Saturday, January 31, 2009
Mitt Romney on the economy
outlined six proposals to get the economy moving. Here is a summary
with my comments:
"First, there are two ways you can put money into the economy, by
spending more or by taxing less. But if it's stimulus you want, taxing
less works best. That's why permanent tax cuts should be the
centerpiece of the economic stimulus."
"Second, any new spending must be strictly limited to projects that
are essential. How do we define essential? Well, a good rule is that
the projects we fund in a stimulus should be legitimate government
priorities that would have been carried out in the future anyway, and
are simply being moved up to create those jobs now.... As we take out
non-essential projects, we should focus on funding the real needs of
government that will have immediate impact" He mentions replacing and
repairing military equipment, as an example.
"Third, sending out rebate checks to citizens and businesses is not a
tax cut. The media bought this line so far, but they've got it wrong.
Checks in the mail are refunds, not tax cuts. We tried rebate checks
last year and they did virtually nothing to jump-start the economy.
Disposable income went up, but consumption hardly moved. Businesses
aren't stupid. They're not going to invest in equipment and new hires
for a one time, short term blip."
"Fourth, ... as soon as this economy recovers, we have to regain
control over the federal budget, and above all, over entitlement
spending."
"Fifth, we must begin to recover from the enormous losses in the
capital investment pool. And the surest, most obvious way to get that
done is to send a clear signal that there will be no tax increases on
investment and capital gains."
"And finally, let's exercise restraint in the size of the stimulus
package." He had proposed $233 billion last year. He really doesn't
define what he means by a stimulus package. Is that the new spending
he is talking about in number 2? He doesn't talk about bailouts. Is
that what he means by a stimulus package? Where does he stand on
bailouts to his Wall Street and banker friends?
Here is some analysis that makes sense. He says, "Predictions that we
are almost out of the woods, based on the length of prior recessions,
are wishful thinking. Americans have lost some 11 trillion dollars in
net worth. That translates into about 400 billion dollars less annual
consumer spending in the economy.
"There's something else people don't talk much about: The pool of
investment capital—all the money available for new investments,
business start-ups, business expansions, capital expenditures, and new
hiring. The size of that pool has shrunk by trillions of dollars. This
was a huge loss in value, and the effect could be felt for years—in
businesses that don't start up or grow, in jobs that don't get
created."
I agree with much of what Romney says, but I still have some lingering
questions. Mostly I'm concerned that he still believes in a federal
government that takes care of people, rather than one that let's
people take care of themselves.
Romney says, "The difference between us and the Democrats is this:
they want to stimulate the government, and we want to stimulate the
economy." However, Romney still wants to preside over big government -
and he still proposes government that is unconstitutional.
Read his whole speech at
http://www.freestrongamerica.com/blog/item/2009/01/30/overnoromneysemarktotheouseepublicanonferenceetreat
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Day of Faith at Harvard
Saturday, January 24, 2009
World government is closer than we think
is optimistic that the world is close to having world government. He
writes that "Barack Obama ... does not share the Bush administration's
disdain for international agreements and treaties." Rather, Obama
would abide by "internationally agreed-upon standards of conduct."
Rachman points to two signs that suggest the Obama administration
might move toward world government. One is the appointment of Susan
Rice (of the Brookings Institute and Council on Foreign Relations) as
UN ambassador. The other is that Obama's transition team was led by
John Podesta who wrote a recent report for the Managing Global
Insecurity (MGI) project.
The MGI report argues for the creation of a UN high commissioner for
counter-terrorist activity, a legally binding climate-change agreement
negotiated under the auspices of the UN and the creation of a
50,000-strong UN peacekeeping force. Once countries had pledged troops
to this reserve army, the UN would have first call upon them, writes
Rachman.
The new world government would look much like the European Union gone
global. The EU has a supreme court, a currency, thousands of pages of
law, a large civil service and ability to deploy a military force.
(Many of these things already exist in the UN.)
So, asks Rachman, could the European model go global? He gives three
reasons for thinking that it might.
First, the most difficult issues facing national governments are
international in nature: global warming, a global financial crisis and
a "global war on terror."
Second, because the transport and communications revolutions have
shrunk the world, world government "could be done."
Finally, a change in the political atmosphere suggests that "global
governance" could come soon. The financial crisis and climate change
are pushing national governments towards global solutions, even in
China and the US that are "traditionally fierce guardians of national
sovereignty."
Read Rachman's column at
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a03e5b6-c541-11dd-b516-000077b07658.html
Friday, January 23, 2009
BJ Lawson's reading list
* The Bible, by God. Whether you just read it as allegory, or
appreciate it as the revealed Word of God, it is full of timeless
lessons that provide inspiration and guidance in a challenging world.
* Constitution & Declaration of Independence, with introduction by
Roger Pilon. I'm ashamed it took me as long as it did to read these as
a thinking adult, but once one reads our founding documents, the
realization of how far we've strayed from our Founders' vision is
clear.
* The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution, by Kevin
R.C. Gutzman. Pound for pound, one of the best books on American
political and judicial history I've ever read.
* Web of Debt, by Ellen Brown. Extensive history of our money and
banking system that illustrates the conflicts regarding money
throughout our nation's history, and the unsustainability of our
current situation.
* The American Health Care Crisis Solved: Money Saving Solutions,
Coverage for Everyone, by J. Patrick Rooney and Dan Perrin. A
comprehensive book that "follows the money" in our current system of
"corporatecare," identifies the barriers to providing universal access
to quality healthcare driven by patients and providers, and provides
practical solutions to move towards health care that serves the people
instead of corporate interests.
* Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins.
Autobiographical account of the often counterproductive world of
international development through the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund.
* The Chastening, by Paul Blustein. Historical account of the
1990s Asian Financial Crisis the the role of international development
through the International Monetary Fund.
* Free to Choose, by Milton & Rose Friedman. Their faith in free
markets and freedom is eloquently articulated in this classic.
* The Next Great Bubble Boom, by Harry S. Dent, Jr. While I
wouldn't use this book to time the markets, he does a good job at
identifying some demographic mega-trends that you can ignore at your
own peril.
* Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment, by
George Leonard. Life-changing book that focuses on the importance of
the journey, as opposed to the destination, and the need to seek
continuous, iterative improvement along the way. It's not the
position, it's the direction.
* Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. Great book that
illustrates the fallacies of economic interventionism and the "law of
unintended consequences".
* Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish, by G. Bruce
Knecht. Entertaining but disturbing novel about the unsustainable way
we are treating our oceans through commercial fishing. Illustrates the
economic principle of the Tragedy of the Commons — if no one owns the
ocean, no one protects the ocean. Visit www.perc.org to learn how
respect for private property and market-based solutions can protect
the environment.
* The Way to Wealth, by Benjamin Franklin. My favorite quote: "It
would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one
tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service." Dear God,
please let me find such a hard government!
* Hug Your Customers, by Jack Mitchell. If you are in business for
yourself, read this book.
* Beating the Business Cycle, by Lakshman Achuthan and Anirvan
Banerji. If you're living in an inflationary environment with
monopolistically-managed liquidity and fractional reserve banking, you
really should read this book. (Hint: that would be you.)
* Boomernomics, by William Sterling and Stephen Waite. Why's
everybody always talking about the Baby Boomers? Read this
well-documented book to learn how the Boomers and demographic trends
in general affect our economy.
* The Fed, by Martin Mayer. Another great "Inside the Fed" book
that looks at the Fed's role in our modern economy.
* Money, by Lawrence Ritter and William Silber. Classic book on
the nature of money and its role in economic growth. Does a good job
contrasting different economic schools of thought, and asks prescient
questions about the future.
* What has Government Done to our Money?, by Murray N. Rothbard.
Available at www.mises.org , the classic text on free-market monetary
systems.
* Maestro, by Bob Woodward. A non-so-critical assessment of
Greenspan's management of the Federal Reserve (written before the
2001-2003 recession). Great historical and political insight into
major events during Greenspan's tenure.
* The Seven Sisters, by Anthony Sampson. History of the birth and
maturation of the oil industry, and how we started down the slippery
(no pun intended) slope of defending national security, to national
interests, to corporate interests.
* The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, by John Bogle. Great book
that cautions and challenges us to live up to our responsibilities as
the owners of the nation's public corporations.
* The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason. Common sense
personal finance.
* And finally, Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey . Debt free == Freedom.
Source: http://www.lawsonforcongress.com/reading-list/
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