Monday, December 30, 2013
How Far You Could Travel Across the U.S. in One Day, from 1800 to Present
File under: The amazing gains in our standard of living.
Knockout Game Gone Super Wild Resulting in Broken Ankle, Cracked Ribs, Knocked Out Tooth, Concussion
The Charllotesville Weekly reports:
A couple’s late night stroll on the Christmas-lit Downtown Mall turned to terror in the early morning hours of Friday, December 20, when they were brutally assaulted by three men in what appears to have been a random act of violence.
Even though one of the victims, Jeanne Doucette, managed to take photos that appear to show the assailants as they kicked and pummeled her boyfriend Marc Adams to unconsciousness, Charlottesville Police still do not have any suspects. Doucette says there were other witnesses to the crime, which allegedly occurred just outside the Wells Fargo building at around 1am as she and Adams walked from Miller’s to Rapture, and she is baffled as to why the police haven’t shared her images more widely with people who could have seen the suspects earlier in the evening.
“I cannot understand why they didn’t let people know what happened,” said Doucette, who still bore injuries from the assault when she met for an interview a week later. “Those pictures might have prompted some tips.”
The images she captured are blurry but nonetheless appear to corroborate her account of the night’s events, including the brutality of the beating, during which she says the assailants joked and laughed, even stopping to hug in the midst of the onslaught.
Doucette said the assault occurred after she and Adams, both 39, had met for a drink at Miller’s after Adams finished his shift as chef for a downtown food cart. They headed east up the Mall toward Rapture to end their night with music, when Adams tripped and fell in front of Derriere de Soie lingerie store, a block from Miller’s. As he was getting up, a man approached quickly, said something that Doucette couldn’t make out, and kicked Adams while he was on the ground, before being joined by his friends who beat Adams severely, breaking his ankle, cracking ribs and knocking out one of his teeth.
The grainy photos that Doucette took with her phone (posted below story) show the faces and clothing worn by the three alleged assailants, all black males. Doucette estimated the men were approximately 6’ tall and in their mid-20s or early 30s. In one photo, Adams is lying on his back on the Mall with a man looming over him. Doucette said the man was kicking Adams when she took the picture. In another picture, a large man in a black coat and light colored shirt appears to be moving towards Doucette’s camera as Adams is on his knees in the background.
While Doucette suffered bruising to her head and tearing of the cartilage in her ear, Adams bore the brunt of the men’s aggression, sustaining broken bones and a concussion that he said has robbed him of any memory of the incident and its immediate aftermath.
Flooded with fear and adrenaline, Doucette said, she reacted quickly after the assault began, confronting the first assailant.
“I came up and pushed him away and said, ‘What are you doing?’” she recalled.
The incident escalated when the man responded by striking her.
“The guy hits me repeatedly in the ear,” she said. “My earring was stabbing me in the head over and over.”
Two other men soon joined in the beating, Doucette said, and while they primarily focused on Adams, a local musician who at 5’5″ and 140 pounds was outsized and outnumbered, they would occasionally strike her.
“When he’d tell them to stop hitting me, they’d hit me twice,” said Doucette, who is 5’2″.
Read the rest here.
Life in the Emerging American Police State: What’s in Store for Our Freedoms in 2014?
By John W. Whitehead
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”—George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Vol. 1
In Harold Ramis’ classic 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, TV weatherman Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray) is forced to live the same day over and over again until he not only gains some insight into his life but changes his priorities. Similarly, as I illustrate in my book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, we in the emerging American police state find ourselves reliving the same set of circumstances over and over again—egregious surveillance, strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, government spying, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, etc.—although with far fewer moments of comic hilarity.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”—George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Vol. 1
In Harold Ramis’ classic 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, TV weatherman Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray) is forced to live the same day over and over again until he not only gains some insight into his life but changes his priorities. Similarly, as I illustrate in my book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, we in the emerging American police state find ourselves reliving the same set of circumstances over and over again—egregious surveillance, strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, government spying, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, etc.—although with far fewer moments of comic hilarity.
Weisenthal's Useless Rocks
By, Chris Rossini
Joe Weisenthal, the gold-hating "Stalwart" at BusinessInsider, was able to squeeze in one more anti-gold pitch before the end of 2013.
Gold is finishing down for the year for the first time in a decade, and in his signature hyperbolic style, Weisenthal says:
People, despite their government educations, know the drill. Government money always fails, without exception. You'll never see an individual sweeping gold into a sewer:
One must also wonder....if gold is just a bunch of "useless rocks" why write about it at all? Does the top brass at BusinessInsider tell The Stalwart to cover useless things? Perhaps they say: "Go write about useless rocks for our readers. And do it incessantly."
First, Weisenthal assumes that after hyperinflation, his ilk would just have to go to "the drawing board" and figure out how to "prevent a future crisis". I wouldn't be so confident. Keynesianism is running on fumes.
Maybe, just to be safe, I would suggest Joe and the gang have a few cardboard boxes on hand. And make sure to leave behind the poster. It'll act as a centerpiece for the new decor:
It's good the Stalwart got one more anti-gold piece in. The window for publishing such nonsense is quickly closing.
Chris Rossini on Twitter, Facebook & Google+
Joe Weisenthal, the gold-hating "Stalwart" at BusinessInsider, was able to squeeze in one more anti-gold pitch before the end of 2013.
Gold is finishing down for the year for the first time in a decade, and in his signature hyperbolic style, Weisenthal says:
Everyone in the world should be happy about this development.While the average American & European struggles, Weisenthal says we're in the clear:
The US is doing okay, the European crisis is over, and there aren't major fears of a hard landing in China. For now there's no strong reason to think the global financial system could collapse.Let's put it this way. With all the money-printing, QE's, and stimulus packages that have littered the economic world, the only thing the digit manufacturers can point to is another artificial stock market boom that (using some BI lingo) NOBODY cares about. The rest is just an ever-growing pile of malinvestments, artificially enriched cronies, and a lot of economic pain for the common man.
A secondary effect of lower gold prices is that there's less urgency to spend labor and energy digging up gold from the ground. Watching people spend lots of resources to dig up useless rocks is a sad thing for the world, so lower prices has a nice knock-on benefits.Now...there are plenty of physical objects on this Earth that are sitting around in desolate areas, and providing no utility to acting man. Those deserve the label "useless". Gold, on the other hand, is held by individuals all over the world, and not because of "tradition".
People, despite their government educations, know the drill. Government money always fails, without exception. You'll never see an individual sweeping gold into a sewer:
One must also wonder....if gold is just a bunch of "useless rocks" why write about it at all? Does the top brass at BusinessInsider tell The Stalwart to cover useless things? Perhaps they say: "Go write about useless rocks for our readers. And do it incessantly."
But the real reason we should be happy with the gold crash is that it proves the worth of the corpus of economic knowledge we've built up over all these years. If large government deficits and QE had resulted in hyperinflation and gold going to $10,000 then we'd pretty much have to do the drawing board in terms of what we know about the economy, and how we can prevent future crisis. The fact that the gold fever popped is a demonstrate that contra the angry-Austrian, hard-money cranks, the conventional view of the economy is more-or-less correct.Ok, that paragraph is loaded with good stuff.
First, Weisenthal assumes that after hyperinflation, his ilk would just have to go to "the drawing board" and figure out how to "prevent a future crisis". I wouldn't be so confident. Keynesianism is running on fumes.
Maybe, just to be safe, I would suggest Joe and the gang have a few cardboard boxes on hand. And make sure to leave behind the poster. It'll act as a centerpiece for the new decor:
 |
Chris Rossini on Twitter, Facebook & Google+
The NSA Has Nearly Complete Backdoor Capability to Access Apple's iPhone
Reports the Daily Dot:
The U.S. National Security Agency has the ability to snoop on nearly every communication sent from an Apple iPhone, according to leaked documents shared by security researcher Jacob Appelbaum and German news magazine Der Spiegel.
An NSA program called DROPOUTJEEP allows the agency to intercept SMS messages, access contact lists, locate a phone using cell tower data, and even activate the device’s microphone and camera.
The U.S. National Security Agency has the ability to snoop on nearly every communication sent from an Apple iPhone, according to leaked documents shared by security researcher Jacob Appelbaum and German news magazine Der Spiegel.
An NSA program called DROPOUTJEEP allows the agency to intercept SMS messages, access contact lists, locate a phone using cell tower data, and even activate the device’s microphone and camera.
According to leaked documents, the NSA claims a 100 percent success rate when it comes to implanting iOS devices with spyware. The documents suggest that the NSA needs physical access to a device to install the spyware—something the agency has achieved by rerouting shipments of devices purchased online—but a remote version of the exploit is also in the works.
Appelbaum says that presents one of two possibilities:
“Either [the NSA] have a huge collection of exploits that work against Apple products, meaning they are hoarding information about critical systems that American companies produce, and sabotaging them, or Apple sabotaged it themselves,” Appelbaum said at the Chaos Communication Conference in Hamburg, Germany.
(ht Micah Armantrout)
How Detroit Went Broke
A solid analysis from the Detroit Free Press that notes:
For this report, the Free Press examined about 10,000 pages of documents gathering dust in the public library’s archives. Since most of those documents have never been digitized, the Free Press created its own database of 50 years of Detroit’s financial history. Reporters also conducted dozens of interviews with participants from the last six mayoral administrations as well as city bureaucrats and outside experts. Among the highlights from the review:The full report is here.
■ Taxing higher and higher: City leaders tried repeatedly to reverse sliding revenue through new taxes. Despite a new income tax in 1962, a new utility tax in 1971 and a new casino revenue tax in 1999 — not to mention several tax increases along the way — revenue in today’s dollars fell 40% from 1962 to 2012. Higher taxes helped drive residents to the suburbs and drove away business. Today, Detroit still doesn’t take in as much tax revenue as it did just from property taxes in 1963.
■ Reconsidering Coleman Young: Serving from 1974-1994, Young was the most austere Detroit mayor since World War II, reducing the workforce, department budgets and debt during a particularly nasty national recession in the early 1980s. Young was the only Detroit mayor since 1950 to preside over a city with more income than debt, although he relied heavily on tax increases to pay for services.
■ Downsizing — too little, too late: The total assessed value of Detroit property — a good gauge of the city’s tax base and its ability to pay bills — fell a staggering 77% over the past 50 years in today’s dollars. But through 2004, the city cut only 28% of its workers, even though the money to pay them was drying up. Not until the last decade did Detroit, in desperation, cut half its workforce. The city also failed to take advantage of efficiencies, such as new technology, that enabled enormous productivity gains in the broader economy.
■ Skyrocketing employee benefits: City leaders allowed legacy costs — the tab for retiree pensions and health care — to spiral out of control even as the State of Michigan and private industry were pushing workers into less costly plans. That placed major stress on the budget and diverted money from services such as streetlights and public safety. Detroit’s spending on retiree health care soared 46% from 2000 to 2012, even as its general fund revenue fell 20%.
■ Gifting a billion in bonuses: Pension officials handed out about $1 billion in bonuses from the city’s two pension funds to retirees and active city workers from 1985 to 2008. That money — mostly in the form of so-called 13th checks — could have shored up the funds and possibly prevented the city from filing for bankruptcy. If that money had been saved, it would have been worth more than $1.9 billion today to the city and pension funds, by one expert’s estimate.
■ Missing chance after chance: Contrary to myth, the city has not been in free fall since the 1960s. There have been periods of economic growth and hope, such as in the 1990s when the population decline slowed, income-tax revenue increased and city leaders balanced the budget. But leaders failed to take advantage of those moments of calm to reform city government, reduce expenses and protect the city and its residents from another downturn.
■ Borrowing more and more: Detroit went on a binge starting around 2000 to close budget holes and to build infrastructure, more than doubling debt to $8 billion by 2012. Under Archer, Detroit sold water and sewer bonds. Kilpatrick, who took office in 2002, used borrowing as his stock answer to budget issues, and Bing borrowed more than $250 million.
■ Adding the last straw — Kilpatrick’s gamble: He’s best known around the globe for a sex and perjury scandal that sent him to jail and massive corruption that threatens to send him to prison next month for more than 20 years. The corruption cases further eroded Detroit’s image and distracted the city from its fiscal storm. But perhaps the greatest damage Kilpatrick did to the city’s long-term stability was with Wall Street’s help when he borrowed $1.44 billion in a flashy high-finance deal to restructure pension fund debt. That deal, which could cost $2.8 billion over the next 22 years, now represents nearly one-fifth of the city’s debt.
With all the lost opportunities over decades, with Detroit’s debt mounting, with the housing crash and Great Recession just over the horizon, 2005 turned out to be the watershed year.
Don't Fear 'Deflation,' Unless Caused by Government
Richard Ebeling emails:
I have a new article on the news and commentary website, "EpicTimes" on, "Don't Fear 'Deflation,' Unless Caused by Government."
I argue that the general fear of "deflation" -- a general fall in the level or scale of prices -- is misplaced when brought about by cost efficiencies and productivity increases that expand the quantity of goods produced at lower costs of production, since producers are then able to sell more at lower prices for all in the society to gain through a rise in the real value of what their money can buy.
Deflation only has "negative" effects when in the face of dynamic change sellers of resources and labor serves are not willing to adapt and adjust their prices and wages to new market conditions, or when governments plan or institutionally bring about through central banking a decrease in the quantity of money in the economy.
When governments get out of the way, and markets are sufficiently competitive and flexible in the face of market change, "deflation" is almost always an indication of a growing and improving economy with rising standards of living for all in society.
http://epictimes.com/article/
I have a new article on the news and commentary website, "EpicTimes" on, "Don't Fear 'Deflation,' Unless Caused by Government."
I argue that the general fear of "deflation" -- a general fall in the level or scale of prices -- is misplaced when brought about by cost efficiencies and productivity increases that expand the quantity of goods produced at lower costs of production, since producers are then able to sell more at lower prices for all in the society to gain through a rise in the real value of what their money can buy.
Deflation only has "negative" effects when in the face of dynamic change sellers of resources and labor serves are not willing to adapt and adjust their prices and wages to new market conditions, or when governments plan or institutionally bring about through central banking a decrease in the quantity of money in the economy.
When governments get out of the way, and markets are sufficiently competitive and flexible in the face of market change, "deflation" is almost always an indication of a growing and improving economy with rising standards of living for all in society.
http://epictimes.com/article/
WARNING 60- and 40-Watt Incandescent Light Bulb Production Ends January 1
Government regulations forced the phasing out 100- and 75-watt light bulbs in 2012 and 2013 respectively. However, the elimination of 60- and 40-watt bulbs will have a much greater impact on U.S. consumers because they are the two most popular bulbs on the market, according to the electronics industry research firm IMS Research.
So what will you be able to use as an alternative? CFL bulbs.
Keep in mind what Karen de Coster wrote in July 2012:
So what will you be able to use as an alternative? CFL bulbs.
Keep in mind what Karen de Coster wrote in July 2012:
Is it any surprise that a team of researchers have found that compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are a health hazard?“Despite their large energy savings, consumers should be careful when using compact fluorescent light bulbs,” said Professor Rafailovich. “Our research shows that it is best to avoid using them at close distances and that they are safest when placed behind an additional glass cover.”Stories from last year indicated that the green-government bulbs release carcinogenic chemicals and toxins in addition to frying your skin. Thus the reason for the EPA’s warnings for cleaning up a toxic spill in your home. It’s just another reason I keep a good stock of human-friendly incandescent bulbs.
Drudge: High Suspicions That Latest NSA Story Is Actually a Big Leak -- by the Agency!
High suspicions that latest NSA story is actually a big leak -- by the agency! http://t.co/tJWzfyGUKb
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) December 29, 2013
If this is a government leak, what does this suggest about Snowden's leaks, which provide no knew information that a careful observer of the news didn't already know?
French ‘Millionaire Tax’ Is On
France’s Constitutional Council gave the go-ahead on Sunday to the government’s so-called millionaire tax, to be levied on companies that pay salaries of more than 1 million euros a year, reports NYT.
NYT continues:
The Constitutional Council, a court comprising judges and former French presidents, can annul laws if they are deemed to violate the constitution.
NYT continues:
It was originally intended as a 75 percent tax to be paid by high earners on the portion of annual income exceeding €1 million, or roughly $1.37 million, but the council rejected it last year, saying it was unfair. France’s top administrative court later said that 66 percent was the legal maximum for individuals.Ultimately, all taxes end up being charged against the factors of production, including labor. Companies may technically pay the tax but they will, in general, simply bid less for services, thus costing the high earners.
The Socialist government has since reworked the tax to levy it on companies instead, raising the ire of entrepreneurs.
Under its new design, which the council found constitutional, the tax will be a 50 percent rate on the portion of wages above €1 million in 2013 and 2014.
Including social contributions, the rate will effectively remain about 75 percent, though the tax will be capped at 5 percent of a company’s turnover.
The tax is expected to affect about 470 companies and a dozen soccer teams.
The Constitutional Council, a court comprising judges and former French presidents, can annul laws if they are deemed to violate the constitution.
Bombings in Russia Follow Saudi Threat to Attack Russia
Twin blasts targeting a train station and a trolley bus in the city of Volgograd which killed at least 31 people follow a threat by Saudi Arabia to attack Russia using Chechen terrorists if Moscow did not withdraw its support for President Assad in Syria, reports Infowars.
Infowars continues:
While the media has concentrated on the threat such groups pose to February’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, no scrutiny has been given to a warning issued by Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan back in August when he told Vladimir Putin that Saudi Arabia would activate the Chechen terrorist groups it controls to target Russia if Moscow refused to abandon its support for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
As we reported at the time, the threat was made during a closed-door meeting between Prince Bandar and Putin at the beginning of August.
According to a transcript of the comments made during the meeting by Middle Eastern news agency Al Monitor, Bandar made a series of promises and threats to Putin in return for Moscow withdrawing its support for Assad in Syria.
“I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year,” Bandar allegedly stated, adding, “The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us.”
Bandar made it clear that his position was supported by the US government.
This “guarantee” to stop the Chechens from attacking the Sochi Olympics was also obviously a veiled threat that if Russia did not abandon Assad, terrorist attacks would be given the green light.
Given that Russia did not abandon Assad and indeed virtually single-handedly prevented a US military strike on Syria, much to the chagrin of Saudi Arabia which is the primary supplier of anti-Assad rebel jihadists, are we to believe that the Volgograd bombings are evidence of Bandar following through on his threat?
NBA Player Photographed Doing “The Nazi Salute in Reverse”
 |
| On the right, NBA star TonyParker doing the quenelle with comedian Dieudonne, backstage after a Dieudonne performance. |
It's called the “quenelle,” a gesture described as “the Nazi salute in reverse,” Roger Cukierman, the leader of an umbrella group of French Jewish organizations, told Reuters.
In a photo, NBA star Tony Parker is seen using the gesture with French comedian Dieudonne, who invented the hand signal, according to NyPo. Dieudonne is a known supporter of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s views on the State of Israel, says NyPo. His film, “The Anti-Semite,” was banned from the Cannes Film Festival last year.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is asking Parker to apologize after multiple French newspapers posted pictures of Parker doing the “quenelle."
“As a leading sports figure on both sides of the Atlantic, Parker has a special moral obligation to disassociate himself from a gesture that the government of France has identified as anti-Semitic,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said, according to The Algemeiner.
The call for the apology comes just one day after French soccer star Nicolas Anelka displayed the same gesture after scoring a goal for West Bromwich of the English Premier League.
UPDATE
Parker has issued a statement apologizing.
“While this gesture has been part of French culture for many years, it was not until recently that I learned of the very negative concerns associated with it,” Parker said in the statement. “When l was photographed making that gesture three years ago, I thought it was part of a comedy act and did not know that it could be in any way offensive or harmful.
“Since I have been made aware of the seriousness of this gesture, I will certainly never repeat the gesture and sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding or harm relating to my actions. Hopefully this incident will serve to educate others that we need to be more aware that things that may seem innocuous can actually have a history of hate and hurt.”
Ron Paul: Raising Minimum Wages Appeals to Those Who Do Not Understand Economics
Government Policies Hurt Low-Wage Workers
By Ron Paul
Fast-food workers across the county have recently held a number of high profile protests to agitate for higher wages. These protests have been accompanied by efforts to increase the wages mandated by state and local minimum wage laws, as well as a renewed push in some states and localities to pass “living wage” laws. President Obama has proposed raising the federal minimum wage to ten dollars an hour.
Raising minimum wages by government decree appeals to those who do not understand economics. This appeal is especially strong during times of stagnant wages and increased economic inequality. But raising the minimum wage actually harms those at the bottom of the income ladder. Basic economic theory teaches that when the price of a good increases, demand for that good decreases. Raising the minimum wage increases the price of labor, thus decreasing the demand for labor. So an increased minimum wage will lead to hiring freezes and layoffs. Unskilled and inexperienced workers are the ones most often deprived of employment opportunities by increases in the minimum wage.
Minimum wage laws are not the only example of government policies that hurt those at the bottom of the income scale. Many regulations that are promoted as necessary to “rein in” large corporations actually hurt small businesses. Because these small businesses operate on a much narrower profit margin, they cannot as easily absorb the costs of complying with the regulations as large corporations. These regulations can also inhibit lower income individuals from starting their own businesses. Thus, government regulations can reduce the demand for wage-labor, while increasing the supply of labor, which further reduces wages.
Read the rest here.
By Ron Paul
Fast-food workers across the county have recently held a number of high profile protests to agitate for higher wages. These protests have been accompanied by efforts to increase the wages mandated by state and local minimum wage laws, as well as a renewed push in some states and localities to pass “living wage” laws. President Obama has proposed raising the federal minimum wage to ten dollars an hour.
Raising minimum wages by government decree appeals to those who do not understand economics. This appeal is especially strong during times of stagnant wages and increased economic inequality. But raising the minimum wage actually harms those at the bottom of the income ladder. Basic economic theory teaches that when the price of a good increases, demand for that good decreases. Raising the minimum wage increases the price of labor, thus decreasing the demand for labor. So an increased minimum wage will lead to hiring freezes and layoffs. Unskilled and inexperienced workers are the ones most often deprived of employment opportunities by increases in the minimum wage.
Minimum wage laws are not the only example of government policies that hurt those at the bottom of the income scale. Many regulations that are promoted as necessary to “rein in” large corporations actually hurt small businesses. Because these small businesses operate on a much narrower profit margin, they cannot as easily absorb the costs of complying with the regulations as large corporations. These regulations can also inhibit lower income individuals from starting their own businesses. Thus, government regulations can reduce the demand for wage-labor, while increasing the supply of labor, which further reduces wages.
Read the rest here.
The Overstock CEO on Bitcoin
Like I said in my post, Does Anyone Really Use Bitcoin as Money?, Bitcoin is more like a gyrating American Express travelers check than money.
Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne told Fortune:
Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne told Fortune:
I'm not investing in bitcoin. I'm just saying we'll accept it. I don't have any opinions on its value, and I don't even know how one would go about finding that out beyond just looking it up everyday and what it's trading at. Overstock accepting bitcoin shouldn't be read as an endorsement or a view that the value of it is going to go up. We're not going to be holding any bitcoin -- it's just a medium of exchange.Byre is not an economist but he has a pretty could take on Bitcoin, though I would argue that Bitcoin is not a medium of exchange, at this point, but a receipt for a fluctuating quantity of dollars, dollars being the medium of exchange.
Paul Krugman's Old College Roommate on Bitcoin
Krugman writes:
My old college roommate John R. Levine, who was a techie before anyone knew such creatures existed (let alone that they would rule the world), sends me a note about Bitcoin that confirms some of my own suspicions[...]
Who knows what mad dog changes to Bitcoin could be advocated in the future. For those who doubt that changes can occur, note that there has been technical changes already made to Bitcoin. From Bitcoin stack exchange:
My old college roommate John R. Levine, who was a techie before anyone knew such creatures existed (let alone that they would rule the world), sends me a note about Bitcoin that confirms some of my own suspicions[...]
My current guess is that the Bitcoin bubble will collapse when there is some bad news, e.g., a regulator demands registration of Bitcoin wallets, people try and cash out, and find that that while it’s easy to buy bitcoins, it’s much harder to find people willing to buy back nontrivial amounts, very hard to collect the sales proceeds, and completely impossible without revealing exactly who you are.Levine also touches on a point that I really hadn't thought much about before. Bitcoin is really a majority rule currency---which is very scary when you take into consideration what majority rule has brought to the forefront in general public policy. Levine writes:
Bitcoin has its decentralized blockchain which is a very clever recasting of the problem so that the state of the “bank” is whatever the majority of bitcoin miners agree that it is.So in other words, it is false when Bitcoin advocates claim there is no central planner. It is actually mob rule by Bitcoin miners and if I understand this correctly probably by Bitcoin holders, if a majority call for a change in protocol! But changes can certainly be made at the mining level.Very, very, very, different than gold, where there truly is no central control. Gold is gold. It has specific characteristics that a majority can never change.
Who knows what mad dog changes to Bitcoin could be advocated in the future. For those who doubt that changes can occur, note that there has been technical changes already made to Bitcoin. From Bitcoin stack exchange:
It has been changed in the past. For example, the version message was updated. It was carried out by basically saying: "Okay, on this and this date, the protocol will be changed" and giving enough time for non-standard clients to update. Then, at a predefined time all clients updated their protocol version internally and started communicating in the normal way.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Robert Reich & The Cookie Jar
By, Chris Rossini
Several days ago, Robert Reich took out his red, white & blue Obamacare pom-poms and began his cheer:
Of course not...but "so what"?
So what?
Government doesn't have to worry about that stuff. It can just turn on its magic faucet, and more taxpayer casheesh will flow like water. Just keep at it!
Reich then goes into the government trophy case:
After strolling passed the trophy case, Reich makes his way into the Master Cockpit. He explains all of the buttons that can be pushed by the Master:
I think a really good fable is in order here.
There's a story about a monkey that sticks his hand into a jar of cookies. The monkey grabs as big a handful of cookies as he can. But when he tries to pull the hand out, he can't get it passed the neck of the cookie jar.
The stubborn monkey would not let go of any of the cookies, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his hand out of the jar. So in trying to take more than what was possible to remove, the monkey was left crying with nothing!
Now let's see how that story applies to the planners.
Let's imagine a jar filled with POWER. And let's make the jar gold-plated (just for fun). Someday, a politician is going to stick his hand into the golden jar of POWER and he's going to have quite the fistfull. It'll consist of Social Security, Medicare, CHIP, SNAP, ObamaCare, a Military Empire, and lots of other creations of POWER.
As the politician tries to take his hand out of the jar, he's going to get stuck at the neck. Economic law will not permit him to take his hand out! He could push whatever buttons he wants, and dictate whatever thoughts come to his mind, but the hand is not coming out. And like the monkey, there's no way the politician will let go of any of the POWER. He's going to "keep at it".
Also like the monkey, the politician (and all the people that believed him) will be left crying with nothing!
That's how the story of government always ends.
Chris Rossini on Twitter, Facebook & Google+
Several days ago, Robert Reich took out his red, white & blue Obamacare pom-poms and began his cheer:
Whatever happened to American can-do optimism? Even before the Affordable Care Act covers its first beneficiary, the nattering nabobs of negativism are out in full force.Bet you didn't know that 'America's can-do attitude' applies to government redistribution heists, did you? Well now you know. The original liberty-minded American has fallen quite far indeed.
If the past is any guide, some fixes will probably be necessary – but so what?"So what" rolls off the tongue very smoothly when the planners deal with other people's money and livelihoods. So what? Who cares?
What needs fixing can be fixed. And over time we can learn how to do it better.Oh sure...the cakewalks in Iraq & Afghanistan have cost a cool Trillion ($$$). Has the government "learned how" to remake Arabs into Americans? After a Trillion ($$$)? Will they "learn how" with another Trillion?
Of course not...but "so what"?
If enrollments are lower than anticipated, the proper response is to keep at it until larger numbers are enrolled.What if Microsoft "kept at it" with the Zune until "larger numbers" bought it? What if Blockbuster Video kept open 9,000 locations until "larger numbers" came through the doors?
So what?
Government doesn't have to worry about that stuff. It can just turn on its magic faucet, and more taxpayer casheesh will flow like water. Just keep at it!
Reich then goes into the government trophy case:
CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, got off to a slow start in 1998...
Richard Nixon’s Supplemental Security Income program of 1974 – designed to standardize welfare benefits to the poor — was widely scorned at the time...
When George W. Bush’s Medicare Part D drug benefit was launched, large numbers of low-income seniors had to be switched from Medicaid. Many needed their prescriptions filled before the switch had been completed, causing loud complaints...
Even Social Security — the most popular of all government programs — had problems when it was launched in 1935.So you see...government scams are just like The Little Engine That Could. You just have to "keep at it," and ignore the "nattering nabobs."
After strolling passed the trophy case, Reich makes his way into the Master Cockpit. He explains all of the buttons that can be pushed by the Master:
If young people don’t sign up for the Affordable Care Act in sufficient numbers and costs rise too fast, other ways can be found to encourage their enrollment and control costs. If there aren’t enough doctors initially, medical staffs can be utilized more efficiently. If employers begin to drop their own insurance, incentives can be altered so they don’t.He's got it all figured out baby!
I think a really good fable is in order here.
There's a story about a monkey that sticks his hand into a jar of cookies. The monkey grabs as big a handful of cookies as he can. But when he tries to pull the hand out, he can't get it passed the neck of the cookie jar.
The stubborn monkey would not let go of any of the cookies, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his hand out of the jar. So in trying to take more than what was possible to remove, the monkey was left crying with nothing!
Now let's see how that story applies to the planners.
Let's imagine a jar filled with POWER. And let's make the jar gold-plated (just for fun). Someday, a politician is going to stick his hand into the golden jar of POWER and he's going to have quite the fistfull. It'll consist of Social Security, Medicare, CHIP, SNAP, ObamaCare, a Military Empire, and lots of other creations of POWER.
As the politician tries to take his hand out of the jar, he's going to get stuck at the neck. Economic law will not permit him to take his hand out! He could push whatever buttons he wants, and dictate whatever thoughts come to his mind, but the hand is not coming out. And like the monkey, there's no way the politician will let go of any of the POWER. He's going to "keep at it".
Also like the monkey, the politician (and all the people that believed him) will be left crying with nothing!
That's how the story of government always ends.
Chris Rossini on Twitter, Facebook & Google+
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)