The $11.7 trillion invested in negative-yield bonds was 12.5 percent higher than at the end of May, according to Fitch Ratings.
Source: There are now $11.7 trillion worth of bonds with negative yields
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Central bankers have lit a fuse of historic importance
29
Jun
Enough is enough!
29
Jun
Time to end the failed “war on drugs.”
“In April, openDemocracy was in New York to meet the Caravan Activists, a remarkable group of men and women, who have lost loved ones to the ‘war on drugs’. Now they campaign to change the system.”
Source: “Our children are dying”: meet the activists saying ‘no more’ to the ‘war on drugs’ | openDemocracy
Cutting taxes is always good; government spending must be reined in
28
Jun
The annual kabuki dance in Trenton known as the budget negotiations is a mixed bag as usual. Reducing the sales tax is long overdue. The income tax should be reduced as well. The passing out of the estate tax is off the table as well as the charitable deduction. Deductions are good; they reduce taxes. Spending is increasing. We will see how much spending Gov. Christie will eliminate from the proposed budget.
“Governor Christie and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto on Monday upended the plan to fund transportation projects and instead tried to pass their own: Raise the gas tax by about 23 cents per gallon, and in exchange chop the state sales tax over two years from 7 percent to 6 percent.”
Source: Sales tax cut may help offset pain at the pump – News – NorthJersey.com
Hillary Clinton Really Has Not Understood the Brexit Vote
27
Jun
Hillary is supposed to be one of the smartest women in the US and on the planet. More evidence she is clueless.
“As one who campaigned for a number of years for yesterday’s Brexit vote, that Britain should leave the European Union, of course I am not unbiased upon this subject. However, that also does mean that I’m aware, well informed even, on what actually happened here. And as such I can […]”
Source: Hillary Clinton Really Has Not Understood the Brexit Vote
Geege Will takes his “marbles” home
26
Jun
GOP primary voters have spoken and poor Georges doesn’t like it. Can’t have the people choose their nominee.
Paul Ryan’s endorsement of Trump one of the factors that drove him away.
Source: ‘This Is Not My Party’: George Will Goes from GOP to Unaffiliated | PJ Media
Government screws up trade around the world
26
Jun
“According to the mercantilist dogma held by nearly all politicians and pundits (and, yes, also by the People), the best possible outcome for any country – call it country A – whose government is negotiating a trade deal is the following: the government of A arranges for the maximum possible number of citizens of A […]”
Source: The Idiocy of Mercantilism – Cafe Hayek
New Jersey’s entrenched Marxist culture
26
Jun
David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, asserts that the “needs” of so-called at risk children trumps the needs of income earners who are forced to subsidize government (taxpayer funded) schools in urban and some rural low income districts. Mr. Sciarra claims that Gov. Christie’s proposal to provide equal state funding for all school children is a reverse Robin Hood policy, because it would “take” funds away from “high needs” children and redistribute it to middle and upper income school districts.
Mr. Sciarra is unabashedly echoing Karl Marx’s dictum that “society” should be based on “From each according to his ability to each according to his needs.” Whether he knows it or not, Mr. Sciarra has internalized the key principle of socialism, government–in this case the State of New Jersey–should tax people who earn sufficient incomes that make them financially independent to support so-called underprivileged or disadvantaged children whose families earn relatively low incomes. (However, in income “rich” Hoboken, state education aid dwarfs that of many modest suburban school districts. That’s fairness?)
The bottom line is that public education has created unnecessary financial, cultural and political conflicts. Gov. Christie’s proposal treats all children “equal.” But the governor’s proposal does not go far enough. We should have that much needed and long overdue conversation about education that would in Mr. Sciarra’s words lead to productive individuals. The current funding formula and structure has been a failure for students who barely graduate high school in four years and leave with poor skills that they should have mastered in 12 years of schooling.
“The governor’s ‘Fairness Formula’ school aid plan would end the Garden State’s longstanding commitment to giving all children an education that will prepare them for good citizenship, civic responsibility and productive participation in the state’s economy.”
Source: Sciarra: Governor’s new school funding proposal – anything but fair
First the UK, then Scotland … then Texas? | Mises Wire
25
Jun
Hang on to your hats, it is going to be a bumpy ride. Brexit is just the tip of the big government iceberg.
That didn’t take long. Only hours after the final results came in for a British exit from the EU, political leaders in Scotland are talking about renewing their drive to secede from the United Kingdom.
Source: First the UK, then Scotland … then Texas? | Mises Wire
The unraveling of the EU?
24
Jun
Here we go. People, no matter what their nationality, are fed up.
Shortly after the final Brexit result was released, first Netherlands and then France quickly warned they too would proceed with their own referenda. They are not alone: moments later the head of Italy’s Northern League Said
Source: Italy’s Northern League To Launch EU Referendum Campaign Next | Zero Hedge
Brexit Wins. Trump the biggest beneficiary? Era of big government over?
24
Jun
Did the Leave vote signal a Trump victory in November? I think so. Is national sovereignty the new global wave? Absolutely.
After the experience of the EU, people want to govern themselves and not be dictated to by a supranational agency. The Trump phenomenon is our country’s “revolt” against the federal Leviathan.
In his 1996 State of the Union speech Bill Clinton famously said, “The era of big government is over.” (With the caveat that citizens should not fend for themselves. In other words, Bill wanted to have an efficient welfare state.) Republican members of Congress stood up in unison and applauded wildly. Democrats sat on their hands. Bill was 20 years early. We shall see.
The results are in. The good guys won.
Source: Brexit Vote: The Betting Sites Were Wrong. So Were the Polls. So Were the Pols.
N.J. Dems introduce $34.8B budget with more money to fight poverty
23
Jun
Economic illiterates on display in Trenton–again. Stunning ignorance. You don’t fight poverty, you work your way out of poverty. New Jersey needs jobs, not high taxes, not onerous regulations, and certainly not more entitlements.
Democrats want to add spending to fight poverty.
Source: N.J. Dems introduce $34.8B budget with more money to fight poverty
Supreme Court upholds University of Texas affirmative action admissions – The Washington Post
23
Jun
Isn’t the Supreme Court decision the essence of racism, judging people by their color? Whatever happened to the goal of a color-blind society?
The 4-to-3 decision said officials may consider race of applicants in a limited way to build a diverse student body.
Source: Supreme Court upholds University of Texas affirmative action admissions – The Washington Post
Why the Brexit vote is important
23
Jun
Big government is anti-liberty. Period. Jeff Deist explains it.
Decentralization and devolution of state power is always a good thing, regardless of the motivations behind such movements.
Source: Brexit: Individualism > Nationalism > Globalism | Mises Wire
The Libertarian Party is dead. RIP
23
Jun
Justin Raimondo tweets about the CNN town hall with Gary Johnson and William Weld.
Source: Target Liberty: TOTAL ABORTION The “Libertarian” Town Hall Event on CNN
Did Trump just score a TKO against Hillary?
22
Jun
Following a scathing speech by Hillary Clinton yesterday, in which the Democratic candidate warned a Trump presidency would unleash a recession, Trump on Wednesday retaliated with a blistering attack of his own on Hillary Clinton, assailing her as “a world class liar” and failed secretary of state who can’t be trusted on issues ranging from the turmoil in the Middle East to immigration and trade. His resounding punchline was that “Hillary Clinton may be the most corrupt person to ever seek the presidency of the United States,” during a speech in his hotel in SoHo, reading from a teleprompter in his first major speech of the general election.
Source: Trump Slams Hillary As “The Most Corrupt Person To Ever Seek The US Presidency” | Zero Hedge