more and more government intervention means less and less freedom and real progress.....

but the 'progressives' (ie: socialists et al) believe just the opposite, yet they do not look at the reality of their 'thinking'.....and the actual real-life results of their so called progressive agenda: less freedom and liberty!

What's the Best Country for Business?

December 30, 2014

Forbes recently released its list of the best countries for business, and the United States has found itself far down the list. Kurt Badenhausen reports that America fell four spots this year, dropping to 18th place. While the country was second on the list in 2009, it has declined every year since.

Why the decline? Badenhausen offers a number of reasons:

• The U.S. government has expanded in size, bringing with it a host of new regulations in the health care and finance industries.
• Since 2009, there have been 130 new major federal regulations for starting businesses, costing $60 billion annually.
• For seven years in a row, the United States has dropped in the "economic freedom" rankings, as compiled by the Heritage Foundation, and its "monetary freedom" ranking is eighty-first out of 146 countries.
• America's corporate tax rates are the highest in the developed world, and the tax system is incredibly complex. The World Bank ranks the U.S. corporate tax system forty-third among 146 nations.

Which nation topped the Forbes list? Denmark. Badenhausen explains that its few regulations make it easy -- and relatively inexpensive -- to start new businesses in the country. Following Denmark and rounding out the top 10 were Hong Kong, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Finland.

Source: Kurt Badenhausen, "U.S. Slides Again As Denmark Tops Forbes' Best Countries For Business," Forbes.com, December 17, 2014.

the minion state

Liberty and freedom require effort, sacrifice, honor and a people with a strong moral character.

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”-Benjamin Franklin

Historian Tacitus noted, as Rome became more and more corrupt, the number of laws grew rapidly. The Roman aristocracy, through corruption and thievery achieved lofty status in Roman society. Senators and wealthy knights engaged in extensive practices of conspicuous consumption, creating palatial town houses and monumental “art villas” to demonstrate their high rank in society. The peasants sank into poverty, while being satiated with bread and circuses. And it was all done legally, just as it is being done legally today by our beloved aristocracy and their minions.

“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” – Tacitus – The Annals of Imperial Rome

Has the proliferation of laws, rules, and regulations over the last century made us freer, safer and less corrupt?

(this is truly an amazing graphic.....)

We live in a warfare/welfare surveillance state built on a foundation of debt, consumerism, and delusion, with no tears. We’ve learned to love our servitude.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-10/bread-circuses-bombs-decline-american-empire-part-2

power of government

the power of government along with the government's 

thirst for power has created all sorts of evil.... 

how long until the leverage rubber band breaks....

really amazing numbers to contemplate....

is severe inflation the only way out?

have we/are we creating a financial coffin of our own making?

"If Something Rattles This Ponzi Scheme, Life In America Will Change Overnight"

 Submitted by Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog,

I know that headline sounds completely outrageous.  But it is actually true.  The U.S. government is borrowing about 8 trillion dollars a year, and you are about to see the hard numbers that prove this.  When discussing the national debt, most people tend to only focus on the amount that it increases each 12 months.  And as I wrote about recently, the U.S. national debt has increased by more than a trillion dollars in fiscal year 2014.  But that does not count the huge amounts of U.S. Treasury securities that the federal government must redeem each year.  When these debt instruments hit their maturity date, the U.S. government must pay them off.  This is done by borrowing more money to pay off the previous debts.  In fiscal year 2013, redemptions of U.S. Treasury securities totaled $7,546,726,000,000 and new debt totaling $8,323,949,000,000 was issued.  The final numbers for fiscal year 2014 are likely to be significantly higher than that.

So why does so much government debt come due each year?

Well, in recent years government officials figured out that they could save a lot of money on interest payments by borrowing over shorter time frames.  For example, it costs the government far more to borrow money for 10 years than it does for 1 year.  So a strategy was hatched to borrow money for very short periods of time and to keep "rolling it over" again and again and again.

This strategy has indeed saved the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars in interest payments, but it has also created a situation where the federal government must borrow about 8 trillion dollars a year just to keep up with the game.

So what happens when the rest of the world decides that it does not want to loan us 8 trillion dollars a year at ultra-low interest rates?

Well, the game will be over and we will be in a massive amount of trouble.

I am about to share with you some numbers that were originally reported by CNS News.  As you can see, far more debt is being redeemed and issued today than back during the middle part of the last decade...

2013

Redeemed: $7,546,726,000,000

Issued: $8,323,949,000,000

Increase: $777,223,000,000

2012

Redeemed: $6,804,956,000,000

Issued: $7,924,651,000,000

Increase: $1,119,695,000,000

2011

Redeemed: $7,026,617,000,000

Issued: $8,078,266,000,000

Increase: $1,051,649,000,000

2010

Redeemed: $7,206,965,000,000

Issued: $8,649,171,000,000

Increase: $1,442,206,000,000

2009

Redeemed: $7,306,512,000,000

Issued: $9,027,399,000,000

Increase: $1,720,887,000,000

2008

Redeemed: $4,898,607,000,000

Issued: $5,580,644,000,000

Increase: $682,037,000,000

2007

Redeemed: $4,402,395,000,000

Issued: $4,532,698,000,000

Increase: $130,303,000,000

2006

Redeemed: $4,297,869,000,000

Issued: $4,459,341,000,000

Increase: $161,472,000,000

The only way that this game can continue is if the U.S. government can continue to borrow gigantic piles of money at ridiculously low interest rates.

And our current standard of living greatly depends on the continuation of this game.

If something comes along and rattles this Ponzi scheme, life in America could change radically almost overnight.

In the United States today, we have a heavily socialized system that hands out checks to nearly half the population.  In fact, 49 percentof all Americans live in a home that gets direct monetary benefits from the federal government each month according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  And it is hard to believe, but Americans received more than 2 trillion dollars in benefits from the federal government last year alone.  At this point, the primary function of the federal government is taking money from some people and giving it to others.  In fact, more than 70 percent of all federal spending goes to "dependence-creating programs", and the government runs approximately 80different "means-tested welfare programs" right now.  But the big problem is that the government is giving out far more money than it is taking in, so it has to borrow the difference.  As long as we can continue to borrow at super low interest rates, the status quo can continue.

But a Ponzi scheme like this can only last for so long.

It has been said that when the checks stop coming in, chaos will begin in the streets of America.

The looting that took place when a technical glitch caused the EBT system to go down for a short time in some areas last year and the rioting in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri this year were both small previews of what we will see in the future.

And there is no way that we will be able to "grow" our way out of this problem.

As the Baby Boomers continue to retire, the amount of money that the federal government is handing out each year is projected to absolutely skyrocket.  Just consider the following numbers...

-Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid.  Today, more than 70 million Americans are on Medicaid, and it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.

-When Medicare was first established, we were told that it would cost about $12 billion a year by the time 1990 rolled around.  Instead, the federal government ended up spending $110 billion on the program in 1990, and the federal government spent approximately $600 billion on the program in 2013.

-It is being projected that the number of Americans on Medicare will grow from 50.7 million in 2012 to 73.2 million in 2025.

-At this point, Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars over the next 75 years.  That comes to approximately $328,404 for every single household in the United States.

-In 1945, there were 42 workers for every retiree receiving Social Security benefits.  Today, that number has fallen to 2.5 workers, and if you eliminate all government workers, that leaves only 1.6 private sector workers for every retiree receiving Social Security benefits.

-Right now, there are approximately 63 million Americans collecting Social Security benefits.  By 2035, that number is projected to soar to an astounding 91 million.

-Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years.

-The U.S. government is facing a total of 222 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities during the years ahead.  Social Security and Medicare make up the bulk of that.

Yes, things seem somewhat stable for the moment in America today.

But the same thing could have been said about 2007.  The stock market was soaring, the economy seemed like it was rolling right along and people were generally optimistic about the future.

Then the financial crisis of 2008 erupted and it seemed like the world was going to end.

Well, the truth is that another great crisis is rapidly approaching, and we are in far worse shape financially than we were back in 2008.

Don't get blindsided by what is ahead.  Evidence of the coming catastrophe is all around you.

GDP and Income - very revealing....

until we can disassociate the power gained by the spending of our money by our 'elected' officials the trend shall continue....

This Seems To Be Going Well...

Submitted by Simon Black via Sovereign Man blog,

Gallup released a new poll late last week showing how many (or few, as it were) Americans are ‘satisfied’ with the direction of the country. 23%. That’s it. 76% are NOT satisfied. Only 1% aren’t sure.

The chart below shows the astounding, long-term decline since 2000.

Note, this is a trend that has outlasted three Presidents and six Congresses. It’s not about a single politician, or even ALL the politicians. It’s about the system itself.

Bottom line, people are fed up. The system has failed. And people are starting to realize it. Where do you think this goes?

the heart of the matter: They will believe that they are above history and that they, uniquely, will succeed...

How Empires End

 by Jeff Thomas via Doug Casey's International Man blog,

“Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” – Thomas Jefferson

Histories are generally written by academics. They, quite naturally, tend to focus on the main events: the wars and the struggles between leaders and their opponents (both external and internal). Whilst these are interesting stories to read, academics, by their very nature, often overlook the underlying causes for an empire’s decline.

Today, as in any era, most people are primarily interested in the “news”—the daily information regarding the world’s political leaders and their struggles with one another to obtain, retain, and expand their power. When the history is written about the era we are passing through, it will reflect, in large measure, a rehash of the news. As the media of the day tend to overlook the fact that present events are merely symptoms of an overall decline, so historians tend to focus on major events, rather than the “slow operations” that have been the underlying causes.

The Persian Empire

When, as a boy, I was “educated” about the decline and fall of the Persian Empire, I learned of the final takeover by Alexander the Great but was never told that, in its decline, Persian taxes became heavier and more oppressive, leading to economic depression and revolts, which, in turn led to even heavier taxes and increased repression. Increasingly, kings hoarded gold and silver, keeping it out of circulation from the community. This hamstrung the market, as monetary circulation was insufficient to conduct business. By the time Alexander came along, Persia, weakened by warfare and internal economic strife, was a shell of an empire and was relatively easy to defeat.

The Tang Dynasty

Back then, I also learned that the Tang Dynasty ended as a result of the increased power amongst the eunuchs, battles with fanzhen separatists, and finally, peasants’ revolts. True enough, but I was not taught that the dynasty’s expansion-based warfare demanded increases in taxation, which led to the revolts. Continued warfare necessitated increasing monetary and land extortion by the eunuchs, resulting in an abrupt decrease in food output and further taxes. Finally, as economic deterioration and oppression of the citizenry worsened, citizens left the area entirely for more promise elsewhere.

Is there a pattern here? Let’s have a more detailed look—at another empire.

The Spanish Empire

In 1556, Philip II of Spain inherited what was regarded as Europe’s most wealthy nation, with no apparent economic problems. Yet, by 1598, Spain was bankrupt. How was this possible?

Spain was doing well but sought to become a major power. To achieve this, Philip needed more tax dollars. Beginning in 1561, the existingservicio tax was regularised, and the crusada tax, the excusado tax, and the millones tax were all added by 1590.

Over a period of 39 years (between 1559 and 1598) taxes increased by 430%. Although the elite of the day were exempt from taxation (the elite of today are not officially exempt), the average citizen was taxed to the point that both business expansion and public purchasing diminished dramatically. Wages did not keep pace with the resultant inflation. The price of goods rose 400%, causing a price revolution and a tax revolution.

Although Spain enjoyed a flood of gold and silver from the Americas at this time, the increased wealth went straight into Philip’s war efforts. However, the 100,000 troops were soon failing to return sufficient spoils to Philip to pay for their forays abroad.

In a final effort to float the doomed empire, Philip issued government bonds, which provided immediate cash but created tremendous debt that, presumably, would need to be repaid one day. (The debt grew to 8.8 times GDP.)

Spain declared bankruptcy. Trade slipped to other countries. The military, fighting on three fronts, went unpaid, and military aspirations collapsed.

It is important to note that, even as the empire was collapsing, Philip did not suspend warfare. He did not back off on taxation. Like leaders before and since, he instead stubbornly increased his autocracy as the empire slid into collapse.

Present-Day Empires

Again, the events above are not taught to schoolchildren as being of key importance in the decline of empires, even though they are remarkably consistent with the decline of other empires and what we are seeing today. The very same events occur, falling like dominoes, more or less in order, in any empire, in any age:

1. The reach of government leaders habitually exceeds their grasp.

2. Dramatic expansion (generally through warfare) is undertaken without a clear plan as to how that expansion is to be financed.

3. The population is overtaxed as the bills for expansion become due, without consideration as to whether the population can afford increased taxation.

4. Heavy taxation causes investment by the private sector to diminish, and the economy begins to decline.

5. Costs of goods rise, without wages keeping pace.

6. Tax revenue declines as the economy declines (due to excessive taxation). Taxes are increased again, in order to top up government revenues.

7. In spite of all the above, government leaders personally hoard as much as they can, further limiting the circulation of wealth in the business community.

8. Governments issue bonds and otherwise borrow to continue expansion, with no plan as to repayment.

9. Dramatic authoritarian control is instituted to assure that the public continues to comply with demands, even if those demands cannot be met by the public.

10. Economic and social collapse occurs, often marked by unrest and riots, the collapse of the economy, and the exit of those who are productive.

11. In this final period, the empire turns on itself, treating its people as the enemy.

The above review suggests that if our schoolbooks stressed the underlying causes of empire collapse, rather than the names of famous generals and the dates of famous battles, we might be better educated and be less likely to repeat the same mistakes.

Unfortunately, this is unlikely. Chances are, future leaders will be just as uninterested in learning from history as past leaders. They will create empires, then destroy them.

Even the most informative histories of empire decline, such as The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, will not be of interest to the leaders of empires. They will believe that they are above history and that they, uniquely, will succeed.

If there is any value in learning from the above, it is the understanding that leaders will not be dissuaded from their aspirations. They will continue to charge ahead, both literally and figuratively, regardless of objections and revolts from the citizenry.

Once an empire has reached stage eight above, it never reverses. It is a “dead empire walking” and only awaits the painful playing-out of the final three stages. At that point, it is foolhardy in the extreme to remain and “wait it out” in the hope that the decline will somehow reverse. At that point, the wiser choice might be to follow the cue of the Chinese, the Romans, and others, who instead chose to quietly exit for greener pastures elsewhere.

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately there’s little any individual can practically do to change the trajectory of this trend in motion. The best you can and should do is to stay informed so that you can protect yourself in the best way possible, and even profit from the situation.

word for the weak....

Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy): a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Doug Casey

your government at work.....

…but of course all of the 'experts' within our government all know sooo much more than anyone else that it is folly to question them and their motives........we must trust them without question and always follow their lead...

…it is truly amazing that so many in our country have replaced worshiping the Lord of all with worship to a government devoted to none!

CDC Shuts Down Bioterror & Flu Labs After Discovering 327 Vials of Deadly Pathogens Misplaced

August 23, 2014

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is conducting a nationwide search of its cold storage units after discovering vials of smallpox in a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cold storage room at the National Institutes of Health facility in Bethesda, Maryland. Along with the vials of smallpox were 327 other pathogens including vials labeled for dengue, influenza, and rickettsia. This news comes as the CDC is under multiple investigations for unsafe practices. In response to the news Richard H. Ebright, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University remarked “It is ironic that the institution that sets U.S. standards for safety and security of work with human pathogens fails to meet its own standards.”

Regardless of what these new investigations may or may not reveal concerning the CDC's standards and practices, we know one thing is certain: to rely upon the Federal Government for one's safety would be a stupid and potentially fatal mistake, and one that is entirely contrary to the values and principles upon which our country was founded. 

Read more at http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/08/cdc-shuts-bioterror-flu-labs-discovering-327-vials-deadly-pathogens-misplaced/#sfQZzvw2KbYzZMsX.99

July 4th

We speak of liberty and freedom with our lips; Yet with our minds and our hearts we devise plans of bondage and control; We say that we honor the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; Yet these ideals are neglected by a people overcome with complacency and usurped by a leadership obsessed with arrogance; Years of sacrifice and shed blood are forsaken for a fleeting moment of appeasement; Our present path is leading us to a place of desolation and indenture; Where they speak of liberty and freedom but little is found; Let us awaken fully from our slumber... Arise, O We the People, that a turning may begin; May we restore that which is precious and rebuke that which is worthless; Stand boldly for liberty; Stand bravely for freedom

The price that has been paid

The price that has been paid for our liberty and freedom has been diminished by those who have paid the least for it. When a people forget and thereby completely ignore the enormous cost, along with the adherent responsibility, of living in a land that was founded and built upon the precepts of freedom and liberty they shall surely be forfeited.  Today, we stand upon that precipice - a step further along this path that we are presently on and we shall without doubt fall headlong into the ravages of bondage. 

speed bumps and road blocks and hurdles, oh my......

in its truest sense here is the evidence of fiefdom building...and it is always the serfs who pay the greatest price.

The Regulatory State

May 5, 2014

It cost Americans a whopping $1.863 trillion to comply with federal regulations in 2013, more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of Canada, according to a new report from Clyde Wayne Crews, vice president for policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Federal spending and deficits dominate the debate in Washington, but the costs of federal regulations reach hundreds of billions of dollars each year. And just as corporate taxes are passed on to consumers, so are regulatory compliance costs passed on to consumers and workers in the form of higher prices and lower wages.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute's annual report on the state of federal regulations highlights the significant impact of the regulatory state on the U.S. economy:

• The ratio of new regulations (issued by agencies) to new laws (passed by Congress) was at 51 in 2013. That is 51 new rules for every new law, equivalent to a new rule every 2.5 hours.
• Regulatory costs equate to $14,974 per household -- 23 percent of the average household income.
• The Federal Register last year had 79,311 pages, the fourth highest in history. The years with the highest number of pages in the Federal Register were 2010 and 2011, both under President Obama.
• The Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, Interior, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency are responsible for 49.3 percent of all federal rules.
• Small businesses pay a disproportionate amount in regulatory costs compared to large firms. Businesses with less than 20 employees pay an average $10,585 in regulatory costs per employee, compared to $7,755 for businesses with 500 or more employees.
• U.S. regulatory costs exceed the GDPs of both Canada and Australia.

If U.S. federal regulation were a country, it would be the 10th largest economy in the world, ranked between India and Italy.

Source: Clyde Wayne Crews, "Ten Thousand Commandments 2014," Competitive Enterprise Institute, April 29, 2014.

Code of Federal Regulations Expanding

Code of Federal Regulations Expanding under Obama

March 26, 2014

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains all of the permanent rules published by federal agencies in the Federal Register. Since 1975, the number of pages in the CFR has increased 146 percent, says Wayne Crews, vice president for policy and director of technology studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

The CFR is different from the Federal Register, which contains material in addition to final rules (and contains more than 70,000 pages of material each year). There are 50 titles in the CFR, and its page count has only grown over the years, especially under President Obama.

• In 1960, the CFR had 22,877 pages across 68 volumes. At the end of 1976, it consisted of 133 volumes and 71,224 pages.
• At the end of President George W. Bush's second term in 2008, the number of pages in the CFR stood at 157,974.
• But at the end of 2013, the CFR had 175,496 pages -- a 146 percent increase since 1975.
• In his first five years in office, President Obama has added 17,522 pages of regulations -- that's an 11 percent increase in the size of the regulatory state and an average of 3,504 pages each year. President Bush's total eight years in office, on the other hand, resulted in a total of 2,490 pages each year.

While page counts are not a perfect way to gauge regulatory impact, it is clear that the greater government activity has hurt the private sector and employment.

Source: Wayne Crews, "New Data: Code of Federal Regulations Expanding, Faster Pace under Obama," Competitive Enterprise Institute, March 17, 2014.

quote for the week

Where the rule of law is ignored, ignorance of the law will rule…

continuing on the road to serfdom....

America's Dwindling Economic Freedom

January 15, 2014

World economic freedom has reached record levels, according to the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, released by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. But after seven straight years of decline, the United States has dropped out of the top 10 most economically free countries, says Terry Miller, the director of the Center for International Trade and Economics at the Heritage Foundation.

For 20 years, the index has measured a nation's commitment to free enterprise on a scale of 0 to 100 by evaluating 10 categories, including fiscal soundness, government size and property rights.

• It's not hard to see why the United States is losing ground.
• Even marginal tax rates exceeding 43 percent cannot finance runaway government spending, which has caused the national debt to skyrocket.
• The Obama administration continues to shackle entire sectors of the economy with regulation, including health care, finance and energy.
• The intervention impedes both personal freedom and national prosperity.

But as the U.S. economy languishes, many countries are leaping ahead, thanks to policies that enhance economic freedom -- the same ones that made the U.S. economy the most powerful in the world.

• Hong Kong continues to dominate the list, followed by Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada.
• These are the only countries to earn the index's "economically free" designation.
• Mauritius earned top honors among African countries and Chile excelled in Latin America.
• Despite the turmoil in the Middle East, several Gulf states, led by Bahrain, earned designation as "mostly free."

A realignment is under way in Europe, according to the index's findings.

• Eighteen European nations, including Germany, Sweden, Georgia and Poland, have reached new highs in economic freedom.
• By contrast, five others -- Greece, Italy, France, Cyprus and the United Kingdom -- registered scores lower than they received when the index started two decades ago.
• The most improved players are in Eastern Europe, including Estonia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.

The United States and the United Kingdom, historically champions of free enterprise, have suffered the most pronounced declines. Both countries now fall in the "mostly free" category. Some of the worst performers are in Latin America, particularly Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia.

Source: Terry Miller, "America's Dwindling Economic Freedom," Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2014. "2014 Index of Economic Freedom," Heritage Foundation, January 2014.

consider this....