Economics

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When are we going to say ‘no’ to café standards?

For years, I have written critical pieces about the government’s interference in automobile and truck manufacturing by introducing strict emission goals. And at the same time, I have been critical of the manufacturers for caving to the heavy hand of government.

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Cartoon courtesy of mtcave.blogspot.com.

The recent tests that caught VW cheating to meet U.S. emissions goals for nitrogen oxide shouldn’t surprise anyone, and if you think VW is the only manufacturer looking for ways to meet the emission standards, you’re dreaming. Keep in mind that emission goals are just part of their problem; manufacturers also need to produce a safe, well-performing car that the public can afford to purchase without a government subsidy. Continue reading →

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kramerontheright is on point

On Monday morning I posted a piece, “Guess who will pay for student loan forgiveness,” for this blog. It had been on my “to do” list since Hillary Clinton began spouting her plan to write-off those loans to win votes.

I wrote how it was a bad idea when the Obama administration took over student loans in 2010, “and a disaster today.”

Lo and behold, that night I read how “President Obama Obama turned a relatively small, privately run, guaranteed student-loan program into a massive government-run disaster,” in Investor’s Business Daily entitled, “Obama’s $1.2 Trillion Student Loan Program Is Falling Apart.”

How nice it feels to be on point with a respected publication. Continue reading →

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Guess who will pay for student loan forgiveness?

Five years ago, I wrote a piece critical of the Obama administration’s takeover of the student loan program. It was a bad idea then, and a disaster today.

In a sweeping move to cut commercial banks out of the federal loan market, Congress voted to establish still another bureaucracy, ending the 45-year old bank-based program.… read more

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Scott Walker’s comment on richest counties around Washington DC goes practically unnoticed

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Scott Walker’s comment on the wealth of counties around the nation’s capital hardly reported. (slate.com)

While making his point that Hillary Clinton believes she can grow the economy by growing Washington, Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker cited that six of the top ten wealthiest counties are around the nation’s capital. He was referring to the median income of those working in the nation’s capital.

It’s unfortunate the remark was meaningless to the average viewer, and we can thank our low information media for ignoring the statement. He’s made the point several times during his campaign; part of his plan to reduce the size of government. Continue reading →

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Another jobs promise by the president

“The Clean Power Plan will drive significant new investment in cleaner more modern and more efficient technologies, creating tens of thousands of jobs.” – President Obama

Just how stupid does the president think we are? His $800 billion stimulus was supposed to “save or create more than 3.5 million jobs,” but 1.5 million jobs were lost in the two years following the stimulus enactment. He later had to admit that “shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.”

green_jobs_banner (21stcenturyapprecticveshipworkforce3one.org

I wonder if the people protesting in Washington DC for more green jobs were aware that the EPA would be hiring some 800 people to serve as regulators, who will be killing jobs across the country. (21stcenturyapprecticeshiiopworkforce3one.org)

The $20 billion in green technology funding was supposed “to create the jobs of the future,” but those “efforts to stimulate creation of green jobs have largely failed,” reported the New York Times. A $500 million Labor Department program to train workers for green jobs was designed to place 80,000 workers in energy efficiency or renewable energy careers, but reportedly just 8,000 found work in the two years following the program start. Continue reading →

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Obama sticks us with another legacy loser

President Obama today announced his latest effort to secure his legacy in the climate change controversy. And again the American taxpayer is the loser.

king-obama-photo(lloydmaracus.com)

The Grand Poobah of Climate Control (lloydmarcus.com)

Setting himself up to be the Grand Poobah of Climate Control at the international climate conference set for December in Paris, he revealed his Clean Power Plan, another legacy scheme that calls for compliance two years after he leaves office. Continue reading →

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Liberal Arizona Republic columnist says Medicare exists because of LBJ’s “courage”

Writing in The Arizona Republic, liberal columnist Linda Valdez took the occasion of Medicare’s 50th anniversary to laud the “courage” of Lyndon Johnson, for signing it into law.

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President Johnson signed the Medicare Bill in Independence, Missouri in 1965 and gave the first signing pen to former President Harry Truman. (lbjlibrary.org)

Of course, she failed to mention that when he signed the Medicare bill in 1965, the initial cost was $3 billion, and it was estimated that the cost would increase to just $12 billion in 1990. Actually, it grew to $110 billion by 1990. Last year the cost went up to $511 billion. And a funding crisis looms.

We have spent some $15 trillion on LBJ’s war on poverty, however, 46 million people live in poverty today, and another 20 million live on less than half of the poverty level. His prediction of “victory of prosperity over poverty” is long forgotten. Continue reading →

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The myth of the disappearing middle class

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the disappearing middle class, primarily in campaign speeches by candidates for president.

Hillary Clinton has begun using the term “everyday Americans,” most likely because she doesn’t want to spell out who she classifies as middle class. She’s not alone. Most candidates do not want to define how they determine middle class income because it depends on so many factors, and you can be thought of as “out of touch” if you float an income range as middle class.

Middle-Class(last resistancer.com)

Cartoon courtesy of lastresistance.com

Determining whether you are middle class comes down to self-identity. “The middle class label is as much about aspirations among Americans as it is about economics,” wrote Patricia Cohen, “but a perspective that was once characterized by comfort and optimism has increasingly been overlaid with stress and anxiety.” Continue reading →

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Hillary aims economic message at low-information crowd with renewed attack on business

It was vintage Hillary as she unveiled her “Growth and Fairness Economy” at New York’s progressive New School this week.

It was all there, designed to trigger further animosity toward business. The economy is stacked in favor of those at the top …. high corporate profits and CEO salaries … inequality … wage stagnation. And it’s those “mean-spirited” Republicans that are to blame.

images (business insider.com)

Hillary Clinton chose New York’s progressive New School as the venue to deliver her vision for the economy. (businessinsider.com)

Her message is directed at the low-information crowd, who like hearing someone attack “those greedy CEO’s,” who they believe are responsible for their lot in life. This is how she intends to be their “champion.”

It’s unfortunate that the average worker has little or no idea what makes the economy tick. Take the subject of profit, for instance. In numerous polls over the past five decades, people have been asked, “Just a rough guess, what percent profit on each dollar of sales do you think the average company makes after taxes?”

The average response in the most recent poll was 36 percent! Believe it. The average profit margin is just 6.5 to 7.5 percent. Continue reading →

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Billions in U.S. dollars sent home by immigrants represents second largest income source for Mexico

With the renewed talk of the taxes paid by illegal immigrants, and Hillary Clinton’s claim that “undocumented workers in New York pay more taxes than some of the biggest corporations in New York,” I was reminded of a little-reported fact that might interest you.

ws_mg (techofheart.com)While residing in Flagstaff, Arizona some 10 years ago, I recall seeing Mexicans lined up regularly at Safeway’s service counter purchasing Western Union Moneygrams.… read more