Archives for “Government”
Unlike the private sector, government accounting is unaccountable. Governments are free to toss out ridiculous figures without an audit or criticism – Pres. Obama’s stimuli have saved 3 million jobs, please. One way governments claim to save money is through creative financing that would be illegal in the private sector. One recent example is the [...]
In what is little surprise to anyone who is not a tort lawyer or megalomaniac Senator, government researchers determined that runaway Toyotas were caused by driver errors. While Toyota was quick to say that the matter is not yet settled, Shout Bits is now prepared to state that when an accelerator is pushed to the [...]
While hardly a household name, Dr. Harry Markowitz developed a new way of looking at savings and investment that has fundamentally changed the financial world. In the 1950′s, Markowitz quantified the benefits of diversification in one’s savings. Prior to his work, most investors thought in terms of individual good and bad investments, but Markowitz proved [...]
When Rep. Joe Barton apologized to BP Chairman Tony Hayward for Pres. Obama’s $20 bln “shakedown,” he used some indelicate words, but his point was valid. BP itself did not deserve an apology; it is fairly clear that they took irresponsible risks in their operations, and in any event caused an epic disaster. Barton should have [...]
Whenever someone says “you know I am good for it,” or “I am going to pay you back really soon,” or “I am just a little short right now,” it is safe to conclude that you are not going to be paid and that the person to whom you foolishly lent money is broke. When [...]
As ShoutBits reported nine months ago, some Congressmen want to unleash an unaccountable tyrant on investors in the form an autonomous SEC. Today the New York Times has reported that, surprise, a bunch of trial lawyers are pushing this idea as hard as they can. This bill must not become law if the US is [...]
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning limits on government charges, and, in connection therewith, reducing vehicle ownership taxes over four years to nominal amounts; ending taxes on vehicle rentals and leases; phasing in over four years a $10,000 vehicle sale price tax exemption; setting total yearly registration, license, and title [...]
Last week, Washington released the employment news, and it was bad. Nearly all the jobs added in May were from temporary government hires. While unemployment went down by a fraction, it was due to hundreds of thousands of people giving up on finding work. Without the effects of the Census hires, the economy nearly went [...]
I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking. Pres. Obama, August 6, 2009 Pres. Obama’s illiberal penchant for [...]
When Dr. Rand Paul won the GOP nomination to replace Sen. Bunning (7x MLB All Star and perfect game pitcher), liberty lovers could not believe their good fortune. Because The Senate is seated by statewide elections, its members are usually moderates (i.e. opportunists who twist with every political breeze). Who knew, maybe Sen. Coburn and [...]
This week the US Senate voted to outlaw earning frequent flyer miles from credit card transactions. Of course Sen. Durbin, the amendment’s sponsor, would not put it that way. Durbin rather said that by capping the fees charged to retailers, small businesses would benefit. Sadly, Durbin is wrong on both counts; his proposed law would [...]
Proving that the elves of Washington never sleep, the FCC moved to defy the DC Court of Appeals, which last month ruled that the FCC lacks the authority to impose ‘net neutrality’ on internet providers like Comcast. Whoever thinks Washington bureaucrats are lazy does not know how to motivate them: simply try to impose legal [...]
Contrary to mainstream media reports, the Tea Party movement has caught the imagination of a large body of the US. Reporters routinely underreport the attendance at these rallies, perhaps because they cannot believe that Tea Partiers are far more relevant and vibrant than their familiar subjects – peace protestors, anti- traders, and environmentalists. The big [...]
April 1, Birmingham, AL: A new software tool from the University of Alabama may help resolve the lingering confusion as to who is a dictator. Prof. Ted Snydman was inspired to develop his Automated Dictator Detector software (ADD) when he heard actor Sean Penn emphatically state that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez was not in fact [...]
The European Union’s uber-bureaucracy spent most of the last decade prosecuting Microsoft for monopoly abuse. While the EU could have looked to the US’s decade of Microsoft prosecution to see how pointless regulating the swift moving technology industry is, the feisty Europeans had to make their point. The EU’s complaint settled on the fact that [...]
The US Government’s balance sheet is looking a bit unsound lately – $12.4 trillion in public debt. Correcting for the Enron-like accounting that hides the Government’s Social Security and Medicare liabilities, the figure is estimated at $59 trillion. While “can’t” is not in the traditional American vernacular, repaying $59 trillion in debt, or even servicing [...]
This week five corporations, including BP and ConocoPhillips, dropped out of the US Climate Action Partnership (a.k.a. USCAP, with an emphasis on the 'CAP') an industry lobbyist group that sought to mollify the most aggressive instincts of 'green' and government organizations while at the same time advance the environmentalist agenda. USCAP's membership is chock full of corporations that will not benefit from cap and trade laws, yet they lobbied for them. One might assume that five brave corporations saw that global warming is more political than science based, and they made a principled stand by dropping out of USCAP. The real reason is more pedestrian, and a little sad.
When politicians want more money, they rarely ask honestly. V.P. Biden called paying extra taxes a “patriotic duty.” Colorado passed a multi-billion dollar tax increase, Referendum C, by calling it the “Economic Recovery Act.” Sen. R. Dole and Pres. Reagan passed the “Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982.” Lotteries, a tax on stupidity, [...]
This week, the Colorado Legislature debated HB1001, a proposal to require utilities to get 30% of their electricity from so called renewable energy sources within ten years, up from close to zero today. Not only is the proposal ill-conceived and expensive, it is technically impossible too. Best of all, according to Colorado Democrats, utility rates [...]
Last Tuesday, Massachusetts voters selected an anathema, a Republican, as their new Senator. Such was their disgust with the general atmosphere in Washington that the deepest blue State chose an unknown GOP novice over a reliable Democrat party-line politician. In response to the blood-bath, Obama said, correctly, that the same dissatisfaction with Washington that swept [...]
At the time of this entry, Massachusetts voters are deciding on their next Senator. A fresh poll shows the GOP candidate Scott Brown up by 9 points. Given AG Coakley’s desperate thrashing to the finish line, Brown’s chances look good. Amazing as that is, the real political tsunami will hit the House. Rep. Stupak and [...]
In keeping with their campaign promises, the Obama Administration is moving the 9/11 terrorists from Cuba to the US to stand trial, effectively giving them the full protection of the US Constitution. Today, A.G. Eric Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be tried, in all places, New York, the very place he is alleged [...]
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