United Liberty
Great Depression
Cutting Taxes = Increasing Revenue
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 7:22am | posted by Matt Chancey
Around 150 BC, Emperor Ching Ti came to power in China and immediately faced a major problem: his treasury was empty.
Taxes were very high, but no real revenue was coming in. That’s because the system of taxes at that time was an early form of income tax that centered on the government taking a large percentage of a farmer’s crops.
So Ching Ti did something bold and innovative: he cut taxes.
Overnight, taxes went from over 50% down to about 3%. Farmers, who had fled to the hills to escape draconian tax rates, now came home and began farming again. To make a long story short, Ching Ti’s greatest problem while governing was trying to keep all the grain in his barns from spoiling.
It seems that ancient Chinese history is good for more than just cutesy script on a fortune cookie.
Ron Paul on Morning Joe Discussing the Government Bailouts
Wed, 01/28/2009 - 12:32am | posted by Shana Kluck
Ron Paul in answer to the idea that “the house is already on fire and we need to put water on it”: “You’re correct, the house is on fire- you think we’re putting water on it. I think we’re putting kerosene on it.”
For the Love of Keynes
Wed, 11/26/2008 - 11:37am | posted by Matt Wittlief
As Henry Paulson recently stated, an economic crisis of this magnitude only comes around once or twice a century. I’m not exactly sure what the basis for such an argument might be other than looking at a sample size of… about one century. Whether there is merit in this assumption or not, we certainly are facing an economic crisis. In times like these, our government leaders look to policy experts and lessons of history - and possibly listen to them more than usual. This doesn’t mean they stop looking to lobbyists and the next election.
Time Magazine Cover: Obama as FDR
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 6:49am | posted by Austin Wilkes
Obama will be featured on the cover of Time Magazine again (for what, the millionth time?), but this one may actually grab people’s attention and help their struggling sales. In the Nov. 24th issue they are featuring Obama as FDR. Obama should attempt to learn from FDR, but only to the extent of learning what not to do.
Bush = Hoover 2.0, Part 2 - “Hoover’s Socialism”
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 7:18pm | posted by Austin Wilkes
But not because of the reasons you may believe
Part I - “The False Claims” - Can be found HERE
Labor Market Intervention
Within a month of the peak of the stock market in September 1929, President Hoover began a campaign of coordination between industry and government that is still seen today. He was under the belief that falling wages would exacerbate the coming recession and that they must be held steady in order to preserve purchasing power.
Interview: Dan Carlin on the Economy, War and Fast Food
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 5:47am | posted by Michael Orion Powell
You, dear reader, all are in for a real treat. Dan Carlin is the host of the acclaimed podcasts Common Sense with Dan Carlin and Hardcore History. Originally from Hollywood, California and born to a family of entertainers, Carlin continues the family tradition while simultaneously educating his audience. This is the first interview with him for United Liberty.
Uncertain Times for Business and Investors
Thu, 03/11/2010 - 4:01pm | posted by Katy Delay
I don’t know how many times I have made the remark to friends and family that this Great Recession is occurring like a slow-motion movie. We saw the bodies sailing through the air in our peripheral vision—the Ken Lewises, the Alan Schwartzes, the Martin Sullivans, the Richard Fulds. The stock market implosion took several weeks to come crashing to the floor, and the resultant slow-blooming dust cloud looked thick and impenetrable from a distance, yet translucent and impressionistic up close. With our telephoto lenses we could capture snapshots of the flustered figures scurrying for cover, the fragmented federal institutions falling by the wayside, the thick unbreathable hot air billowing, and the knee-jerk uninformed decision-making with its domino effects.
There are good reasons to cast blame on multiple characters in this film. The financiers were short-sighted and egocentric—and they still are, with no market force intervention to change their behavior. The overseers were, and are, just as short-sighted and egocentric. No market forces ever touch their behavior, except maybe during elections. Even the central bankers were, if not shortsighted and egocentric, at least somewhat smug and over-confident, which is also to be expected since no market forces ever touch their behavior, except perhaps the flux and reflux of Presidential favor.
The Origin of This Financial Crisis: 1913
Wed, 03/25/2009 - 6:42am | posted by Katy Delay
Part I
Economists disagree on the identity of the true culprit behind our current crisis. Some blame Wall Street; some blame the progressive politics that pushed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae beyond their capacity; some blame the profiteering loan brokers, the foxy house flippers, and the naive subprime home buyers in their rush for quick profits. Some blame the Federal Reserve, including me from time to time.
In reality, all of the above had their role, but they are just players in a game, the rules of which are defined by politicians. The origin of the problem lies in the rule changes that caused the demise of sound commercial banking back in 1913.
Free Cell Phones for the “Poor”
Mon, 01/26/2009 - 12:34pm | posted by Matt Chancey
What will they think of next? Our nation is in the midst of a national recession not seen since the Great Depression. Tax revenues are in decline. Every agency in Alabama is in proration. Yet as many as 560,000+ households in Alabama are about to qualify for free cell phones (more than 25% of the state!).
Read the article here.
I don’t care what anybody says; if we live in a country where the “poor” get free cell phones, we have no real poor here.
Notice that this program only gives recipients about an hour of talk-time per month—but allows them to buy additional time for 20 cents a minute (and most do). If these people are supposed to be poor, how are they able to afford to pay for this extra time?
Saxobank’s 10 Outrageous Claims for 2009
Sat, 12/20/2008 - 12:11pm | posted by Austin Wilkes
While we should wish that more of Saxobank’s, the European based international investing platform, 2008 “Outrageous Predictions” had been correct (they said Ron Paul was going to win), their overall accuracy was actually fairly good. They predicted the runup of oil and grain prices, the massive Chinese sellout, and the ultra-bear market of the S&P 500.
Now their predictions for next year are out. While the actual claims are probably no less outrageous for 2009 as compared to 2008, after the last six months they seem easily plausible. Here are their 2009 predictions-
