It is not uncommon to encounter political theorists and pundits who insist that political centralization is a boon to economic growth. In both cases, it is claimed the presence of a unifying central regime—whether in Brussels or in Washington, DC, for example—is essential in ensuring the efficient and free flow of goods throughout a large jurisdiction. This, we are told, will greatly accelerate economic growth.
July 4 is approaching, and many Americans are excited to celebrate their so-called independence. Why? How will this July 4 be any different from that of 2020? Haven’t the past three years revealed that Americans not only take liberty for granted but readily reject it? Is it not the least bit curious that some, if not most, of those who’ll be setting off fireworks also begged to be locked down and masked? Yes, the frauds that are “public health” and “democracy” have been exposed over the past three years, but what’s changed?
Money supply growth fell again in April, plummeting further into negative territory after turning negative in November 2022 for the first time in twenty-eight years. April’s drop continues a steep downward trend from the unprecedented highs experienced during much of the past two years.
Investor sentiment is clearly bullish. The CNN Fear and Greed Index for June 18th, 2023, stood at 82, which signals “extreme greed”. This is a drastic optimistic move after closing at “greed” (56 over 100) a month before and “extreme fear” (17 over 100) only one year ago. However, in the same period, the Citi global economic surprise index has declined twelve points, with the euro area component collapsing 123 points. The US economic surprise index has also declined by thirteen points.
Mere days prior to its receiving renewed attention because of an ongoing civil war, Sudan and many other African countries were (and still are) being promoted by news organizations as citadels of suffering. Viewers are subjected to heart-wrenching images: The gaunt, skeletal bodies of starved children crying out in hunger.
Preserving culture is so crucial to a group’s identity that it has become sacred. For many the contents of culture don’t matter as long as they are preserved. But such a nihilistic approach to culture has led to failure and will continue to do so. Culture is a social technology that allows societies to function within a specific institutional setting. So, a constellation of traits could be useful for people living in a premodern setting but maladaptive in a postindustrial context.
The carbon capture pipeline is the result of the latest gift to rent-seeking “titans of industry” and interestingly, may be used on some existing projects that came to be, years ago, due to rent seeking. More on this below.
Just over a week ago, America’s national debt surpassed $32 trillion. As of Friday this week, it climbed to $32.1 trillion, and the prospects for reducing the debt appear to be nonexistent. This is primarily due to the continuous raising of the debt ceiling and the role played by the Federal Reserve in the money creation process.
According to Fox Business, the bill passed last week:
