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October 14, 2008

Obama's Plan for Redistribution of Wealth

Socialism: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

Behold Obama's vision for America...we'll take your hard-earned money away from you and give it to other people who aren't as "lucky."



h/t: American Truckers at War

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Posted by Pam Meister at 11:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Economy

June 06, 2007

Today's Must-Read: Walter Williams

Walter Williams, along with Thomas Sowell, are two of the brightest and most thoughtful minds in America today. In Williams' column on Town Hall today, he picks up on a theme of recent articles by Thomas Sowell about the "war of words" and parlays it into a simple lesson on economics.

Liberals often denounce free markets as immoral. The reality is exactly the opposite. Free markets, characterized by peaceable, voluntary exchange, with respect for property rights and the rule of law, are more moral than any other system of resource allocation. Let's examine just one reason for the superior morality of free markets.

Read it all.

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Posted by Pam Meister at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Economy

January 12, 2007

Minimum Wage Hike Excludes American Samoa

On Wednesday, the House passed the minimum wage increase bill that, if passed by the Senate and not vetoed by President Bush, means that the minimum wage in the US and its territories (Puerto Rico, etc.) will rise from $5.15/hr to $7.25/hr. Its lack of economic sense aside (Thomas Sowell tells us why), you may be interested to know that American Samoa has been exempted from this bill.

American Samoa? How many people even know where American Samoa is? (See the map below.) And why would this tiny island be exempt from a potential law that is supposed to, according to Democrats, benefit the poor, oppressed workers from the evil businessmen who exploit them?

It turns out that Star Kist Tuna is the biggest employer on the island. Star Kist is owned by Del Monte. And guess where Del Monte's headquarters is located? San Francisco...home of violent thugs (who don't like the Star Spangled Banner) and...Nancy Pelosi.

Coincidence? Sorry Charlie, but something's fishy here.

AmSamoa.gif
Pelosi playing favorites with this island paradise?

On a tip from V the K via Moonbattery.

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Posted by Pam Meister at 10:02 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Economy

January 10, 2007

Less than 1%

That's the (approximate) percentage of homeless people we have in our country.

WASHINGTON (AP) - There were 744,000 homeless people in the United States in 2005, according to the first national estimate in a decade. A little more than half were living in shelters, and nearly a quarter were chronically homeless, according to the report Wednesday by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an advocacy group.

That's right. In a country that topped 300,000,000 people last year, less than 1% are without homes (0.248% to be exact). That's lower than the jobless average (which last checked in at 4.5%).

While the reasons for this can vary widely from individual to individual, I find it very reassuring that so comparatively few people here are living in the streets. To hear activists talk, I would have expected the number to be much higher. (But if you'll read the article linked above, you won't find any mention of percentages.)

Aaron at Lifelike Pundits adds his two cents.

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Posted by Pam Meister at 06:46 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Economy

December 05, 2006

Hollywood's Economic Illiteracy

Regular readers of this blog already know how much I admire Thomas Sowell and his writings. His article today on Town Hall is no exception. He writes of the economic illiteracy that runs rampant in Hollywood and elswhere on the left:

The Los Angeles Times refers to documentary "films" that are "critical of corporate power." But just what does this vague word "power" mean when it comes to businesses?

Wal-Mart is the big bugaboo these days but what "power" does Wal-Mart have? I lived three-quarters of a century without ever setting foot in a Wal-Mart store and there is not a thing they can do about it.

It so happened that this past summer in Page, Arizona, I needed to buy some toiletries, which caused me to go into a nearby Wal-Mart for the first time. Inside, it looked more like a small city than a large store. But the prices were noticeably lower than in most other places. Is that the much-dreaded "power"?

Apparently Wal-Mart does not pay its employees as much as third-party observers would like to see them paid. But obviously it is not paying them less than their work is worth to other employers or they probably would not be working at Wal-Mart. Moreover, third parties who wax indignant are paying them nothing.

The paragraph I bolded above made me laugh out loud. Read the whole article to discover for yourself (if you haven't already) why Thomas Sowell is truly an American treasure.

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Posted by Pam Meister at 08:58 AM | Comments (25) | TrackBack (0) | Economy

May 10, 2006

Profit...It's A Good Thing

One of my favorite people, Walter Williams, has something to say about a dirty little word: profit.

One of the wonderful things about free markets is that the path to greater wealth comes not from looting, plundering and enslaving one's fellow man, as it has throughout most of human history, but by serving and pleasing him. Many of the wonderful achievements of the 20th century were the result of the pursuit of profits. Unfortunately, demagoguery has led to profits becoming a dirty word. Nonprofit is seen as more righteous, particularly when people pompously stand before us and declare, "We're a nonprofit organization."

Read the whole thing.

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Posted by Pam Meister at 02:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Economy

November 30, 2005

I Live in the Nation's Wealthiest State...Big Deal

Connecticut is now considered the country's wealthiest state, with the median household income of $56,409. The country's average is $43,318.

What the article doesn't mention is the price of living. The national median home price is $187,500. The median price for a home in Connecticut is $219,900.

Don't pack your duds for that move to Connecticut just yet!

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Posted by Pam Meister at 07:05 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (1) | Economy

November 29, 2005

It's the Economy, Stupid!

Yes, it's the economy...the economy that everyone thinks is in the toilet. Well it's not:

The U.S. economy has been surprisingly resilient this year and is expected to grow by 3.6 percent in 2005 despite the difficulties posed by both oil prices and hurricanes -- the latter cutting 0.5 percentage points from growth on an annual basis in the second half of the year.

Overall activity is expected to return to trend in early 2006 and then be somewhat higher, taking growth for the full year to 3.5 percent, 20 basis points higher than the 3.3 percent forecast by the OECD in its last report in May.

That's not all:

Business spending is also growing quickly, unemployment has dropped toward its equilibrium level and export growth is being supported by the respending of higher oil revenues by oil producers.

The Bush administration needs to be tooting its horn not only on the Iraqi front, but the economic front as well. Come on, guys!

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Posted by Pam Meister at 12:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Economy

March 17, 2005

Why NOT Paul Wolfolwitz?

The New York Times is still sniveling about President Bush's nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to be president of the World Bank. In an editorial today, the Times says,

Even those who supported the goals of the invasion must remember Mr. Wolfowitz's scathing contempt for estimates that the occupation of Iraq would require hundreds of thousands of troops, and his serene conviction that American soldiers would be greeted with flowers. Like the nomination of John Bolton as United Nations ambassador, the choice of Mr. Wolfowitz is a slap at the international community, which widely deplored the invasion and the snubbing of the United Nations that accompanied it.

But wasn't Wolfowitz right?

We didn't need hundreds of thousands of troops. Nearly two years after we went in, Iraq had their first free elections since Saddam Hussein took control of the country over thirty years ago. Iraqi troops and police are being trained, and while President Bush is (correctly) not predicting when we'll be able to bring our troops home permanently, things are looking a lot better in Iraq now then back in 2003.

Then of course, there's that annoying little word invasion. Usually when one country invades another, it's to take it over...like when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. But of course, we can't expect the Timesto admit that our presence in Iraq wasn't to conquer it, but to liberate it.

Paul Wolfowitz was instrumental in Iraq's success. He laid the groundwork, helping the country to get out of a terrible mess. And that's a big reason why he'd be so great as president of the World Bank. Don't forget, the World Bank is a United Nations institution...and we've seen how well the UN has been doing of late (Oil for Food and sex scandals in Africa come immediately to mind). Some consider the UN to be sacrosanct, above question. But the bloated bureacracy's credibility continues to unravel at an alarming pace. If we won't get out of the UN, at least we should be sending good people there. John Bolton will be another great addition as the US ambassador.

So Wolfowitz made the international community feel bad? Good gravy, when is the Times and the other leftist media going to let go of that old chestnut? It's so tiring to hear of how we need to take the international community's interests in mind before we do so much as sneeze. Should we use Kleenex brand tissue? Scott? Scented or unscented (mustn't annoy people allergic to perfume)? Recycled?

Ugh. We snubbed the UN...boo hoo. The UN and its other member countries couldn't bring themselves to make good on the numerous resolutions it made regarding Saddam's dangerous activities while dictator...er, president of Iraq. Then, when the big bad United States decided to finally do something about it, suddenly Saddam's wasn't such a villain...he's just needed some more time to see the light. "Let the inspectors do their jobs." It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

What it boils down to is the Times can barely give Bush credit for all of the good his policies are doing in Iraq and elswhere in the Middle East, let alone having the man who helped carry them out be a part of their precious, progressive UN. They also can't stand the fact that Bush continues to do what he feels is best for the interests of the United States without asking for the world's permission. Did France and Russia ask us if it was okay to sell arms to Iraq when sanctions were supposedly in place? But to ask that question would be tatamount to admitting there's a double standard in place. The Times must do all it can to maintain its lame fiction of being an impartial recorder of "all the news that's fit to print."

The hate America drum corps marches on, with the New York Times up front with the baton. I'm looking forward to its disbanding.

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Posted by Pam Meister at 02:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Economy


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