This is an interesting
discussion on why governments waste so much money. Quote: "Maybe the
reason fraud is so pervasive is that penalties are trivial or
nonexistent. A 2011 DOD report found hundreds of defense contractors
that defrauded the U.S. military subsequently went on to receive more
than $1.1 trillion in new Pentagon contracts between 2000 and 2010.
Shouldn’t criminal companies be barred from subsequent contracts?
Shouldn’t crooked company officials be sent to prison? Or do these
things not happen because the same folks are also campaign contributors?
I don’t know the answer to these questions, but surely
something is amiss. It’s almost as if government is simply
a racket for the benefit of insiders."
https://fee.org/articles/the-real-reason-government-wastes-so-much-money/?
An assessment of the Trump
tax plan. Quote: "What I love most about this plan is its real-world
economic foundation. It embraces a truth that so many want to avoid. If
you want jobs, rising wages, and economic growth, you have to stop the
war on capital. You have to go the other way. You need to celebrate
capital and allow rewards to flow to those who are driving forward
economic progress.
It’s a simple but brilliant point. Finally, we’ve got a tax proposal that embraces it." https://fee.org/articles/trump-s-tax-plan-is-brilliant-politics-and-even-better-economics/?
Quote: "Billionaire
real-estate investor Sam Zell said President Donald Trump has an
"extraordinary opportunity" to revive an economy that died under eight
years of regulatory oppression under Barack Obama. "I think we've had 8
years of kind of an anti-business administration with very little
representation from the business community,"
Zell told TheStreet.
Zell wasn't fond of President Obama's nearly $1 trillion stimulus plan
back in 2009, The Street noted. "I think President Trump has a similar
stimulus opportunity but without the debt because he can achieve that
goal by deregulation," the Equity Group Investments chairman added."
http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/Economy/Sam-Zell-Trump-Economy-Obama/2017/05/11/id/789622/?
This is a financial issue
that has been known for some time by economists and many in government.
But, as usual the government does nothing. Quote: "I have warned that
whenever a government creates a solution to any crisis, that solution
becomes the next crisis. This is what I have called the
Paradox of Solution.The
unfolding of the exit of the central banks from the Quantitative Easing
monetary policy will become a much more serious threat to the financial
markets than anyone suspects. The Federal Reserve has already exited
and begun to raise rates while also announcing it will NOT be
reinvesting the money when the government debt they bought expires. The
Federal Reserve is already shortening their balance sheet. Bills of $426
billion will be due at the Fed in 2018, and again about $357 billion a
year later. So the Fed will not repurchase that debt. The US economy is
absorbing this because US dollars are effectively the only real reserve
currency in the world right now." And, "As central banks appeared as
omnipotent purchasers of government bonds to the un-savvy trader, the
yields of the debt by no means reflect the risk of a default in the
country’s payments. The decline in yields masked the rising risks from
fiscal mismanagement that has been widespread. While the Federal Reserve
had recently announced that it would no longer reinvest its gains on
government bonds that had matured into new US securities, the US bond
market will need to find new buyers to absorb the additional supply.
That may not be a problem right now, but as other government debt moves
into crisis, we will see the capital flight from bonds to equities
unfold."
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/05/15/the-coming-central-bank-crisis/
This is what happens when government executives hook up with big
business executives. Quote: "Tim Carney gave his impressions of this
budding relationship between GE and the Obama administration in the DC
Examiner last July: First, there’s the policy overlap: Obama wants
cap-and-trade, GE wants cap-and-trade. Obama subsidizes embryonic
stem-cell research, GE launches an embryonic stem-cell business. Obama
calls for rail subsidies, GE hires Linda Daschle [wife of former South
Dakota Senator and Obama confidante Tom Dachle] as a rail lobbyist.
Obama gives a speeeh, GE employee Chris Matthews feels a thrill up his
leg. I could go on. And Carney does go on in a December 2009 Examiner
piece: Look at any major Obama policy initiative — healthcare reform,
climate-change regulation, embryonic stem-cell research, infrastructure
stimulus, electrical transmission smart-grids — and you’ll find GE has
set up shop, angling for a way to pocket government handouts, gain
business through mandates, or profit from government regulation."
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/05/06/the-audacity-of-corporate-cronies/
Obama always said he was for the little guys but actually always worked
with the big guys. Let's hope Trump does not follow that example.
Wonder what liberals will
think about this? North Carolina defied the dire predictions of the
liberal left that rejectingimplementing. Quote: "Yeah, that 3 percent
corporate income tax rate was one of Governor McCrory’s campaign
promises kept, as he slashed both corporate and individual income
taxes. The Prosperity Cup is different from the magazine’s Business
Climate rankings, but even in that, the Tar Heel state ranked #2 (behind
Georgia). Among the factors that go into the Prosperity Cup: new and
expanded facilities and the capital investment that goes along with
them; new jobs created; Business Climate ranking; state tax climate as
ranked by the Tax Foundation; and performance in the Beacon Hill
Institute’s State Competitiveness Index. For factors such as number of
facilities and new jobs, both total numbers and per-capita numbers were
considered. Yeah, that 3 percent corporate income tax rate was one of
Governor McCrory’s campaign promises kept, as he slashed both corporate
and individual income taxes. The Prosperity Cup is different from the
magazine’s Business Climate rankings, but even in that, the Tar Heel
state ranked #2 (behind Georgia). Among the factors that go into the
Prosperity Cup: new and expanded facilities and the capital investment
that goes along with them; new jobs created; Business Climate ranking;
state tax climate as ranked by the Tax Foundation; and performance in
the Beacon Hill Institute’s State Competitiveness Index. For factors
such as number of facilities and new jobs, both total numbers and
per-capita numbers were considered."
http://www.redstate.com/sweetie15/2017/05/09/defying-liberal-predictions-this-state-outperforms-all-others-in-economic-development-and-appeal/?
This piece by Walter
Williams begs the question: Is President Trump right about trade
deficits? Quote: "When we discuss international trade and balance of
payments, there are two types of accounts. There is the current account,
which includes goods and services imported and exported and receives
the most political attention. In 2016, the American people imported $479
billion worth of goods and services from Chinese producers, and we sold
$170 billion worth of goods and services to Chinese customers. That
made for a $309 billion current account deficit. In other words, we
purchase more goods and services from Chinese producers than Chinese
consumers purchase from American producers. How much of a problem is it
when there is a deficit, or a negative imbalance, on current accounts?
Let's look at it."
https://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2017/05/03/trade-ignorance-and-demagoguery-n2320565?
Government imposed demands
for minimum wage unhinged to the cost of doing business is a fooling
thing to do. People get hurt. Quote: "Washington, D.C. will lose
thousands of jobs as the district's plan to raise the minimum wage to
$15 goes into effect, while the higher wages will primarily benefit
workers in the surrounding suburbs, according to a new report by the
city's chief financial officer. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spearheaded
the effort for a $15 minimum wage, more than double the federal minimum
wage of $7.25 an hour. Analysis by the city's Office of Revenue
Analysis, however, says the plan could cost the district 2,500 jobs by
2026, the
Washington Times reports.
The district's minimum wage is currently $11.50 an hour and each year
will grow by 70 cents until it reaches $15 in three years. After 2020,
the minimum wage will grow based on inflation." And, "D.C.
restaurants
lost 1,400 jobs
in the first six months of 2016 and experienced their worst hiring
period in 15 years. Suburbs in Virginia and Maryland added nearly 3,000
jobs over the same period."
http://freebeacon.com/issues/dc-report-jobs-lost-minimum-wage-hike-goes-into-effect/
Many economic experts
believe the establishment of the Federal Reserve was one of the biggest
mistakes our government has ever made. That is my opinion, too. This
item provides help us understand why. Quote: "There can be no doubt
that, as the audit bill advances through the legislative process, the
Fed and its allies will ramp up both public and behind-the-scenes
efforts to kill the bill. Can anyone dismiss the possibility that Janet
Yellen will attempt to “persuade” Donald Trump to drop his support for
Audit the Fed in exchange for an “accommodative” monetary policy that
supports the administration’s proposed spending on overseas militarism
and domestic infrastructure? While auditing the Fed is supported by the
vast majority of Americans, it is opposed by powerful members of the
financial elite and the deep state. Therefore, those of us seeking to
change our national monetary policy must redouble our efforts to force
Congress to put America on a path to liberty, peace, and prosperity by
auditing, then ending, the Fed."
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/04/17/the-federal-reserve-is-and-always-has-been-politicized/
