Buying A Free Lunch

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand." ~Milton Friedman

Well that about sums it us does it not?
                                                                                                                                                          
Today is a day to celebrate the life of one of the great economic minds of our day, Milton Friedman, on what would have been his 100th birthday.

Friedman, a long time professor at The University of Chicago, won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976 and was an economic advisor to Ronald Reagan.

Advocates of free market capitalism consider Friedman a champion of freedom.  Top economic scholars, inclusive of Don Boudreaux,  Thomas Sowell and Stephen Moore, have strong columns out today in praise of Friedman.  The Heritage Foundation also has presented a commemorative piece, which thoroughly pounds home the work of Friedman demonstrating the economic benefits of free markets.

Those of us non scholars with degrees in Economics studied principles Friedman simplified.  It was Friedman who advanced the theory that there is "no free lunch", a common sense principle that is most demonstrative. Art Laffer famously presented The Laffer Curve on a napkin, because it was just that simple.  Friedman made complex economic theory simple for consumption.

It is too bad Obama did not encounter Friedman if their paths potentially crossed in Chicago, for Obama obviously has no clue on economic theory.

In my view, it seems clear Obama is intent on crashing the system to create socialism complete with a society dependent on government interaction.  Friedman found interaction from outside sources, including governmental stimulus, which can create inefficient markets, should be limited.

In Sowell's column, he quotes Friedman and illustrates the point: This is one of those heads-I-win-and-tails-you-lose arguments. Even if the government spends itself into bankruptcy and the economy still does not recover, Keynesians can always say that it would have worked if only the government had spent more.

Friedman, who I had the honor to meet in his late years, is a giant in economic theory whose free market capitalist principles have proven correct. Please listen to him destroy a young fan of wealth redistribution:



Friedman had a PBS Series titled Free to Choose, in conjunction with his book of the same name.  It is fitting, as our current government leaders aspire to limit your choices across the board. From GM vehicles, to Chick-fil-A to searching for a 64 ounce Big Gulp in NYC, the elites are flexing muscle these days.  As Friedman noted, the loss of consumer choice leads to market contraction, and a loss of economic freedom.

Under Obama, we have pursued Keynesian economic theories, and they have failed miserably. As Reagan said, "Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so."   Reagan followed the theories of Friedman, which lead to unparalleled economic prosperity; complex theories presented so simply by Friedman many could be written on a napkin.

Happy Birthday Milton Friedman!  Wish I could buy you one of those free lunches, complete with plenty of napkins.

Not In A Pickle

One of my guilty pleasures over recent years has been Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice. I like Trump, business, competition and New York City, so for me, it works. During the competition, winning players each week have opportunities to raise money for a charitable organization of their choosing, which is a real good thing.

This past season was interesting to be sure, with Arsenio Hall edging Clay Aiken for the title. Cheers for Arsenio, who was competing for his charity, The Magic Johnson Foundation.

Among this seasons contestants, I noticed that several of the celebrities had gay associated charities as their charity. The number was disproportional to the amount of contestants who were known to be gay. Star Trek's George Takei, a gay gentleman, chose the Japanese American National Museum. Clay Aiken, known to be gay, Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza, Comedian Lisa Lampanelli and singer (?) Aubrey O'Day each had gay associated charities they were playing for. Arsenio is a close buddy with Magic, so that makes perfect sense. So of all the charities of the world, approximately 23% of the players were competing for gay associated charities.

These groups have very strong representation across America, and I am not quite sure why, particularly since the gay population is quite small. Some of these groups, who preach tolerance, will attack you if you exercise your freedom to not participate in advancing, or publicly supporting, their cause.

Ask Chick-fil-A Founder Dan Cathy, who after declaring his support for the traditional family, was targeted for criticism and attacked. Boston and Chicago have spoken of their intent to prohibit construction of future restaurants. The Jim Henson Company has announced they will cease business with Chick-fil-a. Boycotts and demonstrations are taking place.

Indeed, Chick-fil-A is now a centerpiece of a much wider culture war. Larry Kudlow visits with Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine and Rick Santorum to dicuss this situation: Take a listen:



The left is flexing far too much muscle these days, and many of those on the center-right are buckling due to political correctness.  In an effort exercise economic freedom while we still have the opportunity, for lunch on Saturday, not in a pickle about where my support of the traditional family lies, look for me at Chick-fil-A.

Heck, I may even attend the Spicy Chicken Dance Party!



For the record, had I been playing on the Celebrity Apprentice, my charity would be The Victory Junction Gang Camp.

A Call for Minutemen to Rise for Freedom

Since the election of President Barack Obama, the Progressives, sadly interchangeable with Democrats these days, have been pummeled in virtually every significant election since. While some victories have been uplifting, perhaps the most significant was the election to the United States Senate by Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

Although the Affordable Health Care Act has evaded logic and has become law, the election of Scott Brown, (R:MA), turned a bright light on all the cockroaches in Washington. Brown is up for reelection this fall, and is being challenged by Elizabeth Warren, an anti-capitalist champion of socialism.

You may recall Warren, somehow thought of as a financial scholar, was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D:NV) to chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel which implemented the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP. Warren is a collectivist and is not a friend to economic freedom to be sure.

Although Obama is currently getting pummeled for his recent heartfelt comments about business owners not being responsible for their success, it was Elizabeth Warren who first sung that tune. In a recent campaign advertisement, Brown hits them between the eyeballs. Take a listen:



You do not need to be known as Frank Luntz to know this is a very powerful video.

While Scott Brown is not a favorite of the conservative nation, he likely is just perfect for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Further, Brown supports economic freedom and recognizes for the most part the principles the Founding Fathers set forth for us.

Not one Founding Father would take a second to consider supporting Warren, and neither should any of the minutemen roaming Massachusetts.

No Fault Obama

You know of no-fault insurance. With Obama, we have a no-fault presidency.

In the unmitigated gall of President Obama, responsibility for decisions rest with everyone but him. If it is not the fault of George W. Bush, it is the fault of us hard working Americans.

If this nonsense cannot be explained away, lies are simply put forth for the ill-informed to consume. With apologies to Agent Mulder, with this crowd, the truth does not matter.

Glenn Beck, Pat Gray and Stu Burguiere at The Glenn Beck Radio Program have simply had enough. So have I. Although this is such a sad commentary, this is hilarious.



The bucks stops anywhere Obama is not, as personal responsibility is a relic of the past.

Ross Reporting From Fantasyland

ABC News Investigative Reporter Brian Ross is living in Fantasyland. Or is he?

In a simply stunning example of media bias, Brian Ross has come under fire for an inexcusable misrepresentation of the facts in the aftermath of the tragic series of events in Aurora, Colorado.

Take a listen:



Ross tried to tie the suspect to the Tea Party, noting one of the 25 estimated residents with the same name had previously signed up for the Tea Party.  Ross has done some good work in the past, and prior to this, was highly thought of.

ABC quickly responded with an apology, which was insufficient and not accepted.  So egregious was this level of reporting, even the members of the left wing media are hammering ABC and Ross. In fact, as a shareholder of the Walt Disney Corporation, owners of ABC, I demand Ross be immediately terminated, with Stephanopoulos placed on probation.

Ross is as experienced as they come, so do not buy the we made an error commentary.  Ross spoke this knowingly and by throwing the Tea Party narrative into this story, plants a narrative that is difficult to rewind.  Where does the Tea Party go to get its reputation back?

This is not the first time, and the list is long as compiled by The Blaze, the media has slandered political opponents.

The major news networks, most notably ABC, CBS, NBC and certainly CNN actively misrepresent the facts efforting to fit within their conspired narrative; therefore, they cannot be considered credible.
If you must watch a network news program, FOX News channel stands alone.  Newspapers you should stick with are The Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily, if you want to read what is really going on.

Deserved Taming of the Lions

In the wide wake of the horrific child sex abuse scandal associated with former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, in a unprecedented and stunning move, the NCAA this morning announced staggering penalties against Penn State University and its once storied football program. Although Penn State was sparred the death penalty, they may have gotten worse.

The wide ranging penalties include probation for five years, $60 million in sanctions, four-year bowl ban, the vacating of all wins from 1998-2011 and the loss of 10 scholarships per year for four years. Current Nittany Lion players have also been given the opportunity to transfer away from the program without penalty.

In addition, the Big Ten Conference censured Penn State, banned them from the league championship game for four years and will prohibit Penn State from receiving television revenue for for years, donating the funds to children's charities to be named later. In conjunction with Penn State vacating the wins, former Coach Joe Paterno, who passed away earlier this year, losses these victories as well and will no longer be recorded in NCAA records as the winningest coach.

We can all agree the Sandusky is nothing short of a monster. As far as Paterno, there are differing opinions regarding the level of his involvement in helping to conceal the horrendous actions of Sandusky. In the aftermath of a scathing report from former FBI Director Louis Freeh, the new brass at Penn State decided a statue of Paterno outside the football stadium would be removed. It was the right move.

For decades, as we witnessed a seemingly clean program in State College, we were told nothing happened up there without Paterno knowing about. Paterno advocates now want us to buy that he had limited knowledge if any regarding the activities of Sandusky.

Certainly, Paterno is not guilty of the vicious crimes of Sandusky.  However, it is more than reasonable to conclude that Paterno had some knowledge of these actions and rather than demanding a full investigation put a stop to it, in an effort to protect his reputation, and that of the University and football program, Paterno stood silent.

University officials administering athletic programs certainly seek to compete and win, but there is much more to winning than the scoreboard.  Although there are many who place Joe Pa in the highest of regard, including droves of former players who are highly regarded athletes and pillars of society, it is most unfortunate that under the watch of the Penn State staff, led by Paterno, children were violated in the very worst of ways.

Therefore, the penalties were appropriate, including the dismantling of the Paterno legacy.

I am reminded of a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

Unfortunately, particularly for the children who lost their innocence, when faced with evil, those with the power to act failed us all

Sunday Night Song

The Sunday Night Song is "Hold Us Together" from Matt Maher. The song has been chosen as the theme song for Glenn Beck's Restoring Love, which is taking place next weekend in Dallas, Texas.



Evil is flexing muscle all over the place these days, as we have seen much too clearly this past weekend. If we ask for God to be among us, our prayers will be answered, good will conquer evil and everything will be alright.

Catch Beck's Restoring Love this weekend on GBTV.com

Sack Social Justice Economics

The GOP has a great new ad detailing the dismal state of our economy under the direction of President Obama. Please take a listen:


Obama is not making mistakes in directing the economy. In fact, the results we are seeing are exactly what he is aiming to achieve, complete with a full on collapse of our economic system in an effort to achieve social justice.

The following campaign sticker would present a true reflection of his intentions.

Familiarize yourself with Cloward and Piven to gain a further understanding of how the orchestrated collapse of our economic system achieves the goals set forth; those of a heavy handed government controlling the masses through heavy does of entitlements implementing social justice. This system of government crushes the entrepreneurial spirit, disincentives the work and robs the governed of their identity.

Even if this were a sound goal, what are the odds a government 16 trillion dollars in debt could deliver entitlements as promised?

Taking the Affordable Heath Care Act as an example, Thomas Sowell wrote "It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that we can afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, medication and a government bureaucracy to administer it."

Many think is sounds like a great plan, but as Ronald Reagan noted, "The more the plans fail, the more the planners plan". In the event you have not noticed, the plans are failing, miserably.

You Don't Know Him

Love him. Hate him. You don't know him. Dinesh D'Souza has a new film coming out this week which is a must see for every American concerned about freedom.

Fresh off his book The Roots of Obama's Rage, D'Souza imagines what America would look like in 2016 should Obama win reelection in the film 2016: Obama's America.

 Please see the trailer:



Over his term, many decisions by Obama have been very puzzling to say the least. Efforts to decipher the thought process have failed to reveal a basis for his decision making. Dinesh D'Souza was able to find such a basis through portions of his own history, offering us a comprehensive look in his best selling book The Roots of Obama's Rage.

The root of the rage centered around the anti-colonialist beliefs held by Obama passed through to him as dreams from his father. Fast forward to today and D'Souza, along with famed producer Gerald Molen, present 2016: Obama's America, which is an eye opening tale demonstrating the basis of the hostile nature in which Obama engages America.

D'Souza speaks with Glenn Beck and outlines the startling discoveries he has made, which give guidance to the background Obama operates from.







The bottom line is that our President in no way shares the admiration for the founding of this country; the founding fathers, the history, the system of governance and documents we hold dear. Obama finds America as an overpowering oppressor, and he aims to to fulfill the dreams from his father, and his deep mentor Frank Marshall Davis, to knock America down through the redistribution of wealth to those he feels it was stolen from.

Taken To School

Many think Obama is simply misguided in handling the economy. If only Obama could learn the realities of economics from someone who knows, he could get our economy turned around. What if Ronaldus Magnus could intervene with Obama and provide some examples of free market capitalism?

Well, here you go:

 

It is always fun to engage in some comedy, but unfortunately, our dire economic situation is far from entertaining. It should be noted that Obama understands exactly what he is doing, and is concealing what his plans would be should he win a second term. Obama is actively engaging in crashing the system, Cloward and Piven style, in an effort to transfer the wealth.

The fundamental transformation of America is underway and must be stopped. Reagan warned us about this during his historical speech "A Time for Choosing" in 1964:



It will be a time for choosing alright; collectivism and rights determined for us by governmental rule or individual and economic freedom and rights endowed to us by our creator.

Easy choice.  Our freedom depends on it.

Market Mayhem

Investors should be treading very carefully these days in the capital markets. This is not a time for Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob and unemployed day traders. Former FED Chair Alan Greenspan said today that the market may be juiced some 50% due to FED stimulus. While the effectiveness of the stimulus can be argued, the FED cannot operate quantitative easing forever, and at some point, the stimulus will need to be retracted.

Forecasting the extraction of FED injected stimulus is one task, but navigating a market without integrity and rule of law signals a retreat to the sideline. Regrettably, in my estimation, we sadly have reached this point. MF Global is fresh on our minds, and last I saw, Jon Corzine was two fisted with his favorite cocktail cranking around the Hamptons. Meanwhile, his investors remain fighting to retrieve small portions of the investments placed with his frim feared lost.

The events surrounding the MF debacle should have been a major warning sign. In the aftermath, Ann Barnhardt shut down her brokerage firm Barnhardt Capital Management due to lack of confidence in the governance of the cattle futures market. Barnhardt warned of future issues to come, and this week we were greeted with the bizarre goings on at PFG Best. Score one for Ann.

Rick Santelli of CNBC further explains:



It seems clear we have issues at the CFTC and/or NFA, and all capital markets, for that matter. The FED seems to be in bed with the Obama administration, rather than operating with impartial market driven guidance. We have news the LIBOR rate has been manipulated, with Barclays among the first of potentially many banks to be signaled out.  JP Morgan, with problems turning up everywhere these days, reportedly played a role. LIBORgate will become a major financial mess, potentially blowing up every HP12C on the planet as the lawsuits get going. As it turns out, approximately 1 million mortgages were based off this rate, and that could be a huge problem.

We ran a blog post a few months back discussing market mayhem, eloquently described First Principles Capital Managements Doug Dachille, which we will present again below.



These market manipulations are quite complex difficult to get your arms around. However, when you couple the imminent implosion of the European Union with market manipulation and The FED gaming the system it becomes exponentially difficult to properly measure risk. In addition, the rewards of potential gains versus the risk exposure within tainted and manipulated markets seem not worth the effort. Although seemingly safe in large big caps positions, investors should keep a very tight leash on any investments.

Do you know who is running the casino? Are their friends being rewarded at your expense? Corruption is everywhere! There is market mayhem, being controlled by those who are not ashamed to be helping you lose your money. Trust and rule of law are absent. It is most unfortunate it has come to this, but in my view it clearly has.

Caveat Emptor!

The Ghost Factor

Bill O'Reilly must have seen a ghost. In fact, a slew of Americans are seeing ghosts.

O'Reilly, beyond fashionably late to the damage being caused by the Obama regime, unloaded on Obama in his Talking Points Memo last night on The O'Reilly factor on the FOX News Channel.

Gateway Pundit has analysis on the must see segment, presented below:



Although Obama holds himself in the highest of regard, the economic statistics of the Obama tenure, across the board, paint a grotesque picture of failure. The Keynesian economic model has failed again, although it can be strongly argued Obama is intentionally crashing the system in an effort to create a socialist utopia of governmental control of the corporations and individuals.

This is far from the Reagan mandate of free market capitalism and entrepreneurship, creating an incentivized work force adhering to morality, hard work and competition. Reagan operated with four pillars of of a strong economy; sound money, tax cuts, job creation and limited government regulation, taxes and spending. During the Reagan administration, over 20 million jobs were created.

If Obama wanted to get America back to work, he would follow the blueprint for success provided by Reagan. Instead, Obama happily presides over an America in economic decline. In many ways, we are seeing the ghost of 1980. Certainly, Mitt Romney is no Ronaldus Magnus, but has a measurable amount of previous business success. Obama has proven economically inept, and given his record operates with communistic processes.

America should hear loudly the words presented by Ronald Reagan in his inaugural address in 1980, which are quite relevant today.
 

It is a time for choosing America. A society based on entitlements which rob individuals of their identity and hope crushing the entrepreneurial spirit, or restricting punitive tax and regulatory burdens, unleashing competition providing a platform from which Americans have the economic freedom to pursue the grandest of dreams.

Free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity. Government is not the solution to our problems, but is in fact the problem.

Ranting and Raving

It can be storngly argued the epic rant by Rick Santelli on CNBC ignited the course of events which esatblished the TEA Party. Count me among those who with afection label Santelli the Father of the Tea Party movement. You remember the rant heard round the world?



Fast forward to the events of toady, most specifically the implosion of the Eurozone, where bailouts of insolvent countries are leading the imminent demise of the Euro. Nigel Farage has rivaled Santelli in voicing several stellar rants fortelling the demise on the Eurpoean Parliment.

Finally, Santelli gets an opportunity to visit with Farage about the status of the Eurozone. Two greats ranting and raving about the truth of the horrendous economic status of the world, but unfortunately,
is anybody listening?

 

CNBC had veered very left in recent years, which is most disappointing. However, a few sound thinkers remain in Santelli, Joe Kernen and Lawrence Kudlow.  You can count on Santelli for the real story, and certainly, as we have posted about numerous times, Farage is the top voice on the concerns of the Eurozone you should be hearing.

A crash is coming, as the bailouts have not worked, and will not work. As Farage so eloquently points out, technocrats rivaling one another in incompetence are in charge. What could go wrong, market manipulation? Theft? The loss of integrity in the markets?

Bowden Dadgums Daytona!

Legendary former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden gave the command to start engines for the Coke Zero 400 with his folksy flare Saturday night at The World Center of Racing, Daytona International Speedway.
 

Bowden was a big hit in the drivers meeting and during pre race interviews. Tallahassee.com reported "Bowden wore black pants with an FSU logo. When asked if they were part of his severance package, he quipped, "Boy, I took everything I could."   As an FSU booster, fine with me.

Bowden rubbed elbows charming all the dignitaries, including HLN host Robin Meade, who look fabulous singing the National Anthem.

Always great to see Coach Bowden, ya know it. Bowden had never been to a Sprint Cup race before, but figured he would enjoy it. After giving the command, he was fixin to find out.

It was good to get Bowden acquainted with Daytona International Speedway; giants in their own way in history here in the Sunshine State.  Go Seminoles!

I CURRENTLY HOLD SHARES IN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY CORPORATION (ISCA:NASDAQ) AND  THE COCA COLA COMPANY (KO:NYSE).