Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Version 4.0

Massive Corruption and Injustice in Senate Health Care Bill

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Gordon AndersonDecember 22, 2009

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid secured the pivotal vote in the Senate at 1:17 am on Dec. 21 by buying enough votes to pass the bill. This was not an example of a Constitutional Democracy in which the Senators voted the will of the people, but an example of open corruption that makes the already tottering federal government look more illegitimate. The constitutionality of the bill has been questioned as never before have US citizens been forced to buy a product because they are citizens.

One of the methods of insuring additional people will be through the expansion of Medicaid and those states that held out will get assistance from other states to pay it:
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Confessions of an Economic Hitman: A Review

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Gordon AndersonDecember 16, 2009

Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins is an inside look at the collusion between corporate interests, governments, and banks. Perkins was an analyst working for electric power companies who won contracts for developing power supply and national infrastructure projects for less developed countries (LDCs). He was not in the top of his class in statistics or engineering, expertise that would have made him more qualified to produce his economic projections, but he was willing to produce the reports and studies necessary to get the World Bank, the IMF, and other banks to lend huge amounts of money to other countries if they would award contracts to his company (MAIN) in which he quickly rose to Chief Economist.
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End the Fed: A Review

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Gordon AndersonDecember 13, 2009

Rep. Ron Paul’s End the Fed is a bestseller for good reason. It exposes one of the core instruments of corruption, illegitimacy, and theft employed by special interests and the members of Congress, and the Federal Reserve System. One of the main reasons for the current economic depression in the United States is that the U.S Federal government, in open conspiracy with the Federal Reserve, creates debt and prints money to cover that debt. This is a ponzi scheme as corrupt as Bernard Madoff’s investment scheme that bankrupted many well-meaning investors, but in this case the money scheme is a little understood method of redistributing wealth and savings from the middle class to those who print the money and create the debt to cover special interest legislation. This system is a form of outright theft and is immoral, it is unconstitutional, and yet it is legal because immoral laws make it so.
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Media Consolidation: Monopoly and Conflict of Interest

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Gordon AndersonDecember 6, 2009

French Media giant Vivendi, owner of Comcast Cable, and General Electric, owner of NBC, are proposing a merger in which Comcast would take a controlling interest of NBC Universal. This would be further consolidation of the media industry that has already lost the ability objectively report news, becoming an entertainment industry driven by corporate financial goals and consumer advertising.
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Fixing the Monetary System: Market Driven or Gold Based?

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Gordon AndersonNovember 27, 2009

There is a growing belief that the Federal Reserve Board is one of the larger scams perpetrated on the American people, propping up government schemes both right and left with tax dollars and debt. Below are excerpts of a recent exchange I had on the topic. Read through it and let me know in a comment if you think a gold standard or market standard would be a superior replacement for the Federal Reserve system.
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Analysis of a Political Virus

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Gordon AndersonNovember 25, 2009

The cap and trade in carbon emissions, the creation of homeland security, the TARP bailout, and the federal health care proposal are all examples of major political viruses. This does not mean it is wrong to be concerned about the environment, our physical security, a sound economy, or affordable health care. All of these things are socially desirable. The problem is that these social goods are used as a cover for political viruses.
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Global Climate Warming Refuted

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Gordon AndersonNovember 23, 2009

Lord Monckton describes how global warming ideologues have rewritten data masqueraded as science and provided misinformation to scare people into giving them money for bureaucracies and programs to the detriment of the world’s working people and poor. It shows how easy it is to deceive large bureaucracies like the United Nations and how unreliable statements by such bodies are. Thanks to the Minnesota Free Market Institute for this presentation. This is the full hour and a half presentation with slides.

Update: Climategate. (UK Telegraph) Hacker breaks into climate misinformation files. Many embarassing e-mails posted online. (Washington Times)

Trust the Government to Track Your Money?

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Gordon AndersonNovember 17, 2009

KTLK radio in Minnesota discovered an anomaly on the Recovery.gov website that further reveals the ineptness and fraud plaguing our federal government. Minnesota has 8 congressional districts, but here we are shown that millions of dollars of stimulus money also went to 10 other non-existent congressional districts, e.g., over $3,000,000 to the 27th district. And you want this bureaucracy to manage your health care? It is pretty hard for an individual to misplace $3,000,000, but not a bureaucracy.

Even with the best of intentions large bureaucracies cannot personally care for people’s welfare. And, we know the best of intentions are not always there. Let’s bring back subsidiarity, all social welfare and taxes to counties and states. Alexis de Tocqueville and the Founders were right. Personal responsibility and face-to-face community are required for democracy to work.

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Diverging Budget Gap

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Gordon AndersonNovember 16, 2009

Federal income plunges while expenses soar. Looks like two asymptotes.

Federal Budget Deficit Totals $1.4 Trillion in Fiscal Year 2009
The Treasury recently reported that the federal government recorded a total budget deficit of $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, about $960 billion more than the deficit incurred in 2008.

The Growing Informal Economy

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Gordon AndersonNovember 7, 2009

Many people don’t know that the true unemployment rate is over 20%, double the official 10.2% government unemployment rate. This is because over 10% of potential workers are not reporting an effort to seek a job, and part of the reason is a growing informal economy.

John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics goes beyond the official government reports to include the informal economy. A growing informal economy or black market is a sign that people are unable to find a legal way to provide for themselves. As a result they resort to off-the-books cash transactions, bartering, selling banned substances, and other activities that, even if not legal, will allow them to find a way to live. Continue reading →