About This Blog

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the greatest economist of my time. His greatest works can be accessed here at no charge.

Mises believed that property, freedom and peace are and should be the hallmarks of a satisfying and prosperous society. I agree. Mises proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prospect for general and individual prosperity is maximized, indeed, is only possible, if the principle of private property reigns supreme. What's yours is yours. What's mine is mine. When the line between yours and mine is smudged, the door to conflict opens. Without freedom (individual liberty of action) the principle of private property is neutered and the free market, which is the child of property and freedom and the mother of prosperity and satisfaction, cannot exist. Peace is the goal of a prosperous and satisfying society of free individuals, not peace which is purchased by submission to the enemies of property and freedom, but peace which results from the unyielding defense of these principles against all who challenge them.

In this blog I measure American society against the metrics of property, freedom and peace.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Read Something Else!

Today I'd like to encourage patrons of this blog to read something else, two somethings else in fact, namely: Robbing America and The Country Thinker. I recommend these blogs because of their consistently excellent posts on matters economic. If you are interested in knowing the truth about the financial mess this country has worked itself into, you will get the absolute lowdown with detail at these two blogs.

About three weeks ago John at Robbing America posted an article that summarized Maximum Leader Obama's extensive and destructive tax policy scheduled to take hold in 2013: Your "Fair Share" For 2013 - Obama Is Coming To Collect.

This week John published another article which outlined three lethal threats to America's economic future: The Coming Triple Pronged Attack On the Nation.

Over at The Country Thinker Ted has recently published a two part article on the debt bomb that threatens to blow up in our faces unless our politicians wise up pronto: America’s Interest Time Bomb, Part 1, and America’s Interest Time Bomb (Conclusion). It's scary stuff.

Over here at Property...Freedom...Peace there is a strong belief that Americans must learn the truth, not only about economic theory but also about the specific economic policies our politicians over the years have embarked on, policies which are sure to make life in these United States a living hell for all but the very well off or the very politically connected insiders (two groups, often the same people). There is still time to do something about our dire situation if people become informed voters. You owe it to yourself and your family not to stick your head in the sand and hope this latest "economic crisis" blows over.

Make no mistake, this is not wacky, right wing conspiracy theory, or political scare tactics, or exaggerated financial nonsense that has nothing to do with you! The economic straight jacket our politicians have fitted us with is real; its consequences will be painful. Your life will change significantly because of it, and not for the better. Most every oppressive government, most every totalitarian state, most every dust bowl and famine in human history grew from roots planted in stupid and destructive economic policy. 

Read Robbing America and The Country Thinker. For that matter, visit "My Blog List" on the right hand margin of this page. Click on the links to the blogs and websites I've provided. Read them. Follow them. They all are coming from the same place. They all value truth. Become informed. Stay informed. Vote accordingly.

Now for my two cents worth...

Maybe it's me, but I get the feeling there are an awful lot of politicians in Washington who don't give a rip about the dire economic situation John and Ted describe. Either these politicians, for some reason unknown to me, believe that the United States is economically immune to the consequences of their bad policies -- sort of "bulletproof," if you will -- or they are whistling in the dark past the graveyard, trusting that the economic danger will pass without incident, hoping that economists like John and Ted are mistaken.

The United States of America has weathered many financial storms. Americans have always been the world's most industrious and resourceful people. American business, especially American small business, has always been resilient, able to take body blow after body blow without going down for the count. The sheer size of the American economy, the size of its fundamentally free market, the power of the US military, the depth of our technological infrastructure, the basic optimism and wealth of the American middle class -- all these characteristics tend to make Americans feel bulletproof.

The problem is many of these characteristics either no longer apply to America  or are weakening and changing. A good portion of Americans are no longer industrious and resourceful. They depend on government for food, shelter and health care. Many are meth heads. American business is shackled by a growing plethora of government regulations (work rules, hiring rules, anti-discrimination rules, safety rules, environmental rules, etc. etc.) and government obligations (health insurance and taxes, taxes and more taxes). There is a limit to how much businessmen will take before they decide they've had enough.

Furthermore, the free market in this country is shrinking due to ever more massive government interventions, both federal, state and local. Our military is exhausted. Our middle class is struggling to keep its head above water. iPads, Twitter and cell phones won't put food on grocery market shelves or keep hyperinflation at bay.

What irks me most is while we Twitter away are time, Rome is burning. And no one seems to care. Virginia counties surrounding the District of Columbia are among the wealthiest in the nation. Wall Street brokers and bankers are making money hand over fist. Why? Because times are good in government and among the friends of government. The insiders are getting rich by being the first in line to get those freshly printed new dollars.

Perhaps that's why so many politicians feel as though they're bulletproof. They've all got a plan B set up, an escape route predetermined for when the shit hits the fan.

It's as though Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a fatal game of chicken, but neither party believes it's really fatal. They are like duelists who believe they're immortal. The Republicans say no new taxes and dare the Democrats to spend. The Democrats keep spending and dare the Republicans to raise taxes. To them it's truly a game of chicken without consequences.

But the truth is there will be consequences. Inflation. Exchange controls. Monetary collapse. Severe shortages of goods and services. Panic in the streets. A government crackdown. Martial law.

See? It's just as I thought. You don't really believe such things are possible here in the United States of America. In Greece, maybe, but not here. In Spain, in Portugal, in Italy, in Europe...maybe there, but not here. Those countries are old world, vulnerable. We're insulated here. We're Americans. We're special.

We're bulletproof!

Wake up, knucklehead!

2 comments:

John Galt said...

Thank you Sherman for the kind words.

You are also doing a great job. Your fluent prose is a delight.

I do hope that we can reach more people, and that these people can reach again more people, and so on. The more knowledgeable voters the better. That is the only way.

Sherman Broder said...

Truth will out, my friend. I'm confident of that.