Politics

Socialism and the Meaning of Investment by Government

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Government makes ‘investments’ in us that we can’t refuse. (The title was changed on 7/26/2012 from “Policies of Obama Match his Socialist Rhetoric.”) Many, including me, have identified the socialist premises in President Obama’s remarks on July 13 in Roanoke, VA. But are Obama’s actual policies as socialist as his socialist rhetoric? The answer is […]

Politics

Defending Capitalism Against Occupy Wall Street

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The worst thing regarding “Occupy Wall Street” and related anti-capitalist protests is that most popular defenders of capitalism—aside from Ayn Rand—do not understand capitalism well enough to defend it against the absurd arguments offered by public figures who support the chanting, mindless–and now violent–protesters. Consider the arguments by union leader Arthur Cheliotes, music producer Russell […]

Politics

Why the Republicans Capitulated on the Debt Deal

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The Republicans held out a little longer than I thought they would, but they capitulated in the end as I predicted (in a virtually riskless prediction). In return for a miniscule actual reduction in U.S. federal spending—estimated to be roughly $25 billion (from previously projected increases) in the current year, the only year that counts […]

Politics

What the Republicans Should Do

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Declare that raising the U.S. debt ceiling is off the table. Present to the public a specific plan as to how the U.S. should prioritize spending of available cash: payments first for the military and veterans, then for Social Security and Medicare (but not Medicaid), then for creditors (except for hostile governments such as China […]

Politics

On the Backs of the Productive

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, speaking on “Fox News Sunday” this week, cited these statistics, which are remarkable though not in the way that Geithner meant: And remember this country, this great nation with our great resources today, one in eight Americans are eligible for food stamps today. Forty percent of Americans born today are born […]

Politics

“The Despoiling of Ability”

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As if having read my blog (Shared Sacrifice) from Tuesday and reprising his role as the villain, President Obama said this yesterday: Look, I want everybody in America to do well. I want everybody to have a chance to become a millionaire. I think the free market system is the greatest wealth generator we’ve ever […]