Who Caused the Great Depression

“Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve System. I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.” – Ben Bernanke

 

 

to add

Fault Lines

This time is different

no banks collapsed in canada

Federal law limited brick & mortar branches.  Banks in crop areas instantly went belly up when drought struck due to lack of diversity forced by government.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FDR’s Economics

The Economist: Protectionism, The battle of Smoot-Hawley, A cautionary tale about how a protectionist measure opposed by all right-thinking people was passed, Dec 18th 2008

To Do:
Need to add notes from
Forgotten Man
FDR’s Folly

Documenting Hitler’s Political Positions …. and those that loved him

First of all, I find the terms left wing / right wing meaningless. So I’ll avoid them. I prefer judging political positions on two scales
1) economic freedom
2) social freedom

Where “freedom” is the the ‘freedom to choose’ and the lack of central planning. A lot of time the only difference between “liberals” and “conservatives” is the preferences du jour of those in power. Those words change meaning over time. What is liberal in 1930 is conservative in 1990. So it’s futile effort to use those labels and expect everyone else to understand what you are trying to say.

A note on the parties name:

Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers’ Party).

Anti-capitalist or anti-free market quotes from Mein Kampf.

NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN WORKERS’ PARTY
November 9, 1918 Fortune upon Fortune!
‘The hour of liberation from the yoke of capitalism has come ‘

NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN
WORKERS’ PARTY

When on November 9, 1918, the German people was driven into revolution, it was told that this was the beginning of the ‘nations’ liberation’ from the bonds of * world capitalism.’

On why the Nazi’s picked Red.

The most basic example is the Nazi use of the color red, which was firmly associated with Bolshevism and socialism. “We chose red for our posters after particular and careful deliberation…so as to arouse their attention and tempt them to come to our meetings…so that in this way we got a chance of talking to the people.”

Goldberg, Liberal Fascism

On the Term “Liberal Fascism”

The introduction of a novel term like “liberal fascism” obviously requires an explanation. Many critics will undoubtedly regard it as a crass oxymoron. Actually, however, I am not the first to use the term. That honor falls to H. G. Wells, one of the greatest influences on the progressive mind in the twentieth century (and, it turns out, the inspiration for Huxley’s Brave New World). Nor did Wells coin the phrase as an indictment, but as a badge of honor. Progressives must become “liberal fascists” and “enlightened Nazis,” he told the Young Liberals at Oxford in a speech in July 1932.21 – Goldberg, Liberal Fascism

Item of note…. those that compete for the same voting block are the most intense enemies

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. As if on cue, Dallas was christened “the city of hate.” A young TV reporter named Dan Rather heard a rumor that some Dallas schoolchildren had cheered when they heard the news of Kennedy’s death. The rumor wasn’t true, and the local Dallas CBS affiliate refused to run the story. Rather made an end run around the network and reported the story anyway.

Rather wasn’t the only one eager to point fingers at the right. Within minutes Kennedy’s aides blamed deranged and unnamed right-wingers. One headline proclaimed the assassination had taken place “deep in the hate of Texas.” But when it became clear that a deranged Marxist had done the deed, Kennedy’s defenders were dismayed. “He didn’t even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights,” Jackie lamented to Bobby Kennedy when he told her the news. “It’s—it had to be some silly little Communist.”1 – Goldberg, Liberal Fascism

More evidence of Communists being the same base as Nazi’s

The walls were covered with flags, photographs, posters, slogans and emblems. His SA uniforms hung neatly ironed on a hanger…When I said that it must be rather claustrophobic with all that stuff on the walls, he laughed and sat down on the bed, and said: “Mensch! You should have seen it last year! You would have laughed! Then it was all red flags, stars, hammers, sickles, pictures of Lenin and Stalin and Workers of the World Unite!…Then, suddenly when Hitler came to power, I understood it was all nonsense and lies. I realized Adolf was the man for me. All of a sudden!” He snapped his fingers in the air. “And here I am!”…Had a lot of people done the same, then? “Millions! I tell you, I was astonished how easily they all changed sides!”17 -Goldberg, Liberal Facism

TO DO

track supporters of communism & Nazism in 1930

Find Goldberg red flag quote

Competing for same base

attic that changes from socialism to nazism

nazi publication book w/ kitchen photo

Counterpoint

This author claims that Hitler is “far right”. I don’t understand that conclusion but I’ll reserve judgement until AFTER I’ve read his work. Preliminary book scan seems to indicate “far right” is Nationalism. So must mean the far left are those that hate their country? I still don’t get it.

Fritzsche, Peter. Germans into Nazis, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1998; Eatwell, Roger, Fascism, A History, Viking-Penguin, 1996. pp. xvii-xxiv, 21, 26–31, 114–140, 352.

Griffin, Roger, “Revolution from the Right: Fascism,” in David Parker, ed., Revolutions and the Revolutionary Tradition in the West 1560-1991, London: Routledge, 2000

Warren v. District of Columbia (i.e. Cops don’t have to stop rapists)

In the early morning hours of Sunday, March 16, 1975, Carolyn Warren and Joan Taliaferro who shared a room on the third floor of their rooming house at 1112 Lamont Street Northwest in the District of Columbia, and Miriam Douglas, who shared a room on the second floor with her four-year-old daughter, were asleep. The women were awakened by the sound of the back door being broken down by two men later identified as Marvin Kent and James Morse. The men entered Douglas’ second floor room, where Kent forced Douglas to sodomize him and Morse raped her.

Warren and Taliaferro heard Douglas’ screams from the floor below. Warren telephoned the police, told the officer on duty that the house was being burglarized, and requested immediate assistance. The department employee told her to remain quiet and assured her that police assistance would be dispatched promptly.

Warren’s call was received at Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters at 0623 hours, and was recorded as a burglary-in-progress. At 0626, a call was dispatched to officers on the street as a “Code 2” assignment, although calls of a crime in progress should be given priority and designated as “Code 1.” Four police cruisers responded to the broadcast; three to the Lamont Street address and one to another address to investigate a possible suspect. (This suggests that when they heard that there had been a burglary, the police must have felt that they had a promising lead on a culprit.)

Meanwhile, Warren and Taliaferro crawled from their window onto an adjoining roof and waited for the police to arrive. While there, they observed one policeman drive through the alley behind their house and proceed to the front of the residence without stopping, leaning out the window, or getting out of the car to check the back entrance of the house. A second officer apparently knocked on the door in front of the residence, but left when he received no answer. The three officers departed the scene at 0633, five minutes after they arrived.

Warren and Taliaferro crawled back inside their room. They again heard Douglas’ continuing screams; again called the police; told the officer that the intruders had entered the home, and requested immediate assistance. Once again, a police officer assured them that help was on the way. This second call was received at 0642 and recorded merely as “investigate the trouble;” it was never dispatched to any police officers.

Believing the police might be in the house, Warren and Taliaferro called down to Douglas, thereby alerting Kent to their presence. At knife point, Kent and Morse then forced all three women to accompany them to Kent’s apartment. For the next fourteen hours the captive women were raped, robbed, beaten, forced to commit sexual acts upon one another, and made to submit to the sexual demands of Kent and Morse.

The women sued

By a 4-3 decision the court decided that Warren was not entitled to remedy at the bar despite the demonstrable abuse and ineptitude on the part of the police because no special relationship existed. The court stated that official police personnel and the government employing them owe no duty to victims of criminal acts and thus are not liable for a failure to provide adequate police protection unless a special relationship exists. The case was properly dismissed by the trial court for failure to state a claim and the case never went to trial.

Economists For Romney

Copied and pasted from:
http://economistsforromney.com/

==============================

We enthusiastically endorse Governor Mitt Romney’s economic plan to create jobs and restore economic growth while returning America to its tradition of economic freedom. The plan is based on proven principles: a more contained and less intrusive federal government, a greater reliance on the private sector, a broad expansion of opportunity without government favors for special interests, and respect for the rule of law including the decision-making authority of states and localities.

Applying these principles, Governor Romney would:

• Reduce marginal tax rates on business and wage incomes and broaden the tax base to increase investment, jobs, and living standards.
• End the exploding federal debt by controlling the growth of spending so federal spending does not exceed 20 percent of the economy.
• Restructure regulation to end “too big to fail,” improve credit availability to entrepreneurs and small businesses, and increase regulatory accountability, and ensure that all regulations pass rigorous benefit-cost tests.
• Improve our Social Security and Medicare programs by reducing their growth to sustainable levels, ensuring their viability over the long term, and protecting those in or near retirement.
• Reform our healthcare system to harness market forces and thereby reduce costs and increase quality, empowering patients and doctors, rather than the federal bureaucracy.
• Promote energy policies that increase domestic production, enlarge the use of all western hemisphere resources, encourage the use of new technologies, end wasteful subsidies, and rely more on market forces and less on government planners.

In stark contrast, President Obama has failed to advance policies that promote economic and job growth, focusing instead on increasing the size and scope of the federal government, which increases the debt, requires large tax increases, and burdens business with many new financial and health care regulations. The result is an anemic economic recovery and high unemployment. His future plans are to double down on the failed policies, which will only prolong slow growth and high unemployment.

President Obama has:

• Relied on short-term “stimulus” programs, which provided little sustainable lift to the economy, and enacted and proposed significant tax increases for all Americans.
• Offered no plan to reduce federal spending and stop the growth of the debt-to-GDP ratio.
• Failed to propose Social Security reform and offered a Medicare proposal that relies on a panel of bureaucrats to set prices, quantities, and qualities of healthcare services.
• Favored a large expansion of economic regulation across many sectors, with little regard for proper cost-benefit analysis and with a disturbing degree of favoritism toward special interests.
• Enacted health care legislation that centralizes health care decisions and increases the power of the federal bureaucracy to impose one-size-fits-all solutions on patients and doctors, and creates greater incentives for waste.
• Favored expansion of one-size-fits-all federal rulemaking, with an erosion of the ability of state and local governments to make decisions appropriate for their particular circumstances.

In sum, Governor Romney’s economic plan is far superior for creating economic growth and jobs than the actions and interventions President Obama has taken or plans to take in the future. This November, voters will make a fundamental choice between differing visions of America’s economic future.

Signed (affiliations listed for identification purposes only),

Gary Becker, Nobel laureate
James Buchanan, Nobel laureate
Robert Lucas, Nobel laureate
Robert Mundell, Nobel laureate
Edward Prescott, Nobel laureate
Myron Scholes, Nobel laureate

Burton Abrams, University of Delaware
James D. Adams, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Richard Adams, Oregon State University
Douglas Adie, Ohio University
Lee C. Adkins, Oklahoma State University
Richard Agnello, University of Delaware
James Ahiakpor, California State University, East Bay
Francis Ahking, University of Connecticut
William Albrecht, University of Iowa
Michael J. Alderson, Saint Louis University
Donald L. Alexander, Western Michigan University
John W. Allen, Texas A&M University
William Allen, University of California, Los Angeles
Fernando Alvarez, University of Chicago
Wayne Angell, Former Member, Federal Reserve Board
Joe Antos, American Enterprise Institute
J. J. Arias, Georgia College
Richard K. Armey, FreedomWorks
Nathan Ashby, University of Texas at El Paso
Christopher Azevedo, University of Central Missouri
Scott Baier, Clemson University
Charles Baird, California State University, East Bay
Eric Baklanoff, The University of Alabama
Spencer Banzhaf, Georgia State University
Christopher C. Barnekov, Ph.D., Chicago
Robert J. Barro, Harvard University
William Beach, Alexandria, VA
Howard Beales, George Washington University
Stacie Beck, University of Delaware
Larry Belcher, Taylor University
Don Bellante, University of South Florida
Bruce Bender, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Lee Benham, Washington University in St. Louis
Michael Bennett, Curry College
Bill Beranek, University of Georgia
M. Douglas Berg, Sam Houston State University
Richard Bernstein, Temple University
Sanjai Bhagat, University of Colorado
Andrew Biggs, American Enterprise Institute
Robert Bise, Orange Coast College
Michael Block, University of Arizona
Cecil Bohanon, Ball State University
Michael Bond, University of Arizona
Carlos Bonilla, Airline Forecasts
Donald Booth, Chapman University
G. Geoffrey Booth, Michigan State University
Karl Borden, University of Nebraska
Michael Bordo, Rutgers University
George Borts, Brown Universiy
Michael Boskin, Stanford University
Edward H. Boss, Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Illinois State Legislature
John Boyce, University of Calgary
John Boyd, University of Minnesota
Edward Boyer, Temple University
Gordon Brady, glbradygroup.com
Daniel Brandt, Chevy Chase, MD
Ike Brannon, American Action Forum
David Brat, Randolph-Macon College
Charles Breeden, Marquette University
Ivan Brick, Rutgers University
Alex Brill, American Enterprise Institute
Roger Brinner, The Parthenon Group
Wayne T. Brough, FreedomWorks
James Armistead Brown, Jr., Arlington, VA
James N. Brown, Rice University
Jeffrey Brown, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
David P. Brown, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Edgar Browning, Texas A&M University
Eric Brucker, Widener University
Lawrence Brunner, Central Michigan University
Peter Brust, University of Tampa
Phillip Bryson, Brigham Young University
William K. Buchanan, Valdosta State University
Todd Buchholz, Sproglit, LLC
M. Northrup Buechner, St. John’s University
Van Bullock, New Mexico State University
Richard Burdekin, Claremont McKenna College
Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University
Andrew Busch, BMO Capital Markets
James Butkiewicz, University of Delaware
Henry Butler, George Mason University School of Law
William Butos, Trinity College
Frank Caliendo, Utah State University
Charles Calomiris, Columbia University
Colin Campbell, Dartmouth College
William Campbell, Louisiana State University
Robert Carey, Clemson University
Thomas Cargill, University of Nevada, Reno
Darcy Carr, Coastal Carolina University
Kenneth A. Carrow, Indiana University
James Carter, Vienna, VA
Mark Castelino, Rutgers Business School
Gary Caton, Montana State University
Richard J. Cebula, Jacksonville University
Dustin Chambers, Salisbury University
Don Chance, Louisiana State University
Robert Chatflield, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Kenneth Chilton, Lindenwood University
John Chipman, University of Minnesota
Barry R. Chiswick, George Washington University
Lawrence Cima, John Carroll University
Richard Clarida, Columbia University
Jim Clark, Wichita State University
Kenneth Clarkson, University of Miami
Warren Coats Jr., International Monetary Fund, retired
John P. Cochran, Metropolitan State University of Denver
John Cochrane, University of Chicago
John Cogan, Stanford University
John Coleman, Duke University
Boyd Collier, Tarleton State University
Peter Colwell, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
John Connaughton, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Michelle Connolly, Duke University
Michael Connolly, University of Miami
Thomas Cooley, New York University
Cathleen Coolidge, California State University, Chico
Russell Cooper, Pennsylvania State University
Kathleen Cooper, Southern Methodist University
Lee Coppock, University of Virginia
Bradford Cornell, California Institute of Technology
Michael Cosgrove, University of Dallas
Robert Costrell, University of Arkansas
Jim F. Couch, University of North Alabama
Joshua Coval, Harvard Business School
James Cover, University of Alabama
Ted Covey, McLean, VA
Eleanor Craig, University of Delaware
Nicole Crain, Lafayette College
W. Mark Crain, Lafayette College
Wayne Crews, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Thomas D. Crocker, University of Wyoming
John R. Crooker, University of Central Missouri
Dean Croushore, University of Richmond
Mario J. Crucini, Vanderbilt University
Ward Curran, Trinity College
David Cushman, Westminster College of PA
Carl Dahlman, US Department of Defense and RAND Corporation, retired
Michael Daniels, Columbus State University
Albert L. Danielsen, University of Georgia
Larry Dann, University of Oregon
Minh Dao, Eastern Illinois University
Michael Darby, UCLA Anderson School
Ronnie Davis, Florida Institute of Technology
Steven Davis, University of Chicago
J. Ronnie Davis, University of New Orleans
A. Edward Day, University of Central Florida
Harry DeAngelo, University of Southern California
Linda DeAngelo, University of Southern California
Stephen J. DeCanio, University of California, Santa Barbara
Clarence Deitsch, Ball State University
Robert Dekle, University of Southern California
Christopher DeMuth, Hudson Institute
Harold Demsetz, UCLA
David B. H. Denoon, New York University
Joseph DeSalvo, University of South Florida, Tampa
Allan DeSerpa, Arizona State University
William Dewald, Ohio State University
Phoebus Dhrymes, Columbia University
John Diamond, Rice University
Arthur M. Diamond, Jr., University of Nebraska at Omaha
William Dickneider, Palm Springs, CA
John Dobra, University of Nevada, Reno
Jeffrey Dorfman, University of Georgia
William Dougan, Clemson University
Christopher Douglas, University of Michigan – Flint
Joseph Duncan, Political and Economic Reserch Council
Floyd H. Duncan, Virginia Military Institute
Gerald Dwyer, Dwyer Economics
Richard Eastin, University of Southern California
Lanny Ebenstein, University of California, Santa Barbara
John Eckalbar, California State University, Chico
Robert Orland Edmister, Bowling Green State University
Frank Egan, Trinity College
John Egger, Towson University
Isaac Ehrlich, State University of New York, Buffalo
Martin Eichenbaum, Northwestern University
Kathryn Eickhoff, Eickhoff Economics Inc.
Jeff Eisenach, American Enterprise Institute
Charles Elson, University of Delaware
Elyas Elyasiani, Temple University
Alain Enthoven, Stanford University
Stephen Entin, Arlington, VA
Richard Ericson, East Carolina University
Dorla Evans, University of Alabama, Huntsville
James S. Fackler, University of Kentucky
Dino Falaschetti, Property and Environment Research Center
Frank Falero, California State University, Bakersfield
Eugene Fama, University of Chicago
Dorsey D. Farr, French Wolf & Farr
W. Ken Farr, Georgia College and State University
Michael Faulkender, University of Maryland
Christopher Fawson, Utah State University
Allen Featherstone, Kansas State University
Susan Feigenbaum, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Martin Feldstein, Harvard University
Paul Feldstein, University of California, Irvine
David Findlay, Colby College
Eric Fisher, California Polytechnic State University
Garry Fleming, Roanoke College
Christopher Flinn, New York University
Harold Flint, Montclair State University, retired
Kristin Forbes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bill Ford, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, former
Ralph Frasca, University of Dayton
Michele Fratianni, Indiana University
Douglas Frechtling, George Washington University
Kenneth French, Dartmouth College
Gary French, Nathan Associates Inc.
Luke Froeb, Vanderbilt University
Kenneth C. Froewiss, NYU Stern School of Business
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
Esther Gal-Or, University of Pittsburgh
B. Delworth Gardner, Brigham Young University
John Garen, University of Kentucky
Dave Garthoff, The University of Akron
Dermot Gately, New York University
James Gatti, University of Vermont
David Gay, University of Arkansas
Ted Gayer, Brookings Institution
Gregory Gelles, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Aaron Gellman, Northwestern University
Robert Genetski, Classicalprinciples.com
Moheb Ghali, Western Washington University
Joseph Giacalone, St. John’s University
Adam Gifford Jr., California State University
Ann B. Gillette, Kennesaw State University
David Gillette, Truman State University
Peter Gioia, Connecticut Business and Industry Association
James Giordano, Villanova University
Micha Gisser, University of New Mexico
William Glade, University of Texas, Austin, Professor Emeritus
Fred R. Glahe, University of Colorado, Boulder
Amy Glass, Texas A&M University
Frederick Goddard, University of Florida, retired
Charles Goetz, University of Virginia
Joao Gomes, University of Pennsylvania
Rodolfo A. Gonzalez, San Jose State University
Marvin Goodfriend, Carnegie Mellon University
Lawrence Goodman, Bergen County, NJ
John Goodman, National Center for Policy Analysis
Barry Goodwin, North Carolina State University
Richard Gordon, Pennsylvania State University
Eric Graber, University of Maryland University College
Bob Grady, Cheyenne Capital Fund
Daniel Graham, Duke University
J Edward Graham, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Phil Gramm, Former U.S. Senator, Texas
Wendy Gramm, Mercatus Center, retired
Richard Grant, Lipscomb University
Philip Graves, University of Colorado, Boulder
Anthony Greco, University of Louisiana, Lafayette
William Green, Sam Houston State University
Steven L. Green, Baylor University
Kenneth V. Greene, Binghamton University
John Greenhut, Texas A&M University
Paul Gregory, University of Houston
Thomas Gresik, University of Notre Dame
Rachel Greszler, Bethesda, MD
Earl Grinols, Baylor University
Dan Gropper, Auburn University
Tim Groseclose, University of Southern California
Edward Guay, Wintonbury Risk Management
Darrin Gulla, University of Kentucky
Frank Gunter, Lehigh University, Colonel U.S. Marines, retired
RW Hafer, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Robert Hagemann, International Monetary Fund, Retired
Simon Hakim, Temple University
Dennis Halcoussis, California State University, Northridge
Brian Hall, Harvard Business School
Tom Hamilton, University of St. Thomas
J. Daniel Hammond, Wake Forest University
Gary Hansen, UCLA
Jason Hansen, Naval Postgraduate School
Eric Hanushek, Stanford University
Stephen Happel, Arizona State University
Scott Harrington, University of Pennsylvania
William R. Hart, Miami University
Joseph Haslag, University of Missouri
John Haslem, University of Maryland
Jerome Hass, Johnson School, Cornell University
Kevin Hassett, American Enterprise Institute
Janice A. Hauge, University of North Texas
Arthur Havenner, University of California, Davis
Joel Hay, University of Southern California
Ling He, University of Central Arkansas
Daniel Heath, Georgetown University Law Center
Gilbert Heebner, Eastern University
Robert H. Heidt, Indiana University Mauer School of Law
Scott Hein, Texas Tech University
Robert Heller, Former Member, Federal Reserve Board
Robert Helms, American Enterprise Institute
John Helmuth, University of Michigan – Flint
Mike Helvacian, New Jersey Institute of Technology
James Henderson, Baylor University
Wallace Hendricks, University of Illinois
Robert Herren, Fargo, North Dakota
Jesse Hill, Tarrant County College
Evan Hillebrand, University of Kentucky
Dana Hoag, Colorado State University
Robert J. Hodrick, Columbia Business School
John Hoehn, Michigan State University
Arlene Holen, Technology Policy Institute
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum
Dale Hoover, North Carolina State University
Thomas Howard, University of Denver
Glenn Hubbard, Columbia University
Thomas Hubbard, Northwestern University
James L. Huffman, Lewis & Clark Law School
Forrest Huffman, Temple University
J. Christoper Hughen, University of Denver
E. Bruce Hutchinson, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
Peter Hutchinson, Saint Vincent College
Ed Ireland, Ed Ireland & Associates, Inc.
L. Dwight Israelsen, Utah State University
Austin Jaffe, Pennsylvania State University
Mark Jamison, University of Florida
Dennis Jansen, Texas A&M University
Sherry Jarrell, Wake Forest University
William P. Jennings, California State University, Northridge
Gerald Jensen, Northern Illinois University
D. Bruce Johnsen, George Mason University School of Law
Dennis Johnson, University of South Dakota
Douglas Joines, University of Southern California
Steven L. Jones, Indiana University
Jerry Jordan, Pacific Academy
G. Donald Jud, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Richard Just, University of Maryland
Tim Kane, Hudson Institute
Alexander Katkov, Johnson & Wales University
Michael Kaylen, University of Missouri
Benjamin D. Keen, University of Oklahoma
David Kendall, University of Virginia
Joe Kennedy, former Chief Economist, Department of Commerce
Calvin Kent, Marshall University
Carl Kester, Harvard Business School
Naveen Khanna, Michigan State University
Richard Kilmer, University of Florida
Kent Kimbrough, Duke University
Don Koch, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, former
Meir Kohn, Dartmouth College
Betty Kouo, Caterpillar Inc.
Melvyn Krauss, Stanford University
Marie-Josée Kravis, Hudson Institute
Robert Krol, California State University, Northridge
Randy Kroszner, University of Chicago
Anne Krueger, Former World Bank Chief Economist
Cory Krupp, Duke University
Penny Kugler, University of Central Missouri
Ben Kyer, Francis Marion University
Richard La Near, Missouri Southern State University
Francis Laatsch, University of Southern Mississippi
Curt Lacy, University of Georgia
Arthur Laffer, Laffer Associates
William Laird, Florida State University
Deepak Lal, UCLA
Douglas Lamdin, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Daniel Landau, University of Connecticut
William Landes, University of Chicago
Nicholas Lash, Loyola University Chicago
Edward Lazear, Stanford University
Don Leet, California State University, Fresno
Norman Lefton, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Kenneth Lehn, University of Pittsburgh
Carol Leisenring, University of Pennsylvania, retired
Thomas Lenard, Technology Policy Institute
David Leonard, Miami University
Noreen Lephardt, Marquette University
Adam Lerrick, American Enterprise Institute
David Lesmond, Tulane University
Irving Leveson, Leveson Consulting
Philip Levy, University of Virginia
Peter Lewin, University of Texas, Dallas
W. Cris Lewis, Utah State University
Stan Liebowitz, University of Texas, Dallas
Dean Lillard, Ohio State University
Tony Lima, California State University, East Bay
Hwan Lin, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Christopher Lingle, Ph.D. in economics from the University of Georgia
Jody Lipford, Presbyterian College
Luis Locay, University of Miami
Francis Longstaff, UCLA Anderson School
James R. Lothian, Fordham University
John Lott, Burke, VA
Lawrence Lovik, Consultant
Mark Lund, Luther College
John Lunn, Hope College
R. Ashley Lyman, University of Idaho
Maurice MacDonald, Kansas State University
Glenn MacDonald, Washington University in St. Louis
John Makin, American Enterprise Institute
Keith Malone, University of North Alabama
David Malpass, Encima Global
Yuri Maltsev, Carthage College
Gershon Mandelker, University of Pittsburgh
Greg Mankiw, Harvard University
Henry Manne, George Mason University Law School
Richard L. Manning, Arlington, VA
Richard D. Marcus, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Anthony Marino, University of Southern California
Michael L. Marlow, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Noralyn Marshall, Risk Management Advisors
Richard Marston, Wharton School
Deryl Martin, Tennessee Technological University
Timothy Mathews, Kennesaw State University
Aparna Mathur, American Enterprise Institute
John Matsusaka, University of Southern California
David Mayers, University of California, Riverside
Thomas Mayor, University of Houston
John McArthur, Wofford College
Bennett McCallum, Carnegie Mellon University
John J. McConnell, Purdue University
J. Huston McCulloch, Ohio State University
John McDowell, Arizona State University
Martin McGuire, University of California-Irvine
John McKissick, University of Georgia
Francis McLaughlin, Boston College
W. Douglas McMillin, Louisiana State University
William Megginson, University of Oklahoma
Roger Meiners, University of Texas at Arlington
Will Melick, Kenyon College
Allan Meltzer, Carnegie Mellon University
Kimberly Mencken, Baylor University
Enrique Mendoza, University of Maryland
Stephen Mennemeyer, University of Alabama at Birmingham
John Merrifield, University of Texas-San Antonio
Jim Mietus, Office of Management and Budget, retired
Todd Milbourn, Washington University in St. Louis
Tom Miller, American Enterprise Institute
Geoffrey Miller, New York University
James D. Miller, Smith College
Jim Miller, OMB Director 1985-1988
Jon Miller, jrmecon@uidaho.edu
Dan Miller, Arlington, VA
Mario Miranda, Ohio State University
Jeffrey Miron, Harvard University
Ed Miseta, Pennsylvania State University
James Moncur, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Wilbur Monroe, US Treasury Department, retired
Michael Montgomery, University of Maine
Velma Montoya, University of California
Ron Moomaw, Oklahoma State University
John C. Moorhouse, Wake Forest University
Paul Morgan, Westmont College
Barry Morris, University of North Alabama
Steve Morse, University of Tennessee
Tim Muris, George Mason University
John E. Murray, Rhodes College
Frank Murray, University of Minnesota
David B. Mustard, University of Georgia
Richard F. Muth, Emory University
Steven Myers, University of Akron
Paula Nas, University of Michigan-Flint
George Neumann, University of Iowa
Robert Newman, Louisiana State University
Robert D. Niehaus, Robert D. Niehaus, Inc.
Michael Niemira, International Coucil of Shopping Centers, Inc.
Daniel O’Brien, McLean, VA
Dave O’Neill, Baruch College
June O’Neill, Former Director of the Congressional Budget Office
James B. O’Neill, University of Delaware
Norman Obst, Michigan State University
Lee Ohanian, UCLA
Lydia Ortega, San Jose State University
Donald Oswald, California State University, Bakersfield
Walton Padelford, Union University
Richard Palfin, Economic Analysis
Joe Parcell, University of Missouri
Stephen Parente, University of Minnesota
Randall Parker, East Carolina University
Donald Parsons, George Washington University
Douglas Patterson, Virginia Tech
George G. Pennacchi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tim Perri, Appalachian State University
Mark Perry, University of Michigan-Flint, American Enterprise Institute
Christopher Phelan, University of Minnesota
Tomas J. Philipson, University of Chicago
G. Michael Phillips, California State University, Northridge
Gordon Phillips, University of Southern California
Charles Phillips, Jr, Washington and Lee University
Mario Picconi, University of San Diego
John Pisciotta, Baylor University
William Poole, Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Michael Porter, Harvard University
Roger Porter, Harvard University
Barry Poulson, University of Colorado Boulder
John Powers, The University of Cincinnati
Robert Premus, Wright State University
Joseph Prinzinger, Lynchburg College
R. L. Promboin, University of Maryland University College
Stephen Pruitt, University of Missouri, Kansas City
Richard W. Rahn, Institute for Global Economic Growth
Garey Ramey, University of California, San Diego
Valerie Ramey, University of California, San Diego
James Ramsey, New York University
David Ranson, H.C. Wainwright & Co. Economics Inc.
Brian Reardon, Venn Strategies, LLC
James Refalo, California State University, Los Angeles
Martin Regalia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Ralph Reiland, Robert Morris University
Jon Reisman, University of Maine at Machias
Robert Rencher, Liberty University
Thomas Rhee, California State University, Long Beach
Mark William Rider, Georgia State University
Christine Ries, Georgia Institute of Technology
Mario Rizzo, New York University
Gary Robbins, Fiscal Associates
Nancy Roberts, Arizona State University
Philip Romero, University of Oregon
David Rose, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Harvey Rosen, Princeton University
Joshua Rosett, Claremont McKenna College
Larry Ross, University of Alaska Anchorage
Robert Rossana, Wayne State University
Louis F. Rossiter, The College of William and Mary
Timothy Roth, University of Texas at El Paso
James Roumasset, University of Hawaii
Charles Rowley, George Mason University
Paul Rubin, Emory University
John Ruggiero, University of Dayton
Philip Jay Rushing, University of Illinois
Nathan Russell, Patrick Henry College
Thomas C. Rustici, George Mason University
John Rutledge, Claremont Graduate University
Don Sabbarese, Kennesaw State University
Anthony Sanders, George Mason University
Jonathan Sandy, University of San Diego
Gary Santoni, Ball State University
Atulya Sarin, Santa Clara University
Eric A. Sartell, Whitworth University
Raymond Sauer, Clemson University
Robert Sauer, University of Bristol
Jennifer Savage, Orange Coast College
E.S. Savas, Baruch College/CUNY
Thomas Schaap, Bellsouth Corporation
Jim Schallheim, University of Utah
Michael Schuyler, Arlington, VA
Loren Scott, Louisiana State University
John Seater, North Carolina State University
Roger Sedjo, Resources for the Future
Robert Seeley, Wilkes University
Richard Selden, University of Virginia
Barry Seldon, Florida State University
David Shaffer, Villanova University
Sol S. Shalit, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Alan Shapiro, University of Southern California
Tim Sheesley, Xcel Energy
Steven Sheffrin, Tulane University
Gary L. Shelley, East Tennessee State University
Judy Shelton, Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Ann Sherman, DePaul University
George Shultz, Former Secretary of the Treasury
Werner Sichel, Western Michigan University
Laurence Siegel, Chartered Financial Analyst Institute
Don Siegel, University at Albany, SUNY
Jonathan Silberman, Oakland University
Jay Edward Simkin, The Stratecon Group LLC
Andrei Simonov, Michigan State University
Evangelos Otto Simos, University of New Hampshire
Eric Sims, University of Notre Dame
Neil Skaggs, Illinois State University
Chuck Skipton, University of Tampa
Timothy F. Slaper, Indiana Business Research Center
Scott Smart, Indiana University
Amy Smith, Arlington, VA
Janet Kiholm Smith, Claremont McKenna College
James F. Smith, EconForecaster, LLC
Richard L. Smith, University of California, Riverside
Donald Snyder, Utah State University
Douglas Southgate, Ohio State University
Lawrence Southwick, University at Buffalo
Chester Spatt, Carnegie Mellon University
David Spencer, Brigham Young University
Peter Sperry, Woodbridge, VA
Frank Spreng, McKendree University
Stan Spurlock, Mississippi State University
Michael Staten, University of Arizona
Robert Stauffer, Roanoke College
Craig Stephenson, Babson College
Derek Stimel, Menlo College
Thomas Stoker, MIT
Joe Stone, University of Oregon
Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, UCLA
Gerry Suchanek , University of Iowa
Daniel Sumner, University of California, Davis
Shirley Svorny, California State University, Northridge
Phillip Swagel, University of Maryland
Joseph Swanson, Northwestern University
Richard Sweeney, Georgetown University
Moshe Syrquin, University of Miami
Robert Tamura, Clemson University
T. Craig Tapley, University of Florida
Jason Taylor, Central Michigan University
John Taylor, Stanford University
Paul Taylor, Vienna, VA
Rebecca Thacker, Ohio University
Teresa Tharp, Valencia College
Stephen Thode, Lehigh University
Shawn Thomas, University of Pittsburgh
Henry Thompson, Auburn University
James Thornton, Eastern Michigan University
William Thralls, Johnson & Wales University
Walter Thurman, North Carolina State University
Jerry Thursby, Georgia Institute of Technology
Stephen A. Tolbert, Montgomery County Community College (PA)
Robert D. Tollison, Clemson University
Dang Tran, California State University, Los Angeles
Richard Trethewey, Kenyon College
Charles Trzcinka, Indiana University, Bloomington
K.C. Tseng, California State University, Fresno
George P. Tsetsekos, Drexel University
David G. Tuerck, Suffolk University
Roger Tutterow, Mercer Univiersity
A. Sinan Unur, Cornell University
Kamal Upadhyaya, University of New Haven
Charles Upton, Kent State University
T. Norman Van Cott, Ball State University
Larry Van Horn, Vanderbilt University
James VanderHoff, Rutgers University-Newark
David VanHoose, Baylor University
Karen Vaughn, George Mason University
Richard Vedder, Ohio University
George Viksnins, Georgetown University
J. Antonio Villamil, St. Thomas University
John Volpe, Catholic University of America
Richard Wagner, George Mason University
Donald Walker, Indiana University of PA
Ralph Walkling, Drexel University
Sherri Wall, University of Alaska Fairbanks
William Walstad, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Ronald Ward, University of Florida
John Warner, Clemson University
Kevin Warsh, Stanford University
Mark Warshawsky, Social Security Advisory Board
Alan Rufus Waters, California State University, Fresno
Robert Weaver, Pennsylvania State University
Bruce Webb, Gordon College
Leon L. Wegge, University of California, Davis
Murray Weidenbaum, Washington University in St. Louis
Andrew Weintraub, Temple University
Walter Wessels, North Carolina State University
Robert Whaples, Wake Forest University
James Whitaker, Centreville, VA
J. Gregg Whittaker, William Jewell College
Steven Wiggins, Texas A&M University
Michael E. Williams, University of Denver
Gary Williams, Texas A&M University
Paul Wilson, Clemson University
Wayne Winegarden, Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics
Paul Winfree, Arlington, VA
Michael Wohlgenant, North Carolina State University
Charles Wolf, Hoover Institution
Gary Wolfram, Hillsdale College
Jeffrey Wrase, Washington, DC
Gene Wunder, Washburn University
Colin Wright, Claremont Mckenna College
Steve B. Wyatt, Miami University
Frank Wykoff, Pomonoa College
Tetsuji Yamada, Rutgers University
Yong Yang, Ford Motor Company
DeVon Yoho, Ball State University
Nancy Yonge, Center for American Strength
Mokhlis Zaki, Northern Michigan University
John Zdanowicz, Florida International University
Kate Zhou, University of Hawaii
Jerry Zimmerman, Univeristy of Rochester
Robert Zoellick, Former President of the World Bank
Benjamin Zycher, American Enterprise Institute

Milton Friedman and Phil Donahue talk Greed

Video Caption

In his book “Capitalism and Freedom” (1962) Milton Friedman (1912-2006) advocated minimizing the role of government in a free market as a means of creating political and social freedom.

An excerpt from an interview with Phil Donahue in 1979.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman

2008 presidential election by income

 

Democrats have the lead in the < $50 and > $200k

Taxprof: October 5, 2009  For Whom Do The 47% Who Pay No Income Tax Vote?

Statistics on Dating and Marriage…

30 stats:

81 percent of women and 71 percent of men have been married by age 30

From wikipedia:

In the past, single women over the age of 25 were sometimes referred to in Japan as a “Christmas cake”[2] based on the belief that just as a Christmas cake is worthless after December 25, single women become nearly worthless after the age of 25.

Sources:

• Better left on the shelf than a downtrodden wife?, KAORI SHOJI, Thursday, June 2, 2005, , japantimes.co.jp

Decibels from Gunpowder & Tinnitus Prevention

Executive summary:

1. Hearing loss is a significant problem in the shooting sports
2. Double up with ear plugs and muffs
3. Get the highest noise reduction rating (NRR) rating you can that’s comfortable. NRR 33 muffs and ear plugs are available. A NRR difference of 6 means double the measurable protection.
4. Ear plugs must be rolled very thin before inserted and allowed to expand for a tight seal or they won’t work. Skull screws are the exception to this rule.
5. Avoid ported barrels and brakes. These dramatically increase the sound levels.
6. Indoor shooting ranges magnify sound levels
7. Spoggles (safety googles w/ straps) are good for your ears, Traditional temple arms break the seal on ear muffs
8. Suppressors are the only tool that will bring firearm noises below the OSHA maximum permissible level of 115 decibels which has a federally regulated maximum time of only 15 minutes.

Supporting Data & Analysis:

According to Dr. William Clark, Ph.D. senior research scientist in charge of the NOISE LABORATORY at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, the damage caused by one shot from a .357 magnum pistol, which can expose a shooter to 165 dB for 2msec, is equivalent to over 40 hours in a noisy workplace. Dr. Krammer, Ph.D., Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana has documented the following pressure levels.¹

Shotguns:

Shotguns
20 Gauge	28″ barrel	152.50dB
20 Gauge	22″ barrel	154.75dB
12 Gauge	28″ barrel	151.50dB
12 Gauge	26″ barrel	156.10dB
12 Gauge	18″ barrel	161.50dB

Pistols

.22LR (in a pistol)	152 dB1
9mm	159.8 dB
.40	????
.45 ACP	157.0 dB
.357 Magnum	164.3 dB
.38 Special	156.3 dB

Rifles

.30-06		158.5dB
.30-06		163.2dB
.223, 55GR. Commercial load	18″ barrel	155.5db
.375	18″ barrel with muzzle brake	170 dB

OSHA’s regulation of industrial noise exposure

85-90dB	8 hours	Lawn mower, Disco dance music, Shop tools, Truck traffic, Noisy restaurant
100dB	2 hours	Pneumatic drill, Chainsaw
110 dB		Woodworking shop
115dB	15 minutes	Sandblasting

The best hearing protection:

Cheap Ear Muffs – 33 NRR!

• Pro Ears Ultra 33 NRR 33 Passive Ear Muffs

Safe (aware of surroundings) ear muffs – MAKE SURE THEY ARE 33 NRR!

• Pro Mag Gold NRR 33 Electronic Ear Muffs
• Pro Tac Mag Gold NRR 33 Electronic Ear Muffs

Ear muff friendly safety glasses

The elastic band ensures ear muffs have a tight seal.

• Uvex Spoggles
• WileyX
• 3M Enhanced Maxim 2 x 2 Goggles

Don’t believe the above? Sound Level Meters available via Amazon.

Who Caused the 2008 Economic Crisis

Also known as the 2nd Great Contraction….

Jeff Miron @ Harvard From 2:03 on…

“The 3rd myth is that capitalism was responsible for the recent financial crisis and the recession. That gain is almost exactly oposite of what is true. First of all, Nobody who is being intellectually honest thinks we had unbridaled serious capitalism before the economic crisis hit, before the subprime buildup occurred, before we had all the housing problems. We had enormous government interventions that subsidized risk. Enormous government interventions that encouraged over investment in housing. If one was going to draw any conclusions it seems to suggest much more clearly that interfering with capitalism generates financial crisis generates recessions. Because what we experienced was directly related to the incentives for excessive risk taking, incentives for over investment in housing that were created by government.

The private sector responded to those incentives so of course the the private sector can not be completely be absolved of involved, but as for causing it was the bad policies that caused it not what the private sector or capitalism did on it’s own.

Most importantly whenever government bail out people who took excessive risk they encourage more of that in the future. And we unfortunately went a huge way in that direction by the tarp and the federal reserve policies which helped Wall Street and all the risk takers not have to pay the true price for all the excessive risk taking they engaged in.

Quotes from NPR’s Intelligence Squared Debate BLAME WASHINGTON MORE THAN WALL STREET FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Pre-Debate Poll Results
42% For | 30% Against | 28%
Post Debate Poll Results
60% For | 31% Against | 9%

Niall Ferguson @ Harvard

to do…..

(dictating work is in progress) Ladies and gentlement … NOthing would be easier than to blame everything on the banksers. Compensation was 72 million dollars the year before his firm collapsed … never to be seen again. Not only were the bankers greedy .. we would agree… they were also incompetent. But I and my colleges …. but we blame the politicians more. Who was playing the music. It’s so easy to heap approbriam on wallstreet now. That’s exactly what the politicians do. Only yesterday he was denouncing the wrecklessness and greed. FDR in his inaugural address he scorned. Ladies and gentelemnt you have to ask yourself. Could it just possibly be that they are trying to divert our intentions. Role of 4 institutions and their locations

1st federal reserve board allow housing bubble inflate and burst. Fed cut federal funds rate 6.5% to 1%. In that time house price inflation rose from 7% to 17% and stayed above 15% right about 2006. Ben Bernacke claimed this as the great moderation. yest that

2nd institution was the securities and exchange commision. Leverage 12:1 to 20-30:1 and that was a conscous decision by the SEC. The location 100 F street north west washington D.C..

3rd suspect was Congress. They failed to supervise fannie mae and freddie mac. Those two essential institutions that underpinned. Core capital 83 billion and supported 5.2 trillion dollars. Leveraged 65:1. Location of congress is capital hill washington D.C.

Location of the white house. You know the white house played an extremely important role in creating the subprime mortgage disaster. “We want everyone in america to own their own home” declared President George W. Bush. in October of 2002 Everybody in America. He challenged lenders to create 5.5 million new minority home owners by the end of the decade. He assigned the american dream down payment act in 2003. No presidental pressure, no subprime debacal. Washington sold itself to wallstreet and I fear is very much in hock to it.

John Steele Gordon

to do…..

Nouriel Roubini @ NY Stern

to do…..

Raghuram Rajan @ Chicago Booth

sent a clear message to bankers: “Don’t bother storing cash or marketable assets for a rainy day; we will be there to help you.” Not only did the Fed reduce the profitability of taking precautions, but it implicitly encouraged bankers to borrow short-term while making long-term loans, confident the Fed would be there if funding dried up. Leverage built up throughout the system.

….

Walter Bagehot, was fond of saying, “John Bull can stand many things but he can’t stand 2 percent.” Similarly, John Doe cannot stand interest rates near zero, and when the Fed pushes short rates very low, especially when deflation is not a clear and present danger but just a possibility, savers move to holding riskier assets, pushing all manner of risk premiums down and prices up.

….

Finally, equity markets were not entirely unaware of the risks. From the second quarter of 2005 to the second quarter of 2007, the two-year implied volatility of S&P 500 options prices—the market’s expectations of the volatility of share prices two years ahead—was 30 to 40 percent higher than the short-term onemonth volatility.23 This figure suggests that the market expected the seeming calm would end, even though the high level of the market indicated it did not place a high probability on events turning out badly for shareholders. But this is precisely how we would expect the market to behave if it believed the banks were taking on subsidized tail risk.

…..

bet this offered employees was known variously as the Acapulco Play, IBG (I’ll be gone if it doesn’t work), and, in Chicago, the O’Hare Option (buy a ticket departing from O’Hare International Airport: if the strategy fails, use it; if the strategy succeeds, tear up the ticket and return to the office).

Rajan, Raghuram G. (2011-08-28). Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy (New in Paper) (Kindle Locations 3410-3412). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.