United Liberty
Corporatism
Food Safety and Dependence on Government
Wed, 03/18/2009 - 6:32am | posted by Dr. Charles Kennedy
President Obama announced in his weekly radio address (Saturday, March 14) the formation of a new advisory group to coordinate food safety laws and recommend changes to these laws (see the following article). The President makes the typical claims of the food safety system being “too spread out”, with resulting difficulty in sharing information and solving problems. He goes on to say that there are not nearly enough FDA workers or enough money for the FDA “to conduct inspections at more than a fraction of the 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses in the country.” The President stated, ”That is a hazard to public health. It is unacceptable. And it will change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg,” his nominee for FDA commissioner.
Why Do You Pay Taxes?
Thu, 01/22/2009 - 1:45pm | posted by William 'BJ' Lawson
As various tax-related mail begins to appear in the mailboxes of hardworking Americans across the country, it’s instructive for all of us to reflect on why we carry the burden of our government every April.
Take this morning, for instance. We can credit the “ingenuity of the markets”, and specifically the ingenuity of John Thain, for moving annual executive bonus payments by Merrill Lynch up by a month last November, thus disbursing $15 billion in executive bonuses just before closing Merrill’s acquisition by Bank of America. Fast forward a few months, and the United States taxpayer just gave Bank of America another $20 billion in newly-borrowed funds to put a band-aid on mortar wounds in Merrill Lynch’s balance sheet.
Bernanke’s Search for Reappointment Meets A Wall
Thu, 12/03/2009 - 5:03pm | posted by Michael Orion Powell
Yes, because Bernanke is just doing such a great job right now. Bernie Sanders and Ron Paul speak alot of sense in this clip from National Public Radio. Remember: centralized power never lets go of itself.
[Editor’s note] We had to remove the NPR embed. For some reason it’s not working. You can listen to the story on Bernanke here.
Gore getting rich off global warming
Wed, 11/04/2009 - 1:00pm | posted by Jason Pye
Al Gore stands to profit from global warming and taxpayer dollars:
Last year Mr Gore’s venture capital firm loaned a small California firm $75m to develop energy-saving technology.The company, Silver Spring Networks, produces hardware and software to make the electricity grid more efficient.
The deal appeared to pay off in a big way last week, when the Energy Department announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants, the New York Times reports. Of the total, more than $560 million went to utilities with which Silver Spring has contracts.
The move means that venture capital company Kleiner Perkins and its partners, including Mr Gore, could recoup their investment many times over in coming years.
[…]
“Do you think there is something wrong with being active in business in this country?” Mr. Gore said. “I am proud of it. I am proud of it.”
There is nothing wrong with being active in business and engaging in market competition without government influence or taxpayer dollars. What Al Gore is doing is called rent-seeking and corporatism. He isn’t earning his money fairly because he stands to benefit from climate change legislation and government grants.
Of course, Gore doesn’t believe in a free market, so he sees nothing wrong with getting rich off taxpayers.
Ron Paul Takes On Michael Moore
Fri, 10/30/2009 - 12:13pm | posted by Doug Mataconis
It wasn’t really a debate because they didn’t appear together, but Ron Paul appeared on Larry King Live last night after Michael Moore and responded to his diatribe against capitalism:
“Capitalism Is Evil” Says Man Who’s Gotten Immensely Rich Because Of Capitalism
Sun, 09/06/2009 - 8:07pm | posted by Doug Mataconis
Yes, it’s true, Michael Moore is an idiot:
VENICE (Reuters) - Capitalism is evil. That is the conclusion U.S. documentary maker Michael Moore comes to in his latest movie “Capitalism: A Love Story,” which premieres at the Venice film festival Sunday.
Blending his trademark humor with tragic individual stories, archive footage and publicity stunts, the 55-year-old launches an all out attack on the capitalist system, arguing that it benefits the rich and condemns millions to poverty.
“Capitalism is an evil, and you cannot regulate evil,” the two-hour movie concludes.
“You have to eliminate it and replace it with something that is good for all people and that something is democracy.”
So, Michael I’m assuming you’ll be fine if we bootleg all your movies and sell them ourselves, right?
After all, democracy, right?
Was it worth $14 trillion?
Wed, 06/17/2009 - 7:59am | posted by Jason Pye
The most recent estimate of government spending during the recession now sits at just under $14 trillion:
Reflecting the gravity of the economic turmoil in the US, the Federal authorities have announced financial support to the tune of
nearly USD 14 trillion by the end of the first quarter of 2009.Last year, the American financial regulatory agencies came up with plans for financial support worth USD 6.8 trillion, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Reflections on Memorial Day
Tue, 05/26/2009 - 4:37pm | posted by Dr. Charles Kennedy
I write this on May 24, the eve of Memorial Day, the day set aside to commemorate Americans who have died while in military service. This day was originally created (the first commemoration was May 30, 1868) to honor Union soldiers of the War Between the States, and was later expanded after World War I to include all those who have died in military service. Typically, commemorations can be expected to include much in the way of what is considered “patriotic” music (more accurately described as nationalistic), along with tributes themed along the lines of thanking those “who fight for our freedoms.” This spills over into Sunday services of many churches around the nation, when the emphasis temporarily focuses away from the praise of God and the proclamation of the Gospel, towards one of military service and national greatness.
About that Rasmussen Poll
Sat, 04/11/2009 - 7:19am | posted by Jason Pye
There has been a lot of reaction in the blogosphere about a new Rasmussen poll which shows that 53% of Americans believe capitalism is better than socialism:
Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better.
Adults under 30 are essentially evenly divided: 37% prefer capitalism, 33% socialism, and 30% are undecided. Thirty-somethings are a bit more supportive of the free-enterprise approach with 49% for capitalism and 26% for socialism. Adults over 40 strongly favor capitalism, and just 13% of those older Americans believe socialism is better.
Is Journalism Too Important To Fail?
Thu, 03/19/2009 - 2:17pm | posted by Michael Orion Powell
Steve Coll at the New Yorker argues that there is an irreplaceable good that is provided by newspaper journalism, and that that good is mostly an accident of history:
