Chris Lindsay @christopherjohnlindsay-blog - Tumblr Blog

The past is a picture of futures man inevitably will paint again, and history hollers its warnings for those with ears to hear. Selwyn Duke

Who caused the mortgage crisis?

Perhaps the greatest scandal of the mortgage crisis was the intentional loosening of underwriting standards - done in the name of ending discrimination, despite warnings that it could lead to wide-scale defaults. Minority mortgage applications were rejected more frequently than other applications - but the overwhelming reason wasn't racial discrimination, but simply that minorities tend to have weaker finances. It was the regulators who relaxed these standards - at the behest of community groups and "progressive" political forces.

#mortgage crisis #minorities #minority mortgages #racial discrimination

Many people blame George Bush for the 2008 financial crisis, but this 4-minute video shows how he tried to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the Democrats blocked his efforts. John McCain and Alan Greenspan also called for Fannie and Freddie to be regulated.

#George Bush #Fannie Mae #Freddie Mac #Alan Greenspan

The Economic Miracle in Estonia

Estonia was one of the first countries in the world to adopt a flat income tax. And yet, even with this much lower rate of income taxation, Estonia boasts a budget surplus and the lowest debt load in the European Union. By keeping government spending to a manageable level, the private sector is able to expand into more sectors of the economy; and, by keeping income and corporate taxes low, those businesses are able to grow, hire more workers and provide more revenue to the government. Estonia posted an impressive economic growth rate of 8.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011 - the highest in the EU.

#estonia #flat income tax

Why Inflation is Bad

In an inflationary situation, those able to cope with price hikes—a shopkeeper charging more, a banker raising interest rates—may become inflation’s beneficiaries. But wage earners and pensioners usually fall behind when prices rise, becoming poorer by the day. All those who lent their money at a fixed rate, usually by buying treasury bonds, are bankrupted in an inflationary era. This well-known pattern destroys all faith in government and leads to political upheaval. Throughout the twentieth century, inflation has been the death of democracy.

#inflation

The Death Penalty Saves Lives

Nearly 30 convicted killers released from jail in the UK over the past 10 years have gone on to kill again. Twenty-five of them were convicted in courts for the second homicide — including 21 murders. If these killers had been executed, or kept in prison until death, nearly 30 lives could have been saved.

#death penalty #capital punishment

Debt Free Money

Many people believe that when banks lend money, only the principal is created and never the interest. Thus, there is an insufficient quantity of money to repay both the principal and the interest on all debt. This theory is wrong. The revenues banks collect from interest on loans do not disappear into an economic void. Instead, those revenues are used to meet operating expenses or are paid to shareholders as dividends. Banks spend money back into the economy without any debt being created to burden the public -- debt-free money. The Federal Reserve also creates debt-free money when it buys government bonds.

#debt free money

Self-Deception

"Self-deception is the acquisition and maintenance of a belief (or, at least, the avowal of that belief) in the face of strong evidence to the contrary motivated by desires or emotions favoring the acquisition and retention of that belief."

#self deception

When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive. Alan Paton

#forgiveness #forgive

Governments Cause Inflation

Inflation is a printing press phenomenon: It is governments and governments alone that can produce excessive monetary growth, and hence inflation. One way to finance higher government spending is by increasing the quantity of money. The U.S. government can do that by having the U.S. Treasury sell bonds to the Federal Reserve. When this additional high-powered money is deposited in commercial banks by its initial recipients, the money serves as reserves for the banks and as the basis for a much larger addition to the quantity of money.

#inflation #printing press

Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it. Seneca

#anger #seneca

In this 2-minute video Milton Friedman explains why capitalism is superior to socialism in lifting the poor out of poverty.

#greed #socialism #capitalism #milton friedman

What is Obamanomics?

Obamanomics focuses on government spending and government hiring as the key to everything. The reason why Obamanomics is failing is because there is a fundamental difference between public and private employment. Public employment is not self-sustaining. It relies on the private sector to pay for it. What happens when you constantly increase public employment and public spending? You eventually run out of other people's money to spend. You cross the Thatcher Line: the point at which the burden of government begins to overwhelm the ability of the private sector to pay for it.

#obamanomics #Thatcher line

Printing Money Causes Inflation

Why doesn't the Bank of Canada just print enough money to pay off the national debt? Because doing so would reduce the value of our money. If the Bank were to print money to repay the national debt or to finance government programs, it would be adding greatly to the amount of money in circulation. This would encourage people to spend and borrow more, and the economy would receive a temporary boost. But overall demand for goods and services would grow faster than the economy's ability to produce, and this would inevitably lead to higher inflation.

#printing money #inflation #bank of canada

The U.S. Government Started the Housing Bubble

During the housing bubble a lot of bad real estate loans were made. Politicians blame "greedy" mortgage brokers and lenders. The truth is that most of the blame rests on political meddling in the credit decisions of these mortgage lenders. Washington made it clear to banks and other lending institutions that if they did not bring more minorities and low-income Americans into the world of home ownership there would be a heavy price to pay. Congress set up processes whereby community activist groups and organizers could effectively stop a bank's efforts to grow if that bank didn't make loans to unqualified borrowers.

#housing bubble

Smoot Hawley Tarrif

In 1930, Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff, significantly raising the duties on imported goods. Hoover thought that reducing imports would strengthen the economy. Instead, it contributed to a collapse in world trade. Proponents pooh-poohed fears of reprisals and claimed the tariff would raise the standard of American labor and American wages. America's trading partners, notably Canada, did not turn the other cheek. Outraged at being kicked out of the U.S. market, the Canadian government retaliated against U.S. exports. As a result of protectionism around the globe, U.S. exports fell faster than U.S. imports during the Depression.

#Smoot Hawley Tarrif #Herbert Hoover #free trade

SWEATSHOPS: I don't like to see anyone being exploited, but this video makes a point. Despite the corporate greed, low wages, and long working hours, sweatshops are still a "net positive" for poor people. Sweatshops pay higher wages than other jobs that are available. Shutting them down would make their lives even worse.

#sweatshops

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Chris Lindsay