The “library records” provision of the so-called Patriot Act could also be known as the “gun records” provision, because it also allows the FBI to seize the forms you use to buy guns.
This infamous provision, Section 215, is a direct assault on your Fourth Amendment rights because it allows the FBI to obtain personal information about you, without a warrant and without your knowledge.
Section 215 is set to expire in May, along with two other provisions. But Congress will probably renew these provisions unless it hears from YOU.
Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, and host of The Peter Schiff Show, broadcasting live from WSTC Norwalk CT from 10am to noon Eastern time every weekday, and streaming at www.schiffradio.com
One of the immediate financial consequences of the catastrophic Japanese earthquake is that Japan needs to call on its huge cache of foreign exchange reserves to rebuild its shattered infrastructure. To pay for domestic projects, Japan will require yen - not dollars, euros or Swiss francs. As a result of these conversions, the yen rallied considerably after the quake struck.
But a surging yen runs counter to the macro-economic currency plans favored by most global economists. In order to maintain Japan’s position as a net-exporter of manufactured goods and net-buyer of US debt, the yen needs to stay down. So, the G-7 group of the world’s leading economies has intervened in the foreign exchange market by selling yen holdings, thereby pushing the currency down. In the short-term, their efforts appear to have been ”successful,” with the yen dropping sharply today.
Theoretically, this action is being taken to preserve export earnings, but this is only a secondary effect. Primarily, in making this move, the G7 is saying that the key to rebuilding Japan’s earthquake-ravaged economy is to raise the price of everything it needs to buy.
After all, absolute purchasing power is far more important than nominal export earnings. When the yen gains in strength, Japan earns more dollars from its exports, which could now be used to purchase the raw materials necessary to rebuild its infrastructure. However, by weakening the yen, Japan earns fewer dollars for its exports, increasing the economic burden of reconstruction.
Conventional wisdom is that a weakening currency is a boon for economic growth and exports; however, history does not support this view.
Recently, one of my classes took time to discuss John Stuart Mill’s “On Liberty”. It was a nice deviation from the week spent on the joys and frustrations of Communism. It didn’t take long before one of the most prominent issues in the writing, victimless crimes, or the right to do things that may affect you but not others, was brought up.
“I don’t think my friend should be able to kill herself,” pontificated a fellow classmate. “Because then I will be sad and this will affect me negatively.”
For whatever reason, the concept that one can do something to themselves but not others was ungraspable for many of my fellow students. Mill argued that people must have control of their own lives and be free to do whatever they wish with it as long as it does not hinder the rights of others to do whatever it is they wish with their lives. In a society that is becoming increasingly collectivist, it may be surprising to some people that victimless crimes actually exist. They include prostitution, smoking marijuana, not wearing a seat belt among others.
In his address to 2008’s Campaign for Liberty, former New Mexico Governor Gary E. Johnson joked, “When I go out on my motorcycle, I wear protection from head to toe. However, if someone doesn’t want to wear a helmet when riding their motorcycle, that should be their choice. There is a donor shortage in this country.”
The idea behind victimless crimes is simple. You have a right to your life. You have a right to make decisions, and yes even obviously stupid ones, because it is your life and yours alone. The idea that government intervenes on your behalf even with the best of intentions is a tragic and corrupting suggestion and one that should be abandoned. Only when you do something that would hinder the rights of others should the law involve itself.
The most important figure in the libertarian movement is the individual. If collectivists are allowed to control aspects related only to the individual, even in an effort to good on the part of the individual, than libertarianism has no chance at surviving and flourishing. Mr. Mill understood the benefits of individual liberty and warned in his timeless manuscript that if victimless acts are allowed to be crimes, than the individual, for all other factors of liberty, cannot be free.
Here is video of Ron Paul’s most recent hearing on Capitol Hill on the relationship of monetary policy and rising prices. Paul begins by explaining the difference between monetary inflation (expansion of the money supply) and price inflation (rising prices). Enjoy it below.
by John Browne, Senior Market Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital
Japan is facing two meltdowns in the wake of its devastating earthquake. The first, and more critical, is the meltdown at the Fukushima I Nuclear Plant, 150 miles north of Tokyo. Surely, this is the greater near-term threat. But long-term, another threat looms, having to do with the Japanese government’s response to the former.
As the fourth largest economy in the world, behind the EU, US, and China, any major setback in Japan likely will have widespread repercussions. Japan is also the third largest holder of US Treasuries, behind the United States and China. While it is too early even to assess the Japanese damage accurately – let alone to forecast the full implications – it is possible to see the potential for a meltdown of the US Treasury market and international monetary system.
Current estimates hold that the Japanese disaster has already lowered world economic growth by a full percentage point for the year.
Leaving aside massive international aid, a complete nuclear meltdown, or other escalations, Japan already will have to spend a massive amount of money to cope with the current disaster. This raises the question: from where will such an enormous amount of money come?
“Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her (America’s) heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. – John Quincy Adams, then-Secretary of State, 1821
We are inspired by the desire of the Libyan people to overthrow Muammar Qadhafi. Sadly, Qadhafi has reacted violently to their protests, and a civil war is now being waged.
We hope the insurgents are committed to freedom, and if so, we hope they will prevail.
But they must to do it without our help. This is THEIR struggle, not ours. As the letter below shows, a U.S. military presence may only undermine the insurgency, not help it.
The good news is that the Obama Administration has shown skepticism toward intervention.
The bad news is that the advocates for intervention are prominent and vocal.
To counter their pressure, we need more members of Congress to speak out in opposition.
by Michael Pento, Senior Economist at Euro Pacific Capital (www.europac.net)
A few months ago, the chorus sung by the recovery cheerleaders reached a crescendo when expanding consumer credit statistics and surging US trade deficits provided them with “evidence” of an economic rebound. In declaring victory, they overlooked the very nucleus of this past crisis: namely, the enormous debt levels and bubbling inflation that created fragile asset bubbles. If they had recognized the original problem, they would have remained silent. In reality, only a reduction in US debt levels or increase in the value of the dollar would have signaled a budding recovery; but, thanks to the Federal Reserve and Obama Administration, there is virtually no way those results will ever be seen.
Last week’s Flow of Funds report issued by the Federal Reserve clearly underlines the fact that we, as a country, haven’t just avoided deleveraging, but rather continue to accumulate debt. At the end of the last fiscal year, total non-financial debt (household, business, state, local, and federal) reached an all-time record high of $36.2 trillion. Not only is the nominal level of debt at a record, but also debt-to-GDP – a far more worrying statistic. In Q4:07, total non-financial debt registered 222% of GDP. In 2008 and 2009, it was 238% and 243% respectively. As of Q4:10, that figure had risen to 244% of GDP, For some perspective, look back to the turn of the millennium, when total debt-to-GDP was ‘just’ 182%. Even that level points to a sick economy, but today’s make you wonder how the patient is still breathing.
It is clear to me that the overleveraged condition which brought the economy down in 2008 still exists today – only worse. For all the suffering and displacement that has gone on, all we have accomplished is an unprecedented transfer private debt onto the Treasury’s balance sheet. Now that the Fed is (hopefully) just months away from taking the printing presses off overtime, the paramount question is how fast interest rates will climb. The Fed has been able to keep yields this low through relentless devaluation and a propaganda campaign that convinced the majority of investors that deflation was a credible threat (kinda like those phantom Iraqi WMDs).
But Washington’s ability to continue that ruse is coming to an end. The unrelenting growth of the Fed’s balance sheet, increasing monetary aggregates, surging gold and commodity prices, $100/barrel oil, soaring food prices, and trillions of dollars of new debt projected for the near future have served to vanquish the deflationists. Any echoes of those once prominent voices can barely be heard amid the thunderous roar of oncoming inflation.
I expect that a hundred years from now, everyone will be using a computer. Things such as pen and paper, typewriters and even some of the earliest computer models will be in thousands of museums across the globe waiting to be viewed by eye-wide children, untrusting skeptics and “serious” professionals. Even in 2011, I was surprised, flabbergasted and enticed after learning about a recent professor. What makes him such an enigma? He doesn’t use a computer.
The computer and by extension, the internet, has played an intricate role in expanding liberty. Wikipedia, founded by an Objectivist, has put the life of many influential libertarians from Lao-tzu to Ludwig Von Mises as well as their life’s work on an easy to read internet encyclopedia. The Cato Institute informs followers of their crusades over social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. During the 2008 Presidential Election, Representative Ron Paul made headlines for his record-breaking money bombs, millions of dollars raised by individuals over the internet. These “series of tubes” have blessed our movement immeasurably. But with every blessing, there is a curse and this curse often takes the form of internet search forums including Spokeo.com.
Quote of the Day: “He (the King) has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.” – Declaration of Independence
Our name describes our goal. We want to downsize the Federal State. But the little states need dramatic downsizing too. For instance, Michael Hodges shows that . . .
* There would be 12.4 million fewer state and local employees if the number hired had remained proportional to population growth since 1946.
* The cost of state and local government went from 6% of GDP in 1946 to 18% today
* If state and local spending was proportional to 1946, the taxpayer would save $4,600 this year alone.
Even worse, all the extra spending at the state and local level seems to be buying you more corruption, more incompetence, and more abuse . . . Read More »
by Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, and host of The Peter Schiff Show, broadcasting live from WSTC Norwalk CT from 10am to noon Eastern time every weekday, and streaming at www.schiffradio.com
As the world confronts one of the most critical periods of economic upheaval that it has ever seen, it is clear that our most influential economic stewards have absolutely no idea what they are doing. But, like kids with a new chemistry set, they are nevertheless unwilling to let that stand in the way of their experimental fun. As they pour an ever-growing number of volatile ingredients into their test tubes, we can either hope that they magically stumble on the secret formula to cure the world’s ills, or more pragmatically, we can try to prepare for the explosion that is likely to result.
Recent comments from current and former Federal Reserve Chairmen, and from the leaders of the European Central Bank, have starkly illustrated this stunning lack of understanding. In an extended interview on CNBC today, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, once considered the sagest of all economic gurus, admitted that he had no idea whether the Fed’s current quantitative easing program will help or hurt the economy. The Maestro simply said that we must wait and see, and if positive economic indicators come, then we may begin considering the policy to be a success. That’s some serious insight.
Liberty Maven
Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, and host of The Peter Schiff Show, broadcasting live from WSTC Norwalk CT from 10am to noon Eastern time every weekday, and streaming at 
by John Browne, Senior Market Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital
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