Distortions in China
China has a widely-quoted 10%+ annual growth rate, and a weak currency. Lots of exports. What’s not so widely reported is that they also have something like a 40% default rate on loans — it’s all a...
View ArticleUS vs. New Zealand Tax Rates
Let’s look at tax rates in the US vs. New Zealand, comparing apples to apples (highest tax bracket). Here are the US rates: Income tax: 35% Sales tax in California: 8.25% State income tax: 9% FICA:...
View ArticleThe Civil War was not started because of slavery
One of the common myths that American kids are taught in school is that the Civil War was fought over slavery. That’s incorrect: the war was not started because of the North’s objection to the...
View ArticleWhy a declining dollar matters
When interest rates are not set by market forces, the result is mis-directed investment. The Fed is currently holding interest rates artificially low. In recent years, this has resulted in booms in the...
View ArticleThe cause of the Great Depression
In the years after WW I and before the stock market crash of 1929, the Fed was used to help bring England out of a depression. The approach taken was to transfer American wealth to England by...
View ArticleDeep Liberty
Schools in western democracies teach that the main way we can cause social change is by voting. What schools don’t tell you is that there’s more than one way to vote. Every economic action you take is...
View ArticleTaxation of inflated pseudo-profits
In the US, the financial unit of account is the US dollar. The right to money vests with the government; you have no right to a store of value, and government can pillage what value you might think you...
View ArticleHow much of your income do you pay in taxes?
Here’s a breakdown of just a few of the taxes that people in California pay: Federal income tax: 35% Sales tax in northern California: 8.25% CA State income tax: 9.3% FICA (social security): 6.2%...
View ArticlePresidents Can’t Manage the Economy
In John Stossel’s recent article: Presidents Can’t Manage the Economy, he says: Manufacturing jobs are no better for America than other jobs. Some argue that they are worse. How many parents want their...
View ArticleIs the US Economy Healthy?
If you’re still having second thoughts about whether the US economy is healthy, here are few things to consider: Over the last two years, the dollar has lost 20% of its international purchasing power...
View ArticlePath to Hyperinflation
I was reading the Wikipedia article on Hyperinflation, and noticed that they have a list of the ways that governments have historically hidden the true rate of inflation, which helps pave the road to...
View ArticleBush Economic Doublespeak
In the article below, President Bush uses a lot of doublespeak, which I’ve attempted to translate here: “the country is not recession-bound” –> “the country is already in a recession” “concern about...
View ArticleInterest rate manipulation
The problem with central banks like the Fed is that they distort the markets by setting interest rates at artificial levels. That sends incorrect signals to investors and businesses. For example, low...
View ArticleProducer vs. Consumer Jobs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ in the US recently published numbers for how many people are employed in various areas of the economy can break this down slightly differently than how they do it,...
View ArticleFood Shortages
There are more and more reports in the news about food shortages. Riots have even started in some places, like Haiti. And of course, when their citizens start to feel threatened, governments feel...
View ArticleHome mortgage modifications from Fannie & Freddie
Fannie & Freddie have started to offer mortgage loan modifications. As of the moment, the loan mod is voluntary. Accepting this ’solution’ means you: * Acknowledge the full debt regardless of the...
View ArticleSucked into the green zone
I ran across a blog post that includes an article called Sucked into the Green Zone, by Andrew Redleaf (Dec 2008). It presents an interesting perspective on how government-backed borrowers are crowding...
View ArticleHow bad is the Dow now, really?
Every once in a while, I like to break the Dow index down and look at the 30 individual components. I just finished comparing it to where is was on Jun 1, 2008. A few facts: 1 company was dropped from...
View ArticleUnemployment during the Great Depression
Unemployment during the Great Depression: 1929 — 3.2% 1930 — 8.7% 1931 — 15.9% 1932 — 23.6% 1933 — 24.9% peak 1934 — 21.7% 1935 — 20.1% 1936 — 16.9% 1937 — 14.3% 1938 — 19.0% 1939 — 17.2% On an...
View ArticleEnd game: Detroit
In case you have any doubt about the end game, here’s a link to some sobering pics of Detroit: http://www.marchandmeffre.com/detroit/index.html
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