You’re paying an invisible tax — the Regulation Tax. It has grown by two-thirds over the past ten years, and is now more than $15,000 per household.
The Federal State’s price controls, paperwork, entry restrictions, environmental controls, and workplace regulations increase the prices you pay for everything you buy. These costs also discourage businesses from expanding and hiring. They often force lay-offs.
As the letter below indicates, the sheer size of the regulatory burden is shocking.
Last night’s appearance by Senator Rand Paul on David Letterman’s late night show was quite interesting. Rand answered the barrage of somewhat contentious questions with plain facts and well-reasoned arguments. Apparently this was strange to Letterman who had no better response than to more or less say, “well your wrong and I’m right but I don’t know why.”
Some are saying it was a disaster for Rand Paul. I don’t see it that way. What do you think? Check out the video below.
Quote of the Day: “Worrying works. About 90% of the things I worry about never happen.” — Woody Paige, on ESPN’s “Around the Horn”
Congress is going to raise the debt ceiling yet again. They’ve done this 70 times in the past, but this next time should be the last time.
We’ve created a new campaign to help to achieve this. The Republicans are pushing a Balanced Budget Amendment that has some great features. It would . . .
* mandate that Congress balance the federal budget each year.
* prevent Congress from spending more than 20% of Gross Domestic Product.
* require a 2/3 super-majority to increase your taxes.
This would mean that . . .
* the debt ceiling would never be raised again.
* the State’s cancerous growth would be checked.
* it would become almost impossible to raise federal taxes.
Here’s the deal . . .
If Congress (wrongly) insists on lifting the debt ceiling yet again, then they need to give us something in exchange.
What we need in exchange is a strong Balanced Budget Amendment.
To ensure that this is the last time they raise the debt ceiling, we need a strong Balanced Budget Amendment.
Many states can’t pay their bills. Their unfunded obligations total trillions of dollars. Some of these states will want a bailout from Congress. Do you want to pay for this, or should the politicians and the unions who created these messes feel the pain instead of you?
CSPAN’s show, Newsmakers, aired this weekend. Their guest was Congressman Ron Paul. Most of the questions revolved around economics and the Federal Reserve. It’s refreshing when Dr. Paul is given the proper amount of time to explain his positions without the interruptions that always occur on the mainstream media outlets.
John Browne, Senior Market Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital
Pre-holiday cheer is certainly evident in the financial markets. The overwhelming consensus is that the Congressional agreement to not raise taxes while extending hundreds of billions in new stimulus will finally allow the recovery to take hold. The good feelings are underscored by less-than-awful employment reports and modest slowdowns in foreclosures. Another point of optimism is the continued buoyancy of the US dollar, which has weakened over the past few months, but has not collapsed.
However, I believe the dollar’s survival remains tenuous and highly dependent on factors outside of the control of US policymakers. As I see it, the dollar is caught between four major forces: American debt levels, weakness of the euro, underlying strength of the yuan and, lastly, threats to its privileged international reserve status.
In 2010, the major collapse of the US dollar, which many of us expected to see, did not materialize. Indeed, the dollar experienced periods of relative strength, due largely to an absence of apparent domestic inflation and concerns not just about the value of the euro, but its continued survival. In recent weeks, there have been some signs of economic recovery in the United States, of rising inflation in China, and of increasing concern about the euro. As a result, the dollar is finishing the year with some wind in its sails.
For now, the markets seemed convinced that the trillions of dollars injected into the economy by the Fed and the Administration will not be inflationary. I suspect this illogical consensus has in no small part been made possible by the government’s success in disguising the real level of consumer price inflation. However, the level of government debt continues to accelerate, promising serious problems ahead.
by Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, and host of The Peter Schiff Show, broadcasting live from WSTC Norwalk CT from 6pm – 8pm Eastern time every weeknight, and streaming at www.schiffradio.com
This week Washington displayed the kind of “bipartisanship” that will bankrupt our country and wreck our currency. Coming at a time when both parties say they want to address our long-term fiscal imbalances, the compromise extension of the Bush era tax cuts should be a wake-up call to anyone who somehow expected the American leadership to ever have an “adult conversation” about the country’s long term economic health.
The administration and Congress are prepared to take the bold political move of not raising some taxes while significantly lowering others and greatly expanding Federal benefits. The entire cost of the $900 billion package will be financed entirely by adding to the national debt. Talk about tough love. While other countries consider ways to live within their means, Washington is intent on devising ever more creative ways to delay the day of reckoning.
While Democrats wanted more government spending,they were unwilling to vote for broad-based middle class tax increases to pay for it. Instead they want what Democrats have always wanted: higher taxes on the “rich.” Republicans want lower taxes, but as has become typical, they were unwilling to cut government spending to enable it.By running up the deficit both sides get what they want without any political sacrifice.Sure, they break their campaign promise to cut the deficit, but the political fallout that results will be far less costly than voting for the tax hikes or spending cuts.
In truth however, there are no real tax cuts in this proposal. The true burden of government is not measured by how much it taxes but how much it spends. Since this deal ensures that government will be more expensive next year than it was this year, American citizens will have to shoulder the added cost. Just because Congress has decided to deliver the bill with debt rather than current taxes does not mean that the spending will not be paid for. The only thing the plan accomplishes is to alter the means by which government spending is financed.
by John Browne, Senior Market Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital
Despite America’s economic problems, the US dollar has maintained its respected status the world over – and has even managed to maintain value in comparison to other currencies. It appears that the dollar will likely finish 2010 at the same levels that it started. Even today’s announcement of more tax cuts and stimulus, which will guarantee widening federal deficits for years to come, could not put a dent in the dollar. The dollar’s charmed life stands in strong contrast to the euro, which is currently suffering from its internal flaws and the Europeans’ unfortunate recognition of reality.
Given Washington’s monetary irresponsibility over the past decade and a half, many market observers have wondered if the euro could one day become the world’s top currency. In the early to mid-2000s, when the euro surged more than 60% against the dollar, this was in fact a popular view. But unlike all other currencies on the planet, the euro is not a sovereign currency managed by a single country. It is dependent on the collective political will of the leaders of the European Union (EU).
In the bust that followed the Greenspan/Bernanke dollar-based boom, the US economy started to deleverage significantly. Unwilling to accept the political cost of a possible failure of its banking system, the Federal Reserve decided to re-inflate out of deflation and devalue the US dollar. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB), heavily influenced by Germany, decided that deflation was necessary and inevitable. As painful as it was likely to prove, the Europeans had appeared until recently ready to face the music and delever their economies.
Liberty Maven
John Browne, Senior Market Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital
by Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, and host of The Peter Schiff Show, broadcasting live from WSTC Norwalk CT from 6pm – 8pm Eastern time every weeknight, and streaming at 
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