gdp's Comments

Ludwig von Mises Institute : The Debacle of Margarine\'s Utility - Morgan A. Brown - Mises Daily

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:04:29 +0000

For the record, margarine is awful, awful stuff. Tastes horrid and is far worse for you than butter. Even the government nutritionists have been forced to realize that of late.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:41:54 +0000

LoL at people who sling insults online and struggle with the reading comprehension. It is a Ponzi scheme, and my response was to the question of "why is it worth debating the terminology?" The whole premise of the program, from its initial sale to the public until now, is that it is a "retirement fund." That it is not, and that courts have supported this deception, doesn't change its nature. In fact, it is the very deceptive nature of the program that makes it analogous to a Ponzi scheme.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:23:30 +0000

I think the reason for arguing that it is a Ponzi scheme is the effect of such an argument. Ponzi, and Madoff, and those like them are roundly derided as horrible monsters, while SS is seen as a benevolent act of government and an essential service. It's helpful to see who the real villains are.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : To Serve and Protect — the State - Wendy McElroy - Mises Daily

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:23:05 +0000

Gilbert- Challenge to identify mistreatment by police? Really? Read Bourbon for Breakfast. Read my essay at http://refugeofscoundrels.blogspot.com/2011/06/in... Or just google Jose Guerenas, murdered by a swat team for no good reason. A better challenge might be to find someone who doesn't know anyone who has been hassled by police for no good reason. They are nothing more than revenue agents for the state in most cases.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : The Inventor of the Digital Age - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Daily

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:38:28 +0000

Project Gutenberg is amazing.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : What Will Keep Our Food Safe? - Stefano R. Mugnaini - Mises Daily

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:46:53 +0000

The system is an unmitigated disaster.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : What Will Keep Our Food Safe? - Stefano R. Mugnaini - Mises Daily

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:57:11 +0000

And since producers would pay these private inspectors for their service, the inspectors would have far more to gain by doing a good job than by accepting a bribe and opening themselves up to lawsuits and a loss of reputation. Currently, if the USDA gives a product the ok, and it's loaded with salmonella, you eat it and die. Do you have any legal recourse against the USDA? Of course not. They shut down random food suppliers until they think they find the culprit, fine them, pocket the fine, and then go on about their business. Where is "consumer protection" in this equation?

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Suddenly, It’s Back to the Stone Age - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Daily

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:31:13 +0000

But when I eat feces, I definitely prefer it irradiated. seriously, though-this is an argument for consumer choice. I buy most of my meat from a nearby farm, but not everyone has that option.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Suddenly, It’s Back to the Stone Age - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Daily

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:29:48 +0000

I just think it's funny that when I was in grade school, they terrorized us about acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer; now, the relative thickness of the ozone layer is sometimes cited as a cause for global warming.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Iraq, Afghanistan, War, and Money: A Look at Two Presidencies - Anthony Gregory - Mises Daily

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:07:21 +0000

I think it's hard to argue that x is worse than y when it comes to this subject. If the problem with war is the death and destruction it causes, then the proponent of a little is just as bad as the proponent of much. That said, I'm pretty sure the point is just that opposition to war shouldn't be along purely partisan lines. and he makes that case well.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Lemonade and Liberty - Art Carden - Mises Daily

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 03:48:43 +0000

Yeah, the notion that something is public property and that some bureaucrat is in charge of how the "public" uses it's property is pretty ridiculous.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : The Austrians Were Right, Yet Again - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Daily

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 04:56:56 +0000

This is such an odd post on so many levels. In your mind, the Austrian approach won't work; the Keynesian approach is failed, and Friedman's ideas are laughable. So what exactly do you advocate? Magic? And are you trying to explain the Austrian approach to readers of this site? Really? It seems you are advocating a "safety net," i.e. a larger welfare state, as the solution to the world's economic problems. How are you not a Keynesian? The issue in England is precisely because they have such a large welfare state, or "safety net." It's broken their economy, and the parasites can't handle cuts to their entitlements. Anyway, bring a bunch of Brits to America and let them try that riot stuff. See how that works out for them. We generally have a willingness to defend our property here.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Fad Laws Dishonor Victims - Wendy McElroy - Mises Daily

Thu, 4 Aug 2011 15:33:35 +0000

I think that was Jim P's point. I would consider myself a "reluctant anarchist," but I have nothing but love for limited government types!

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Fad Laws Dishonor Victims - Wendy McElroy - Mises Daily

Thu, 4 Aug 2011 14:45:08 +0000

I actually just re-read the Federalist papers recently. They don't smack of someone committed to limiting central government. It's especially comical when he appeals to the authority of kings and queens as justification for the Federal government. I haven't read DiLorenzo's book on Hamilton. But Hamilton's greatest sin is ultimately responsible for the central bank precedent which ultimately gave us the Federal Reserve. I would restate what I said before. The Constitution is a marvelous document in some ways. But, as Spooner pointed out, it has failed in its only purpose, which was to chain government. It's a semantic argument to discuss whether it was the constitution or men that have failed. If the US Constitution was so great, then it would have achieved its stated purpose of limiting the growth of government power. In this regard, it is a complete failure. That said, I'm all for a return to a Constitutional Republic as opposed to the disaster that exists today, but I'm doubtful that even such a radical shift would do anything but cause us to restart and repeat the last 100 years of history.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Fad Laws Dishonor Victims - Wendy McElroy - Mises Daily

Thu, 4 Aug 2011 13:40:54 +0000

Good point on the Anti-Federalist papers; but you know as well as I do that Hamilton wasn't serious on that point. He just didn't want any limitation to the power of his newly created central government. It's pretty crazy to think that the government might not think to infringe on rights because they haven't been instructed not to. Especially since they do it so readily when they have been bound by the Constitution. That the Constitution was to define only what the federal government could do is hard to believe from the guy who wanted a central bank (unmentioned in the constitution).

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Fad Laws Dishonor Victims - Wendy McElroy - Mises Daily

Thu, 4 Aug 2011 03:53:35 +0000

A.) Something MUST Be Done; B.) This is "Something;" C.) Therefore, We Must Do It. You just summarized literally every word that has come out of Washington since Bush's first term. Well done.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Fad Laws Dishonor Victims - Wendy McElroy - Mises Daily

Thu, 4 Aug 2011 03:49:47 +0000

Gilbert, Forgive me if this is wrongful speculation, but my impression is that you've not seriously considered or read anything critical of the Constitution. As was suggested above, For a New Liberty is a great (and quick) read. Lysander Spooner's "No Treason" answers the question you ask above. It is the Constitution that failed, insofar as it represented an abandonment of the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and has "either given us the government we now have, or was powerless to prevent it." That said, I don't think you'll find much hostility to the US Constitution here, just an honest recognition that it created a central state which it could not effectively constrain.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Fad Laws Dishonor Victims - Wendy McElroy - Mises Daily

Wed, 3 Aug 2011 14:56:34 +0000

I agree that we need to use Constitutional arguments, even if we see it as "unfit to exist." Especially when you spend as much time in discussions with mainstream Republicans and neocons as I do; they can effectively tune out all logical and moral arguments, but when you cite the constitution, they start listening.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Why Capitalism Is Worth Defending - Anthony Gregory - Mises Daily

Wed, 3 Aug 2011 05:56:35 +0000

"I'm inclined to agree with ElPueblo." Then you're as ignorant or stupid as he is. (Or both) Even Marx didn't believe his nonsensical labor theory of value. No one is that foolish. Except el pueblo, apparently. You cannot "progress" beyond capitalism, because capitalism is simply the recognition that private property is the basic human right. Capitalism doesn't "require' people to be poor. In fact, without capitalist, poverty would be incredibly more widespread than it is. There are so many historical proofs of this, it's not worth typing them out.

Ludwig von Mises Institute : Malthus and the Assault on Population - Murray N. Rothbard - Mises Daily

Tue, 2 Aug 2011 17:40:36 +0000

Mises addressed this in Human Action. Also, isn't it funny that you can, apparently, make a living as a researcher in "demographics?" Anyway, living standards are going to break down as a result of the general drift toward socialism long before depopulation becomes an issue, I think.