FreeMarkets's Blog

Why Spain's Bailout Turned Bust

FreeMarkets — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:34:26 GMT

Here is my VERY short commentary on why the Spanish bailout turned to a bust. After seeking a bailout, Greece then required bondholders to take a huge cut and the EU/IMF agreed. Would you want to be a bondholder of Spanish bonds when they may seek the same resolution.

MORALE HAZARD!

Were taxes higher in 1948?

FreeMarkets — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:30:11 GMT

Math is hard. To make it simple, talking heads like Krugman like to say things like (yes, I'm putting words in his mouth) "The tax rate in 1948 was 82% on the richest Americans and only 33% today. For people with taxable income up to $4,000 it was 16%. Today your first $12,000 of taxable income is only 10%."<...

Krugman Admits Defeat!

FreeMarkets — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:53:42 GMT

The debate with Ron Paul obviously did not go well for our Keynesian defender.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/on-the-uselessness-of-debates/
Plus, Krugman's defense is wrong.
The income tax rate...

Peace is Naive!

FreeMarkets — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:03:19 GMT

I haven't blogged in quite some time. I like to be ahead of the curve and for some reason the issue of Iranian nuclear weapons hasn't been front page news in quite some time. Come the election, this will probably come back front and center since saber rattling seems to get Americans juiced up and will make Obama's re-election that much easier.
Ron Paul has three great weaknesses, and any politician running against him can easily defeat him.
# 1: Attack his foreign policy and economic ideas as naive and dangerous. This will deflect the fact that he predicted all the outcomes of the last 10 years AN...

Supporting Ron Paul is Unpatriotic

FreeMarkets — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:36:42 GMT

The gap between the rich and poor is NOT increasing - since the poor are barely making ends meet and the rich are, well, rich. The income gap that is truly disturbing is the vanishment of the middle class and the NUMBER of people living in poverty. According to one study, 1 out of every 2 Amer...

My Inlaws Are Hannitized!

FreeMarkets — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:42:44 GMT

In no way did I ever plan on writing a follow up post to the exceptionally well received "My Mother Is A Hypocrite", but Thanksgiving weekend created just such inspiration.
I've been quite surprised over the past three years at the amazin...

Chinese Manipulating Their Currency

FreeMarkets — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:00:51 GMT

You've heard Mitt Romney say it. You've heard Barack Obama say it. You've probably even heard your neighbor say it. "The Chinese are cheating by artificially keeping their currency cheap."
It's a great argument. Cheap currency equals cheap products. Except it's wrong.
Not wrong as in cheap curre...

Ron Paul Can't Win - So STOP Posting About Him!

FreeMarkets — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:32:20 GMT

That said, Ron Paul will NOT get the Republican nomination, for the following reasons:
1) In a system where MONEY=DEBT (remove debt and our economy collapses), no one wants to think about changing the system.
2) No one wants to be told they're wrong. Attacking Iraq, drone strikes in Yemen/Pakistan and the "they hate us because we're free" mentaility will ...

Why Apple is Overvalued

FreeMarkets — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:59:15 GMT

Forget the current numbers - the future earnings of Apple will not match the $300+ billion market cap.
It's not about competition, which is getting better at making smart phones and tablets.
It's all about salesmanship! The death of Steve Jobs is the end of the great Apple product rollouts. The excitment of the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 will only be created by telling ...

It's the System That's Broke

FreeMarkets — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:06:04 GMT

While this is 45 minutes long, the first 30 minutes are all that really matter as the last 15 minutes are dedicated to a solution, rather than simply allowing people to develop their own ideas.
And this is the crux of our economic pr...

Ron Paul Attacked Me During Last Night's Debate

FreeMarkets — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:14:10 GMT

At 5:25 seconds into this video, Ron Paul personally attacked my character during the debate
I don't know EXACTLY what he meant by "dealing with me", but I don't like it and no good can come of it. Somehow I have been singled...

GPS Tracking

FreeMarkets — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:05:32 GMT

Anyone out there who is familiar with GPS tracking devices connected to your car, I am asking for your legal expertise. My interest arose after reading this:
GPS used to track fired state worker
So here's my q...

My Mother is a Hypocrite!

FreeMarkets — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:40:17 GMT

One of the greatest quotes I ever read was a simple comment on a blog post "Most people don't think much about what they believe in." I do not remember who posted that comment.
During the flooding in the Northeast my parents lost power and stayed a few days at my home. As long as I can remember, my parents have been Conservative Republicans, even though my Mom is a registered Democrat.

Stock jump after storm damage is less than feared

FreeMarkets — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:01:19 GMT

This is the reason given for the advance on Wall Street today:
Stock jump after storm damage is less than feared
Color me confused, but in a world ...

APPLE Underperform Rating

FreeMarkets — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:08:42 GMT

I just down thumbed APPLE, but not because Steve Jobs is leaving. Apple is facing some very tough competition in the smart phone industry, slowing Mac sales and the death of iPod devices (maybe five years left).
The one bright spot for Apple is the iPad, which has little serious competition. The iPad will not be enough to justify a $365 billion market cap with a P/E of 15 and no dividend. Tha...

Soda Stream

FreeMarkets — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 06:29:00 GMT

I admit, CAPS is fun and you don't always have to do research to thumb up/down a stock. And when I saw people writing that Soda Stream was over sold, having fallen to under $50 after peaking at almost $80, I took a quick look at the company description.
Wow, I thought. What a great idea - personal carbonation products. Lots of people pay good money for soda and seltzer. Then I saw the ...

The Iowa Republican Debate

FreeMarkets — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 09:18:52 GMT

We learned a LOT from yesterday's debate in Iowa. Before I go through each candidates performance, I want to make clear ALL the candidates missed a huge opportunity. During the exchange between Pawlenty and Bachmann, one of the other candidates should have said:
"I need to politely ask Gov. Pawlenty to stop attacking Rep. Bachmann concerning her time in Cong...

Has It Really Come to THIS?

FreeMarkets — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:01:45 GMT

Reuters: "US STOCKS-Futures point to higher open; Fed could turn mood"
LA Times:
In 1972, Pres. Nixon used a trick to get elected - he used price controls. While this caused a host of problems, the public loved him because it made him look like someone who cared about the common man. He did this because inflation was staying above 4% annually in 1971.
This trick could virtually guarantee Obama's Reelection today. Imagine fixing gas prices at $3.35/gal - the people would ...