Flow of Funds Report Show U.S. Imbalances Worse Than Ever
A few days ago, the Federal Reserve released the latest flow of funds report. It shows in short that the imbalances of the U.S. economy are getting worse than before and that the imbalances were worse before than was previously thought.Household debt for the first quarter were upwardly revised from the $11840.1 billion assumed in the previous release to $12099.3 billion. Moreover the report show that debt rose a further 2.27% to $12373.5 billion.
Iraq Through a Rebel’s Eyes
The US government’s arm is tired, writes Andrew Greene. Even with one hundred and fifty thousand troops, a fortune in fuel and supplies, and the best weapons ever invented, all that power is having a rough ride. Humvees loaded with high-tech regulars are sitting targets for bits of plumbing packed with C-4, left at the side of the road. There are plenty of surprises from the front, but such news would only elicit a sad smile from Jefferson, and the same from his fellow insurgent, Madison, They knew that a well armed citizen militia can never be conquered by regular troops. Nor would they have cheered those who are attempting to conquer.
IP Imperialism (Russia, Intellectual Property , and the WTO)
The Rules of Booze
Bootlegger County, State of Mississippi, is as dry as a sandpile in a Saudi Arabian back yard. Alcoholic beverages are verboten by edict of the governor.
Block debate on minimum wage
Walter Block and Jared Bernstein debate: Should the minimum wage be raised? (8/13/2006, Marty Nemko radio show; Real audio link)
The fruit of immigration controls
People who favor having federal goons arrest undocumented workers and send them home imagine that this is a great thing for American culture and society. But of course no government program quite turns out that way you expect it to.
Big Surprise: Fair Trade Coffee is a Scam
The Financial Times reports that: “’Ethical’ coffee is being produced in Peru, the world’s top exporter of Fairtrade coffee, by labourers paid less than the legal minimum wage. Industry insiders have also told the FT of non-certified coffee being marked and exported as Fairtrade, and of certified coffee being illegally planted in protected rainforest. This casts doubt on the certification process used by Fairtrade and similar marks that require producers to pay the minimum wage.
Block on Roberts on Economic Freedom
Latest Blockiana: “Paul Craig Roberts on empirical measures of economic freedom: a rejoinder,” International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 33, No. 7, 2006, pp. 481-90.
Will An Oil Price Fall Push Inflation Down?
According to many commentators, the recent fall in the price of oil should soften the rate of increase in the core CPI, i.e., the consumer price index less food and energy. (The price of oil fell to around $63 per barrel from $74.50 per barrel at the end of July — a fall of 15.4%). These people believe that changes in the price of oil plays an important role in driving underlying changes in the prices of non-energy goods and services.
