Black & Decker: Crony Capitalism Comes to Maryland

What's that you say?  We have a budget deficit here in the State of Maryland?  Oh, we just raised the alcohol tax?  Other fees and taxes were raised?  You say that we are probably destined to getting hit with tax increases during the special session for gerrymandering this fall?  However, Stanley, Black & Decker of Towson is getting a favorable loan from Maryland and Baltimore County to "spruce up their campus?" 

It's so nice to see crony capitalism at work here in Maryland.  If the company can afford to make the payments on the note, plus the interest, why can't it afford to make the improvements without the aid of the state.  Surly the Fortune 500 company could tap the open market for debt, but perhaps the interest rate from the state and the county is more favorable?

Nothing like some good old vote buying huh? 

QOTD: Milton Friedman on Greed

Milton Friedman on greed, presented in it's raw and most powerful form.

The Crazy Cunucks are Ahead of US?

Well, when it comes to the free market, yes, those crazy northern neighbors that say "Eh?" are ahead of the United States.  Seems that our free market economy is now the 9th most free in the world. 

Ninth?  The worlds biggest economy is not the most free?  According the Heritage Foundation's Index on Economic Freedom, we are behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, and Denmark.  DENMARK?  CANADA?!?  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! 

These nations all outscored the U.S. across ten categories, including taxes, free trade, regulation, monetary policy, and corruption.

As the article continues, it seems that the top ten ranking is only by the skin of our teeth.  We beat out No. 10 Bahrain by one tenth of a point and No. 11 Chile by four tenths of a point.  (Yeesh, what a rough crowd to be thrown in with.)  Breaking down the results in further detail, the study shows that the world's poorest nation, Rwanda, is advancing by jumping to the No. 75th rank from 93 in the year prior.  A backwards, poor nation is better able to advance it's personal freedom, opportunity and hope for it's citizens in one year while we continue a slide?  Just how far has the US slid into the doldrums of ineptitude? 

Facts remain, that until we can become more like (shudders) Rwanda and move away from big government and big regulation, big bureaucracy, our economy will not right itself.  There is hope, yes that's true, but we have to fix the mess in Washington first, before we can actually start to solve our own house. 

Bank of England Gov Wars of Higher Inflation, Longer

Less than a week after a Federal Reserve Governor warned of a boom bust cycle outlook for the USA, the Bank of England's Governor has issued a letter to the UK Treasury to state that inflation is running higher than the central bank's target.

It seems that, according to the Telegraph article, the Bank of England's Governor doesn't foresee a return to the country's 2% inflation target until 2011 at the earliest.  Now I'm sure the dear readers out there are wondering how can England's central bank admit to inflationary policies, yet the Federal Reserve can't see the same problem? 

Obviously, the Fed is more worried about the deflationary problem since the USA is saddled with exorbitant debt.  As prices deflate, wages stagnate or regress, and we get stuck in a downward cycle (great depression).  Deflationary pressures when there is a mountain of debt usually means default, which for the political establishment usually means an ouster.  Inflationary policies, as I am finding out in When Money Dies, allows the rulers to 1) buy time, and 2) those who wish to inflict radical changes to a country's structure then have a chaos within which to operate as the people are consumed with outright survival.  Where debt deflation is a market's ordered "survival of the fittest" solution to those who are over extended on their credit and have reaped the benefits of a cracker-jack economy, the US Fed wants to resist these pressures at all costs because it means a loss of power, as credibility has long since gone out the window.

So what is implied by the warning from the BOE's chief?  Nothing good, that's for sure.  Loose monetary policies have been the societal norm for the last 20~30 years.  As we are seeing detailed in the mainstream headlines lately, the consensus is starting to shift towards a dire outlook.  Hello second-half of the non-existent double dipper.  I don't like to offer a completely gloomy projection, but if we repeat the complete historical inflationary burn of 1920s Germany, the next decade will be ugly. 

Hello Elephant in the Room! Bankruptcy You Say?

Somewhere in that title, there is a cruel, cruel joke, but unfortunately, this is today's reality.  It is the bleak assessment that has been offered from the IMF reverberated by Boston University Professor Laurence Kotlikoft, and even echoed by the Congressional Budget office.  The total bill of current and future spending at today's present value?  Some 202 trillion dollars!  That's 202,000,000,000,000!  If you calculate each tax payer's share of this bill, each individual is on the hook for 1.3 million dollars.  That doesn't even include the state and local budget deficits or your personal debts! 

In his Op-ed today for Bloomberg News, the professor goes through a quick analysis of where we are as a country and where we are headed, financially.  The short version is that it's ugly.  At best, we will resemble Spain and Greece but at worst, we are headed for an Argentinian style fiscal collapse.  The numbers are so large, you can't really wrap your mind around them. 

There will be some tough choices that will have to be made as we move forward in the United States.  The budget pressures of maintaining the social spending, overseas aid, and even a litany of military programs will have to come under strict scrutiny if we are not to collapse under the weight of our country's mortgage. 

Got your Obamacare Flow Chart?

It's a wonder anyone can follow this.  It boggles the mind!  Just completely needless Government intervention when we didn't need it in the first place. 

Link Make sure you have Adobe Reader for the PDF and a full gigabyte worth of memory free and available to get it to load. 

Florida Gov Seeks Constitutional Referendum on Oil Drilling

While I have a personal disdain for Charlie Christ and his flip flopping ways, I do agree with him for attempting to let the people of Florida make the choice regarding their own economy.

The irony in the situation however is, despite Florida's sixty-one billion dollar a year tourist industry, and no off shore oil exploration policy, they are now at risk to losing the tourist industry through no fault of their own.  Had the state allowed oil drilling, it would have had it's tourist industry and an oil industry in place to fall back on.  Instead, the state of Florida is now scrambling to put a ballot Constitutional referendum to see if the people want to continue the ban on offshore oil exploration, or increase their economic capacity and allow for drilling.

Unfortunately, accidents happen and we have a long way to go to be able to ascertain the impact of the BP disaster.  It will be interesting to see what the people of Florida choose for themselves in the coming weeks. 

Voting With Your Dollars

Over the last week, we've seen several articles that have cropped up detailing the intertwining of the Washington Game.  Henceforth, no longer will we consider anything in Washington political, but merely a game by which the Ruling Class plays to continually hold it's absconded power.

Prior to my article and the American Spectator's article last Friday detailing the Country Class's plight and struggle in dealing with one party rule, I considered how in reality it is not just Washington that is against "we the people."  We must also consider that crony capitalism has become another tool with which the Ruling Class uses to assume more power and confiscate our dollars.  This was further reinforced by blogger Laurel over at Politics Guns and Beer, who has been following a story (updated here) about HS Precession using advertisements with the glowing endorsement of FBI, Ruby Ridge trigger man, Lon Horiuchi.

Considering it is election season, there are a plethora of local businesses who have been proudly displaying signs for candidates of either or both parties.  Often, local businesses are forced to support the political campaigns of either or both candidates in one form or another (advertisement signs or campaign contributions) as a "pay for play" to prevent the further denigration of their business opportunities.  That said, today's political athlete might as well just be another member of the Mafia; at least then we can readily identify them as a criminal.  Instead, small businesses are forced into making a harsh decision of galvanizing their customer base and potentially loosing sales or, drawing the eye of their political capo who strong arms them through regulatory or inexpeidant approval processes.

The question it raises to me is "How should I approach these businesses who proudly display candidate signs?"   It is not only limited to the party with which I disagree, but more and more, I have become suspect of those within my own "party" (loosely based).  As Laurel pointed out, she is refusing to do any business with companies who promote policies or pay people with whom she disagrees.  Unfortunately, I have to ask is this even a reality considering the entire supply chain in modern commerce?   Somewhere along the lines, we are going to support a company, even if by proxy, that disagrees with and/or outright attacks American tradition and principles.

Is it even feasible to research every single company or business we patronize?  If you figure that in the normal course of your life, you probably shop at primarily the same grocery store, the same soft-goods box store (or a handful of them), the same online retailers, the same auto repair shop, ect, it's pretty easy to identify what businesses are for or against your ideals.  Will I go out of my way to alter every aspect of my life to avoid doing business with a company that disagrees with my political philosophies? 

As a capitalist, when it is economically convenient to do so, I will try to avoid doing business with those who undermine my positions.  Unfortunately, I can't compile a complete list of "do business with and don't do business with" such and such companies.  If Trucker Dan's Beer, Bait, and Guns gives me the best price on .45, even though Trucker Dan is a former union shill and votes for every Democrat that walks down the road, chances are, I will probably patronage his store.  If Uncle Ted's Tackle & Ammo across the street advertises a Republican for Governor of Maryland sign, I might choose to spend an extra penny per round and keep some of my personal pride knowing that I have done the moral thing. 

As capitalism goes though, the larger the company, the larger the tenticales in the market place.  Trucker Dan and Uncle Teds reach is limited in their customer base, as well as the clout they have with the politcal atheletes.  Being a member of a local bank might not be great for accessibility of your money, but at least you have the chance to shape the institution, where as Bank of Amigo [America] is nothing more than one of the stores being afforded Mob protection.  With the stories linked previously, we can bicker back and forth all day as to whether one should do business with Remington and Savage (who use HS Precision products) as apposed to say Winchester.  Sure, they potentially give to Demicans and Remocrats alike but in reality, all are firearms manufactures have to support the 2A in a majority position because their business models depends on it. 

The point is, if you know someone is doing something against your ideals, then you should take all precautions to avoid doing business with them.  Unfortunately, sometimes you are forced to contradict yourself for the sake of a better product or a good price or both.  In the end, you have to sleep at night knowing you've made a good purchase.  Realistically the primary focus of the conservative / libertarian's efforts should be on those who have made the rules of the game unfair for the Country Class.  Attacking the policies that allow the Ruling Elites to advance to the position of political mafia boss is key.  Sure, using commerce as a weapon can achieve some wanted changes, but in the end, we only really hurt fellow Country Class Americans, but shifting away the market share from their employers.  

Only when the unwinding of arbitrary regulation is complete and crony capitalism's love affair with the political Mob killed, can the consumer actually vote with their dollars for the best product at the market price. Until then, everyone plays within the same rules of the game, no matter what the individual company's polices.