FFM

This blog first discussed the need for alternative energy investment many months ago. Given what is going onin the Middle East, DO YOU HEAR ME NOW!! It is time to develop and use other sources of energy. It is not in our culture and governmental system to think long-term. Forget about the world running out of oil. Do we really believe that in the long term, maybe as short as five years, we can coerce the Middle East to sell us their energy at cheap prices? The answer is clearly no. We just do not know the exact date when the mid-east uses their oil as ransom again. OUR LEADERS ARE NOT LEADING ON THIS ISSUE. It is their responsibility to lead. We did not elect them to take a poll of the citizenry and do what the majority wishes. Their job is to lead and convince the majority. The countries in the Middle East are long-term thinkers. They know they cannot defeat us on the battlefield. However, they have learned from history that they can bankrupt us by having us continuously waste ou

Labor unions are a prime example of what happens when one entity gets so large and powerful that it takes over markets that are necessary to provide goods and services to our citizens. In this case, the service is labor. This blog is dedicated to exposing the collapse of free markets in this country. This applies to not only corporations, but also labor unions. Oddly, this collapse is led by the "conservative" segment of our society demanding less regulation and more capitalism. What has happened over the last several decades is the push for less regulation has resulted in industries being taken over by a band of a few companies and unions coming together and controlling markets.

Obama is right, the infrastructure needs fixing. In many respects it is a question of whether it is fixed now or fixed later. Our roads are crumbling. We don't have a rail system. Many areas in this country still do not have adequate access to the internet. Many of our school buildings are a disgrace. Our cities are awash with buildings that contribute to the plight of our inner cities. Money is cheap right now and we need to ignite the economy by putting people back to work. If many of these projects were taken on by the private sector they would not be considered expenses. They would be investments that are capitalized and expended over the life of the asset, rather being reported as an expense that would either reduce net income or cause a net loss. The government most look at its outflows in the same manner. Recognize the expense over the life and usefulness of the asset. At the same time the government must get more efficient and cut out waste. We all know there is much wa

‘People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or in some contrivance to raise prices.’ (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776).  What does the American auto industry, the health care industry, wall street firms and the banking industry all have in common; other than they were all on the brink of failure? These are industries where the production side of the industry is no longer a free market with many producers competing head-to head to earn the business of consumers, or customers, of the industry. Instead each of these industries are controlled by a relatively small number of very large corporations that have transformed these markets into oligopolies.

‘People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or in some contrivance to raise prices"   (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776) Yesterday, I had an interesting conversation on a Tea Party website about how the oligopoly in Wall Street has had a detrimental affect on our economy and that the government should be enforcing anti-trust laws to break up the choke hold this consortium has on our right to access free markets. Below was his response.

t seems that some members of congress are resisting the notion that the nations spending on education is not an investment. I can understand the argument that times are tough right now and we need to get our finances in order, however to say that the nation receives no return from providing funds to better educate our youth is ludicrous. Just how do they think this country has become as great and powerful as it is? Do they believe this could have happened without a good education system? If you just look at the cold dollar and cents issues, you will figure out that our economy would not have grown the way it has if it was not for the educational level of our citizens. Higher education levels helps grow the economy. A growing economy means the nations budget grows without an increase in taxation. Our education system is run poorly and we need to find ways of improving it. There is no doubt about this. Just as there is no doubt that investing in education pays dividends for the indiv

Here is an excerpt from a post of the blog of Fix Congress First Where We Are, Where We’re Going SEPTEMBER 22, 2010 By: Lawrence Lessig On Thursday, the House Committee on Administration will take a vote on the  Fair Elections Now Act  — the bill that we, along with many others, have been pushing for the past two years. The Committee will pass the bill. With a bit of luck, and a lot more pressure, the managers of the bill believe it could have the votes to pass the House as well. If they're right, and if the Speaker allows the bill to come to the floor, then for the first time in a generation, the House will have ratified fundamental and effective campaign finance reform. This optimism will surprise many of you. As I've travelled to talk about this issue, the overwhelming attitude of people who want better from our government is that our government is incapable of giving us better. The House ratifying Fair Elections would be the first, and best evidence, this skepticism migh