October 26, 2018

What a bunch of idiots!

fromSovereignMan: FICO decided that they would reinvent the way they calculate the scores– giving a big boost to people with bad credit. People who have a history of not paying their bills will immediately be deemed creditworthy.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

The shocking differences between Google and DuckDuckGo

fromLibertarianNews: Don't be a chump. Don't be tracked and manipulated. Make DuckDuckGo your default web search engine.
Indoctrination and Censorship

Thousands line up for zero-down-payment, subprime mortgages

fromCNBC: Deja Vu. Borrowers can have low credit scores, but have to go through an education session about the program and submit all necessary documents, from income statements to phone bills.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Brothers face $450,000 in fines for cutting trees on their own property without asking gov’t first

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: For removing invasive trees on their own property, two brothers are being fined a half million dollars because they didn't ask the state for permission first.
The Government is Not Us     Regulation Nation

The NEW social media: alternatives to Facebook, YouTube,Twitter, and other Big Tech platforms

fromActivistPost: You probably won’t find your parents, your best friend from kindergarten, and your Aunt Suzie on these platforms – not yet, anyway. But what you WILL be able to do is speak without fear of censorship.
Indoctrination and Censorship

The public sector pension crisis

fromReason: Will your state pay what its politicians promised? Almost certainly not.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Lawrence J. McQuillan: The United States Of America Now Has Less Economic Freedom Than Chile, Jordan, Or Taiwan

The verdict on hope and change is in.    Today the Fraser Institute in Vancouver, Canada, released the 2015 Economic Freedom of the World Report (pdf) and it’s bad news for the United States, where economic freedom is falling. The U.S. ranks only 16th in economic freedom trailing Chile, Jordan, and Taiwan. The EFW Report measures the level  ... MORE

Joshua Krause: Americans Embrace Debt As New Norm

7 in 10 believe that debt is necessary.   America’s debt problem has been widely documented over past few years, and not just the public kind. The average American is swimming in trillions of dollars in medical fees, car payments, mortgage liabilities, as well as credit card statements and college tuitions. However, none of that is shocking        ... MORE

5 Things You Need To Know About The Shitshow In Greece

by Ed Krayewski. Greeks want big government but they want someone else to pay for it. Last week, the Greek government walked away from the negotiating table with its creditors and enablers—the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, called the "Troika." The group wanted Greece to commit ... MORE

Peter Schiff: Debt Is No Salvation

Credit is destroying what savings built.      Thus far 2014 has been a fertile year for really stupid economic ideas. But of all the half-baked doozies that have come down the pike (the perils of “lowflation,” Thomas Piketty’s claims about capitalism creating poverty, and President Obama’s “pay as you earn” solution to student debt), an idea hatched    ... MORE

IRS Sets Sights on Frequent Flyer Miles, Hotel Points

by Ira Stoll.       New method to separate citizens from their money. Just in time for your summer vacation, the IRS is getting ready to toughen the tax treatment on frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty reward programs. The IRS announced in 2002 that it wouldn't try to go after individuals for income taxes on frequent flyer miles or hotel     ... MORE

Todd Zywicki: Set Visa, Master Card And Markets Free

Approve the credit card interchange fee settlement.       Last August, years of expensive litigation and a comprehensive evidentiary process culminated in a meeting of the minds among warring litigants to antitrust litigation that challenged the practice by which credit card networks set “interchange” fees (the fee paid by merchants to    ... MORE

Many Gov't Agencies Track Your Credit Card Transactions

by Michael Snyder.   Were you under the impression that your credit card transactions are private?  If so, I am sorry to burst your bubble.  As you will see below, there are actually multiple government agencies that are gathering and storing records of your credit card transactions.  And in turn, those government agencies share that information with     ... MORE

VIDEO: Why Thieves Hate Free Markets

VIDEO: Should Government Track Your Political Activity?

Technology takes 1974 legislation to a new level.

Walter E Williams: Our Nation's Future

The fruits of Congressional overgrazing. Our nation is rapidly approaching a point from which there's little chance to avoid a financial collapse. The heart of our problem can be seen as a tragedy of the commons. That's a set of circumstances when something is commonly owned and individuals acting rationally in their own self-interest   ... MORE

Bob Aldelmann: Each Chevy Volt Costs Taxpayers $250,000

Green policy = wasting the green from citizen wallets.   The Mackinac Center for Public Policy just released a study showing that by the time all federal and state loans, grants, subsidies, and tax credits are figured in, each Chevy Volt costs taxpayers upwards of $250,000. James Hohman, the center’s assistant director of fiscal policy, counted a total of 18  ... MORE

VIDEO: Understanding The American Federal Debt Limit

REUTERS: Super Committee Is A Super Flop

Debt-reduction efforts will be led by voters in 2012. The failure of a congressional deficit-cutting "super committee" means the tough work of putting the United States' finances on a stable path will likely have to wait until 2013 at the earliest. Barring some unforeseen development, the Republican and Democratic co-chairs of the committee are due to issue a joint  ... MORE

Reality Check: Coming Financial Crisis By The Numbers

30 reasons for major concern. The United States is drowning in a sea of red ink from coast to coast and most Americans have absolutely no idea what is about to happen.  Hopefully you have started to prepare for the coming U.S. financial crisis.  If not, hopefully this article will be a wake up call for you.  Right now, governments all over Europe are on the verge of ... MORE

REUTERS: Lawmakers Unfazed By Downgrade Risk

Congress fiddles while America's economy burns. A growing number of lawmakers do not think another downgrade of the country's AAA rating will harm America's economy, raising questions about how much pressure Congress is under to fix the intractable budget deficit. Analysts warn, however, that signs of complacency on Capitol Hill threaten efforts to cure America's ... MORE

Merrill Lynch Warns Of Another U.S. Debt Downgrade

Politicians fiddle while Rome burns. The United States is in for another credit downgrade by year’s end if Congress fails to agree on a long-term plan to tame the nation’s $14.8 trillion debt, Merrill Lynch warned. In a research note, the Bank of America unit predicts that either Moody’s or Fitch will move to downgrade the U.S. AAA rating. Standard & Poor’s cut  ... MORE

VIDEO: Andrew Napolitano - The Free Market