Listen to the Peter Schiff Show
Weekdays 10am to noon ET on http://www.SchiffRadio.com
Buy my newest book at http://www.tinyurl.com/RealCrash
Friend me on http://www.Facebook.com/PeterSchiff
Follow me on http://www,Twitter.com/PeterSchiff
There are two conflicting concepts of justice. One is unattainable.
(1999 – Harvard Club, NY) http://www.LibertyPen.com
SOURCE: CSPAN, “The Quest For Cosmic Justice”
BUY IT: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Cosmi
CAUTION: Frequent visits to http://www.LibertyPen.com could increase your risk of drone attack, IRS audit and/or inclusion on government enemies list.
America is in crisis. Professor Williams contends morality is at the root. http://www.LibertyPen.com
David Boaz (CATO) and Nick Gillespie (Reason.tv) join John to discuss the politics of individual liberty, social tolerance and fiscal responsibility. http://www.LibertyPen.com
A discussion about the future of the Social Security system featuring a realist and a progressive. Keep up with liberty issues at http://www.LibertyPen.com
Professor Williams speaks his mind on greed, gun rights, education, organ donation, reparations for slavery, Social Security and more. http://www.LibertyPen.com
One presidential candidate offers bold, liberty-oriented solutions to the mounting problems facing America. Excerpts from a Reality Report interview with Gary Franchi. http://www.LibertyPen.com
America has transmogrified from republic to special interest democracy. http://www.LibertyPen.com
Milton Friedman cuts through political smoke and mirrors to identify government’s operating premise.
More news on liberty issues at http://www.LibertyPen.com
Pollster Scott Rasmussen explains how the public is routinely ahead of the politicians.
More news on liberty issues at http://www.LibertyPen.com
Unheeded visionaries become prophets. Libertarian candidate Harry Browne addresses the CATO Institute during the 1996 presidential campaign.
Source: C-Span.org
Buy it: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Smalle
Keep up with liberty issues and news at http://www.LibertyPen.com
The visions of intellectuals have been allowed to overrule the wisdom and self-interest of individuals. Excerpts from Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson. See past episodes at http://www.hoover.org/multimedia/uncommon-knowledge
Keep up with liberty issues and news at http://www.LibertyPen.com
What do you think the role of government should be? Are you in favor of anarchy or minarchy? Do you believe there are public goods like defense that the government should provide, or should there be no state at all? Should the government provide a minimal welfare state, or even control the entire economy? What conclusions have you come to?
Government grows and grows. Why? Is there any way to limit government? Dr. Ashford explores the intellectual school known as “public choice.” Public choice theorists believe that politicians are self-interested, meaning they have a vested interest in growing government beyond its proper, limited size. This means that small, concentrated groups (like industry lobbying associations) yield tremendous power over the politics. This leads to subsidies and tax breaks for politically favored industries.
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act or CISPA is but another example of outrageous and unconstitutional government intrusion.
Is Social Security a good retirement plan? Economics professor Antony Davies shows that Americans stand to earn significantly less and assume more risk with Social Security than other investment options. According to Davies, taxpayers would be better off both in terms of financial security and return on investment by investing their money privately. Social security is extremely expensive, soon to be insolvent, and doesn’t even offer taxpayers the most bang for their buck. For those reasons, Prof. Davies argues that it is time for the government to phase out Social Security. Davies’ solution: the government should honor its obligations to current retirees while giving Americans the freedom to invest their money as they see fit.
As the U.S. debt and deficit grows, some politicians and economist have called for higher tax rates in order to balance the budget. The question becomes: when the government raises taxes, does it actually collect a larger portion of the US economy?
Professor Antony Davies examines 50 years of economic data and finds that regardless of tax rates, the percentage of GDP that the government collects has remained relatively constant. In other words, no matter how high government sets tax rates, the government gets about the same portion. According to Davies, if we’re concerned about balancing the budget, we should worry less about raising tax revenue and more about growing the economy. The recipe for growth? Lower tax rates and a simplified tax code.
Rick Santorum’s insistence on centralized solutions undermines our constitutional and moral values.
Many believe that market economies create a dog eat dog environment full of human conflict and struggle. To Prof. Aeon Skoble, the competition in markets does not create conflict, but rather, encourages people to cooperate with one another for mutual benefit.
For instance, suppose a thief steals a suit from Macy’s. If Macy’s knew who the thief was, one could argue that Macy’s has an incentive to keep this information from their competitors. By withholding information about the thief, it would make it much less likely that thief would get caught while robbing Macy’s competitors. However, in the real world, competitors share information about theft with one another, creating a valuable information network. Competitors share information because it is in all of their mutual interest to crack down on theft. If a business chooses to ignore the information network, they lose out on valuable information.
The example above is just one of many examples where competitors have a strong incentive to cooperate with one another. In a certain way, we’re all merchants who trade with one another. We all individually depend on networks of reputation and trust to own a car, own a home, and have a job. In a world of competition and scarcity, we are not only capable of cooperating with one another, but we frequently do.
These voluntary systems of social cooperation, often called organic or spontaneous orders, are not planned from the top down by enlightened rulers. Rather, they emerge overtime as individuals interact with one another. These spontaneous orders are all around us, and include important things like language, fashion, internet memes, prices in a market, and law.
Going back to the suit thief, it may very well be the case that some individuals abstain from crime because of the threat of jail. However, it is also very likely that crime is prevented through networks of trust and reputation. The next time you hear that the problems that society faces can only be solved by applying force from the top down, you are right to be skeptical. Peaceful and voluntary mechanisms that encourage and facilitate cooperation are all around us.
Watch more videos: http://lrnlbty.co/y5tTcY
Archived from the live Mises.tv broadcast, this lecture by David Gordon was presented at the 2011 Mises University in Auburn, Alabama.
