Arkady's Thoughts

I came across a very sobering and rather disturbing letter today published on ZeroHedge .  For those not familiar,  99ers are those people whose ninety nine weeks of unemployment insurance has run out.  What is especially tragic about this letter beyond the perspective is not that this is as close of a suicide letter as one will see on the Internet, but the underlying message does not add up.   The letter: Hello, I'm unemployed over two years now, a 99er without any benefits for three months. I followed Unemployed Friends almost from its start, never posted until now, but am grateful for my time with you all. I did as asked with calls and e-mails, etc. I've a confession to make to you all. I'm a criminal. I've obeyed the 10 commandments and all laws except: I'm unemployed and that's now a crime, I'm poor and that's a crime, I'm worthless surplus population and that's a crime, I'm a main street American Citizen born and raised in the USA a...

Austan Goolsbee's selection  is not a failure just because it is blatant nepotism, but because Austan is replacing Romer after she butchered the deficit with the monstrosity known the "stimulus package" despite the fact that Austan has been Obama's economic adviser since day one!  It does not require a giant mental leap to conclude that Austan's economic advising must have been taking place during the creation, writing and implementation of the stimulus.  So why would our president, whose job is it to staff positions properly, fill the role with exactly the same people that have failed us.  Why does he insist on pushing the Keynesian spend-to-stimulate approach despite it's demonstrable failure? Oh!  I know why, here it is... Goolsbee, 41, will succeed Christina Romer. A senior administration official said Goolsbee is a team player who can navigate the White House and is a skilled television interviewee who can help the president promote his economic ...

Although a double tap should have done it, yet Murkowski brushed aside Alaskan voters who chose Joe Miller and is now brushing aside Alaska's Libertarian Party .   First, let me be the first to say that the discussions over having Murkowski run on the Libertarian ticket went on for far too long.  How can a group representing constitutional limited government ever consider a porker like Murkowski?   That conversation should have lasted 2 minutes and gone something like this: Murkowski:  Hey guys, I am your best chance at winning a Senate seat ever - support me. Libertarian Party:  We are armed. No, but seriously, what was there to consider?  An insider politician supporting TARP and proudly announcing industry support due to her exceptional skill of shoveling pork into Alaska.  At that rate, Obama would make a great Libertarian candidate too. So what now?  Instead of acknowledging the political winds and the will of the Alaskan people, in...

Jon Stewart is a well known liberal comedian, but a liberal that has at times criticized traditional friends of the liberal establishment like main stream media, unions and other darlings.  Today's clip is either an extension of this approach or a harbinger of things to come.  Depending on your familiarity with Stewart and I will admit that I generally cannot digest his liberalism, love for big government and economic buffoonery, this appears to be really bad news for both Obama and the entire obsession that America has with regulation. If one recalls the clip from SNL some time ago where Obama was the subject of ridicule amounting to "jack squat" one gets the impression that perhaps the very people that rallied so strongly behind a go-getter, wealth distributing friend of the poor is nothing more than a two-bit propagandist?

This is a very impressive video done by CATO that breaks down Obama's speech and focuses on how realistic Obama's promises are, discusses specific legislation and highlights the good aspects of Obama's administration. In particular, focus on the education aspect of the speech.  As you may be aware, higher education costs are climbing at astronomic rates and other than insurance premiums are probably the fastest rising costs in America.  Because Americans hold collages and universities in slightly higher regard than blood sucking insurance companies these costs are seldom discussed.  However if there is one thing you learn from this blog is that when costs stop making sense, look for government intervention as an explanation.  Nothing distorts free market prices faster and more efficiently than the heavy and reckless hand of government.  Higher education is no exception and the constant grants, breaks, subsidies, incentives and programs stemmin...

Several days ago Noah Chomsky the leading "intellectual" of American progressive thought gave a speech in San Francisco (video below) comparing the conservative talk show hosts of catering to people's fears a la Nazi Germany.  Why is Chomsky an intellectual fraud? First of all this particular clip while taken out of context is laced with subtle hints despite his assurance of an imperfect analogy, attempts to draw an analogy between what Rush and Savage say and the Nazis during the Weimar republic of the 1920s Germany.  If Chomsky believes even just a tiny bit that modern conservatism espouses Nazism then he needs to think and long hard about his status as an intellectual.  What is it about restricting federal government expansion, fighting against ObamaCare, reducing handouts, minimizing taxation, fighting against smoking/bad food regulation that reminds him of Nazism?  One merely needs to graduate high school with a C average to understand that Fascism/Nazism rep...

With Colorado poised to lower it's minimum wage for the first time in 70 years, this seems like a good time to discuss minimum wage in greater detail.  Before understanding the implication of minimum wage laws and their tendency to discriminate, let us briefly delve and solidify the economic consequences of such laws. Firstly, let us all agree that minimum wage laws are feel-good laws because they instinctively make sense.  A question asking whether or not the working poor should have higher wages technically should illicit a resounding yes!  Not only because the working poor are struggling as it is, but because it prevents exploitation of these working poor by corporations and greedy businessmen seeking a profit.  Unfortunately when it comes to economics fairness is a very poor indication of what works and does not work.  Price Controls Feel free to skip this section if you understand how minimum wage laws create shortages. Minimum wage laws are a...

Mr. Obama wants to balance this by sending out $250 checks to people.  Cost of life adjustments better known as COLA will not be made in 2010 because we are in a deflationary period, at least according to government officials.  Take a look at your supermarket or your energy bills, do you feel deflation?  So no refreshing beverages for 50 million social security recipients, but there is hope. Obama wishes to spend about 13 billion dollars on seniors, veterans and the disabled.  Neat trick, huh?  So the people that social security insurance is designed to assist is not doing it's job and looking more and more financially insolvent with each passing day, but the American taxpayer for the moment is solvent. So we are going to go ahead and borrow 13 billion, chump change after a 787 billion stimulus package and do the job social security insurance failed to do.  What better way to extend a Ponzi scheme than to make someone else pay the participants?  Thi...

Due to Colorado's minimum wage being tied to inflation, lawmakers are looking at doing something that has not been done in about 70 years .  Although this drop is marginal, amounting to a paltry 4 cents it is a step in the right direction to break down one of the most economically foolish federal mandates in the country.  Beyond being grossly unconstitutional the minimum wage like my other politically attractive solutions hurts the very people it seeks out to help.  Minimum wage laws are just another form of price control and price controls always without exception lead to the same result - shortages.  Whether it is price fixing food in Russia, energy in California, insurance premiums, oil from the Middle East the pattern is always the same and it's another beautiful example of politicians ignoring economics.  Consider the following scenario and see how often you can apply this pattern to everyday life.  - A consumer agency, special interest group or an ...

In a very well written piece David Warren compares and contrasts Gorbachev who is blamed for destroying the Soviet Union and Obama who may have a potential in destroying the United States.  A most interesting comparison and one that initially sounds slightly absurd.  The underlying theme that David puts forth and one that may very well be true is that both men, upon being elected, had visions of grand change.  Similarly important is that both of these visions were of a benevolent nature.  Gorbachev truly felt that by opening up the press and breaking down censorship the Soviet Union would emerge stronger and better.  It did not.  Obama feels that by ushering in massive wealth distribution policies while using government's big hand to fix all life's injustice we will emerge a better and strong America.  We will not.  So what makes Obama so confident and emboldened by a task that has been disproven so many times before?  Warren's key point l...

Who? Huh? Just a very liberal voice from a very liberal paper, Richard Cohen's piece Time to Act Like a President from the Washington Post speaks loudly just based on title alone. While this may not be the proverbial rats fleeing from the sinking ship, Obama's invulnerability is coming to an end. Sharply criticized from two ideological extremes Obama's f aux centrist rhetoric will inevitably leave him with no base and undermine his capacity to lead. The trouble with Obama is that he gets into the moment and means what he says for that moment only. He meant what he said when he called Afghanistan a " war of necessity " -- and now is not necessarily so sure. He meant what he said about the public option in his health-care plan -- and then again maybe not . He would not prosecute CIA agents for getting rough with detainees -- and then again maybe he would. Obama is an empty suit and Liberals have become acutely aware of this fact. On the other side, Conservative...

Today is the start of our most holiest holiday and an opportunity for us to repent our sins. This will not be a self flagellation, but rather advice to 78% of you. Same 78% of you who voted for Obama despite the most obvious and egregious radicalism displayed by any presidential candidate in our history. Today is the time you think about your position in America and where your loyalties lie. Nine months have passed and what was obvious to the 22% of us one year ago should be as clear as day by now. Liberals no longer represent us nor do they act in our best interest. In fact the entire Democrat party for which you have foolishly sworn allegiance to has been spitting in your face for decades. They do not care about our religion, do not care about our history, do not care about Israel and do not care about the rampant anti-Semitism due to "radical" Islam. Just like the Democrats no longer fight for the middle class, they no longer represent American Jewry and it's time you ...

No big surprise here, Democrats enjoying their one party rule domination in my state have pulled off one of the most hypocritical and transparent moves in history. Today 24 Democrats beat out 11 Democrats and 5 Republicans and plan to deliver the bill Deval Patrick so much wants to sign at the behest of his puppet master in DC. We can put the blame entirely on Patrick who caved under the pressure like a flimsy deck of cards. What is particularly upsetting about this shameful circus is the obvious nature of the move. We have credible rumor here that the top House officials crumbled under similar pressure after getting phone calls from Washington. Meanwhile our inept governor continues to pump out drivel suggesting that despite the obvious hypocrisy he is really concerned about our lack of representation. Hello!? You silly man, anyone with half a brain cell can see through your lies and between Kerry/Kennedy in the past five years we have not been represented adequately for at least two...

In a story from Malkin's blog we get to discover what 3.4 Billion of our hard earned money is used for. Drum roll please? Allow Homeland Security to hold meetings! No, I am not pulling your leg. “It will help us hold meetings,” Secretary Janet Napolitano said. “It will help us build that culture of ‘One DHS.’” We have a serious intelligence problem in this country and I am not talking about the students of UC Berkeley. Rather the unmanageable list of agencies and departments that collect and analyze intelligence, although most of the time not much analyzing is being done. Between the CIA, FBI, ATF, Secret Service, Border Patrol, Army, Navy and Department of Defense we have people up the you know what. Perhaps a central agency struck someone as a good idea and Bush the compassionate conservative felt like growing government was the only rational response to an attack - fine. However stripping half of those agencies of intelligence duties could have just as easily solved the problem...

Here is a short clip of Glenn Beck in his usual quirky and odd fashion telling Katie Couric that McCain would have been worse for the country than Obama. I have actually said this and maybe even written it as soon as Obama got elected. On it's face, a progressive hardcore leftist like Obama is dangerous especially in conjunction with the likes of Pelosi and Reid. However, McCain would have been very dangerous for the same reason Bush was dangerous to the right. To truly appreciate what I think Beck is trying to say hinges on the understanding of America's propensity to label incorrectly and make brash conclusions. Americans do not seem to understand that 'Republican' is just a political label and the ideology differs dramatically within the party. Some Republicans are actually more liberal than Democrats on issues that truly matter. Bush expanded government faster than Clinton ever did, spent like a drunken sailor and brushed aside conservative/libertarian idea...

Epic fail. Although to be fair to UC Berkeley, the questions were pretty tough. On the question of what started the Great Depression and what ultimately got them out, most adults would answer the question incorrectly. Let me be more specific, most teachers and many economists would get the question wrong - so asking students who could care less does not really prove a point. Still, a rather amusing display of liberal propaganda and overall stupidity, at least from the anecdotal evidence. Well produced and the host is entertaining.

In a flurry of posts, BigGovernment has opened a Pandora's box festering for the past several weeks of NEA's alleged involvement in health care propaganda. It seems as of now that a conference was held with a collection of organizations and supporters on the matter of social policy. The goal of the conference call: “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.” The call would push “a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change!” A request of this calibre is not only unprecedented, but possibly illegal and certainly immoral given taxpayer money involvement. At least several agencies involved in the call are 501(c)3 organizations and ...

We live in interesting times, our country's political and financial mood is caught between many different currents and each month the collective wisdom changes and evolves. Admittedly , my disappointment with the outcome of the 2008 elections was overwhelming and my overall faith in the decision making abilities of the American public was shaken to the core. However what is unfolding rapidly in the general sentiment of the public, is a reversal in opinion that makes me inevitably question my previous judgment. Perhaps the very thing that makes this country ever so great, is the uncanny ability to ultimately persevere and overcome great odds. As of this writing, two trends are moving in opposite directions that at the very least has shaken my original analysis. The stock market is continuing to make yearly highs boosted by better than expected earnings from industry giants and improving economic data, but Obama's approval ratings continue to plummet. According to Rasmussen, O...

Henry Waxman of California has pushed this bill through and a vote is expected to take place shortly. According to opencongress .org the bill has massive opposition among the public or the educated voters. With 770 Nays and 103 Ayes putting the bill in the same bucket of dislike as the Stimulus package. The bill sounds good on paper as it strives to move America from the dependency on oil, but in reality this is nothing more than a Global Warming rescue package. A package that is being put forth on the Americans in time of significant strife and threatens to implicitly raise taxes on every single family. According to Heritage.org if the bill passes, the end result will be "... will lower temperatures by only hundredths of a degree in 2050 and no more than two-tenths of a degree at the end of the century.” Obviously the Green Fascists will have you believe otherwise and using the term "crisis" or "emergency" will invariably attempt to push this legislatio...

We live in interesting times and the job of POTUS is probably the most difficult and stressful task in the world. This is of course why so much emphasis is placed on elections, campaigns and public involvement. Obama rode in a wave of irrational popularity bolstered by the nation's vehement dislike of George W. Bush, a souring economy and the attraction to a youthful black male. A great many of us in the political "right" and "center" were put off by Obama as we began to learn about his experience, stances and dubious past. It appears, however, that some sense is starting to creep back into the American public although at a stubbornly slow rate. As of now, the most trusted pollster - Scott Rasmussen suggests that for the first time since Obama's election the number of people who greatly disapprove of Obama's performance outweigh those that greatly approve. Total approval is still outweighing the total disapproval by 9%. I trust Rasmussen more than a...