Monday, October 26, 2009

Free Market Yankees?

As a true believer in the Capitalism, which is the only system developed based exclusively on the concept of individual rights, I've been asked many times why would I dislike the New York Yankees.

Certainly it can't be that they spend more than any other team. That is one of the tenants of Capitalism, that an individual is free to receive as much as anyone is willing to pay them.

And certainly it can't be their success, because Capitalism rewards those who are the best at what they do.

So what in the world could a true believer in Capitalism have against the New York Yankees? The answer is the Yankees (the institution, not the players) are Socialists.

True Capitalism dictates that if a business is profitable and successful, it will make money. But the Yankees are actually a money-losing institution, held afloat by the taxpayers - most of which who are not even baseball fans, let alone Yankee fans. The government of New York steals money from these people, via taxation, and subsidizes the Yankee organization. An organization that would have crumbled to non-existence with the debt they would owe if not for the suckers who pay taxes in New York state.

Yankee fans don't like to admit that only 9 months ago, they were begging (and got) $370 million in additional tax-exempt bonds to pay for its new Bronx ballpark. That's not $370 million to help build it, that's $370 million to deal with just the cost over runs. The total cost to taxpayers is close to $750 million dollars, approximately 1/2 the cost of the stadium. If the Yankee organization was truly run by Capitalists, they would have built a more modest stadium - or just continue using the existing one.

But wait, there's more! The very land they use is not their own, it is the property of New York City. So Socialists argue at least they pay the property taxes and the people get some of it back. Not so fast my anti-freedom friends, the Yankees get their land TAX FREE. How can the city afford this - simply raise the taxes on the hard working New York citizens.

Yankee defenders will offer their last great argument. All of the businesses and jobs that are created around the stadium. This certainly helps the common man in the city. This certainly proves that a pro-government/business relationship can work wonders. To these people I simply ask you to go to the Bronx and look around - but please bring some body guards, because even though the Yankees have been in the Bronx for over 100 years, the Bronx has continued to deteriorate and it's poverty rate continues to blight the area.

The Yankees only exist due their ability to convince corrupt politicians to confiscate money from taxpayers. This organization is the very antithesis of freedom, but they are an excellent example of America today. Overpaying for everything, with little to show for it.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Problem with Keynesians

The problem with Keynesians is they believe there are economic methods to make bad things magically go away. That if we can just infuse trillions of dollars into an economy, then pull it out at just the right time, we can live a hedonistic Roman lifestyle with no consequences.

Keynesians, sadly try to act like free market Capitalists. They are not and could not ever be believers in FREEDOM. They are Socialists and sometimes Fascists and Communists. Some have been brainwashed to believe they are Capitalists and they will occasionally make amazingly stupid arguments like George W Bush's classic quote "I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system"

True Keynesians aren't really that stupid. Economics is complicated for most Americans, due to the sad nature of our public school systems that amazingly doesn't teach free market economics (which may be a blessing since they would teach Keynesian Socialist economics disguised as Capitalism). And with that complication, you get amazingly disinterested citizens who only care if their government is doing something - anything! No, Keynesians aren't that stupid, the plan is working perfectly - To trick enough of us so they can create a massively dependent working class that kneels at the nipples of government handouts. They are the wolf in sheeps clothing.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Unemployment & Taxes

So many of our politicians, both Democrat and Republican, try to use emotions and slight of hand, to trick us into believing there is a Santa Claus. That we can tax our neighbors into our own prosperity. Well, the facts don’t lie. Below are the latest statistics (yes, provided by our gov’t) of every state that has an unemployment rate below 7%.

State

Unemployment

Rate

Total Tax Rate Rank

North Dakota

4.3

49

South Dakota

4.9

50

Nebraska

5

39

Utah

6

35

Virginia

6.5

12

Montana

6.6

46

Wyoming

6.6

48

Iowa

6.8

31

Oklahoma

6.8

28

Vermont

6.8

44

New Hampshire

6.9

45

Let’s be clear – there is more to a good economy than low taxes. What good are low taxes if your state borrows and spends like a drunken sailor? What good are low taxes if you can’t afford a responsible and honest police force.

This post isn’t an end all argument that taxes are bad, they aren’t. However, it should be noted that if Virginia didn’t have the HUGE federal stimulus, paid for by us, plus a giant printing press in the Federal Reserve, there wouldn’t have been a single state below the 7% unemployment rate with a ranking below 28. Draw your own conclusions, but mine are pretty clear – governments that provide protection, a good court system and allow us to be as free as possible (that includes with our labor and income) – are better off for it.