http://www.thefreemanonline.org Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:48:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration." (Washington Post, Friday) The quest for reelection outweighs all loyalties. FEE Timely Classic "'Deliberative Democracy' Dementia" by James Bovard Related posts:Commerce Department ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/in-brief/white-house-sees-signs-of-congressional-mutiny/ "In its efforts to prop up a shattered housing market, the government is greatly extending its traditional support of real estate, including guaranteeing the mortgages of middle-class and even upper-class buyers against default." (New York Times, Friday) Déjà vu. FEE Timely Classic "Can the Feds Save the Housing Market?" by Robert P. Murphy Related ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/in-brief/feds-still-backing-shaky-home-loans/ With the introduction of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s 2,074-page health insurance nationalization bill, we can be thankful for one thing at least. It will most likely be the last bill of its kind introduced this year. Who’d have time to wade through another? This doesn’t mean there is anything in ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/tgif/the-mandated-health-insurance-outrage/ "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping health care bill that would expand health insurance coverage to 30 million more Americans at an estimated cost of $849 billion over 10 years. Reid and other Senate Democrats cited an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office for the ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/uncategorized/cbo-says-849-billion-senate-health-care-bill-will-cut-deficit/ "The Obama administration is poised to extend the life of the highly unpopular $700 billion financial bailout and, to display a commitment to fiscal responsibility, is planning to use much of the leftover funds to reduce the national debt, government sources said." (Washington Post, Thursday) Didn't they borrow the TARP money? FEE ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/uncategorized/administration-seeks-palatable-way-to-continue-tarp-bailout/ "As lawmakers on Capitol Hill inch closer toward overhauling the nation's fractured financial regulatory system, each hour of debate, each tweak of legal language, each tedious roll call carries the potential to generate colossal changes in the relationship between Washington and Wall Street." (Washington Post, Thursday) But it's not the relationship ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/in-brief/financial-legislation-heads-toward-finish-line/ In his various chapters and essays on the “mirage” of the concept “social justice,” F. A. Hayek makes a claim that is very often overlooked by those who support the market. He argues that markets generally do not reward “merit.” That is, the people who become wealthy in ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/headline/the-dangers-of-the-myth-of-merit/ If you were to believe spokesmen for the Obama regime and its allied pseudo-economists, there is no tradeoff between the size of government and our standard of living. On the contrary, they would like people to believe that the bigger the government gets, the more it can “stimulate” the economy ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/the-end-of-prosperity-how-higher-taxes-will-doom-the-economy-if-we-let-it-happen/ Steven G. Calabresi and Christopher S. Yoo count as founding fathers of the much-debated unitary executive theory (UET), which they named in 1992. In this large book they argue that every American president has subscribed to the theory, and that along with constitutional text and structure, this continuous presidential practice ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/the-unitary-executive-presidential-power-from-washington-to-bush/ Think of the various dollar-denominated bills in your pocket. They surely represent value, but with the dollar backed by nothing beyond trust in the United States and its Treasury, the greenback’s success as a worldwide store of value is something of a marvel. Wall Street Journal reporter Craig Karmin’s Biography of ... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/biography-of-the-dollar-how-the-mighty-buck-conquered-the-world-and-why-its-under-siege/