Liberty Maven

by Hemant Kathuria, Los Angeles Branch Manager, Euro Pacific Capital

Quote of the Day:  “Nothing is official, until it has first been denied.” — Jerry Hughes, radio talk show host, and a friend of Downsize DC

You probably have a fundamental disagreement with the politicians who represent you . . .

* They think your money is their money, and they determine what your “allowance” will be
* You probably think that you are not a slave, and that you work to fulfill your own dreams, not theirs

Consider — If you had a choice, would you rather give your money to . . .

* The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or Habitat for Humanity?
* The Department of the Interior, or groups like the Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited?
* The Department of Education, or a local private school?
* The National Institute of Health (NIH), or St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Shriner’s Hospitals?

If you’re like me, the NIH is the only bureaucracy that might spark a glimmer of interest. But I must wonder, if state-directed medical research is really such a great thing, why must it be funded at gun point?

Other State efforts provoke similar questions. And I can summarize my answers as follows . . .

There’s nothing the federal government does that I value anywhere near as much as it costs. I would gladly choose a private, voluntary alternative for nearly every so-called “service” The State provides. I even think it screws up national defense, creating more enemies for me than it actually kills or constrains.

If I could fire my so-called government, I would. But I can’t — it’s a monopoly protected by violence and intimidation, with the result that . . .

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This is too funny, in a sad way, for words. Bernanke and the government banksters are initiating an effort to thwart would-be counterfeiters by printing a new $100 bill. If the very act of printing $100 bills isn’t enough irony for you, how about this…

In the effort to make it difficult to counterfeit they include a disappearing liberty bell. How appropriate is that? Then there are mentions of “magic” and moving the bill in certain ways causes the printed objects to move in a “different” direction. So…

1. Disappearing liberty… check!
2. The “magic” represents the hidden tax of inflation… check!
3. The “different” direction represents the political subterfuge practiced by the banksters and our government… check!

I think I could actually support the printing of THIS fiat money. It is a metaphor for all that is going wrong with America. I still prefer gold or silver though.

When reading the excerpt below replace the word “print” with “steal” and it will be more truthful.

From AP:

WASHINGTON — The folks who print America’s money have designed a high-tech makeover of the $100 bill. It’s part of an effort to stay ahead of counterfeiters as technology becomes more sophisticated and more dollars flow overseas, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says.

The makeover, unveiled Wednesday by Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, may leave people wondering if there’s magic involved.

Benjamin Franklin is still on the C-note. But he has been joined by a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell and a bright blue security ribbon composed of thousands of tiny lenses that magnify objects in mysterious ways. Move the bill, and the objects move in a different direction.

The new currency will not go into circulation until Feb. 10 of next year. That will give the government time to educate the public in the United States and around the world about the changes.

Sometimes satire does write itself, doesn’t it?

You’ve paid your federal taxes.

You keep watching the national debt soar.

Do you think those two items cover the full cost of the federal government?

Do you think you’re done paying?

Not even close.

There are also invisible costs that impact you, your family, your neighbors, and your community. These costs afflict . . .

*the teenager who can’t find a summer job because of the federal minimum wage law
* the financially-struggling mom who can’t find toys for her kids at the local thrift store because of the CPSIA
* small businesses that fail because they can’t afford to comply with regulations designed for big businesses
* the local store that closes because of an honest tax-filing mistake
* the budget-strapped state government that’s forced to cut services to comply with unfunded federal mandates

These are just a few examples. Regulations raise your prices and reduce your choices. They could also cost you your job.

If you include the “regulation tax” of compliance expenses and lost income, the total cost of the federal government increases by 34%.

And there’s a grave threat ahead. As Clyde Wayne Crews reports in “Ten Thousand Commandments”  . . .

* trillion-dollar deficits will make Congress reluctant to create more tax-and-spend programs
* yet they will want to keep their power and influence
* which means they will likely impose more requirements and regulations on states, business, and even YOU

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by Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and author of Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit from the Economic Collapse

In a commentary two weeks ago, I rebutted dangerously silly arguments put forward by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman about how the United States should pressure China to drop its support for the U.S. dollar (click here to view). Although there is far more happening in the world outside of Mr. Krugman’s brain than within it, fresh drivel from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner compels me to turn my focus there once again.

In today’s column, Krugman analyzes the Greek debt crisis, arguing that the best solution for Athens would be to simply inflate away its debt burden with printing press money. Krugman laments that this sensible option is being foreclosed by the monetary priggishness of the German heavyweights in the European Union, who are ‘foolishly’ seeking to prevent inflation and impose fiscal discipline.

His theoretical justification is put forward in a familiar Keynesian recipe: deficit spending leads to inflation and growth, which leads to greater employment and rising GDP, which makes debt payments much easier to bear in relative terms. He laments that Greece does not control its own currency and is therefore unable to pursue such a policy on its own accord. He implores U.S. policy makers, who do control their own monetary policy, to take heed of the danger and avoid such a course.

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Be of good cheer. There are many silver linings in what may seem to be a completely dark cloud. Let’s think about what just happened . . .

* Statist Democrats have waited three decades to take over healthcare
* Their last attempt, in 1993-94, was a bust
* And aside from those two years, they haven’t controlled Congress and the White House since the Carter years
* Now, it’s already fairly obvious that their current control won’t last long

After all . . .

* The American electorate leans conservative/libertarian and libertarian/liberal, NOT Statist Liberal
* Public dislike for Statism is why the Statist Republicans got fired in 2008, and it will likely cause many Statist Democrats to be fired too, starting this year

We think this explains the Democrats’ suicidal determination to pass their healthcare bill now, at all costs, in spite of the massive public opposition . . .

It was now or never!

Even so, public pressure, including tens of thousands of letters from DC Downsizers, forced the Statist Democrats to make major changes . . .

They had to drop their “deem and pass self-executing rule,” by which they hoped to make the Senate healthcare bill the law of the land, without ever voting for it.

You made the House Democrats do something they didn’t want to do. You made them cast a direct vote for the hated Senate bill.

Tax-funded bribery is also becoming a major issue. Witness the furor over the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase. Public pressure made the Statist politicians retreat on this issue as well.

You also killed the so-called “public option,” which would have put us on the fast track to fully Socialist healthcare. As it stands now, the bill Congress actually passed more resembles Socialism’s kissing-cousin, Corporate Fascism. This is why . . .

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Earlier today Ron Paul did what he does best: Hammered central government/economic planning during a House committee hearing. He then gets to ask Ben Bernanke a few questions on interest rate manipulation. Unsurprisingly, Bernanke claims the problems were due to not enough regulation rather than admit that regulation was the cause of the problems.

“Central Banking is an art.” – Bernanke

Near the end of the 2nd clip both men get to the heart of their differences:

Bernanke: “You are a gold standard, er, uh…”
Paul: “I’m for the Constitution.”

httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8CBCE62A55B9A4F7

The Tea Party folks were jumping for joy the day after Scott Brown won the special election in Massachusetts. Brown’s victory was all about stopping the Democrats from passing health reform and little else. His subsequent vote, incidentally his very first vote, supporting Obama’s “stimulus 2″ jobs bill reinforced this reality amongst some of his now formerly devoted supporters.

Rand Paul is everything the Tea Partiers wanted in Scott Brown and more. He is their Reagan fantasy becoming reality. Only they don’t appear to completely realize it yet. Sarah Palin’s endorsement was huge, but the jury is still out on whether Palin is more than just a conservative “Barbie” to Scott Brown’s “Ken”.

Dropping the campaign sweat from Rand Paul’s brow on truly limited government litmus paper reveals two names that would make almost every conservative smile: Goldwater and Reagan. These two icons are at the very root of Rand Paul’s philosophy of governance.

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Yes, Ron Paul won the CPAC straw poll and delivered a good speech. Glenn Beck delivered a great speech too, but for my money it was a Judge Andrew Napolitano speech that was the best of CPAC 2010.

As I sat in the audience following Judge Andrew Napolitano’s speech during the Liberty Forum at CPAC 2010 I couldn’t help but wish he was delivering it in the main ballroom on the final afternoon leading in to Glenn Beck’s keynote. Then again, he may have been booed, but that wouldn’t have stopped him.

While Glenn Beck’s speech was very good and included arguments the GOP needed to hear, the Judge’s speech was an uncompromising and no-holds-barred session of truth-telling.

Watch Judge Napolitano’s speech below. If you’d like to watch the entire Liberty Forum the complete playlist is available here and the question and answer session is here.

httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=640F410A38F85107

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wants to raise your taxes.

Send your Representative and your two Senators a letter rejecting this idea.

You can copy or borrow from my letter . . .

Here’s what Steny Hoyer said at the Brookings Institution on Monday, March 1: “No one likes raising revenue (increasing taxes), and understandably so, but if you’re going to buy, you need to pay.”

I’ve got a better idea — don’t buy!

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