"Centralization induces apoplexy at the center and anemia at the extremities." ~ Lamenais The present political system is clearly insane. It suffers from schizophrenia. Around the world, almost no one trusts the politicians, yet almost everyone votes for incumbent politicians who promise to reform the government. Voters now suspect (correctly) that all ...read more

Sometime in the next few weeks we're going to find out if Greece can afford to stay in the euro. We're also going to find out if Spain and Italy can afford to leave the euro. Access to credit markets is the key issue. The stigma of default will lock ...read more

The Keynesians and declared anti-Keynesians have joined hands in order to promote an intensely Keynesian error: European fiscal austerity as a negative factor. One contributor in Forbes refers to austerity as a death spiral. The word "austerity," beginning with the Greek government's debt crisis two years ago, has been used by ...read more

It must be "Bash Gold" week on the CNBS network. Warren Buffet has been leading the charge by talking down the precious metal in a recent newsletter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and followed up today on CNBS's "Squawk Box" where he warned that despite the declining value of the dollar, ...read more

How would you like to drive from New York to Los Angeles with just one stop for gas? It seems incredible and wonderful, but it can happen. In late 2010, the Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion set a new world record for the "longest distance traveled by a standard production passenger car ...read more

If there exists a single factor that can put enough pressure on the whole of the American economy and force it to crumble under its own weight, it's the price the average American pays for gas. Extreme up side gas price swings have preceded seven of the last eight American ...read more

“So what do you think should be done?” I often get this question after I presented my case against our fiat money system, and I sense there is a trace of frustration in it, a bit along the lines of, you are telling us that we are in quite a mess ...read more

Over the weekend, we were treated to a preposterous display of hectoring of allegations that Wal-Mart Mexico (prepare yourself for a shock) paid bribes to public officials for the legal right to do business in that country. You see, to do serious business in America requires vast campaign contributions to several ...read more

White House polling must show how badly gas prices are hurting Obama's approval numbers. Badly enough that he's even trying to ease up on attacking Iran. Here's Obama on the campaign trail: "The problem is ... speculators and people make various bets, and they say, you know what, we think that ...read more

Life is hard enough on its own. Government makes it harder. I think back to the old Soviet days, which to me typify what it means for a society to be entirely under state control. The government put out a magazine called Soviet Life, and it was filled with pictures of ...read more