TEA PARTY ECONOMIST

The TEA PARTY ECONOMIST Ron Paul's original staff economist, Dr. Gary North! Friday, February 15, 2013

Obama: A Keynesian, Not a Communist Gary North’s Reality Check “It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be... READ MORE Video: Decentralization vs. Bureaucratic Monopoly Invest 4 minutes to this video. If it’s right — and it is — then what is the solution? One word: decentralization. I hope not this word: disintegration. Two words: county rights. It means that everything else is tinkering. It means that nothing fundamental will change. It means that any attempt to reform the system... ... READ MORE Liberal PBS Runs an Article on Government Default Should the U.S. government default? Wrong question. The right question: Can the U.S. government avoid defaulting? The answer is clear: no. It will default. It is $222 trillion in the hole. That’s the present value of its future obligations. Of course it’s going to default. Would the be bad? Not for taxpayers. Would it be... READ MORE Currency War: You Lose, Exporters Win A currency war is in progress. Central banks are inflating. This lowers the value of their currencies. Then other central banks inflate. “We will win the war of currency debasement!” Who wins? Exporters. Who loses? Consumers. When a nation’s currency increases in value compared to others, its consumers can buy foreign goods cheaper. This is... READ MORE Downton Abbey: Soap Opera for Property Rights Gary North’s Reality Check I am not a big Downton Abbey fan. I watched the first half a dozen episodes, but then I realized that the thing was turning into a very expensive soap opera. I stopped watching. I am a Foyle’s War fan. I prefer period piece murder mysteries to period piece soap operas. ... READ MORE War Games in Your City: Preparing for Civil Unrest The military continues to run war games in American cities. Why? The optimists say that the military needs training for urban crowd control in foreign nations. The pessimists say that the military expects riots in the USA. I think it’s both. The military wants to keep its options open. This means preparing for 21st century... ... READ MORE 3% Down Payments: The Government Wants Another Housing Bubble The government is pushing for loosened rules governing down payments. The idea that a borrower should pay 20% down is anathema. What about 10%? Too high. I think 3% will satisfy legislators. Maybe 5%. But not much over 5%. They want another bubble. Without government subsidies, the housing market would be very different. But voters... READ MORE Two Years of Gridlock The President is not going to get an increase in minimum wages. He is not going to get gun control. This is pretty clear today. Will he get a revision in the immigration laws? That looks more likely. But it’s not a sure thing. So, by the time Congressional elections bring in a new Congress,... READ MORE Marco Rubio’s Fabulous Judy Garland Routine “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.” The tax increases and the deficit spending you propose will hurt middle class families. It will cost them their raises. It will cost them their benefits. It may even cost some of them their jobs. And it... READ MORE New Housing Boom: Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads We have heard the good news. The housing new home market is booming. It is, indeed: for rental units. But what about single-family homes to sell to the middle class? Not so much. Home ownership is lower now than it was in 2007. This means that the construction boom is targeting renters. Why? Because the... ... READ MORE