January 2009
86 posts
News.com.au: Floating rubbish dump in the Pacific... →
“It has been described as the world’s largest rubbish dump, or the Pacific plastic soup, and it is starting to alarm scientists. It is a vast area of plastic debris and other flotsam drifting in the northern Pacific Ocean, held there by swirling ocean currents. […] There is about 100 million tonnes of plastic circulating in the northern Pacific - or about 2.5 per cent of all...
Cato Institute: Fiscal Reality Central →
“Cato’s full-page ad in today’s New York Times [challenges] President Obama’s belief that there is no disagreement on the need for massive government spending to stimulate the economy. In fact, many economists disagree. Hundreds of them, including Nobel laureates and other prominent scholars, have signed our statement that lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of...
“Anybody who fails should be allowed to fail. Capitalism without bankruptcy is...”
– Jim Rogers, explaining why the U.S. car industry ought to be allowed to fail (via Matt)
Mises Blog: 60% of CBS prime-time shows are based... →
“[On CSI: Miami] the cops are hardworking, implacable, brilliant, and goodlooking. They operate out of offices and labs that are spotless, and equipped with the latest tech. They always get their man. The people they target are stupid, cowardly, and ugly or weird. Did the [Soviet Union] broadcast any more cartoonish government ‘thrillers’? Thanks, CBS, for the Commie Statist...
“The people of the various provinces are strictly forbidden to have in their...”
– Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), Japanese shogun
Mises Blog: Authors, beware of copyright →
“When an author signs a publication contract, insofar as it contains strict and traditional copyright notices, he is pretty much signing his life away. It used to be that the publisher would maintain control only so long as the book is in print. Today, with digital printing, this means forever: your lifetime plus 70 years. During this time, you can’t even quote significant portions of...
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more...”
– H.L. Mencken, 1920, no doubt thinking of Dubya
“Politicians must be taught, in no uncertain terms, that the only real way to...”
– L. Neil Smith, Collectivism’s Last Stand
Los Angeles Times: California to suspend tax... →
“[California] will suspend $3.7 billion in payments owed to Californians starting Feb. 1, because with no budget in place the state lacks sufficient cash to pay its bills.”
Kevin Colby: One hell of a letter →
Every entrepreneur and businessman should forward this letter to their employees, along with a copy of Atlas Shrugged: “To All My Valued Employees, […] Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You’ve seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I’m sure all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life. However, what you don’t see...
“Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.”
– H. L. Mencken
“America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system,...”
– Claire Wolfe, 101 Things to Do ‘Til the Revolution
Lew Rockwell: Living through New Deal II →
“For years, many of us puzzled about how something so stupid and destructive as the New Deal could have happened. […] Now that we are living amidst this, it is easier to come to terms with how the New Deal came about. It makes those in the know feel completely helpless. We look at what is happening to bank reserves and we know what is coming.”
“I would urge you to sell any sterling you might have. It’s finished. I...”
– Jim Rogers, The Guardian: Time to turn out the lights on sterling?
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: The right... →
“Congratulations go to Singapore for being the first nation to do something in this economic crisis that actually makes some sense […] not only do we have a winning action by Singapore, we have a winning policy statement as well: ‘Little can be done to mitigate the current slowdown’. Now if only Congress, the Fed, and the administration would wake up, we would all be better...
International Herald Tribune: Death sentences in... →
“Two men were sentenced to death on Thursday and the chairwoman of a dairy conglomerate received a life sentence for their roles in the contaminated-milk scandal that killed six children and sickened nearly 300,000.”
TechCrunch: How many Silicon Valley startup... →
Something of a needlessly FUD article (as is clear already from its title), but looks like even the tech mainstream is beginning to catch on to the wonders of modafinil. (Thanks, Denis)
“Government is good at only one thing. It knows how to break your legs, hand you...”
– Harry Browne
“Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.”
– Ronald Reagan
“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short...”
– Ronald Reagan
“Part of the debtor mentality is a constant, frantically suppressed undercurrent...”
– Tana French, The Likeness [source]
Telegraph: Bank of England to implement 'reforms'... →
The Bank of England intends to throw out the 165-year-old law that obliges it to publish a weekly account of its balance sheet, enabling the printing of new money without having to legally declare it.
Eric S. Raymond: The Parable of the Sheep →
Explaining self-defense to sheep - a hopeless task?
Sovereign Life: A most unlikely freedom haven →
Some great perspective on China: “How would you feel about living in a place where you weren’t compelled to wear seat belts or cycle helmets; where you could just set up ‘shop’ on the pavement to sell your wares, without a license; where you could walk around in relative peace and safety; where jaywalking is encouraged, and the traffic seems to work in the absence of...
Mises Daily: Does 'depression economics' change... →
Bob Murphy’s debunking of the Keynesian claptrap leading us to the slaughter.
Telegraph: ECB deems Britain unworthy of euro →
“The European Central Bank has deemed Britain unfit for monetary union even if it wants to join following the dramatic slide in sterling and the explosion in the UK budget deficit.”
Telegraph: The bond bubble is an accident waiting... →
“The bond vigilantes slumber. As the greatest sovereign bond bubble of all time rolls into 2009, investors are clinging to an implausible assumption that China and Japan will provide enough capital to keep the happy game going for ever.”
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other...”
– Margaret Thatcher
Reuters: Three-month budget gap exceeds FY 2008... →
“The United States racked up a record $485 billion deficit for the first three months of fiscal 2009, exceeding the $455 billion gap for all of the previous year, the U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday.”
Reuters: Australians pull no punches when it comes... →
When bitten by a shark, punch it in the eye with all you’ve got - if you still have your hands attached.
Wall Street Journal: Spain's credit rating is at... →
“Spain’s economy began to shrink in the third quarter of 2008. Its unemployment rate has soared in recent months: At 12.8%, it is now the highest in the European Union.”
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Massive... →
The coming bankruptcy of the welfare state, and not just in America.
Mises Blog: Economics in One Lesson a bestseller... →
A new translation of Economics in One Lesson is to be used as a high-school textbook in China. This is interesting as I’d have thought the book would be on the banned books list if anything… just goes to show how quickly things are happening in China now.
Harry Browne: The Great Libertarian Offer →
Harry Browne’s summary of his superb book on why government grows ever larger and what can be done about it; encapsulated in the question: would you give up your favorite federal programs if it meant you’d never have to pay income tax again?
WatchFred Thompson on the Economy
MSNBC: California taxpayers due refunds may get... →
Early signs that scrip issuance is about to come back with a vengeance.
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Three ideas... →
The title does speak for itself in this case.
Bloomberg: Obama's job-creation program flunks... →
“We know money buys influence. Now we find out it can buy jobs as well. If only it were that simple.” …this is probably the first time I’ve seen Bastiat mentioned on a major news outlet. Good times.
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis:... →
“As pink slips mount, so do calls to state unemployment centers. Those calls are pouring in so fast that state unemployment claim systems are overwhelmed.”
Telegraph: Europe's economy contracts at rates not... →
“Spain lost almost 140,000 jobs in December, pushing unemployment to 3.1m or 13.4%. The Labour Office said the country had shed a million in jobs in 2008 as the building boom collapsed. […] The pace of contraction in Europe is now disturbingly close to levels seen in the Great Depression. The eurozone bloc shrank by 3% in 1930, 5% in 1931, and 4% in 1932. By this count, 2009 could...
Telegraph: Merrill Lynch says rich turning to gold... →
“Merrill Lynch has revealed that some of its richest clients are so alarmed by the state of the financial system and signs of political instability around the world that they are now insisting on the purchase of gold bars, shunning derivatives or ‘paper’ proxies.”