Category: Economics | Page 11

502 – Gods of the machinations

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Apr 272017

ECONOMICS – In One Uneasy Lesson: It is often difficult to reconcile the stark contrast between reports that the economy is improving and/or performing well, and those suggesting that the growing condition of poverty is reaching a crisis stage.

Some explain the contrast using the “one per cent” theory. They argue that the economy is doing well for the one percent, but not for the rest. There’s a grain of truth to that statistic, but not in the sense intended. Once understood, it is simply not a cause for concern.

For many attempting to keep from becoming part of the poverty statistics, it is the intricacies and challenges of finding a job, establishing a career, or embarking upon a new financial venture that is the real concern. These concerns simply cannot be reflected in economic/political statistics or theories – no matter how accurate or valid.

The theoretically accurate principles of economics can be taught in one simple lesson, as Henry Hazlitt demonstrated in his 1946 economic masterpiece, Economics in One Lesson, a lesson that was easily expressed in two to three pages. Continue reading »

498 – Venezuela’s incredible dread machine / His story – Marc Emery, The Prince of Pot

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Mar 302017

Turns out there’s little difference between a country “going to pot,” and one not allowing free market sales of pot. To prove the point, two seemingly unrelated recent events in two different parts of the world have demonstrated that when it comes to crony politics, state monopolies, and greedy politicians, every country has its share.

In Venezuela, people lined the streets to buy bread from their local private bakeries. Now the bread lines are gone because the bakeries are gone, declared illegal by Venezuela’s socialist government that has chosen to distribute the bread via its state monopoly.

In Canada, people lined the streets to buy cannabis at private dispensaries. Now the lines are gone because the dispensaries are gone, declared illegal by Canada’s crony-influenced government that has chosen to restrict and monopolize cannabis distribution.

To most, Canada’s current “pot sales crisis” naturally pales when compared to Venezuela’s “bread sales crisis.” After all, a shortage of food merits far greater urgency than does a restricted market in cannabis, especially when runaway inflation is part of the crisis. Continue reading »

493 – Ending the limits on the Uber debate

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Feb 232017

In the city of London Ontario last week, a 7-6 municipal council vote defeating a motion to force cameras into vehicles driven by Uber drivers was seen as a victory for the ride-sharing company. But the conflict between the taxi “industry” and the Uber “ride sharing service” is certainly far from over.

Vowing to “regroup” after the municipal vote setback, Roger Caranci of the London Taxi Association has been single-mindedly pushing a “safety first” justification for continuing the local taxi monopoly and maintaining the limit on the number of taxis permitted to operate in the city. It is a strategy that has remained unchanged since his first live on-air debate with Bob Metz in 2015, through his second live debate with Bob in 2016 and through his live appearance on talk radio following the municipal vote last week.

On today’s broadcast of Just Right, you’ll get to hear their on-going debate in a way that will leave no doubts in your mind about the one huge taboo topic that Mr. Caranci and the taxi industry fear most: any discussion of taxi limits.

Refusing to discuss limits forces the discussion to one of irrelevant distractions employed to keep everyone’s attention away from the limits. Continue reading »

489 – The very Presidential Donald J. Trump / Unfettered capitalism

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Jan 262017

In keeping with past Inauguration addresses made by American presidents, Donald Trump‘s Inauguration Address last Friday turned out to be very presidential indeed.

Criticized as being a “dark speech” the likes of which has never been heard before, it would be more accurate to suggest that Trump’s Inaugural Address followed a tradition that has been a presidential practice since the days of John Adams, the second president of the United States.

The parallels are striking and are part of the conversation on today’s Just Right, along with our point-by-point analysis of some key essentials in Trump’s address. Could Donald Trump’s address be resurrecting the symbolic “ghost” of John Adams?

“A nation exists to serve its citizens,” Trump declared, in stark contrast to the opposing philosophy that has been running the White House since the days of John F Kennedy.

Under Trump’s “America first” agenda, is “Buy American” an un-American slogan? Can trade restrictions and import/export taxes possibly benefit the general welfare, or are they simply a continuation of crony politics that benefit the few at the expense of the many? Continue reading »

488 – For the love of money / Freedom: The unknown ideal

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Jan 192017

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY – FOR THE LOVE OF LIFE: “Tyranny of the rich?” That’s rich! But it’s a common belief among those who have a limited understanding (or outright dislike) of capitalism and what that word truly represents.

“Capitalism is slavery,” is another epistemological contradiction that is often heard in the blind rage against the singular economic system that is the very opposite of slavery.

Or maybe you’ve heard these before: “Capitalists prey on the poor” or “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

These are, of course, demonstrable falsehoods. Yet many accept these bromides as truths. To be able to counter these tragic misunderstandings (or to discover sinister intentions), one must be intellectually and morally armed against them.

On today’s Just Right, you’ll hear our response to these and many more similar bromides that lead to tragic outcomes when practiced as truths. Continue reading »

471 – The death cult of the Left / Feminism’s pole dance

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Sep 222016

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:42 — 68.5MB) | Embed

Are some people happy to be sad? There appears to be much evidence that this is so. Sadly, misery loves company.

Sadder still, today’s political trend is one that will soon provide more company for misery. Misery also loves the left.

The political pursuit of misery is a reality and comes in many forms. Misery is delivered with the fulfilled promises of socialism, communism, fascism, progressivism, theocracy, anarchy, fighting climate change, and other something-for-nothing fantasies sold as political ideals.

Of course, what’s really being pursued by those doing the ‘pursuing’ is power; misery is merely the price suffered by the body politic for that pursuit.

The trail of sadness left in the wake of these false ideologies permeates the cultures and the minds of the individuals who both willingly and unwillingly become its victims. From hope to hopelessness, from meaningful purpose to meaninglessness, and from prosperity to mere subsistence and existence, the direction of our current political trends is not even denied by those who advocate them. Continue reading »

470 – Buying the bull about capitalism

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Sep 152016

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:42 — 68.5MB) | Embed

‘PEOPLE BEFORE’ PROPHETS: Are you buying all the bull about capitalism? Or are you buying all the bull about socialism?

One of the more popular manifestations of the misguided debate is the often spouted slogan, which is strongly believed by virtually all those on the left, and meekly accepted by most right-wingers: “People Before Profit.”

“People before profit” is an evil idea, and is no philosophy.

It is a call for outright theft and expropriation, plain and simple. It cannot possibly mean anything else and should be morally condemned whenever encountered.

The desire to live without effort at the forced expense of others is at the root of all the world’s evils. Whether called socialism, communism, fascism, or progressivism, It is humanity’s most self-destructive tendency. From slavery to war, and all social and political evils in between, that evil desire turned into action is and has been the cause of untold misery and sorrow.

Capitalism is the only economic condition that rejects this moral premise. “Thou shalt not steal” is among the essential operative principles of capitalism. Continue reading »