"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

We're billions of dollars further in debt (trillions?) and the economy is still stagnant. TARP, the stimulus bill, massive debts our children and grandchildren will have to pay .. and what has this all brought us? Banks aren't lending, businesses aren't hiring - let along expanding - and consumers aren't buying. Oh, to be sure, the malls are crowded. Turn up the thermostats and see how long that lasts. Those aren't shoppers, they're just your neighbors trying to stay cool while watching the latest absurd teen fashion and freak shows.

Do what the initials SNAFU mean? That word was...]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:00:00 -0700 Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:00:00 -0800 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:00:00 -0800 There's a lot of talk in Washington about yet another so-called "stimulus"� package. If the next one is anything like the last one it will simply be a mechanism for taking money away from people who aren't spending it the way politicians would like, and transferring it to people who will. Our soon-to-be ruler feels like adding some grandiose public works projects (raking leaves in a National Forest) to the list.

Let's break away from these political stimulus ideas for a few minutes and study an absolutely brilliant idea from Texas Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert. Now Louie hasn't been around the halls of congress all that much (just three years) so he is not...]]> Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:00:00 -0700 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:00:00 -0700 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:00:00 -0700 Fear not. I'm here to help. I know ... I'm just another talk show host; but the fact is that when the stage was being set for the problems we're seeing today I was making most of my money as a real estate lawyer .. closing loans for some of the very institutions that are the tank today. This rather unique combination - closing lawyer and radio talk show host - gave me a front row seat to the politicization of mortgage loans that led us to today's headlines.

OK .. so we all know that a lot of really bad real estate loans were made. The political class would sure love for us to believe that the blame here rests squarely on "greedy" (try to define that word) mortgage brokers and...]]> Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:00:00 -0700 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:00:00 -0700