I concur with this author on both the importance of this particular renouncing of citizenship – something 1,780 wealthy Americans did in 2011(with an even greater number on track to do it in 2012) – that we need to shift entirely away from our silly income tax to a consumption based tax.

The author of this article keep calling him a “controversial investor,” yet he has had spectacularly consistent record of being correct, while the consensus investor class has been equally wrong, over the last 20 years. Unlike the Keynesian consensus, he focuses on the core economic fundamentals. I wouldn’t dismiss his predictions lightly.

This is a delightfully wonkish article outlining the major differences in the economics underlying both the Democrat and Republican policies.

GENERAL INTEREST
Bill Frezza goes all-in on “obesogenic environmental forces” and the Nanny-State that spawns such nonsense, in one of the best short pieces I’ve read all year.

Here’s a spectacular idea for local governments.

For all those Republican’s who seem afraid of Ron Paul, you need to read this article. I’m not convinced that the good Dr. ever intended to be President, but he certainly wanted to change the direction of the Republican Party, holding it accountable to its fiscally conservative roots. I predict when he gets to Tampa he’ll have racked-up enough delegates to stop an out-right Romney win on the first ballot; at which time he will be able to elicit concessions which should be enough to change the trajectory of politics for decades, much like Barry Goldwater did.

A well written article by Representative Nan Hayworth of New York on what the “real” women’s issue are.

The MN Senate race gets a mention on that mainstay of Right-wing cyberspace Townhall.com

LOCAL Letters-to-the Editor
David Anderson in the Northfield News, 11 MAY 12

Doug Jones in the Owatonna Peoples Press, 10 MAY 12

Enjoy,
Stephen Kallestad
Northfield

Copyright © 2012 Rice County Republicans
Copyright Statement
Note: If you’re reading this article on a Web site other than Chip.Cuccio.US, and there is no attribution, please contact me – because if it was republished without attribution, it violates my Copyright.

Here’s an economist’s look at the importance of the Scott Walker election to the economy.

GENERAL INTEREST
I’m a “process” kind of guy and this article explains why the caucus process is important to selecting a political nominee. When co-workers and friends ask me why I’m so involved, I tell them, “By the time you vote in November, everything has been decided for you. Everyone on that ballot is a person that I and my Party have told you that you can vote for or that people in the other party have told you that you can vote for. When you walk into the voting booth you don’t have much of a choice, the real choices were made over the course of the previous two years.”

Some say the West Virginia Democratic primary vote is a reflection of Obama’s low popularity. Maybe it’s just voters finding it refreshing to have someone admit he’s a crook before he runs for office.

“With this newer group (Republican majority of 2010), they will not compromise, it would go against principles,” he (retiring Legislator Keith Langseth) said. I find it very heartening that we finally sent a group to the State House willing to stand on principle! But this Viking Stadium debacle unfortunately shows that the house cleaning within the GOP may not yet be finished.

 
This letter does the probably the best job I’ve seen of framing the choice down in CD1.

LOCAL Letters-to-the Editor
Helen Munger in the Faribault Daily News 3MAY 12

Doug Jones in the Faribault Daily News 3MAY 12

Brian Paukert in the Faribault Daily News 1 MAY 12

Enjoy,
Stephen Kallestad
Northfield

Copyright © 2012 Rice County Republicans
Copyright Statement
Note: If you’re reading this article on a Web site other than Chip.Cuccio.US, and there is no attribution, please contact me – because if it was republished without attribution, it violates my Copyright.

On April, 25th Economist Robert Wenzel was invited to speak at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is one of those people who have been consistently right in predicting every downturn in the economy for about the last 20 years. Here is a copy of his speech, I doubt he’ll be invited back!

Whenever a government program fails, there is always someone who claims it didn’t work because it just wasn’t big enough.

Time magazine does a fair job accounting for the 86 million people who aren’t in the labor force. Job creation is anemic , but the official unemployment rate keeps falling because more and more people have dropped out.

Wow, even Forbes magazine has gotten into the Viking stadium debate!

GENERAL INTEREST
The race is on (at least in the 2nd Congressional District)

….meanwhile over in CD 1

As a follow-up to an article I posted a while ago on price-controls in Venezuela, here’s one which looks at price controls in the U.S. healthcare market under ObamaCare. How about the slogan,”America—Still Not as Bad Off as Venezuela, YET!”

Enjoy,
Stephen N.Kallestad
Northfield

Copyright © 2012 Rice County Republicans
Copyright Statement
Note: If you’re reading this article on a Web site other than Chip.Cuccio.US, and there is no attribution, please contact me – because if it was republished without attribution, it violates my Copyright.

The NYT unsurprisingly prints a stupid headline.   Price controls ALWAYS create shortages and black markets.  Sellers will rarely be willing to part with their valuable commodities for less than they are worth and there is always someone who will pay more because they need the product.

“History has shown that a structurally weak economy combined with a fiscally irresponsible government propped up by accommodative central-bank lending always ends badly.” Superbly said! There is no doubt there is a bond bubble; the only question is how violently it deflates.

GENERAL INTEREST
Author Doug Wead highlights the split in the Romney Republican camp in Alaska over how to deal with Ron Paul supporters. I am firmly in agreement with the this group, “Cooler heads in the Romney camp are concerned that Romney Hawks are driving young people, Hispanics and Independents to a Third Party or a “sit at home” attitude in the general election.” I am very concerned that if we do not embrace and welcome the Ron Paul movement within the GOP, the risk to state parties which actively disenfranchise delegates is cannibalizing their organization and losing not just one election, but an entire generation of activists.

A couple months ago the Catholic Bishops threw down the gauntlet over contraception in ObamaCare. They are not backing down or looking for a deal. They have just doubled-down!

”Many considerations, besides those suggested on a former occasion, seem to place it beyond doubt that the first and most natural attachment of the people will be to the governments of their respective States.”  – James Madison, Federalist #46

Here’s some interesting survey results from Pew.

I love sarcasm, especially when they’re making a valid point…and the unflinching look at the same issue.

Enjoy,
Stephen N. Kallestad
Northfield

Copyright © 2012 Rice County Republicans
Copyright Statement
Note: If you’re reading this article on a Web site other than Chip.Cuccio.US, and there is no attribution, please contact me – because if it was republished without attribution, it violates my Copyright.

Here’s an article which recommends a sensible policy solution, essentially reverse the very misguided “Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act,” which in 1978 gave the Fed it’s 2nd, contradictory, mandate and destroyed any hope that the Fed could be an effective institution.

Finally good news on the economy! Last week I only saw the non-farm payroll numbers (which have predictably sent the markets into a tailspin), but this week I finally saw the household survey which showed impressive gains. The reason I posted this article is because the author correctly explains why the Household Survey leading the Establishment Non-Farm payroll numbers is an important indicator of growth. To create a visual perspective to put this in context: in the industrial park my place of work is located there is one or two large facilities on each block, the rest of the businesses are small mom-and-pop shops clustered in small buildings or suites of small buildings. These are the real job generators. If business picks up for my location and I hire a couple people, that’s great. But when these small little shops get busy, and each hire one person either part or full time, that’s hundreds of jobs. It’s the later that will have a real and lasting impact, not a large company like mine hiring a hundred people across the country, but tens of thousands of small shops each hiring one person; suddenly you have some real numbers.
Now the bad news, these are the businesses that are most susceptible to a weak dollar policy. The low interest rates that are causing commodity rates to remain stubbornly high cause the inputs into these small operators (especially energy) to cut deeply into the bottom line and are a potential bust for a little shop with a thin profit margin and relatively modest revenues. I’m hoping that high fuel prices do not cause these numbers to reverse in the near future.

It’s long been predicted that the Dodd-Frank regulation’s ultimate and unintended effect would drive money out of equities and other heavily regulated classes into those that aren’t. Many are saying this is happening now. The stock market’s primary purpose is as an engine of liquidity, a slowdown in that function bodes extremely ill for the functioning of the overall economy.

GENERAL INTEREST
Here’s a white paper that’s title says it all, “The American Welfare State: How We Spend Nearly $1 Trillion a Year Fighting Poverty–And Fail”

Former astronauts and NASA scientists speak out against the “global warming” stance taken by NASA, which they fear will damage the reputation of the agency and destroy its credibility.

A pretty good poll on the list of priorities of the voters. Legislators and those seeking office had better focus on at least a 1/2 dozen of them or face the prospect of losing.

Many of the same problems are everywhere. Governor Dayton favoring the Teachers Union over students in opposing GOP efforts to make it easier to fire bad teachers is playing out elsewhere too.

It is always foolish to make large extrapolations from a from very limited set of data points about large dynamic systems which defy measurement. One such example is the Arctic ecosystem, where empirical evidence is contradicting some very popular models.

Finally someone is standing-up and saying (or at least being reported by the Washington Post) that the emperor has no clothes. Latest figures from a trustee for Medicare and Social Security which shows that ObamaCare will explode the budget with a $340 billion budget deficit, once the Medicare double counting and premium from the now suspended CLASS Act are removed.

Here’s a worthy bill.

Enjoy,

Stephen N. Kallestad
Northfield

Copyright © 2012 Rice County Republicans
Copyright Statement
Note: If you’re reading this article on a Web site other than Chip.Cuccio.US, and there is no attribution, please contact me – because if it was republished without attribution, it violates my Copyright.