What Is Tyranny? The President Should Know The Definition.

Posted May 10, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Government and Politics
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Constitution Pg1of4 AC icon cut

Constitution Pg1of4 AC icon cut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PRESIDENT’S COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

President Obama gave the commencement address at Ohio State Universities graduation ceremony last weekend. Here are a few quotes from the speech followed by some of my comments.

“ Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave, and creative, and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.”

CONSTITUTION VS. TYRANNY

This is what you would expect to hear from someone who doesn’t want his power to be challenged. Lets look at what our founders thought about  Government and compare it to our President. Read the rest of this post »

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Walter E. Williams, Voluntary vs Involuntary Exchange, or Seduction vs. Rape.

Posted May 8, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Econ. 101
Tags: , , , ,

Walter E. Williams explains, as only he can, the difference between voluntary and involuntary relationships and exchanges. Voluntary exchanges are  positive sum games where both parties in the exchange benefit, otherwise the exchange wouldn’t take place. Involuntary exchanges are  zero sum games where force is used to benefit one side at the expense of the other.

Related article, Walter E. Williams Talks About The Role Of Profits And Losses, at austrianaddict.com.

Related article, Compassion Versus Reality, by Walter E. Williams, at creators.com.

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Charles Hugh Smith, Hits It Out Of The Park With These Articles.

Posted May 6, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Econ. 201, Government and Politics
Tags: , , , , , ,
Thinker

Thinker (Photo credit: dSeneste.dk)

Lets do some heavy lifting to start the week. Two weeks ago, Charles Hugh Smith, at oftwominds.com, had three outstanding articles that built on top of each other. For him they were relatively short, but as usual were filled with great insights. He talks about what politicians, bureaucrats, central bankers, and intellectuals not only think; but also talks about the incentives and constraints under which they are making decisions: Why their policies of counterfeiting money for funding stimulus programs, bailouts or for increasing their sacred GDP numbers, will continue until economic reality forces a change: Why China and the US are in similar situations, even though Read the rest of this post »

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Must Reads For The Week 5/04/13

Posted May 4, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Must Reads For The Week
Tags: , , , , , , ,
The pen is mightier than the sword...

The pen is mightier than the sword… (Photo credit: mbshane)

Missouri Gun Control Nullification Bill, by Carl Wicklander. Missouri strikes a blow for freedom with the passage of the,”Second Amendment Preservation Act”.

Drivers Flashing Lights To Signal Speed Traps Gets Police Sued, by Kurt LaBelle at fox2news.com. Ellisville Mo. police ticketed drivers who flashed their brights, warning other drivers about speed traps. ACLU files lawsuit.

Student Loan Bubble Cracks With Pulled Sallie Mae Bond Deal, at zerohedge.com. Increasing student loan defaults make investors think twice about purchasing $225 million bond offering, backed by student loan debt.

Is It Worth Paying Big Bucks To Go To College? at economic policy journal.com. Related articles by austrianaddict, Young People Get Hooked Into Student Loan Debt, and Follow Up To Student Loan Post.

Tuesday Humor: GM Announces It Is Loosing Monday On Every Volt Sold, Will Make Up For It With More Loses, at zerohedge.com.

Guest post on zerohedge.com,  This Is What It Means To Be Free In America, by Simon Black, at sovereignman.com. Cops enter house and take baby from mothers arms and give it to Child Protective Services. We need a new agency, Parent Protection (From Child Protective Service) Service.

“Smoking” Gun Nets 60 G Fine, by Julia Marsh at NYpost.com. Shop owner fined for selling gun shaped lighter. Have we reached the point of no return when it comes to common sense?

The Pigs Of Pigford, by Ross Kaminski at spectator.org. This article shows how all Government programs end up as nothing more than vote buying with taxpayer money.

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Victor Davis Hanson, Post Modern Prudes.

Posted May 3, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: , , , , , ,
Victor Davis Hanson

Victor Davis Hanson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Victor Hanson gives examples of social norms that seem to contradict themselves. His list of examples makes you think. How many more contradictions can you come up with. Read his article titled, “Postmodern Prudes”, at victorhanson.com. Here are a few excerpts from the article. Read the rest of this post »

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Human Action Reveals The Reality About Political Decisions.

Posted May 1, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Econ. 201
Tags: , , , , , , ,
English: Cover of the scholar's edition of Hum...

Human Action by Ludwig von Mises (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HUMAN ACTION, IN A CHANGING WORLD.

The book  Human Action (link here), by Ludwig von Mises is full of great insights into how the world works. These insights are very helpful in understanding what happens in the world of Government and politics. The books starting point for analysis is this: man acts because of the mere fact of his existence. Human action is purposeful behavior. Action is not verbal preference, it is an individual choosing, and acting, to reach a particular end. Man acts to substitute what he thinks will be a more satisfactory state of affairs for a less satisfactory state. He wouldn’t want to change his existing state of affairs, if he didn’t think his action would bring about a better state. His actions will reveal the correctness of his thinking. Action is a tangible thing and cannot be confused with wishes or hopes. Both the material and the ideal are valued differently by each individual, and what each individual values changes in time and place. What a man values the highest drives his actions. He uses available means to achieve his most highly valued ends, and his action toward his most valued end, takes place in a world of imperfection and constant change. So to summarize: Read the rest of this post »

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Does The Supply Of Money Have To Increase To Accommodate Increasing Production?

Posted April 29, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Econ. 201
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Monopoly Money

Monopoly Money (Photo credit: John-Morgan)

QUESTIONS CONCERNING MONEY.

I’ve had some questions recently that have to be addressed. 1) If production increases without a corresponding increase of money, would that not cause deflation? 2) If the currency is to be increased to correspond with the increase in production, how is it increased without theft? The simple answers to these two questions are yes to the first one, and, it can’t, to the second one, but that doesn’t help us understand the why’s and how’s.

UNDERSTANDING MONEY.

I wrote a post titled, “We’re All Born In The Middle Of The Story”, in which I quote Thomas Sowell who said, “results observed at a given point in time may be part of a process that stretches far back in time“. Understanding this quote should be our default position for everything we observe and analyze. When it comes to money we are all born in the middle of the story. What do I mean by that? Read the rest of this post »

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Must Reads For The Week 4/27/13

Posted April 27, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Must Reads For The Week
Tags: , , , , , ,

The pen is mightier than the sword...

The Decline of  Self-Employment and Small Business, by Charles Hugh Smith at oftwominds.com. Most job creation happens in small businesses. The decline in small businesses means a decline in jobs.

Genes and Racism, by Thomas Sowell at jewishworldreview.com. Genetics and discrimination were used as explanations for group differences, at different times in history.

Environmentalism’s Seven Deadliest, Most Destructive Power Grabs, at cfact.org. Just scan the top six, and then read the #1 deadliest power grab. It tells you all you need to know about what the hardcore believers really think.

Why Obama Care May Cost You Your Job, by John C. Goodman at townhall.com. Employees and employers search for ways to avoid the mandates, just like our founders tried to avoided British tyranny. Liberty is in our DNA.

Central Banks Join The Herd, Openly Buying Stocks In Record Amounts, at zerohedge.com. When the central banks counterfeiting doesn’t work, “who gets caught holding the bag?  What chairs are left when the music stops”?

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Consumption Depletes What Has Been Produced And Saved.

Posted April 26, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Econ. 101
Tags: , , , , ,

CONSUMPTION, PRODUCTION, SAVING

Repetition is the best way to learn something. So lets take another look at consumption, production, and savings. When you consume you destroy, deplete, dissipate, devour, decrease, reduce, exhaust, use up, the supply of. When you produce you create, cause, provide, make, generate, bring forth, the supply of. When you save you accumulate, accrue, invest, reserve, compile, amass, build up the supply of. Production is the creation of wealth which can either be saved and invested for future production, or depleted or destroyed by present consumption.

PRODUCTION PROCESS

We become wealthier when we produce goods at a rate above what we consume. Read the rest of this post »

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Are You a Democrat, a Republican, or a Libertarian?

Posted April 24, 2013 by austrianaddict
Categories: Government and Politics
Tags: , , , , , ,
I do firmly believe in the Party

I do firmly believe in the Party (Photo credit: Alex Panoiu)

It’s difficult to discuss issues calmly and logically because all of us plant our ideological flag on one of these three hills [ D,R, or L, or liberal, conservative, or libertarian]. If we see the other person’s flag, we automatically place them under that banner, and think there is no chance to reach common ground on any issue. The fact that each group has painted themselves into an ideological corner, because they demand a degree of  ideological purity, is what makes it easier to place the other person under a particular banner. Read the rest of this post »

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