Like the U.S., many democratic nations are suffering from permanently high unemployment, staggering public debts and budget deficits, and a deep economic recession. Although many people blame politicians for their problems, virtually no one ever considers blaming the democratic system for our woes. If you think about it, however, it’s clear that it’s the collectivist …
In the 15th century, the highest standard of living in the world belonged to China. Places like Nanjing had reached the pinnacle of civilization with incredibly modern infrastructure, robust economies, substantial international trade, great health care, and a rising middle class. Across the globe, Europeans were living out short, mud-filled, brutish lives in squalid poverty, …
“Let me lay to rest the bugaboo of what is called devaluation,” Richard Nixon told his fellow Americans on Aug. 15, 1971. The 37th president had just announced the U.S. would “temporarily” close the gold window — ending the convertibility of dollars into gold that had been key to the postwar Bretton Woods system. What …
In my youth, I did several years in Hollywood. My mother, thankfully, never found out. I told her I was a contract killer for the Yakuza, or something, to spare her the truth. Initially, my job in Tinseltown was to act as a liaison between real scientists and studios that wanted to bring some accuracy …
People will be paying more and getting less from their governments as health costs and pension obligations will force state and local governments to adjust their budgets over the next 50 years, according to a new report. The new report from the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional agency that audits federal programs, paints a …
Law enforcement agencies are increasingly using sophisticated cameras, called “automated license plate readers,” or ALPRs, to scan and record the license plates of millions of cars across the country. These cameras, mounted on top of patrol cars and on city streets, can scan up to 1,800 license plate per minute, day or night, allowing one …
The countries of the developed world are experiencing a new class of refugee — members of the middle and upper classes. These rungs of the socioeconomic ladder are realizing that their countries of residence are in many ways going rapidly downhill without much hope of a short- or medium-term reversal. This is particularly true for …
Beware the government that provides “more.” Fear the government that provides “extra.” “More government” always means more of something, but not always more of something a productive individual desires. More government means more rules and regulations, more agencies to enforce the proliferating rules and regulations, more taxes to pay for the proliferating agencies that enforce …
I am often asked, “How can anyone not see the problems of growing debt in the U.S.? Why can’t we get a consensus to change?” Part of the problem is that too many in power just don’t see the impending crisis that you and I see, or at least they don’t see the need to …
Last Friday, I participated in a short debate on BBC Radio 4’s Today program on the future direction of gold. Tom Kendall, global head of precious metals research at Credit Suisse, argued that gold was in trouble. I argued that it wasn’t. So yours truly is on record on national radio the morning of gold’s …