Thatcher's Big Mistake

ortegan · April 16, 2013, 1:51am

Today's Newswire

Apr. 12.13

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Why Obscure Freedom's Fundamental Facts?

Friday, April 12, 2013 – By Staff Report

The 'laws of economics' don't exist ... In a world increasingly framed by economic debates, the phrase "the laws of economics" has become ever more prevalent ... Referencing "the laws of economics" as a way to refute arguments or criticize ideas has the patina of clarity and certainty. The reality is that referencing such laws is simply another way to justify beliefs and inclinations. I may agree that the war on drugs is flawed, but not because it violates "laws of economics" but rather because it fails in most of its basic goals. The test of whether government spending or central bank easing is good policy should be whether they succeed in ameliorating the problems of stagnant growth and high unemployment, not on what the "laws of economics" erroneously say about certain future outcomes. – Reuters
Dominant Social Theme: Everything is relative.
Free-Market Analysis: It is Austrian economics that underlies much of what passes for the mainstream economic conversation. Austrian free-market economics was always the underlying target of the financial press, even before free-market economics went mainstream following the advent of the Internet.
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Austerity Comes to America

Friday, April 12, 2013 – By Staff Report

The Scary Message for Everybody in Obama's Budget ... Most Americans will ignore the dickering over the federal budget that President Barack Obama wants Congress to pass this year. But there's an important message for just about everybody in that budget: The pain is going to get worse. It would be easy to conclude that Washington has imposed enough austerity on the U.S. economy already, given the tax hikes and spending cuts that have already gone into effect this year. Those measures, if they stick, will reduce the national debt by perhaps $2.5 trillion during the next decade. But that's not enough. – U.S.News & World Report
Dominant Social Theme: The US must go through a European-style austerity.
Free-Market Analysis: People don't seem to realize that a Greek-style austerity is being imposed on the US. It is actually an International Monetary Fund oriented solution. Taxes and regulations increase and public benefits go down. The only part not being applied currently is a massive program of privatization.
Both Republicans and Democrats are responsible for the current debacle that will not do much to increase US productivity but will, in a fiat money environment, do a great deal to retard growth and ensure the US remains mired in its Great Recession.
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The China Syndrome and the African Gambit

Friday, April 12, 2013 – By Staff Report

China posts surprise trade deficit for March ...China swung to a trade deficit of $880 million in March, the General Administration of Customs reported Wednesday, as imports surged 14.1% from a year earlier. The deficit, which followed February's $15.2 billion surplus, missed a forecast for a surplus of $14.7 billion from a Dow Jones Newswires survey and a $15.2 billion projected surplus tipped by Bloomberg News. − MarketWatch
Dominant Social Theme: China has conquered its minor economic problems and is re-emerging as the world's marketplace powerhouse.
Free-Market Analysis: We are not surprised that China imported more than it exported in March. The idea that has gained in currency in China is that since the West can no longer be an engine of consumerism, China will have to turn its own citizens into consumers.
We were always doubtful that this idea was a sensible one. Less than 70 years ago, Chinese society was imprisoning its intellectuals and sending previously wealthy individuals to spread night-soil in fallow fields to fertilize them. Any hint of erudition or intellectual aspiration was looked upon with suspicion and could end badly – in prison or even execution.
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Was Cyprus Attack Also an Attack on Gold?

Friday, April 12, 2013 – By Staff Report

Are We About to See a Global Gold Selling Spree? ... Heavily indebted euro zone nations such as Italy and Portugal could come under pressure to put their bullion reserves to work as a result of plans for Cyprus to sell gold to meet its financing needs. A European Commission assessment of what Cyprus needs to do as part of its European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout showed Cyprus is expected to sell in excess gold reserves to raise around 400 million euros ($523 million). Other struggling euro area countries may be pushed to take note. Between them, for example, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, hold more than 3,230 metric tons (3561 tons) of gold between them, worth nearly 125 billion euros at today's prices. − Reuters
Dominant Social Theme: Gold is not a good investment.
Free-Market Analysis: Globalists hate gold. Those who want to expand internationalism find it much more convenient to do so via fiat money than in any other way.
Central bank fiat-money expansions drive internationalism in much the same way as global trade agreements. These are the twin engines of worldwide commerce and as they are both government operated, they generate a planned and controllable internationalism that does not equitably distribute prosperity but actively retards it.