Humanity has been asking what is happiness and how to achieve it since the dawn of time, but still without a definitive resolution. The divergence of views on this subject is enormous, although it may be a good thing, because each individual can pursue happiness in their own way, which—according to the Declaration of Independence—is an inalienable right.
The latest report on new unemployment claims was abysmal, coming in at 4.4
million last week, some 100,000 more than surveyed economists had expected.
The continuous claims came in at just under 16 million, an all-time record.
Mainstream labor economists estimate that, all things considered, the actual
unemployment rate now (which is only officially reported with a lag) is above
20 percent—a rate not seen since the darkest days of the Great Depression.
Indeed, all of the job gains since the Great Recession have been wiped out in
just a matter of weeks.
“This is R. Nelson Nash” in His Own Words
The following was put together in January 2018 by R. Nelson Nash for the
2018 IBC Think Tank Conference. I thought it appropriate to share on the
anniversary of Nelson’s passing (27 March, 2019). — David Stearns
A person’s thoughts over a period of time ultimately results in a set of core
beliefs—a mindset—some call it a worldview—that controls human action
and gives life meaning and purpose.
Norman Vincent Peale’s Timeless Advice: Take Charge of Your Own Life, First
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s ideas are especially important today, when envy
and jealousy seem to permeate much of our politics.
by Lawrence W. Read
The more jealousy one has in his nature, the more critical he is of those who have accomplished things. If you are critical and mouthing negativisms it could be that your own failures are caused by a mixed-up, hate filled mind.
On March 27, 2019 — not two months after that year’s Think Tank — Nelson graduated (Passed Away). Things didn’t feel the same this time as we shuttled downtown late Tuesday morning. Though attendance this year would be the greatest in eight years, this one man’s absence was obvious and painful.
As in the grocery business that we discussed earlier, you must first study the banking business so that you have a firm grip on what it is all about and feel that you can run such a business. Without this confidence you are fighting a losing battle. This, too, is a very competitive business.
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has been throwing out so many ludicrous campaign promises that she makes Andrew Yang—the guy literally trying to send everyone a monthly check from Uncle Sam—look reasonable in comparison. Recently, in order to explain how she’d pay for her $52 trillion (over ten years) “Medicare for All” program, Warren doubled her proposed wealth tax on billionaires, from the original 3% now up to 6%.
To repeat, this is an annual tax on wealth, not on income.
The newfound openness of large numbers of Americans to socialism is, by now, a well documented phenomenon. According to a Gallup poll from earlier this year, 43% of Americans now believe that some form of socialism would be a good thing, in contrast to 51% who are still against it. A Harris poll found that four in ten Americans prefer socialism to capitalism. The trend is particular apparent in the young: another Gallup poll showed that as recently as 2010, 68% of people between 18 and 29 approved of capitalism, with only 51% approving of socialism, whereas in 2018, while the percentage among this age group favoring socialism was unchanged at 51%, those in favor of capitalism had dropped precipitously to 45%
Although the roughly two million affected residents of Northern California are recovering from the rolling blackouts imposed by utility PG&E, the company has warned that these “fire safety outages” may be periodically required for another decade. Naturally, California Governor Gavin Newsom decried the debacle as yet another example of “greed and neglect.” Yet as IER analyst Jordan McGillis explained in a previous article, the episode actually showcases the dangers of a government-imposed monopoly in electricity provision. In this article, I’ll elaborate on McGillis’ insights and show why the conventional economic rationale for government regulation of electric utilities is fundamentally flawed. Read More in BankNotes
Fractional reserve banking arises because banks legally are permitted to use money placed with them in demand deposits. Banks treat this type of money as if it was loaned to them.
