In Negotiating Missile Defense with Russia, Obama Could Learn from Reagan’s Example. Scott Erickson
In 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union negotiated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF),
which was designed to eliminate their nations’ respective intermediate
range, ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between
500 and 5,500 kilometers. In discussing INF negotiations with the Soviet
Union, President Ronald Reagan famously summoned upon one of his
guiding principles: Trust but verify.
Thirty-five years later, the Obama Administration has adopted an entirely different tack in dealing with ongoing missile defense negotiations with Russia. Rather than negotiate from a position of informed strength, this Administration has deferred to a far less preferable alternative: capitulation.
Thirty-five years later, the Obama Administration has adopted an entirely different tack in dealing with ongoing missile defense negotiations with Russia. Rather than negotiate from a position of informed strength, this Administration has deferred to a far less preferable alternative: capitulation.
Pentagon’s Preview of Defense Budget Indicates Future Military Will Lack Important Capabilities. By Baker Spring
On January 26, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta provided the public
with a preview of the defense budget request the Obama Administration
will submit February 13. The full details of the fiscal year (FY) 2013
defense budget request will be released next month, but Panetta’s
presentation makes it clear that the budget will not provide the U.S.
military with the resources it needs. With inadequate resources come
inadequate capabilities, which the Secretary described in general
terms.
Lessening the Overall Readiness of the Force
As was the case following the Vietnam War in the 1970s, defense budget reductions of the scope previewed by Panetta generally lead to reduced combat readiness and, ultimately, a hollow force. This is because a force that is too small has to endure higher operating tempos and rotation cycles. It also results in a reduction in the technological edge that permits the U.S. military to achieve victory on the battlefield quickly and with fewer casualties. Finally, it becomes more difficult to man the force with high-quality personnel and maintain high morale.
Lessening the Overall Readiness of the Force
As was the case following the Vietnam War in the 1970s, defense budget reductions of the scope previewed by Panetta generally lead to reduced combat readiness and, ultimately, a hollow force. This is because a force that is too small has to endure higher operating tempos and rotation cycles. It also results in a reduction in the technological edge that permits the U.S. military to achieve victory on the battlefield quickly and with fewer casualties. Finally, it becomes more difficult to man the force with high-quality personnel and maintain high morale.
CFPB Wields New Powers with Director. By Diane Katz
Within hours of Richard Cordray assuming the role of director[1]
at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), agency officials
began exercising their newly expanded powers. Their immediate target is
all manner of “nonbank”[2]
financial services used by millions of households. While proponents
contend that the new regulations will benefit consumers, the structure
of the bureau—its unparalleled power magnified by an absence of
accountability—bodes ill for most Americans.
Getting Nowhere, Very Fast. by Thomas Sowell
California
has a huge state debt and Washington has a huge national debt. But
that does not discourage either Governor Jerry Brown or President
Barack Obama from wanting to launch a very costly high-speed rail
system.
Most of us
might be a little skittish about spending money if we were teetering
on the brink of bankruptcy. But the beauty of politics is that it
is all other people's money, including among those other people
generations yet unborn.
The Bishops Are Wrong and Have No One But Themselves To Blame for Obama’s Persecution of Catholics. by Eric Giunta
This past
Sunday, bishops around the United States delivered to their congregations
a
short pastoral letter urging prayer, fasting, and legislative
lobbying against the Obama administration’s announcement
that all employers, most religious institutions included, will soon
have to subsidize their employees’ contraceptives, sterilizations,
and abortion-inducing drugs.
Given the terribly
low expectations most Catholics have of their bishops, it is no
surprise that many of my co-religionists, surveying the now-daily
condemnations by clerics and laymen (on both the orthodox
"right" and the dissenting
"left") speak of a proverbial "waking"
of "the sleeping giant." But I’m afraid a dose of
ecclesiastical realism is in order. All indications are that the
bishops’ approach to these events is woefully off the mark and cannot
but backfire against them in the long run.
Obama Sandbags the Archbishop. by Patrick J. Buchanan
At the end
of Sunday mass at the church this writer attends in Washington,
D.C., the pastor asked the congregation to remain for a few minutes.
Then, on the instructions of Cardinal Archbishop Donald Wuerl, the pastor proceeded to read a letter.
In the letter, the Church denounced the Obama administration for ordering all Catholic schools, hospitals and social services to provide, in their health insurance coverage for employes, free contraceptives, free sterilizations and free "morning-after" pills.
Parishioners were urged to contact their representatives in Congress to bring about a reversal of President Obama's new policy.
Then, on the instructions of Cardinal Archbishop Donald Wuerl, the pastor proceeded to read a letter.
In the letter, the Church denounced the Obama administration for ordering all Catholic schools, hospitals and social services to provide, in their health insurance coverage for employes, free contraceptives, free sterilizations and free "morning-after" pills.
Parishioners were urged to contact their representatives in Congress to bring about a reversal of President Obama's new policy.
Ben Bernanke: The Official Counterfeiter. by Gary North
Back in 1969, a Disney cartoonist sat down at his story board
and produced a booklet that the Disney organization never saw:
The Official Counterfeiter. It was a presentation of fractional
reserve banking and the role of the Federal Reserve System.
His name was Vic Lockman. As far as I know, he was the first cartoonist ever to do a booklet based on the Austrian theory of the business cycle. He revised the booklet in 1974. It is now back online.
It is a shame that he did not do a version of this booklet for one of the Scrooge McDuck comic books. He wrote stories for Uncle Scrooge. Of course, the Disney organization would not have released it. Too controversial.
His name was Vic Lockman. As far as I know, he was the first cartoonist ever to do a booklet based on the Austrian theory of the business cycle. He revised the booklet in 1974. It is now back online.
It is a shame that he did not do a version of this booklet for one of the Scrooge McDuck comic books. He wrote stories for Uncle Scrooge. Of course, the Disney organization would not have released it. Too controversial.
Don't Trust Your Instincts
Don't Trust Your Instincts
By John StosselSimple answers are so satisfying: Green jobs will fix the economy. Stimulus will create jobs. Charity helps people more than commerce. Everyone should vote.
Well, all those instinctive solutions are wrong. As Friedrich Hayek pointed out in "The Fatal Conceit," it's a problem that in our complex, extended economy, we rely on instincts developed during our ancestors' existence in small bands. In those old days, everyone knew everyone else, so affairs could be micromanaged. Today, we live in a global economy where strangers deal with each other. The rules need to be different.
Policing the World
By John Stossel
With
an election approaching and at least some Americans upset about
irresponsible spending, the president has finally expressed a political
interest in cutting something. He says the Pentagon will spend "only"
$525 billion next year. That's slightly less than the current $531
billion.
A cut is good, but this will barely dent the deficit. We could save much more if America assumed a military policy designed for defense rather than policing the world.
A cut is good, but this will barely dent the deficit. We could save much more if America assumed a military policy designed for defense rather than policing the world.
Libertarianism, Rightly Conceived. by Trevor Burrus
Economist Jeffrey Sachs has joined the critics who,
over the last year or so, are dismissing libertarianism as a
simple-minded philosophy. In "Libertarian Illusions," Sachs takes
libertarians to task for "championing liberty to the exclusion of all
other values." "Libertarians," Sachs writes, "hold that individual
liberty should never be sacrificed in the pursuit of other values or
causes. Compassion, justice, civic responsibility, honesty, decency,
humility, respect and even survival of the poor, weak and vulnerable —
are to take a back seat."
In fact, most libertarians believe that the "other values or causes"
listed by Professor Sachs are best promoted by promoting liberty. We
believe so strongly in liberty because we believe that all those values
are vital to humanity. At bottom, what ties libertarians together is the
notion of a "presumption of liberty" — that state action needs
justification, not human freedom. This idea is far from controversial
and, in fact, it is the founding principle of the modern liberal state.No More Bipartisan Bailouts by Michael D. Tanner
One of the few lines in President Obama’s State of the
Union address that actually received bipartisan applause was his vow of
“no bailouts, no handouts, and no cop outs.” Of course the president
then went on to claim credit for his bailout of the auto industry and
promise additional handouts to the “green energy” industry.
A Flat Tax Is the Answer. by Daniel J. Mitchell
The class-warfare crowd is predictably outraged that
Mitt Romney supposedly paid just 13.9 percent of his income to the crowd
in Washington. Surely this is a sign of both inequity and iniquity.
Meanwhile, previewing a theme for the general election, President Obama
said in his State of the Union address that "millionaires and
billionaires" should cough up at least 30 percent of their earnings to
the IRS.
This is bad policy based on inaccurate data.Let's deal first with the flawed numbers. Capital gains taxes and dividend taxes are both forms of double taxation. That income already is hit by the 35 percent corporate income tax. So the real tax rate for people like Mitt Romney is closer to 45 percent. And if you add the death tax to the equation, the effective tax rate begins to approach 60 percent.
The Politics of Johann Wolfgang Goethe Mises Daily: by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Inflation Targeting Hits the Wall Mises Daily: by Antony P. Mueller
Warren Buffett's Secretary Speaks
By BRENT BAKER
From the Media Research CenterThe secretary speaks," ABC fill-in anchor David Muir excitedly teased at the top of Wednesday's World News, "billionaire investor Warren Buffett and his secretary, who pays a much-higher tax rate than him. He says not fair. She's now at the center of a huge debate. What does she think? An ABC News exclusive." Muir promised that "tonight we hear from the secretary for the first time," but she merely got to utter one sentence as ABC used her as a poster girl to hike taxes.
$5 Trillion and Change
Obama's four years have seen the four highest deficits since 1946.
CBO reports that annual spending over the Obama era has climbed to a projected $3.6 trillion this fiscal year from $2.98 trillion in fiscal 2008, or more than 20%. The government spending burden has averaged 24% of GDP, up from an average of about 20%. This doesn't include the $2 trillion tab for ObamaCare.
All of this has increased the federal debt by about $5 trillion in a mere four years. Thanks to higher revenues, the federal deficit will decline to $1.08 trillion in 2012, or 7% of GDP. But that is still the highest deficit since 1946—except for the previous three years. In other words, the four years of the Obama's Presidency will mark the four highest years in spending and deficits as a share of the economy since Harry Truman sat in the Oval Office.
EPA
And don't forget the national debt held
by the public—the kind we have to pay back. On President Obama's watch,
CBO says public debt will climb this year to 72.5% of the economy from
40.3% in 2008. This isn't as high as Italy or Greece, but it's rising
fast toward the 90% level that begins to debilitate an economy.We pause from this gloom for some good news: Despite the abuse they've taken, House Republicans have made some fiscal progress. CBO estimates that overall federal spending in 2012 will grow by only $3 billion, or less than 1%, which compares with double digit increases during the Obama-Pelosi years. Republicans have also tried to reform entitlements, but Democrats wanted a $1 trillion tax hike ransom for even modest cuts, which was wisely rejected.
Romney Strikes Back
After crushing Gingrich, can he make his campaign a cause?
The Florida Republican primary race was a thing of beauty only if you like the Ultimate Fighting Championship on cable. Knocked back after his South Carolina defeat, Mr. Romney and his team came out swinging, kicking and clawing at Newt Gingrich. He delivered the blows himself and without apology in debates, and he unleashed his attack ads and surrogates to do the rest of the dirty work.
Getty Images
Soros Sits Out Obama’s Super-PAC Money Race Beside Big Democratic Givers. By Hans Nichols -
George Soros, the billionaire
investor who bankrolled Democratic groups during George W. Bush’s presidency and then indicated in 2010 that his giving
days were over, is back.
He just isn’t giving to the political action committee working to re-elect President Barack Obama.
Soros is joined by million-dollar donors such as film producer Stephen Bing and auto insurer Peter Lewis in not contributing to Priorities USA, a group founded by former White House aides to help return Obama to the White House. The pro- Obama organization raised $1.2 million in the second half of 2011, bringing its yearly total to $4.4 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
He just isn’t giving to the political action committee working to re-elect President Barack Obama.
Soros is joined by million-dollar donors such as film producer Stephen Bing and auto insurer Peter Lewis in not contributing to Priorities USA, a group founded by former White House aides to help return Obama to the White House. The pro- Obama organization raised $1.2 million in the second half of 2011, bringing its yearly total to $4.4 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Why the Early U.S. Didn't Go the Way of the Euro: Echoes
We usually don't think of the U.S. as a monetary union, but early in
its history it essentially was. Unlike the crisis-wracked euro zone, the
dollar zone survived its first few decades without a major crisis,
providing the fragile young republic with a period of relative stability
during which it began to congeal culturally, economically, politically
and militarily.
Mexico’s Democracy Needs Justice System to Match: Enrique Krauze
Mexican culture doesn’t have much
room for fiction about criminal investigations or the solving of
crimes by the police.
There have been some significant crime novels, notably the series written by Paco Ignacio Taibo II starring the private detective, Hector Belascoaran Shayne. But investigative victories by the police? The mere idea of a Mexican Hercule Poirot sounds unreal. This isn’t much of a mystery, either, considering the nature, in general at least, of the Mexican police and its procedures.
There have been some significant crime novels, notably the series written by Paco Ignacio Taibo II starring the private detective, Hector Belascoaran Shayne. But investigative victories by the police? The mere idea of a Mexican Hercule Poirot sounds unreal. This isn’t much of a mystery, either, considering the nature, in general at least, of the Mexican police and its procedures.
Rubio Could Help Republicans Learn to Love the Dream Act
Illustration by Bloomberg View
In a Florida Republican primary notable for the bleakness of its attacks, one event offered a singular ray of hope. Speaking to a Hispanic group in Miami, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, took a tentative step toward reclaiming his party’s pro-immigrant legacy.
Gingrich Says He Will Continue Race Against Romney After Florida. By Lisa Lerer and Michael C. Bender
Mitt Romney prepared for victory in
the Republican presidential primary in Florida (BEESFL) today, as Newt Gingrich, trailing in public opinion polls, vowed to wage a
prolonged fight for the nomination.
“You can sense that it’s coming our way,” Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, told reporters on his campaign plane yesterday. “It’s getting better and better every day.”
With Romney surging in Florida (NFSEFL), Gingrich told reporters in Orlando today he will continue campaigning until June or July, “unless Romney drops out sooner.”
Gingrich has started to lay out a strategy for the seven contests next month as aides pointed to national surveys showing their candidate in the lead as proof that he could still win the nomination.
“We are going to go all the way to the convention,” Gingrich told a crowd of about 200 at the Renaissance Airport Hotel in Orlando yesterday. “We are going to win in Tampa. And we are going to be the nominee with your help.”
“You can sense that it’s coming our way,” Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, told reporters on his campaign plane yesterday. “It’s getting better and better every day.”
With Romney surging in Florida (NFSEFL), Gingrich told reporters in Orlando today he will continue campaigning until June or July, “unless Romney drops out sooner.”
Gingrich has started to lay out a strategy for the seven contests next month as aides pointed to national surveys showing their candidate in the lead as proof that he could still win the nomination.
“We are going to go all the way to the convention,” Gingrich told a crowd of about 200 at the Renaissance Airport Hotel in Orlando yesterday. “We are going to win in Tampa. And we are going to be the nominee with your help.”
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