Archive for the ‘Hall of Fame’ category

Keynes vs. Hayek Round II, The Fight Of The Century.

November 19, 2012

Mises states, “The issue is always the same: the Government or the market, there is no third solution.” This has been the fight of the century, and will be the fight of the next century. Top down central planning by the state vs, bottom up voluntary cooperation in the market.

Central planning by the State sounds so logical and reasonable if analysed on the surface. Spending creates demand and people will produce to supply this demand. That’s simple and easy to understand on the surface, but a deeper analysis reveals that the structure of production is a very complex process. This complex structure of production was created by the spontaneous ordering processes in the free market not (more…)

Marine Cpl. Nick Kimmel, Triple Amputee, Throws Out First Pitch At This Years World Series.

November 4, 2012

                                                        SEMPER FI

13 Year Old, Carly Rose Sonenclar, Belts It Out In Her Amazing X Factor Audition.

October 31, 2012

I like to watch talented people perform at their chosen craft. Let’s take a break from what we normally cover and just enjoy listening to real talent. I saw this video on Economic Policy Journal and was blown away by the talent and poise of this thirteen year old. I had never heard of The X Factor before, now I’ll have to watch to see Carly Rose Sonenclar perform. The judge’s reactions say it all.

Mises’ “Human Action” Explains Lies About Libya.

October 25, 2012

Navy Special Warfare Trident Insignia worn by ...

The way last month’s attack in Libya, resulting in the deaths of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans including two former SEALs,  has been used by politicians and the media is why I loathe politics. I linked to articles on SOFREP.com which were written one day after the attack which said this was a “planned and coordinated para-military attack”. They are in a post from this site on September 14. As I stated in that post SOFREP  stands for Special Operations Forces Situational Report and is run by former SEAL Brandon Webb. One of the contributors was former SEAL Glen Doherty who was killed in the Benghazi attack read more here. This site has insight and information about military operations, rules of engagement, foreign policy, and much more. It should be the first place you go to get the unvarnished truth. Their allegiance is to their brothers in the military, not to any politicians. Read October 31 2012 post Mind-Melting Breakdown of the Benghazei Attack Build Up.

Here is how “Human Action” by Ludwig von Mises helps us analyze the Libyan situation. Human action is purposeful behavior. Action is not simply verbal preference, it is the individual choosing and acting to reach a particular end. Action is a tangible thing and cannot be confused with wishes or hopes or after the fact quarterbacking. Men act to substitute what they think will be a more satisfactory state of affairs for a less satisfactory state. We wouldn’t want to change our existing state of affairs if we didn’t think the result would be better. Our action reveals the correctness of our thinking. When a baseball manager makes a decision during a game (more…)

Walter E. Williams Talks About Individual Liberty.

October 15, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8g4JR33uQA&feature=fvst

Dr Williams talks about private property rights, legalized theft by Government, and Government as the enemy of the people, in a speech at The Independent Institute. Dr. Williams is a defender of individual liberty because of its moral superiority. Liberty minded people should read everything he writes.

Counterfeiting by the Federal Reserve, Although Legal, Still Results in Theft.

September 29, 2012

Counterfeit—1. make an imitation of something genuine so as to defraud. 2. an imitation made to deceive.

The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History

The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History (Photo credit: CityGypsy11)

Is it legal for you to counterfeit money and try to purchase goods with your printed dollars? It’s illegal because it is theft. You are exchanging something for nothing. You get a good or service that was the property of someone, and they get a counterfeit bill. When that person tries to use the counterfeit bill in a future exchange and it is swiped with the pen and found to be counterfeit, at that moment he knows the good or service he once owned was stolen.

When the Federal Reserve injects counterfeit money into the economy it’s (more…)

Thomas Sowell–“Economic Problems Don’t Have Political Solutions”

September 23, 2012

      Thomas Sowell gives a speech in 1993 about economic vs. political decision-making. It’s amazing how this applies today. Economic principles, like gravity, always win. There are three other parts of this speech to enjoy.

“The Fallacy of Redistribution”. Another Home Run by Thomas Sowell.

September 20, 2012
Hoover Institution

Hoover Institution (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nobody can explain economic concepts as clearly as Thomas Sowell. He consistently meets or exceeds the high standards set by his previous works. We all wish to be this good once. He’s this good all the time. Read “The Fallacy of redistribution” here.

Quote from the article “The history of the 20th century is full of examples of country’s that set out to redistribute wealth and ended up redistributing poverty”.

Dr. Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute.

Keynesianism vs. The Austrian School.

September 19, 2012

F. A. Hayek — “The coordination of men’s activities through central planning and through voluntary cooperation are roads going in very different directions: the first to serfdom and poverty the second to freedom and plenty”.

This quote by Hayek sums up the ideological battle being waged around the globe today, but especially here in America. This is not a new fight. The Revolutionary War was fought over freedom of the individual to order his life as he sees fit, versus the power of a King to take those decisions from him and make him a subject. Library shelves can be filled with the volumes of books that deal with this ideological battle, summed up so brilliantly in one sentence by Hayek.

This Keynes vs. Hayek rap video deals with Keynesian intervention, vs. the Austrian Business Cycle Theory.

The rest of the above quote by Hayek is —  “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.”

The Fight of the Century Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two is better. Click on it when it pops up after the first video finishes playing.

Why should I spend my scarce time learning economic principles?

September 6, 2012
Economics

Economics (Photo credit: markwainwright)

        If  you want to be inoculated from the rhetoric of politicians, journalists and intellectuals, then understanding economic principles is the vaccine for you. Economics is how the world works. If you understand basic economic principles, you will be able to analyze the ideas of the elite and logically  figure out if these ideas are rhetoric or if they have merit. Why is it important to not trust politicians? Once  elected, they are in a position to have power over your decision-making that no other citizen possesses. They can take your freedom in incremental steps. Ronald Reagan said of the U.S.S.R., “Trust but verify.” I think we should change that saying for our politicians to “Verify and remain skeptical.” Economics will help you do both. If you want to know why knowledge about economics is in each persons best interest, you can read an article by Austrian Economist Ludwig von Mises  here at the Mises Institute.