U.S. Oil And Natural Gas Exports Soar, at theinstituteforenergyresearch.org. In 2011 oil was the 146th ranked export. By Sept 2017 oil became the 15th ranked export. Why has the US become the worlds largest producer of oil and natural gas? Because the ingenuity of American oil and gas producers was unleashed when the price of oil rose to over $125 a barrel. The profit incentive created more productive ways to extract oil.
Whose Ideas? at ericpetersautos.com. Excerpt from the article: It’s been said that good ideas don’t require force – while bad ones rarely get traction without it. True enough. But How about a qualifier? Whose ideas? Yours? Mine? There is a kind of tacitly agreed upon …. notion that we all agree on what constitutes a “good” idea. It’s the keystone of coercive collectivism, without which that ideology loses moral legitimacy. But in fact, we don’t agree about what a “good” idea is. Millions of individuals tend to have millions of individually variable ideas about that. So whose ideas will prevail?… If there is a free market – in ideas as well as economics – this will sort itself out naturally and non-violently, via the signals of supply and demand……Unfortunately there’s no way to know, because the market – millions of individual people’s freely expressed determinations about what’s “good” – hasn’t been allowed to operate. Instead, a handful of people’s idea that air bags (and the rest of it) are “good” has been imposed on everyone else, on the false presumption that everyone agrees it is good to have six air bags – and many other such things – installed in every new car. this is taken as a kind of collectively agreed upon noggin nodding. That illusion must be maintained, in order for the coercion and collectivism behind it to have any semblance of morel legitimacy…… The government only got into the car design business in a serious way in the mid-70’s. Before then, we were largely free to buy what we wanted – not what coercive collectivism imposed on us. There was a market for bare-bones simplicity, high-end luxury and almost every conceivable thing in between. Not coincidentally, the golden age of car design is generally considered to be the pre-government design era….How did it happen that other people’s ideas of what’s “good” are binding on us? It’s the craziest – and the most dangerous thing imaginable. Coercive collectivism – the ideology responsible for literally hundreds of millions of murder victims – depends on maintaining the illusion that everyone is in agreement. That we are all one bit “team”. And of course, every team has leaders.”
Amish Anarchy & Uncle Sam, at zerohedge.com. This is an example of what the above article is about. Government busybodies in Wisconsin think Amish horse drawn buggies should have seat belts, child seats, air bags, back up cameras, safety glass, head lights, turn signals and tire pressure monitors. In this case we should be on the side of the Amish. Leave these people alone. We should then ask the question: “Why don’t you leave us non Amish people alone?”
America’s Top Five Inbound vs. Top Five Outbound States, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. I know it is hard to believe. But lower taxes, less government and more economic freedom seem to attract people. While higher taxes, big government and less economic freedom repel people.
“Everything Is Overvalued”: Public Pensions Face Dangerous Dilemma In 2018, at zerohedge.com. Because the under funding of public pensions has taken place, public pension plans are seeking higher yields. This means they are taking a risk by putting money into over valued stocks and bonds. You are supposed to buy low and sell high. But these managers are going all in in an over valued market. Guess who bails these pensions out when the correction happens? Tax payers!
Socialized Medicine Update: Britain Cancels 50,000 Surgeries, at economicpolicyjournal.com. Healthcare is an economic good. Which means it is scarce and has to be rationed. Prices ration economic goods in a free market. In a socialist economy waiting in line is how economic goods are rationed. Excerpt from the article: “Every hospital in the country has been ordered to cancel all non-urgent surgery until at least February in a unprecedented step by NHS officials. The instructions on Tuesday night – which will see result in around 50,000 operations being axed – followed claims by senior doctors that patients were being treated in “third world” conditions, as hospital chief executives warned of the worst winter crisis for three decades. Hospital are reporting growing chaos, with a spike in winter flu leaving frail patients facing 12-hour waits, and some units running our of corridor space.”
The reality is being realized that healthcare can’t be made a non economic good by government decree. The laws of economics are always in play.
Venezuela Forced To Pay For Medicine With Diamonds And Gold, at zerohedge.com. Venezuela has destroyed its currency via the printing press. The Government of Venezuela is asking pharmaceutical trading partners to accept payment in gold, diamonds and other precious stones (real commodity money). The people of Venezuela have started their own system of barter for medicines. Printing money doesn’t make a country wealthier. Producing real goods and services represents the real wealth of a country. Consumption via the printing press destroys wealth.
Mistrial Declared In Cliven Bundy Standoff Case, at oregonlive.com. Here is another example of the break down of the rule of law. Government agencies used their power against US citizens in order to push the agencies agenda. The constitution was written to protect individuals from this government abuse of power. Excerpt from the article: “A federal judge Wednesday declared a mistrial in the prosecution of Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a co-defendant, citing the government’s “willful” failure to turn over multiple documents that could help the defense fight conspiracy and assault charges in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff….. The judge listed six types of evidence that she said prosecutors deliberately withheld before trial…”The failure to turn over such evidence violates due process,” the judge said.”
Trump Threatens To Cut Off US Aid To Palestinian Authority, at zerohedge.com. No Presidential administration ever cuts foreign aid. Trump is different. These countries are scared because they are figuring out he follows through with threats. Here is another example: A Furious Pakistan Summons US Ambassador, Calls Emergency Meeting After Trump Tweet, at zerohedge.com.
“Black Cities Are Still Bleeding To Death”: Baltimore Pastor Blames Police Absence For Surge In Killings, at zerohedge.com. Here is an excerpt from the article that I think is interesting: “…..on whether the community wanted police to back off after the death of Freddie Gray? No. That represented our progressives, our activists, our liberal journalists, our politicians, but it did not represent the overall community…..What I wanted to see was that people would be able to trust the relationship with out police department so that they would feel more comfortable……So we wanted the police there. We wanted them engaged in the community….I’m a preacher…..Not until we really have a conversation with our front line officers in the heart of our black communities that does not involve our people who are “leaders”. We need the front line police officers and we need the heart of the black community to step to the forefront of this discussion. And that’s when we’re going to see a decrease in crime.”
Isn’t it interesting that progressive politicians, progressive journalists and progressive activists have an agenda that has nothing to do with what the overall community wants. When will we understand that insiders in politics, government bureaucracy, journalism and education are not on the side of the individual. These progressive insiders are on the side of imposing their world view on the rest of us.
AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS ADDICT 