Recession of 2008
Liberty Paper # 1
ESSAY, January 2008
When you cook a frog you don't throw him into boiling water or he will jump out. However, if you put him in warm water and slowly turn the temperature up he will swim around docilely, until he wakes up dead. My fellow Americans, we are the frog and the recent Fed Chairmen are the wizardly chefs. Because the actions of Fed are often separated from the reactions or consequences, because an event appears to be corrected by the enlargement of our money, and because the Fed along with our ruling political class have an interest to conceal or deflect derogatory consequences, we have allowed the Fed to open the monetary spigot causing the run-up in oil, causing the run-up in commodity prices and abrogating our position as reserve currency as well as our position of monetary leadership in the world. In this paper, we will endeavor to discuss how we got where we are, mostly from a monetary point of view, and to a lesser degree from a fiscal point of view. By separating fact from fiction, we will expose the severe costs sustained by the Fed's weak dollar policies over the last 15 years. We will also strongly argue that both Mr. Greenspan and Mr. Bernanke completely understood the consequences of their actions and completely failed to disclose these derogatory consequences to the American Public. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PAPER and print it out for off-line reading--PDF File
BIO-FUELS: THE POLITICALLY CORRECT SOLUTION VS. THE UNTOLD COST Liberty Paper # 2
ESSAY # 3, March 26, 2007
Within the last two to three years our social system has sustained a doubling in the cost of oil. In an effort to mitigate the social stress emanating from our mounting dependence on increasingly expensive imported oil, our Government has chosen to subsidize the production of ethanol. As authorized by Congress in 2004, the current subsidy on ethanol is $.51 per gallon, which is a rate that has encouraged the production of ethanol as an expensive substitute for gasoline. This subsidy amounted to approximately $2 billion on about 3.9 billion gallons of ethanol produced in 2005, while capacity increased to 4.8 billion gallons or approximately $2.5 billion in 2006. Not surprisingly, the public has eagerly jumped on the ethanol band wagon. Though public favor and support for this bio-fuel conversion are obvious, we should stop to consider the untold costs of this adaptation of ethanol to fuel. After all, what will the costs of federal intervention be and by how much will our welfare be reduced from the Government-supported use of ethanol? CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PAPER and print it out for off-line reading--PDF File, 8 pages
FOREIGN TRADE: Be Careful What You Wish For!
Liberty Paper # 3
ESSAY # 2, March 20, 2007
On March 19, 2007, China announced that it would cease investing in all foreign exchange reserves. As the largest reserve currency China holds is the dollar, over one trillion dollars in surplus reserves, with as much as $750 billion in surplus dollars, this means trouble for the U.S.! How will the effect of reduced Chinese investment influence the value of the dollar, given our lopsided trade imbalance? Specifically, China's withdrawal can be viewed from the frame of reference of its influence on our twin deficits and subsequently on our national welfare. However, to first understand the current state of our deficits, we must have a keen grasp of how they were created and whom they benefit. Considering both recent political posturing regarding the Chinese currency and our current administration's position in favor of an upward revaluation of the Yuan, we will paint a clear picture of the dilemma at-hand and reveal who is really at risk. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PAPER and print it out for off-line reading--PDF file, 7 pages
IMMIGRATION
Liberty Paper # 4
ESSAY # 2, April 16, 2007
From its inception, our nation has directly reflected the diversity and strengths of its immigrants, as they often provided the very vigor and determination that shaped our fragile notions of freedom into realities. As traditional immigration to the U.S. has been solely based on an immigrant's dual desires for freedom from oppression and the opportunity to increase his welfare, there is no doubt that migrants made our homeland prosper. However, over the last half century, for many foreigners both the inspiration of liberty and the hope for prosperity have been subjugated by another, socially less desirable motive to immigrate to the U.S: easily accessible federally sponsored economic transfers and entitlements. It is this third motive that must be thoroughly discussed in the context of its derogatory impact on the future welfare of the citizenry of our nation. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PAPER and print it out for off-line reading--PDF file, 8 pages
PRODUCTIVITY
Liberty Paper # 5
ESSAY # 1, March 15, 2007
Our nation's productivity for the decade that spanned from 1995 through 2005, as compiled by the government, averaged approximately 2.7%, an extraordinarily high growth rate for productivity, while the average for the preceding two decades was approximately 1.7% per annum. Last week our government revised the productivity number for 2006 down to 1.6%, a decline of approximately 1% from the preceding decade's average. This recent figure gives rise to certain important questions that will help us determine if the recent number is evidence of a return to a more tepid productivity period or merely a cyclical decline in an ongoing high-productivity environment. To know the answer, we first must discuss the likely underpinnings of the recent period of high productivity, and then determine if they are still in place. Was the recent surge in productivity due to federal policy initiates? If so, are they still in place? If not does present federal policy have a negative or positive effect on productivity for the future? Were the primary causes of the recent surge in productivity exogenous events? Are they still present? If not, what is a reasonable expectation for future productivity? Finally, what are the effects of productivity on our economy and our welfare? CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PAPER or to print it out for off-line reading--PDF file, 7 pages
The Economics of MEDICINE
Liberty Paper # 6
ESSAY, June 2008
This paper is intended to raise certain cost concerns surrounding the implementation and allocation of scarce medical services through our third-party payer system. Liberty Party U.S.A. hopes to increase the awareness of how much of the medical dollar is spent on expenses unrelated to medical care, including but not limited to 1) costs of filing claims; 2) cost incurred through imposition of third party–payer schedules on medical treatment; 3) costs of litigation; 4) indirect costs of patients' unrealistic expectations; 5) federal regulation costs; 6) state regulation costs; and 7) costs of subsidized care, direct and indirect. Although we attempt to do a back-of-the-envelope estimate of total unrelated expense of the administration of medical care, more importantly, we require these expenses to be considered in any discussion that endeavors to maximize medical care, to bring the greatest good for the greatest number. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PAPER and print it out for off-line reading--PDF file, 16 pages
What Is Liberty?
Liberty Paper # 7
SPEECH, April 19th, 2009
Liberty is not simply a state of mind. To enjoy liberty, people must be free to act. Coercion is the enemy of liberty. We create governments to protect our liberty from being impinged on by others. Exercising freedom requires personal acceptance of responsibilities and consequences. Freedom only exists when individuals can act on choices to incur a perceived benefit at a perceived cost.
In order to receive a maximum benefit from a free choice, the action must be self-determined, purposeful, and not forced. The actual benefit and expense from a free choice is determined by the effectiveness of the action. This may or may not match the expected cost/benefit. However, maximum welfare is only achieved when the costs as well as the benefits are internalized to the actor. This is the essence of liberty. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PAPER and print it out for off-line reading--PDF file, 3 pages