been repaid. We have a Empire State building of debt built on a sand foundation. It is totally top heavy like an inverted pyramid. But we’ll address the Fed money printing in another post.

I also don’t like the Democrats 1400 page bill that is nothing more than the democrat policy platform for the 2020 election. They are trying to implement their agenda before the election takes place.

Here are a few things that are in the 1400 page bill. Increased fuel emission standards for airplanes. Same day voter registration, early voting, voting by mail, and something called ballot harvesting (no potential for voter fraud here). Reserve collective bargaining power for unions. Expand wind and solar tax credits. Money for planned parenthood.

The Democrats, Republicans and the Federal Reserve are definitely not letting this crisis go to waste.

These articles have more info in them.

Nancy Pelosi Proposes 1,400 Page Coronavirus Bill Stuffed With Pork, at breitbart.com.

McConnell: Dems Holding Up Coronavirus Relief Over solar Panel Tax Credits, at breitbart.com.

Everyone In America Should Read About Dems Killing Emergency Relief Package, at theblaze.com.

Categories: Econ. 101, Government and Politics
Tags: Coronavirus Relief bill, Covid 19 Crisis, Cure Worse Than The Disease, Never let a crisis go to waste, Richard Epstein, Solutions vs. Trade Offs

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Thoughts About Covid 19: Pandemic, Panic And Power

March 19, 2020

world Corona virus attack concept. world/earth put mask to fight against Corona virus. Concept of fight against virus, danger and public health risk disease. Virus attack isolated on green

MATHEMATICAL RISK

Compared to other “pandemics” the number of people dying from the Covid 19 virus doesn’t measure up. Look here: A Visual History Of Pandemics, at weforum.org. And I know this has a ways to go before it is contained.

We know the number of people who have died form the virus, because we can count the bodies. But we do not know, and can not know, the number of people who have, or have had, the virus. We know the listed number of people who have the virus are only the people who have been tested. But we don’t know how many people have, or have had, the virus who have yet to be tested or will never be tested. So the number of infections is much higher than the posted number. The math is just a guess because it looks like this: Known Number of Deaths/Unknown Number of Infections.

Here are the statistics: Coronavirus Update (Live), at worldometers.info.

People over the age of 60 and people who have existing medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, hypertension, and cancer are where a vast majority of the deaths occur. And most of the people with these medical problems are older people. Here is the breakdown: Coronavirus Age, Sex, Existing Medical Conditions, at worldometersinfo. Access your mathematical risk according to these charts?

An Asian woman storing tissue toilet paper during Coronavirus outbreak or Covid-19, Concept of Covid-19 quarantine. Wuhan epidemic outbreak. Dangerous COVID virus, Doomsday panic people panic lockdown

PANIC

The media has pushed this story hard. It doesn’t matter why. But they haven’t panicked everyone. It has been hard for me to find someone who doesn’t think this is a bit over hyped. Read this article: As Government AuthoritiesUrge Panic Over Coronavirus One Doctor Breaks Rank, at mises.org.

But if you panic enough people on the margin, they can make grocery store shelves look bare. I went to a store to look at what people hoard during a “pandemic”. Here is what I observed. They hoard toilet paper, which I don’t understand at all. Bottled water, which I also don’t understand because the water from their tap is safe. Cleaning products, hand sanitizer, alcohol, pasta, frozen pizzas and cans of soup. Although they don’t buy split pea soup, french onion soup or minestrone. They also don’t buy popping corn or cookies.

But once fifteen to twenty percent of the population is panicked, it seems like everyone is panicked. That’s when the politicians have to step in and “do something”. When politicians see a parade coming down the street they have to get out in front of it so it looks like they are leading.

Our governor in Ohio shut down schools, sporting events, restaurants and Tuesdays primary election, among other things. This raises a few questions.

Why did he shut down these particular activities and allow other businesses, like day care facilities, to stay open? What are the parameters that will make him reopen what he had shut down? Where does he get the power to shut down businesses?

Read this article: Fear Can Spread From Person To Person Faster Than The Coronavirus – But There Are Ways To Slow It Down, at theconversation.com.

Hand holding piece of jigsaw puzzle with word problem & solution.

NEVER LET A CRISIS GO TO WASTE

After 9/11, individuals in government passed legislation that gave government more power over “we the people”. We had our civil liberties taken away when congress passed, and Bush signed, The Patriot Act. The bill had a sunset clause where congress had to vote on and pass the bill again after a certain number of years.

I was in favor of this bill because of the sunset clause. How stupid was I? I have read enough Milton Friedman to know this quote: “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program“.

We know our politicians and bureaucrats are going to make a power grab because of this “crisis”. Every time a “tragedy” happens in our country, a particular article gets a lot of hits on this site. The article is: “You Never Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste“. It shows the blue print of how politicians and bureaucrats attempt to expand government power after a perceived or real “crisis”.

Tyrannical power grabs by politicians, bureaucrats and other individuals in government are the norm, not the exception. Here is an example: During this coronavirus panic Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen, of Champaign Illinois, has granted herself the power to ban the sales of guns and alcohol. Another example: Coronavirus patient from Kentucky has police surround his home forcing him to self quarantine. (Will they shoot him if he doesn’t comply?)

The biggest threat from the Coronavirus is the threat to our individual liberty by politicians and bureaucrats using the power of government to “do something” in order to find a “solution” to the “crisis”.

Here are a few excerpts from this article: Coronacrisis And Leviathan, at mises.org.

“…..the growth of government in the twentieth century can largely be explained by patterns of crisis and response. These crises can be real (World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, stagflation) or imagined (inequality, the various isms). In either case new government programs, agencies, and policies are established, purportedly as temporary responses to the perceived emergency. But, as…..history shows us, most of the temporary measures become permanent—either explicitly or in a revised form based on the original.”

“How will leviathan expand—temporarily and then permanently via the ratchet effect—in response to COVID-19? It’s too early to make any definite predictions, but we can make educated guesses based on experience and our knowledge of how governments work.”

Read this article: They Should Have Called It CONTROLavirus, at theburningplatform.com.

Immune bacteria system sign. Antibacterial virus sign. Immune protection antiseptic, anti desease immune icon.

VACCINES AND OUR IMMUNE SYSTEMS.

Read this article: Researchers Discovered How The Body Kills The Coronavirus, at bgr.com

Excerpt from the article:

“The coronavirus pandemic is far from being contained, with countries all over the world reporting more and more cases. It’s up to everyone to step up and do their part……….social distancing and hand washing will help do the trick — so that medical systems around the world aren’t overwhelmed. Doctors need time to treat severe cases while some of their peers attempt to develop vaccines or new drugs that will speed up the healing process. The good news for people who catch the new COVID-19 virus is that most people will recover, and that’s because of the body’s immune system. Researchers in Australia have already figured out how the body kills the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and their early results will help others develop new treatments that could extend immunity, and maybe even eradicate the disease.”

“Australian researchers discovered that the human body fights the infection the same way it would deal with the regular flu. The conclusion is valid for mild-to-moderate cases for the time being, which leads to full recovery. It’s still unclear how long the immunity lasts and there’s no guarantee that once healed, the body will not contract the same COVID-19 disease again.”

Are we in a catch 22 situation with regard to Covid 19? There is currently no vaccine for Covid 19. So in order to build up immunity to this virus you have to get infected and recover. But the spread will not only take some of the lives of older people and those with certain medical conditions, the spread might overwhelm the medical system.

Are you old enough to remember “Chickenpox Parties”? Here is an excerpt from an article: Chickenpox Parties: Benefits, Risks, at medicalnewstoday.com.

“People use pox parties as a way to deliberately infect their children with chickenpox. The idea is that the child gets the illness sooner rather than later and builds up a natural immunity to the virus.”

“During a pox party, parents or caregivers encourage uninfected children to play, eat, and interact with a child who currently has chickenpox. This close contact makes it much more likely that the children will catch chickenpox.”

“Chickenpox parties were popular when the vaccine for chickenpox was not yet available. Nowadays, some people who do not want their child to have the vaccine see pox parties as a natural way for them to acquire immunity to the illness.”

I have a couple of questions. Would it be better for individuals and the medical system to allow people, who are not in the high risk groups, to get infected in order to build up their immunity to the virus since we don’t have a vaccine yet? So instead of shutting everything down for 90% of the population who are not high risk, would there be lower cost to the economy and a lower psychological cost for everybody if the high risk groups were quarantined to protect them and allow others to go about their normal business?

CONCLUSION

I have seen two viruses that were politicized in my life time. AIDs and Covid 19. The government didn’t implement any of the measures it has taken to combat Covid 19 even though it would have been easy to contain AIDs. Why? Because the affected group was a politically protected identity group. SARS in 2002, Swine Flu in 2010, Ebola in 2014, and MERS in 2015 were never politicized. And the main stream media and politicians don’t even mention the tens of thousands of people who die every year from influenza. Why?

I am skeptical of the statements of politicians, government bureaucrats and the main stream media. The main stream media has hyped a lot of things over the last three years that have proven to be wrong. So they have no credibility. Politicians are not credible because of their incentive to get reelected by any means. Government bureaucrats have no credibility because all they want is to keep or grow their power.

That is what makes this tough to figure out. We know there is a virus afflicting the US and the world. But what do we know for certain after that? Read a lot different articles and trust your instincts. I hope these articles help.

Categories: Government and Politics, Miscellaneous
Tags: Chickenpox Parties, Covid 19 Virus, Immune Systems, Never let a crisis go to waste, Pandemic, Panic, Vaccines

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July 4th – Individual Freedom vs. Government Tyranny

July 4, 2019

I reread the fourth chapter in Thomas Sowell’s book, “The Quest for Cosmic Justice”, every 4th of July. It is a must read. The fourth chapter is titled “The Quiet Repeal of the American Revolution”. I wish what he states about the difference between the American Revolution and all other revolutions was understood by all Americans. Here are some excerpts from this chapter.

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IS SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHERS

We are not just talking about a single person with a tyrannical idea. We are also talking about a tyrannical idea which has many people with political power who want to implement this tyranny.

OUR HISTORY OF LIBERTY IS FADING

But for me here is the part of Lincoln’s speech that really hit me. He is talking about how the spirit of “76” will fade as time passes.

“Upon these let the proud fabric of freedom rest, as the rock of its basis; and as truly as has been said of the only greater institution, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Today Ocasio Cortez and the rest of Americas socialist insurgents have a great deal of passion but no sober logic and reason. The side that is supposed to be for individual freedom and liberty has lost its passion. But more importantly it has lost the ability to supply the sober reason necessary to combat the passion of the socialist insurgents in our midst.

Will our side become passionate enough to learn the sober reasoning for freedom and liberty before the passion of the socialist insurgents win the day? Only the passage of time will answer that question.

THE CASE FOR FREEDOM

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (read here) was our statement of freedom form British tyranny. This document is talking about today as much as it was appropriate in its time. On July 4th, Independence Day, take some time to read the Declaration of Independence. Then tell me it isn’t speaking about the present. This document applies to the past, the present and the future.

PAUL HARVEY; OUR LIVES, OUR FORTUNES, OUR SACRED HONOR.

RAY CHARLES – AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

This brings a tear to my eye every time.

Related Article: July 4th 2018: Independence Day, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: July 4th: What Does Independence Day Mean? at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: July 4th – Our Choice: Liberty or Tyranny, at austrianaddict.com.

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Categories: Government and Politics, Miscellaneous
Tags: July 4th Independence Day, Liberty or Tyranny, Lincoln Lyceum Speech, Our Lives Our Fortunes Our Sacred Honor, Paul Harvey, Ray Charles America The Beautiful, The American Revolution, The Declaration of independence, The Quest For Cosmic Justice, Thomas Sowell

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Plastic Straws! Seriously?

July 19, 2018

I never use a plastic straw at home. And I rarely use one at a restaurant. But from this moment forward I will always use a straw at a restaurant. Why? It is my way of protesting against the insane hysteria by activists about straws polluting the oceans.

Think about it. Do the straws you use make it to the ocean? No! They end up in the local dump site. These people are just a bunch of busybodies trying to control a part of your life.

Hardcore environmentalists are essentially socialist central planners. They use “shame” to subtly nudge people into adopting actions that are “good for the planet”. It’s similar to politicians using the term “for the children” to try to nudge people into adopting a big government solution to a perceived problem.

The celebrities, in these public service messages, who say they are not going to “suck” anymore, are being used as useful idiots for the advancement of the central planners plans.

Here is a video that rationally looks at the plastic straw “controversy”.

Article: Stossel: Plastic Straw Myths, at reason.com. Excerpts from the article:

“The claim that Americans use 500 million plastic straws daily is based on a nine-year-old’s school project.”

“Banning plastic Straws will accomplish probably nothing at all. It might make some people in hollywood feel good. It might make some politicians feel good like they’re doing something. It might sound good at parties but it’s not going to solve any problems.”

“Plastic straws aren’t environmentally friendly. But neither are their paper replacements. Paper products take more energy and more effort to produce. You’re going to have a net negative environmental impact. You’re replacing a superior product with an inferior one and asking people to pay more. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“So what they’re trying to do is take away my freedom for nothing in return.”

“As the environment has become cleaner. Its become a speciality of the environmental movement to spend your money on feel good policies that make no real difference.”

Related Article: Climate Change: Religion? Economics? Science? at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: Earth Day 2016, at austrianaddict.com.

Categories: Government and Politics
Tags: Ban Plastic Straws, Environmental Central Planning, Environmental socialism, Plastic Straw Pollution

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Border Separation Is About Politics. “The Children” Are Being Used As Pawns

June 20, 2018

The outrage over “the children” being separated from their families at the border is all about politics. This issue is being used as a weapon. The target of the weapon is Trump. It is that simple. The mid-term elections are coming up and the Democrats need a “Hail Mary Pass”.

This is not Trumps policy. It is the law of the United States. This same thing was going on when Obama was president.

When reporters and politicians start using terms like “concentration camps” when discussing this, I tune them out. They have no credibility. They are attempting to sway opinion by using emotion. I don’t think this tactic is as effective as it once was.

Shocking Testimony: Civil Rights Attorney Asked Obama To Close Migrant “Baby Jails” in 2015, at zerohedge.com. According to his own words Obama wanted these detention centers. Where was the media outrage? I think we know the answer to that.

Breathtaking Hypocrisy Of The Left On Immigration, at theburningplatform.com. Here are two short videos of Hillary and Obama sounding like Trump. Where was the outrage?

Border Patrol Agent Enlightens CNN Reporter On Reality At The Border.

Four Things The Media Won’t Tell You About The Border Crisis, at thefederalist.com. Excerpt from the article: “By denouncing Trump’s policy (actually it is a U.S. law) of family separation and demanding that the administration keep families together, the media (along with a large number of lawmakers from both parties) are effectively arguing that families should be released while they await their court hearings or go through the asylum application process. Whether they realize it or not – and no doubt many in the media and the Democratic Party fully realize it – this amounts to a de facto open borders policy….”

Categories: Government and Politics
Tags: Border Separation, Detention Centers, Immigration and The Border, It Is About Politics, Its About Politics

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