Category: Economics

You thought Obamacare was bad, this man is the reason why.

After 7 long years of Obamacare, and seeing exactly how its implementation has reeked havoc on 1/6th of the economy and turned the insurance business into the largest government “healthcare” program ever, we come to this interview with Jonathan Gruber, one of the master minds behind the program. Watch in amazement the convolution and the idiocy of his defense of the success of Obamacare.

“China on Top” Documentary

China on Top
China on Top: How China is Using America’s Playbook to Take Over the World

I ran across this documentary a while back and a had been holding the page open in a browser tab until I could get a chance to watch it. Finally had a bit of time to do so. This brief documentary is a bit of an eye opener. I think we can all recognize that China is major player on the global stage both economically and politically. But I don’t think we, the People and many in government office in the United States, are fully grasping the aspirations and consequences of China’s rising prominence; nor are we in a good place economically, politically or socially to deal effectively with the changing geopolitical landscape of a rising China.

What prompted me to get back to this was this tweet:


Do you notice anything about this map?  Maybe how often the Chinese flag appears across the globe, including the United States. Maybe how often the Chinese flag appears in countries that the United States might want to have the most economic and political influence.

This documentary is a glimpse of a preventable near future, but we need to wake up.  Like, now.

While we’re busy with endless foreign wars wasting blood and money on people groups who don’t know how or want to be free, China is rising. While we bicker and complain about budgets in Congress, we continue our fiscal irresponsibility. While the President talks about creating jobs, he’s too busy using government mandates to businesses to initiate and prop up failing social programs, rather than institute real pro-business, pro-growth, job creating policies, China rises. While our corporations are busy chasing the quarterly growth numbers and looking out for “the best interests of share holders”, China uses our own dollars to slowly buy our businesses, media, farms, lands and real estate. China rises. While our educational institutions continue to brainwash our children about how much America sucks, China rises.

Before you simply dismiss this as some anti-China rant, hear me: this isn’t about China, this is about America. A little nationalism is good. Patriotism is good. “E pluribus unum” is good; holding fast to and practicing the Constitutional ideals that make America unique among nations is good.

Our feckless political, educational and business leaders have sold out our country culturally, socially, and financially, and it’s past time to wake up. It’s almost too late.

What has happened to the “shining city on a hill”?

Watch the full version of Reagan’s Farewell Address if you have the time.

Economics: Killing the American Dream

There has been a swell of anti-capitalist sentiment in the last decade. That sentiment is reflected in how our government views business based on laws passed and regulations created.  At times, our government treats businesses as if they were just an extension of government benefit programs or tools to push current ideological agendas. We forget that the primary purpose of a business is to derive a profit from the supply of goods and services.  “Job creation” is not a primary purpose of business, it is a side affect of a successful business.  “Wage growth” is not a primary function of business, it is a side affect of healthy competition for labor resources among thriving businesses.

We don’t have to look much farther than our own federal, state, and local governments to understand the economic impacts on businesses (and by extension the economy as a whole) of taxation, over regulation and government mandates. Here’s a brief video from Prager University that succinctly demonstrates how things like Obamacare and minimum wage increases squelch entrepreneurship and kill businesses rather than promote business creation and expand economic opportunity.

Economics: Ford, Mexico and Government Regulations

I recommend reading Marita Noon’s article at TownHall titled: Blame for Ford’s Mexico Move Falls On Obama Administration. In one brief read you’ll begin to understand the impact government over-regulation has on businesses and job creation/retention in our country.

If you don’t have time to read the article, the Obama administration, in their quest to save the world, have implemented aggressive CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) rules for automakers in the US.  In order to meet these standards, auto manufacturers must build small, highly fuel efficient vehicles so that they meet the CAFE standard.  However, several factors make these car models very low margin. So, in order to save money and increase margins, like any good business out to turn a profit, they look for cost cutting measures like moving production to low wage countries.

Folks, to say things like “Mexico is taking our jobs!” is short sighted.  We need to ask, “Why are corporations taking their manufacturing elsewhere?” It’s not as simple as wages are lower someplace else, or “Mexico bad”. We have an incredibly burdensome regulatory state, powered by an ever increasing federal (and state) government bureaucratic class. From CAFE standards to licensing for hair braiders it all has an measurable effect on the economy. When our President and Congress address these issues, then some of these jobs will stay in America. But don’t hold your breath.

Raising the Minimum Wage? Does Anyone Understand Economics?

Watching the Democrat debate (I know right) tonight and surfing Twitter, and ran across the tweets below.  This won’t be the “news” of the debate, but something I wanted to comment on. Because I’m thinking most people (about 68% of people including 92% of Democrats) really don’t know anything about macro economics.

Look, just like you, I’d love for everyone to earn a good wage; however, there are a lot of caveats that go along with that remark, primarily the definition of what a “good wage” is in this country. Flipping burgers was never meant to be a career that sustains a family. Those jobs, minimum wage jobs, used to be mostly filled by young people who needed a job to earn a few bucks in spending money and get their foot in the door. They are low skilled jobs, and thus have low wages. Unfortunately we’ve exported millions of “next-step” jobs overseas, the ones you move on to when you’re tired of flipping burgers or get beyond a high school education.  Because of the exporting of those jobs, our Government and Business Class has gutted America’s middle class, and has created a permanent service sector underclass that is totally reliant on a minimum wage.

You can be sure that most Americans don’t really understand the systemic effects of minimum wage increases. Even the Congressional Budget Office predicts job losses on the order of 1,000,000 jobs with an increase of the minimum wage to just $10.10.  Our Democrat candidates want to push that to $15.00. Read for yourself what our own government says the effects of raising the minimum wage are. Raising the minimum wage is a band aid. To be sure it will benefit some wage earners, but it will slowly suck the life out the economy through inflationary effects and increased automation and self-service. Leading to fewer jobs at the low end of the market, and increased competition for those with low levels of education and skills.

The solution to “a living wage” is not going to be found by continued Government intervention in the labor market by setting wage floors. Policies that promote growth, investment, and culling unnecessary regulations on the business side and education (but not free tuition) need to be the primary focus if we want to see jobs created and wages increase in the USA. From what I’m hearing at the Democrat debate tonight, all we’re going to get is more government subsidization, and thus ever increasing debt.