Yes, Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme and not Manna from Heaven

by David K Williams Jr | 12:43 am, August 23, 2011

I have seen several statist journalists criticize Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry for referring to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” in his book “Fed Up!”
There are many things for which to criticize Perry, but the Ponzi scheme…

Yes, Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme and not Manna from Heaven

by David K Williams Jr | 12:43 am, August 23, 2011

I have seen several statist journalists criticize Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry for referring to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” in his book “Fed Up!”
There are many things for which to criticize Perry, but the Ponzi scheme…

Yes, Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme and not Manna from Heaven

by David K Williams Jr | 12:43 am, August 23, 2011

I have seen several statist journalists criticize Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry for referring to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” in his book “Fed Up!”
There are many things for which to criticize Perry, but the Ponzi scheme…

Yes, Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme and not Manna from Heaven

by David K Williams Jr | 12:43 am, August 23, 2011

I have seen several statist journalists criticize Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry for referring to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” in his book “Fed Up!”
There are many things for which to criticize Perry, but the Ponzi scheme…

Monday Media Review: School choice, school funding lawsuits highlight courts’ inappropriately rising role in education policy

by CTBC Director | 8:22 pm, August 22, 2011

Continuing coverage of the pair of lawsuits seeking to have the courts decide educational policy in Colorado (the Douglas County school choice case, and the Lobato statewide educational funding case) over the weekend highlights the increasing role of the courts (as opposed to elected school boards, or the state legislature in whom constitutional authority for [...]

Happy Hour with Author of Shakedown Socialism!

by amanda | 3:28 pm, August 22, 2011

[ August 29, 2011; 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Ever wanted to explain to someone precisely why socialism doesn’t work? Why not take a few pointers from someone who has lived it?!

Join us for a special “Bonus” happy hour event on Monday, August 29th as we are joined by Oleg Atbashian, author of Shakedown Socialism, and the creator of www.ThePeoplesCube.com.

When: Monday, August 29, 2011 from [...]

“Creating” Jobs, Literally 1 at a Time

by Jon Caldara | 2:59 pm, August 22, 2011

Recently I’ve been poking fun at government’s attempts at “stimulating” the economy and creating jobs. You might remember the first food stamp debacle, then the unemployment insurance hilarity, and finally the second food stamp nonsense. Well, my jibes were mere child’s play compared to Amy Oliver’s TownHall.com article on the green jobs fallacy. Amy carefully [...]

Ross in for Peter Boyles on Tuesday

by Rossputin | 2:28 pm, August 22, 2011

I’ll have my first opportunity to sit in for the hyper-energetic Peter Boyles on Tuesday (and again on Thursday) from 5 AM to 9 AM on 630 KHOW.

 

During the 7 AM hour, I’ll be joined by attorney Lavi Soloway, who represents Denver resident Sujey Pando, a lesbian illegal alien whose deportation was put on hold because she “married” her girlfriend in Iowa. People have strong opinions about illegal immigration as well as about gay marriage. I can only imagine the fireworks that combining these issues might cause among our listeners. We’ll hear from Mr. Soloway why he thinks his client’s position is the right one, though I have told him in advance that I’m skeptical even while not being an immigration or marriage “hawk”.

I hope you can listen in, and perhaps join the conversation by calling the show at 303 713 8255.

When Education and Politics Collide: Chicago Messes with Texas Edition

by Eddie | 10:50 am, August 22, 2011

I’m not sure what it is with big people’s fascination with politics, and how discussions about education seem to cross over into the absurd the closer big elections get. Case in point: the Republican governor of Texas announces he is a candidate for President. Less than a week later, the Democratic U.S. Secretary of Education [...]

Rights Violations, Nihilism Underlie Today’s Bad News

by Ari Armstrong | 10:19 am, August 22, 2011

The following article by Linn and Ari Armstrong originally was published August 19 by Grand Junction Free Press.

Bad news knows no shortage these days. What common threads underlie the brutal headlines?

In London and around England, gangs of young ho…

What now for Libya?

by Rossputin | 7:41 am, August 22, 2011

The fall of Tripoli, which seems to have happened with astounding rapidity, must leave us wondering “what next?”

As we see Egypt lurch perilously close to a Muslim Brotherhood cliff, and allowing themselves (probably intentionally) to be drawn closer to conflict with Israel, one would be forgiven or, or even expected to, be less than optimistic for Libya, a country more tribal than Egypt and perhaps therefore more difficult to unify other than by force of arms.

I’d be foolish to make any prediction about Libya, and I won’t make one.

Just a few things to point out, however, in terms of differences between Libya and Egypt or Iraq:

First, the man who is running Libya’s National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, appears initially to be as close to a real reformere as we’ve seen anywhere in the “Arab Spring” or in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Second, Libya’s population is only about 6.5  million, as compared to 31 million in Iraq and 83 million in Egypt. This could make a national consensus easier to achieve. That said, the tribal nature of Libya is more like Iraq than like Egypt. In the former, people often consider themselves Kurds or members of particular tribes or members of particular religious denominations before they consider themselves Iraqis. This is, of course, a huge problem in unifying a country. The Eastern tribes of Libya may not want to work closely with the Western tribes, at least not before trying to gain more influence in the overall governing structure, and that could lead to tension and perhaps violence. And, while perhaps not as prevalent as in Iraq, there are Islamist groups in Libya who will make efforts to fill any power vacuum.

Third, unlike Iraq, Libya is not bordered by nations likely to send their agents and other terrorists into the country to destabilize the situation. This bodes well for Libya’s chances at avoiding something like Iraq’s routine massacres and IED attacks.

Fourth, like both Egypt and Iraq, Libya has long been dominated by a strongman willing to do most anything to retain power, though clearly Saddam Hussein was more brutal to his own people than Hosni Mubarak was. It therefore gets a first-in-a-generation taste of liberty while having very few public institutions capable of enforcing, or perhaps even understanding, the rule of law required as a foundation for a sustainable democracy. It remains to be seen whether the tensions mentioned above overwhelm a move toward creating such national institutions. It will also be interesting to see if they ask for help from any western nations, and if so which one(s). Given the US role in liberating the nation from Colonel Gaddafi, my guess is that the Libyans might first reach out to France. After all, it was Nicolas Sarkozy who really pushed the western powers into the action that toppled the tyrant.

Fifth, Libyan oil: Italy has a long history with Libya, and it’s being reported that an Italian oil company, ENI, already has the best shot at leading the redevelopment of Libya’s oil industry. Perhaps the most interesting comment in the article linked in the prior sentence: “‘We don’t have a problem with western countries like Italians, French and UK companies. But we may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil,’ Abdeljalil Mayouf, information manager at Libyan rebel oil firm AGOCO, told Reuters.” This is a huge setback to Russia and China, both of who were involved or trying to be involved in Libya’s oil industry in recent years. It’s especially bad for China which has been making a concerted effort to get control of material resources across Africa by offering financial and technical aid across the continent. An article in the Economist says “Africans are asking whether China is making their lunch or eating it.” It’s also worth noting that the Libyan who made the comments did not include US companies in his “most favored nations”, though that could easily be because US companies have had so little involvement there so far.

Sixth, the US can claim almost no credit for the events in Libya. In fact, because of Barack Obama’s incredible leading from behind, we will probably get even less credit than the small credit we are due. After all, Obama distanced himself from the operation as soon as possible, including emphasizing that the NATO operations, which would normally be considered as primarily American operations, would not be and were not led by an American. Although President Obama will probably try subtly to take some credit for Tripoli, trying to distract from his own unhappy citizenry, nobody will give him any credit for the outcome so far…and nobody should.

Colorado Democrats celebrate socialized birth control & breast pumps

by Brian T. Schwartz | 5:33 am, August 22, 2011

The Health & Human Services’ mandate on all new health plans (“insurance”) to cover breast pumps and birth control is just one example of how the 2010 health control act turns insurance companies into a vehicle for socialized medicine.

Backbone Radio, August 21, 2011

by Rossputin | 7:42 am, August 21, 2011

Ross Kaminsky is out this Sunday, attending the Steamboat Institute’s Third Annual Freedom Conference.

Join Jimmy Sengenberger as he returns to Newstalk 710 KNUS’s Backbone Radio!

First, the Douglas County School Board is under assault by a rogue, activist judiciary determined to silence school choice. Pam Benigno is the Director of the Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center and their resident expert on school choice. We’ll break down with her what the DougCo program entails, what the court said, and just why competition in schools is so beneficial.

Then, Michael Williams, instructor of the Defender of Capitalism course at the Leadership Program of the Rockies, joins Jimmy for an expansive discussion on the moral and practical cases for the free market in a time where many are questioning its ability to ensure prosperity given today’s economic climate. How can we fight back against the onslaught of big-government and win the debate with the truth about what capitalism really is?

Plus, Jimmy will hash out some of the key issues of the day and get YOUR take on the 2012 elections.

Please join Jimmy by listening to (and calling in to) this week’s Backbone Radio program from 5 PM to 8 PM tonight (Sunday) on 710 AM KNUS in Denver and 1460 AM KZNT in Colorado Springs.

If you’re not in range of the radio waves, you should be able to listen to the show online by clicking HERE.

I hope you’ll actively participate in the conversation with me: Call the studio at 303 696 1971.

Alien Invasions: Where Economic and Environmental Insanity Meet

by Ari Armstrong | 10:08 pm, August 19, 2011

“You’re traveling to another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. … Your next stop: the Twilight Zone.”

If the Onion covered the Twilight Zone, you’d end up with the sort of actual headlines we’re seeing today.

Consider …

My Newspaper Paywall Plan for Dean Singleton

by Ari Armstrong | 3:21 pm, August 19, 2011

Today the Denver Post sent its minions to my local grocery store, and they hooked me into a discussion by offering a drawing. This reminded me that “Denver-based MediaNews Group announced… that it has launched an online subscription paywall at 23 of …

The Curious Incuriousness of the Denver Post

by Joshua Sharf | 1:04 pm, August 19, 2011

This morning, in a series leading up to the 10th Anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Denver Post begins a series on Muslims in America, with an article profiling some prominent members of the Denver Muslim community. Yours truly makes a cameo appearance, in the profile discussing a well-publicized 2008 primary race for the [...]

Heath’s tax increase: spurred on by Colorado teachers union

by Kelly Maher | 12:59 pm, August 19, 2011

Political spending by the teachers unions in Colorado is funded by dues; which comes from paychecks provided by taxpayers; who are then asked to pay even more in taxes by state Sen. Rollie Heath and his union backers. Get the picture?

Bad News on the Colorado Jobs Front

by Joshua Sharf | 10:44 am, August 19, 2011

Colorado continues to shed workers and jobs, according to the latest release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  On a seasonally-adjusted basis, Colorado’s unemployment rate held steady at 8.5%, but only because fewer people were looking for work. Labor Force Employed Unemployed July 2010 June 2011 July 2011 July 2010 June 2011 July 2011 July [...]

John Andrews, Curtis Hubbard Join Me

by Jon Caldara | 10:42 am, August 19, 2011

Want to show that special someone that you are both good looking AND cerebral? Then stay in and watch Devil’s Advocate together tonight. First, I am joined by Centennial Institute president John Andrews to discuss his new book “Responsibility Reborn.” Then Denver Post editorial page editor Curtis Hubbard sits down to talk Republican presidential hopefuls [...]

Russian TV Urges Support for Ron Paul, Blasts Santorum as "homophobic theocrat"

by Mr. Bob | 8:56 am, August 19, 2011

Interesting who pops up in the foreign media to support Ron Paul. One must ask why Russia would want us to elect Paul? Could it be because he is an isolationist and will diminish American Power projection in the world (while cutting defense)?
Another i…

Another Look at Education Tax Credits

by Ari Armstrong | 7:35 am, August 19, 2011

Earlier this year Michael LaFerrara advocated education tax credits in an article for the Objective Standard. I criticized a number of his important assumptions. He responded. So that would seem to put me back at bat.

As much as I appreciate LaFerrara…

10M Videos by DHS Shows Terrorists to be Middle Aged White Men and Women

by Mr. Bob | 7:33 am, August 19, 2011

A large component of the DHS’s careful selection of actors in its PSA videos seems to be PC-based. Although the average terrorist who has attacked/attempted to attack American interests in recent years has been a young Middle-Eastern Muslim male, …

Hans Rosling: The Magic Washing Machine

by Rossputin | 5:17 am, August 19, 2011

H/T Don Boudreaux

The insights from this 9-minute video by Hans Rosling (of his presentation at TED last year) are multiple, important, and interesting, not least because they implicitly explain the immorality of a “green movement” which aims to reduce energy production and use regardless of the consequences to real people.

 

Outside the Education Box: Blended Learning Opportunities for At-Risk Teens

by Eddie | 1:41 pm, August 18, 2011

A new piece for Education Next by June Kronholz profiles Virginia’s four Performance Learning Centers (PLCs) — blended learning environments that use online technology to help get struggling at-risk students to graduate high school (H/T Joanne Jacobs). The story is chocked full of interesting anecdotes and insights. This one caught my attention:

Students graduate when they [...]

The Rise of Envy

by Ari Armstrong | 1:11 pm, August 18, 2011

Given the existence of “flash mob” riots, the continued rise of the massive welfare state (which threatens to push our nation off the economic cliff), and snarling calls to further loot “the rich,” I was enormously saddened to read Ayn Rand’s comment f…

Farmaggedon?

by Joshua Sharf | 12:27 pm, August 18, 2011

Who says real estate’s been a bad investment over the last few years?  Not if you’re buying midwestern farmland. The Chicago Fed puts out a quarterly survey of farmland prices, and this past quarter, prices were up 17%, year-over-year.  Here’s what the chart looks like since 1964: A couple of words on how this chart [...]

Most Valuable Blogger Awards

by Jon Caldara | 11:09 am, August 18, 2011

Too many choices! What’s a guy to do? I feel like Dave Kopel trying to choose between a Star Trek and Doctor Who convention. CBS Denver channel 4 is having a contest to award the most valuable Denver area blogger. I feel fortunate to have some skin in the game with both our own Amy [...]

The Anti-Stimulus Program

by Vande Krol | 10:05 am, August 18, 2011

Politicians often lack a foundation in basic economics, or we probably wouldn’t be facing the possibility of a financial collapse. The average individual has a better intuitive understanding of basic economics than many of our elected officials, or e…

Stock market crashing

by Rossputin | 8:15 am, August 18, 2011

Half an hour after the market opening, the S&P 500 is down close to 5% and the Nasdaq down more than 5%.

The yield on the 10-year note has fallen to 2%, the lowest in history that I am aware of.

We’re seeing a combination of fears, from European debt to American and Chinese inflation to a double-dip recession.

Option volatility has exploded, with some people actually betting on the market dropping another 8%-10% by tomorrow afternoon, and who can blame them?

Paraphrasing Jeremiah Wright, western debt is coming home to roost. While I would much prefer a strong market to a weak one, if there is any good news in this, it’s that the loss of wealth and the increase in insecurity among everyone who has a retirement account will focus the minds of Americans (and to a lesser extent Europeans) on the folly of big government and Keynesian economics. In short, every time the market does this, it damages Barack Obama’s re-election chances, and not just because of the financial aspect of it all but because it shows how fatally flawed is everything Obama believes about economics.

Updated: Skeptical of Perry

by Rossputin | 5:59 am, August 18, 2011

A modified version of my note from yesterday about early thoughts on Perry is up a the American Spectator web site. It’s already generating the negative comments I expected:

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/08/18/skeptical-of-perry

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