Monthly Archives: March 2008

Quote of the Day:
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:::”Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”
:::– Aldous Huxley
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:::Subject: Promise or threat
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:::Promises, promises. Threats, threats. When it comes to the words politicians utter, who can tell the difference anymore? Are they making promises, or threats?
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:::Clinton and Obama both want more government involvement in health care. They present it as a promise, but when you consider that . . .
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• Government already inflates health care prices through the hundreds of billions it spends on Medicare

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• The government already has $53 trillion in earlier promises for Medicare and Social Security that it can’t keep

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:::. . . then the Clinton-Obama promises start to sound a lot more like threats.
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:::Clinton and Obama both claim their health care plans will “only” cost about $100 billion. But can you think of any government program that has ever met its cost projections? We can’t. They always cost more. A lot more.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Change the political environment. Recruit more Downsizers. Share this message with others.::::::Quote of the Day:::::::“Practically all governments of history have used their exclusive power to issue money to defraud and plunder the people.”:::– Friedrich von Hayek (Nobel Prize Winner in Economics)::::::Subject: Stagflation evidence::::::Here’s the latest economic report from the Commerce Department . . .

The economy grew only 6 tenths of one percent in Quarter-4 of 2007, compared to 4.9 percent the prior quarter
• Total 2007 growth was only 2.2%, the lowest in five years
• Home builders have cut operations 25.2%, the largest decrease in 26 years
• Consumer spending rose just 1.9% in Quarter-4, down from 2.8% in Quarter-3
• Business investment in equipment and software grew only 3.3% in Quarter-4, compared to 6.2% in Quarter-3

Meanwhile . . .

• The Labor Department says unemployment applications rose to 373,000 two weeks ago, an increase of 19,000
• The National Association for Business Economics predicts even slower growth for this quarter

Clearly, the economy is sputtering. Normally, if we had a stable money supply, you would expect such economic conditions to result in price cuts to attract consumers. In fact, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with if we had stable money. But instead of price cuts we find that, thanks to the Fed Inflation Machine . . .

• Core price inflation, which excludes food and energy, was 2.7% in Quarter-4, up from 2% in Quarter-3
• Food and energy prices are also rising (you don’t need a government report to know this)
• The dollar has reached a record low against the Euro
• Gold is still climbing toward $1,000 an ounce, needing only $15 to $20 more to reach that mark

The Fed thinks it can reverse the economic downturn by creating more money. It started cutting interest rates for this purpose in September, and has gone wild recently, slashing the rate by 1.25% in just eight days in January, the biggest one-month cut in nearly 25 years. Still more cuts are probable at the Fed’s next meeting.::::::Will it work?

Quote of the Day:
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:::It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important . . . You may never know what results come from your action.  But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
:::– Gandhi
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:::Subject: Hero vs. Army
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:::The stories we love tell us how we think. We love the theme of the single hero triumphing over great evil: David vs. Goliath, Knight vs. Dragon, Superhero vs. Super-villain . . . and the Great Political Leader vs. the Great Social Problem.
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:::Our love of such tales makes it hard to ignore candidates who claim they will save us.
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:::Successful politicians tell us stories that resonate. They claim we are threatened by unique dangers that only they can solve. They depict their struggle in epic terms. The politician becomes a knight, the problem a dragon, and elections a sword.
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:::Will the knight prevail? Or will we live with the menace for four more years?

Quote of the day:
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:::”Brevity is the soul of lingerie.”
:::– Dorothy Parker
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:::Subject: Quick and Brief
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:::This is just a brief message to wrap up February and a quick action item.
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:::We actually exceeded our monthly budget goal for February. And more people donated to us last month than in any single month in 2007. It was exciting to see our vision (of a lot of people doing a little) at work.
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:::Thank you, DC Downsizers!
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:::Congress returns this week. The Administration continues to apply misleading pressure and scare tactics on the House to “do something” about terrorism and pass that anti-Fourth Amendment, warrantless spying bill, combined with Big Telecom immunity.
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:::We must