Buried Headlines: June 30, 2012

A NY (where else?) utility union is threatening to strike in the middle of one of the worst heat waves in American history, risking the lives of tens of thousands of elderly citizens. I really dislike unions.

Utility Union Threatens Strike In Middle Of Historic Heat Wave

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Union Uses Desperate Unemployed To Push Political Agenda

Right To Work State: Airbus' Alabama Plant To Create 2,500 Jobs

In other news:

Justice Department Shields Holder From Prosecution After Contempt Vote

Central Bankers And Radical Islam: Lagarde Assures Mursi IMF Ready To Help Muslim Brotherhood In Egypt

Economic Center Of World Rockets Toward Asia

Why? White House Payroll Grows Since Last Year

They Shouldn't Be *Raiding* Over "Online Threats" Anyway: SWAT Team Raids Wrong House

Buried Headlines: June 29, 2012

Fox News's Judson Berger indicated today that Eric Holder's problems "could" affect Obama's chances for reelection. Indeed, talk of the Attorney General being arrested must weigh heavily on the Obama campaign.

House Could Arrest Holder With Inherent Contempt Power

Holder Controversies Could Weigh On Obama In 2012 Race

Issa’s Secret Gunwalking Wiretaps Revealed In Congressional Record

In Obamacare ruling news:

Plenty Of Evidence To Suggest That Roberts Changed His Vote At The Last Minute

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: The Case For Impeaching Roberts Based On His Medical Condition 

GOP Governors Vow To Ignore Obamacare

Cantor: House Will Vote On Repeal July 11

Roundup Of Reactions From Congress

In other news:

Obama's Campaign Extends Its Fundraising Efforts...To Switzerland And France?

When A 100+% Increase Isn't Enough: USDA Suggests Food Stamp Parties, Games To Increase Participation

Solyndra II: Abound Solar to Suspend Operations, Will Seek Bankruptcy

The Case For Impeaching Roberts Based On His Medical Condition

As I pointed out in a previous post, Chief Justice Roberts's majority opinion was contradictory in that it considered the mandate "not a tax" to be considered by SCOTUS, but "a tax" to be constitutional. In the post, I raised the possibility that the Roberts's anti-seizure medications may have affected the Chief Justice's thinking when writing the decision. As such, I believe Roberts should be impeached. (Supreme Court justices have been impeached before.) While the Chief Justice seems like a nice enough guy, his medical condition may prohibit him from adhering to his sworn oath to defend the Constitution "without any mental reservation". Lest we forget: Articles I and II of the Constitution allow for the impeachment of any government official for a number of reasons, including "breach of the public trust".

Roberts: Mandate "Not A Tax" To Be Considered By SCOTUS , "Tax" To Be Constitutional?

Regarding Chief Justice Roberts's majority opinion, libertarian Michael S. Rozeff made an astute observation on Lew Rockwell today:

The Supreme Court says that the fine is not a tax for one purpose (getting the case to be considered despite the Anti-Injunction Act) and is a tax for another purpose (the Constitution). The relevant portion of a paragraph reads:

"The Affordable Care Act describes the payment as a 'penalty,' not a 'tax.' That label cannot control whether the payment is a tax for purposes of the Constitution, but it does determine the application of the Anti-Injunction Act. The Anti-Injunction Act therefore does not bar this suit."

Unbelievable!

By the way, Roberts takes anti-seizure medication that has been known to reduce cognition. In fact, the New York Times pointed out in 2007 that the Chief Justice's decision to take the medication was a difficult one, precisely due to this side effect:

Rush Is Right; I'd Take Costa Rica Over Obamacare, Too!

The Huffington Post mocked Rush Limbaugh's threat to move to Costa Rica if Obamacare is fully-implemented. I can't stand Rush any more*, but I can see why he'd want to retire in Costa Rica. Many Europeans of means retire there, not just to spend their golden years in paradise, but also to escape their countries' socialized healthcare systems. If you can afford it (and Rush can), you can get first-class private health care in Costa Rica.

*I don't know if he's always been this way and I just didn't realize it, but now it's clear that he's a mouthpiece for the Republican party. For example, he often calls liberals "Democrats". Very telling.

Buried Headlines: June 28, 2012

In case you live under a rock, Chief Justice Roberts voted with the liberal justices to uphold the individual mandate of Obamacare. Let's not forget: Roberts, the non-conservative justice, was an appointee of George W. Bush, the non-conservative, incompetent president. (Remember Bush nominating his completely unqualified crony Harriet Miers before Roberts?) And because Bush was a terrible president, the Bush-fatigued nation elected the worst the president in American history, Barack Hussein Obama! The early 21st Century will be known as the America's rock bottom. But I digress.

High Court Upholds Key Part Of Obama Health Law

Socialism Is Bad For Business: Stocks Tumble 1% Immediately After Health-Care Ruling

Interesting Commentary: ObamaCare Was A Legislative Monolith, Out Of Sync With An iPad World

In Obama news:

What Obama Says About Being Outspent Is Not True

In other news:

Union Retirement Money Props Up Wall Street Speculation

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Union Uses Desperate Unemployed To Push Political Agenda

Tax Cheats Were Given $1.4 Billion In Government-Backed Mortgage Loans

JPMorgan Trading Loss May Reach $9 Billion

Notice The Number From CA: US Cities With Highest Unemployment Rates

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: The Real Unemployment Rate Is Much Higher Than BLS Reports

Census: 36,800 Fewer Businesses in 2010

Ron Paul's Advancing "Audit The Fed" Bill Indicative Of Public's Anti-Bankster Sentiment?

After three years of languishing, H.R. 459, Ron Paul's "Audit the Fed" bill, passed the House Oversight Committee this morning on a voice vote, with no opposition. I'm encouraged by this news, particularly due to the fact that the committee had blocked multiple iterations of the bill over the years. It would appear that the public is becoming skeptical of the Fed: no one on the bipartisan committee--a group of representatives for millions of Americans of all stripes--voted "nay". This is fantastic news!

Often times we have to wait with baited breath for votes on big bills like this. But I'm happy to report that a floor vote on H.R. 459 is on the schedule for next month! Stay tuned.

Buried Headlines: June 27, 2012

CNBC claimed the other day that the Greek elections left the Euro "in balance". This is not the case. The pain is still coming. And for us, Taxageddon is right around the corner.

Rosenberg Opens Pandora's "Global Economic Shock" Box

Ray Dalio: Don't Assume That Germany Will Bail Europe Out; Consider The "Fat Tail" A Significant Possibility

 Of Course THEY Are: France "Ready To Share Budget Sovereignty"

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: More On The Ongoing Depression And The Coming Austerity 

I don't care about the performance of the IPO. Facebook's logo is everywhere, it has partnerships with every major company you can think of, and, by issuing stock, it now has billions in capital. Zuckerberg and company needed to be taken down a few pegs (the IPO disaster took care of that), but now that they've been humbled, they're going to be even better at making a lot of people a lot of money. Buy the stock.

Wall Street Analysts Give Facebook Cautious Nod

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK:  Facebook Is Positioned To Take Over The World: Buy The IPO No Matter The Price

In other news:

News Corp. Mulls Splitting In Two

House GOP Leaders To Discuss Deal On Student Loans

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Student Loan Forgiveness: The Necessary Bailout

Obama Prepping Thousands Of Lawyers For Election

"We're From The Government, And We're Here To Help You Lose Weight"

Clarification: It's An Economics And Finance Blog With A Libertarian Slant

I've been receiving comments and tweets that put into question ECOMINOES's "dedication" to "libertarian economics" (Austrian Economics). I'd like to clarify that, in the slogan "Seth Mason's libertarian economics and finance blog", the word "libertarian" modifies the words "economics and finance blog", not just the word "economics". In other words, this is an economics and finance blog with a libertarian slant, not an Austrian Economics blog. I apologize for the confusion.

Buried Headlines: June 26, 2012

In April I chronicled former NYSE Chairman Dick Grasso's stark criticism of so-called "dark pools", shadow sources of liquidity that manipulate markets to the detriment of the individual investor (and, due to their negative influence on the economy, to the detriment of the public at large). Today ZeroHedge published a terrific article regarding shadow banking, a nebulous, intricate, delicate system that, believe it or not, has grown to dwarf the traditional banking system. In the article, the author makes the case that the financial system is distancing itself from shadow banking, which might sound like a good thing. There's just one problem: in increasingly centrally-controlled America, the Fed has come to rely on the shadow system to mitigate inflationary effects of money printing. So, with the decrease of shadow banking comes an increase in inflation. See the dangers of all of this artificial, centrally-controlled mumbo jumbo?

Excellent, Excellent Article: On The Verge Of A Historic Inversion In Shadow Banking

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: (Reformed?) Crony Capitalist Outspoken About Government, Market

In Obama news:

The Obamacare Outcome Matrix 

Obama Caught Fibbing About His Record On Regulations

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Washington On The Back Of Small Business

Can Obama Rewrite Federal Law?

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Obama The Dictator: A Timeline

In other news:

Your Tax Dollars At Play: Small-Town Cops Pile Up On Useless Military Gear

California Dreaming: Stockton To Take Up Bankruptcy Plan

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: California: The GDP, Budgetary Woes, And Resistance To Austerity Of A PIIGS Nation 

They Suck Up To The Leading Candidate: Romney The New Darling of Silicon Valley

Texas Power Grid Strained To Limit, Sets Records

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: America's Crumbling Infrastructure

Site Details Lifetime Costs To The Individual Of Big Government Spending

Every once in a while you stumble upon a site that provides incontrovertible evidence that federal spending is out of control. Today I found MyGovCost.org. The site, a service provided by The Independent Institute, a reputable nonprofit, scholarly, research, and educational organization, calculates how much federal government spending costs an individual over the course of his life, depending on his age, income, and education level. The site categorizes spending by sector and function, and, most importantly, quantifies the opportunity cost that each category of spending creates. This is powerful information! The data the site provides could be cited in articles, quoted on talk radio shows, included in presentations, and referenced when debating liberals in comment threads. The only criticism I have of the site is that it doesn't take into consideration the lifetime cost of federal regulations on the individual. But if you're one to engage in arguments against Big Government, you should bookmark MyGovCost.org for quick reference.

Welcome, Boortz Listeners!

Neal Boortz linked to ECOMINOES today in his Reading Assignments. I'm extremely excited about this, in no small part due to the fact that I've been listening to the Talkmaster for nearly a decade. Although I've never met him, I can thank Neal for introducing me to libertarianism and inspiring me to take up amateur talk radio. In recent years my brand of libertarianism has lead me to re-asses the U.S.'s approach to the War on Terror, and Neal and I would likely disagree on foreign policy. But I believe we're on the same page domestically, and, as such, I believe you, the Boortz listener, will enjoy this blog. ¡Bienvenido!

Admission Of Error

I made a math error in the post entitled The TRUE Cost Of Outrageous Government Spending that slightly inflated the implied interest rate. I've corrected it, and I apologize. Going forward, I'll be sure to be more careful.

Buried Headlines: June 25, 2012

Given Obama's negative (and deteriorating) job approval, it would appear that average Americans are finally starting to wake up to the fact that massive federal spending is a drag on the economy. Remember, 85% debt-to-GDP is the magic number at which national debt begins to carry a negative multiplier. And never forget: Obama has increased the national debt to over 100% GDP and is doing his best to increase it more.

Economy Will Get Boost If SCOTUS Overturns ObamaCare

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Washington On The Back Of Small Business

Top Secret: $80B A Year For Food Stamps, But Feds Won’t Reveal What’s Purchased

Obama Increased Welfare Spending 41%; Poverty Rate Unchanged From LBJ

In Eurozone news:

He's A Commie, But Also An Astute Investor: Soros Says Germany’s Resistance May Prove "Fatal" To Europe

The Full "Three-Days-To-Eurocalypse" Soros Interview

Germany Rebuffs Obama's Advice On Euro Crisis

The Two Scariest Charts In Europe Got Scarier

In other news:

Job Growth: Why US Remains Stuck In Neutral

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Lost Earnings Too Much For Recovery

Sen. Issa: Obama's Fast And Furious Executive Privilege Claims "Simply Wrong"

Top Court's Decision On Arizona Will Affect Other States, Too

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Tough Economic Times Require Moratorium On Immigration

The TRUE Cost Of Outrageous Government Spending

Conducting research for my post concerning ridiculous federal employee compensation, I began to wonder what the true cost of government spending is when factoring the large portion of federal outlays that are comprised of dollars that are either borrowed or printed (which, too, are ultimately "borrowed"). I came up with a formula and applied it to a number of government expenditures, making them appear even more ridiculous.

The Formula

Under Obama, the annual deficit has been consistently hovering around 40%. In other words, for every $1 the Government has spent during the dictator's regime, $.40 has either been borrowed or printed (henceforth to be called "borrowed"). The majority of borrowed federal funds are derived from 10-year Treasury notes, whose yield has been hovering around 2% over the past couple of years. A 10-year Treasury note with a face value of $.40, 2% yield, and interest compounded semiannually would have a return of $.09. In other words, 40% of every $1 ($.40) the Government currently spends actually costs $.49. Therefore, $1 in government spending actually costs $.49 + $.60, or $1.09.

The Results 

Buried Headlines: June 24, 2012

The Earth warms and cools over time in tandem with solar cycles and other naturally-occurring phenomena. So tell me, if polar ice caps are melting on Mars (and they are), that means that Martians are leaving too large a carbon footprint?

Rio+20 Showdown With Richard Branson

Green Drivel Exposed

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: A Hole In The Per Capita CO2 Argument As Large As The Great Cement Wall Of China

They Learned From The BLS? Turns Out China Is Lying About Everything

In other news:

Italian ­Prime Minister: Just One Week To Save Euro

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Red Alert For U.S. If Greece Exits Euro

Decisions, Decisions: How SCOTUS Could Rule On Obamacare

Medicare Billions Going To Castro, Cuba

FLASHBACK: USAID Training Foreign Workers For English-Speaking Jobs

Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why?

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: The Green Shoots Of Civil Unrest

UN "Migration Chief" Says EU Should "Undermine National Homogeneity"

ECOMINOES FLASHBACK: Tough Economic Times Require Moratorium On Immigration