Patrick McKnight
The Fed (and Central Planning) Are Fueling ...

By Doug French

Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, included ten planks required to create a socialist dictatorship. Number five on the list is “Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.” America’s Federal Reserve satisfies this requirement, especially the modern version, which grows exponentially in size, scope, and power, engineering financial repression “for governments to increase tax income and domestically-held debt.”1

While socialism continues to creep from university classrooms to replace once-upon-a-time laissez-faire in everyday America, opioid use has grown to be termed an epidemic.

The Fed (and Central Planning) Are Fueling Substance Abuse
Patrick McKnight
Why You Need F-You Money

By J.L. Collins

Those who live paycheck to paycheck are slaves. Those who carry debt are slaves with even stouter shackles. Don’t think for the moment their masters don’t know it.

Why You Need F-You Money
Patrick McKnight
Teachers Unions Are Bad for Teachers. Here’s Why

Rigid pay scales, high dues, lousy pension system: Membership has its privileges.

The New Jersey Education Association, the state chapter of the largest teachers union in the country, boasted more than 200,000 members and $154 million in revenue last year. You might think it focuses on helping teachers become more effective and making the public schools better—especially now, with more than 80% of the state’s districts still not offering full-time in-person instruction 13 months after the pandemic began.

Teachers Unions Are Bad for Teachers. Here’s Why
Patrick McKnight
Value Is Subjective: Neither Gold Nor Crypto ...

By Connor Mortell

A major hurdle to the adoption of bitcoin is that while the average person may be at least open to the idea that fiat money is not the ideal, they still struggle to see a difference between fiat money and cryptocurrency. And this lumping together is not just held to the average adopter but includes many brilliant household names such as Peter Schiff and Elon Musk. This widespread conflation of cryptocurrency and fiat currency comes from two vital misunderstandings: a lack of an understanding of what exactly fiat is and a lack of understanding of value’s subjectivity.

Value Is Subjective: Neither Gold Nor Crypto Have "Real Value"
Patrick McKnight
Understanding the Fed's Balance Sheet

By Robert Aro

The Fed’s balance sheet could easily be replaced with the phrase abracadabra; truly, there is little else in the world which works as magically as it does. Often cited, seldom understood, few seem to realize that as the balance sheet expands, so too does the power of this central bank at the expense of the entire nation.

Understanding the Fed's Balance Sheet

trump

Amash Declares Independence from the GOP

Amash Declares Independence from the GOP

By Lee Enochs

While the 4th of July is supposed to be a time of celebration, I have to admit upon hearing the news today that libertarian-leaning Michigan Congressman Justin Amash is leaving the Republican Party, I became very sad.

I have been a Republican with Libertarian sympathies my entire life and greatly respect Congressman Amash and his stand for liberty and the Constitution.

Those who are looking for me to bash and trash Justin Amash today, have the wrong idea about me and are barking up the wrong tree.

The Liars We Trust – Why We Choose Transparency Over Truth

The Liars We Trust – Why We Choose Transparency Over Truth

By Robin Koerner

Many people who favorably view Donald Trump and politicians like him, talk up his “authenticity” or his “telling it as it is”. Even many of those who profoundly dislike his politics, his manner, or both, grudgingly admit to the appeal of his “what you see is what you get” quality.

Yet and at the same time, many of his supporters – and almost all of their opponents – simultaneously recognize the blatant falsity of many of his statements.

On the surface, there is a paradox. How can so many people simultaneously abhor a politician’s blatant dishonesty when it comes to facts, while responding positively to what they see as his authenticity or sincerity?

A lot turns on this question, including the future of nations.

The fact is that transparency - or showing oneself as one is - and honesty – describing the world as it is - are related but different.

Trump’s Embrace of ‘Bubblenomics’ May be his Downfall

Trump’s Embrace of ‘Bubblenomics’ May be his Downfall

By Murray Sabrin

Two days after Donald Trump announced his candidacy in 2015 he told “Morning Joe” on MSNBC: “We have a big, fat bubble coming up, you watch. We have artificially induced low interest rates … I borrow money … You pay like nothing; they give you free money. Now that’s bad, that’s not good.”  

Despite sounding like a “hard-money” critic of the Federal Reserve as a presidential candidate, President Donald Trump has been reminding the American people in tweets and chats with the press in the Oval Office that the stock market has boomed during his presidency, and he really is a “low-interest person.”

Here is some background to Trump’s 180-degree pivot from Fed critic of easy money to Fed critic of “normalizing “interest rates.

The increase in short-term interest rates since late 2015 did not stifle the stock market’s climb to an all-time high in January 2018. After having a mild correction in the first quarter of 2018 the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, rocketed to an all-time high in September 2018 at 2940.91. 

The Current Crisis in Venezuela Demonstrates Why Socialism is a Bad Idea

The Current Crisis in Venezuela Demonstrates Why Socialism is a Bad Idea

By Lee Enochs

Socialism is on the rise in America today. There is inconvertible evidence for this disturbing political and economic trend as veteran correspondent Andrew Malcolm reported in his recent insightful op-ed entitled, “How President Trump Helps Divide Democrats by Fanning the Flames of Socialism.” Malcolm cites a recent Gallup poll that indicates that 57% of Democrats viewed socialism positively, while only 47% viewed capitalism positively (See: Star - Telegram, February 20, 2019).

So serious is the rise of socialism in America today, that President Trump devoted a substantial portion of his recent “State of the Union” address dealing with the issue and said, “Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence — not government coercion, domination and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.”

The economic and political issues involved here are enormous and put simply, socialism is a dubious economic theory that opposes capitalist notions of individualized profit and private property and advocates that that the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution of capital, land and etc., should be controlled and regulated by the state.

High Taxes Causing an Exodus from New Jersey and California 

High Taxes Causing an Exodus from New Jersey and California 

By Lee Enochs 

There is a migration problem in this country and I am not talking about the current debate over illegal immigration that is pitting President Trump against Nancy Pelosi and the increasingly progressive, Democrats who recently took control of the House of Representatives.