A Little Bit of Freedom Relinquished is a Lot

Tumblr CEO David Karp joined the gang on CNBC's Squawk Box on Tuesday morning for a discussion on Net Neutrality.  It was an eye opening interview to be sure.  Take a listen:



Karp is nothing short of a moron, and it is mind boggling he has obtained the level of success he has.  What he knows about economics and freedom you could put in a thimble. Even though Andrew Ross Sorkin made valiant effort to bail out Karp, he firmly established himself as ill-equipped for such discussion.

I can assure you, as both Becky Quick and Joe Kernen pointed out, that companies are not going to spend money when they are assured of no return on investment, unless as Karp pontificated, we are in "new world" of socialism and "deals" with no return on investment leading promptly to bankruptcy.

In addition, Karp, no doubt inadvertently, noted how a "blessed a handful of partners" (crony capitalism) will do deals to present the next emerging platform.  Without a return on investment, perhaps Karp envisions the taxpayers funding these operations.

Meanwhile, Glenn Beck spoke with somebody, who even as an Obama supporter, understands the subject and the potential future role the legislation will play in the marketplace in Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.  Take a listen to the bleak picture Cuban foresees:



Although the particulars of the regulation are being hidden from the American people, who will have to learn about the horrors of it after it is passed, Net Neutrality is being shopped as regulating the allowance of everyone to get full bandwidth at even costs, fixing a problem that is not currently broken.

Net Neutrality, while allowing the government regulatory oversight it currently does not have and a taxation mechanism for a starving beast in the federal government, is actually a hidden vehicle to silence political opponents. With Net Neutrality, economic control by government will expand and freedom will retract, and a widespread assault on freedom of speech, something once upon a time we fought to the death to preserve, will commence.

NOTE: In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a longtime shareholder of both AT&T (T:NYSE) and Level 3 Communications (LVLT:NASDAQ).

Jail The Looters

In the aftermath of the greatest financial crisis in a half century, progressives who seek additional governmental control jumped at the chance to increase financial regulatory instruments. Never let a crisis go to waste, you will recall.

Charged with crafting such policy were two Congressional members, both of whom should be investigated for their role in the collapse, Senator Barney Frank, D:MA and Congressman Chris Dodd, D:CT. Exactly what our corrupt government needed, inmates running the asylum.

With the Democrats holding super majorities in both Houses, the Dodd-Frank Bill became law. The basic purpose of the law is to prohibit fraud and chicanery in the financial system.

Someone forgot to tell former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, who was recently under consideration by the Obama administration as a potential successor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. After losing the governors race, Corzine, a Democrat, became Chairman of MF Global, and under his leadership, the company has filed for bankruptcy and is the subject of an FBI investigation. In short, the money is missing.

Bart Chilton, CFTC Commissioner who is on the circuit promoting his new book Ponzimonium, chats with The Squawk Box Crew; Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Joe Kernen, and guest host Mario Gabelli, on the recent increase of Ponzi Schemes and the goings on at MF Global. Take a listen:

The situation over at MF Global is very troubling and funds cannot be properly accounted for. Many investors appear out a lot of money, including Trends Research founder Gerald Celente, whose gold has seemingly turned to dust. The company cannot make investors whole, and Chilton says it is "suspicious as heck".

It should noted that existing regulatory agencies and the new far reaching Dodd-Frank bill, a job killing beast smothering business, failed miserably to prohibit Corzine and this group from crashing to bankruptcy, allegedly for the misappropriation of funds.

Remember in "Its A Wonderful Life" when the money went missing. George Bailey, upset with Uncle Billy, angrily quipped 'someone is going to jail, and it ain't gonna me me". Well, back in the day, folks did go to Sing Sing when money went missing.

It will be interesting to see, provided the allegations result in malfeasance and charges, if Democrat darling Corzine is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. You know how George Bailey would feel about it, but good guys are not winning these days.