Remember history

It's pretty obvious to classical liberals like myself that the European economic crisis is the result of social democracy. America has practiced a different brand of social democracy, but we've created a statist system that's driving us to the same poor results found in most of Europe. Before anyone stands up and yells "Denmark!" look at the whole picture and how the European Union as a whole is failing, even though a few nations, like states in America, are doing okay. If Denmark happened to be an independent nation responsible for its own defense, the story would be much different. Besides, as we look at the many consequences from government interventions in different countries through the years, to ignore all this evidence and gleefully claim success in Denmark, as if that wipes out the reality of the history of statist practices, is insane. 

As France faces the possibility of a hard Left backlash, and as Greece churns in public unrest over austerity measures, and as Spain and Italy teeter on collapse, socialists and communists are positioned to make great advances as people are promised that wealth will be seized and redistributed. Nevermind that States have been responsible for the corporate favortism that has created a wealthy elite which controls much of the world's finances, if the flames of populism are lit and emotions overwhelm reason, the anti-capitalist narratives of the last 80 or so years can cause angry people to believe the leaders who blame the evil rich and present the Enlightened State as the salvation. As happened in Italy and Germany, if the hard Left gains control of emotional masses, this will cause a reaction such as Fascism became a reaction to socialist and communist advances prior to WWII.

In the US the State has created a deep political divide between Right and Left that is set up for greater conflict, and if our financial crisis becomes worse, and if the hard Left succeeds in gaining power and seizing wealth and violating private property rights, we could be in for a long struggle that will not end well. The answer is to avoid the statist excesses of both Right and Left and to limit the source of conflict -- the State -- more specifically, the interventionist government which is empowering the State. Americans need to come together in cooperation and economic growth in the private realm, not battle each other senselessly in faux-conflict created in the political realm by power-mongers determined to control America.

Beware of the political entrepreneur

http://mises.org/daily/5963/The-Vampire-Economy-and-the-Market

Fascism is often misunderstood, basically because of the association with Hitler and Germany during WWII, but fascism has a meaning -- basically, it's, as is written in the above article, socialism under the guise of capitalism. The article linked above from Mises does a good job of explaining how this form of statism is unviable -- although we call our system a mixed economy, we should be very concerned that we aren't headed for complete authoritarian capitalism.

Morning Joe 10/20/2011 -- attacking Republicans

On Morning Joe today, after a lot of adolescent taunting and ridicule toward Herman Cain, Mika, Scarborough, Jonathan Capehart and Mike Barnicle attacked Kevin McCarthy who was guest this morning. Austan Goolsbee came on after McCarthy and received kind and deferiential treatment. The attack on McCarthy was over-the-top, and I don't know why any Republican like McCarthy would go back on the show if this is how they're treated. You don't even have to be a Republican, which I'm not, to see the bias and unfair treatment. Mika and Capehart were rude, and Scarborough was his usual snarky self.

But what is really interesting is the underlying conflict between Left and Right. Goolsbee defended the Democrat's performance over the past three years and blamed external forces for all the failed policies and the stagnant economy. Goolsbee spoke in statist terms which should concern every American who doesn't want a fascist system in America. Fascism has a distinct meaning, and the way Goolsbee described the government's plan to shift the economy from a housing bubble to exports, infrastructure and education reveals the workings of fascism, a system in which government doesn't own the means of production but rather manages industry and economic direction, instead of allowing a free market in which American consumers and businesses determine the direction through their free choices in the market. McCarthy promoted free market principles, and Goolsbee promoted a form of fascism. Scarborough, Mika and Morning Joe gang agreed more with Goolsbee.

It's amazing how vicious MSNBC has become toward free market capitalism, and how much the Democrat controlled Senate and administration are fighting against free market capitalism. It was reported that Obama received more money for his reelection than all the Republican candidates combined, and this was presented as hypocrisy on the part of Obama who is campaigning against Wall Street greed. Obama is campaigning against free market capitalism, pretending that Wall Street represents free market capitalism. The truth is that the major Wall Street players are part of the State power structure which is destroying free market capitalism. Small and medium sized businesses are getting hurt, because they represent free market capitalism and they are under attack. Goolsbee and the Morning Joe gang represent the status quo, statist system which is now practicing a form of fascism -- they would all laugh at and ridicule the charge of fascism, but if we stick with definitions and listen to the ideas being promoted, their ridicule would be empty and defensive.

Until we can get to the fundamental problems we'll see no fundamental solutions. Morning Joe is basically dealing with symptoms and promoting efforts that provide short term symptomatic fixes that won't last. Giving the states more money to save teachers and police will last until they burn through the money and come back with their hands out. The independence of states has been destroyed as they become dependents of the federal government. The federal government is consolidating power over the states and over the private economy, and the Morning Joe crew attacks representatives like Keven McCarthy who are attempting to empower the private sector and remove government chains so that economic growth can happen. In this instance, Republicans are right and Democrats are wrong. Government actions are killing jobs. Goolsbee said that government has to make private industry stand up and start expanding and hiring workers -- no, government has to get off the back of private industry and quit mismanaging the economy.

Later, Scarborough, who praised China's infrastructure efforts a few months ago and said America should follow China's lead and even overtake China and become the leader of infrastructure, reacted to a story this morning about a China Bubble, as if he's understood all along that China might be spending too much on infrastructure. Scarborough is full of it -- he makes it up as he goes along.

At least McCarthy knows that long term solutions right now will help the short term problems -- we have to set up limitations on government intervention into the economy, totally restructure the tax code and end all corporate welfare and favoritism granted through regulations which strangle small businesses, then private industry will "stand up", but not before government shuts the f*ck up and sits the hell down.

Green energy scam gradually unravelling

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/10/19/oops-energy-department-contractors-caught-altering-old-press-releases-involving-another-troubled-green-energy-project/

Another green energy company failure reveals the administration's manipulation of taxpayer money to support cronies and power base. There's little wonder that our economy is stalled. When government intervention misdirects capital in an attempt to pick its list of winners in the market, American-style fascism pushes us closer to financial collapse. Is it really that serious? Yes, it is. We're past the point of polite criticism -- it's time to call this economic madness what it is. It's also time for transparency regarding government cover-up of its failures. But, Obama said in an interview today they've made all the right decisions. Incredible.

Rockwell on fascism

http://mises.org/daily/5752/The-Fascist-Threat

Although I've alluded to the fascist tendencies of our statist system, I've been reluctant to call America a fascist State because of the loaded nature of the word and overused references to Hitler which are easily dismissed as hyperbolic by statists.

Rockwell at Mises has no such reservations, and he writes one of the best articles I've read lately regarding the State's fascist  tendencies. Rockwell makes a good case, and his peak into future is spot on in my opinion. Out of the current dissatisfaction regarding statist consequences, I predict a large freedom movement will evolve which crosses the lines of all the labels we go by.