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Tex Norton

Tex Norton is the nom de plume of an automotive engineer turned aerospace engineer turned financial planner turned curmudgeon.

Follow the (Gold) Money

Feb 24th, 2010 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
Wow! Did you notice? The IMF didn’t get any bids for its latest offer to auction 191.3 tonnes of the remaining gold that it wants to sell. Apparently the Central Banks of the world have shown a distinct lack of interest in the proposed bullion sale. Gold game-over, correct? Not exactly. Recall ...read more


Next Up: The No-Jobs Bill

Feb 22nd, 2010 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
Last July while many of us were in Vancouver attending the Agora Financial Symposium, the Congress of the USA passed yet another increase in the mandatory Minimum Wage. I wrote about it at the time (see Why Minimum Wage Means Maximum Slavery). In that article, I pointed out that as the ...read more


Another Waxman Whitewash?

Feb 16th, 2010 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
A story buried on page 16 of the Thursday, February 11, 2010 Financial Times once again confirms that our “regulatory” process simply doesn’t work. The article entitled US Safety Watchdog Under Attack reports that the United States car safety watchdog is under attack from Congress and from consumer advocates for ...read more


Why Are You Afraid to Be Responsible?

Feb 10th, 2010 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
Res ipsa loquitur (The Facts Speak for Themselves). In a recent article, the author asked if we needed a New Deal. He pointed out that the original New Deal has probably been the greatest political force in America during the last 100 years. The New Deal was created by the ...read more


Have They Stolen Our Future?

Jan 21st, 2010 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
From where I’m sitting on Bar Stool #23, the overall situation is looking rather grim. James Howard Kunstler tells us that we will need to go back to an economy made by hand. Linda Brady Traynham tells us we need to become totally self-sufficient. Doug Casey tells us the situation ...read more


Bankster’s Cartel: Licensed to Steal

Nov 3rd, 2009 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
If this isn’t a BO-HICA moment, I don’t know what is. (Bend-over; here it comes again). Friday, October 30, nine (9!) banks failed and were taken-over by the FDIC. That brought the total bank failures to 115 so far in 2009. This number of failures hasn’t been exceeded since 1992 AND ...read more


The President’s Health Care Scare Tactics Exposed

Sep 11th, 2009 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
I’m calling YOU out, Mr. President. How dare you arrogantly assert that it’s your way or the highway? That Cook County – Chicago trick doesn’t work in the rest of our great country. You railed against what you called scare tactics and misinformation. Yet you then proceeded to misinform your audience ...read more


National Medical Malpractice — The Government’s Plan to Socialize Medicine

Sep 8th, 2009 | By | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
Ever have a Charlie Brown moment? Aggggggh! That perfectly describes my reaction to the arrogant, elitist, political response to the Town Hall forums currently being held throughout the country to discuss the proposed National Health Care program. “How dare you question OUR decisions?” The TV coverage shows politicians caught as ...read more


Why Minimum Wage Means Maximum Slavery

Jul 31st, 2009 | By | Category: Featured, Macro Economics, Personal Liberties
While we were in Vancouver last week, the dipsticks in Washington, District of Criminals did it again. They increased the Minimum Wage from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. I don’t mean to preach to the choir, but there goes the remnant of what might otherwise have been the start of a ...read more


FDIC Fosters Moral Hazard Among Banks

Jul 10th, 2009 | By | Category: Featured, Personal Investing
What am I missing? Why do the majority of folks blindly accept the shenanigans of the federal government? Why is it advisable to bail out the failures and penalize the productive? Isn’t there a moral hazard lurking somewhere in this mix? In a recent editorial, Peter Schiff reminded me of what ...read more