Shocking news. A representative from the banking industry praises the looting of the taxpayers to benefit his industry. The Chief Economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (who’s a former Federal Reserve governor) has announced that “without TARP money, without the Federal Reserve program, without the fiscal stimulus programs, the unemployment rate would not be 9.6 percent, but 19.6 percent,” Really? And what computer modeling is this based on?

“What’s with all the teenagers without costumes coming to my front door and expecting candy?!” This was the gist of several Facebook status updates I saw last night. I don’t discriminate against the uncostumed because it isn’t worth ruining someone’s evening to save a dollar or so worth of candy, but at least one friend has a “no costume, no candy” policy that’s not always popular.

In Adam Mossoff in the WSJ, Objectivist Diana Hsieh admits IP is a “thorny” issue. Progress! The WSJ piece citing Mossoff notes:

First, there was “Fear the Boom and Bust,” the excellent Hayek v. Keynes rap video, and Nina Paley’s catchy “Copying is not Theft” and her creative “All Creative Work Is Derivative”–now there’s the anti-IP inspired “Death of ACTA” by Dan Bull, which opposes IP and ACTA. Video below (warning: some profanity).

I am very happy that Stephan Kinsella is finally teaching a class on intellectual property, which is surely one of the most important issues of our time. We need desperately to spread education about this topic, which is a difficult one. It is not one of the “armchair” issues that you can solve without much thought or serious study.

Let me try to give a flavor of what we are dealing with here.

When my book on the Great Depression came out — shortly after Obama’s inauguration — I told radio interviewers that our current economic crisis was the start of the Second Great Depression. The Federal Reserve and the government implemented the same types of policies after the housing crash as they did in the 1930s after the stock-market crash.

Quarterly GDP increased by 2% at an annual rate which means it increased by ½ of 1% for the quarter. Almost ¾ of that growth was the result of building inventories so we are left with about 1/2 % at an annual rate or .14% for the quarter. If the buildup in inventories represents correct entrepreneurial insight regarding better business in the future, it is a good thing.