A 90-Minute Flight, 45 Presidents and an 8-Year-Old American Boyhttps://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/10/23/a_90-minute_flight_45_presidents_and_an_8-year-old_american_boy_138429.html
GENERAL INTEREST
CLEVER WORDS FOR CLEVER PEOPLE
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3698512/posts
A Universally Bad Idea
See the Wall Street Journal article, below.
Annoy Liberals By Refusing To Care About Their Stupid Fake Outrages
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2018/10/22/annoy-liberals-by-refusing-to-care-about-their-stupid-fake-outrages-n2530409?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=&bcid=3cb4e56ddeac8885c78e874bb1d8f1a4&recip=27077809
RODDY MCDOWELL
Monkeys Kill 72-Year-Old With Shower of Stolen Bricks
http://www.newser.com/story/266217/monkeys-kill-72-year-old-with-shower-of-stolen-bricks.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=att&utm_campaign=rss_world_syn
HEALTH
10 eye-opening benefits of walking
https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/benefits-walking?utm_source=Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a6dc201103-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_MON1022_2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fcbff2e256-a6dc201103-41356281
Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate for Arthritic Pain
http://www.drmirkin.com/joints/1093.html
Brain Juice
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0818/schiller_elevated_drinking.php3
HEALTH CARE
Majority of Republicans supports 'Medicare for all,' poll finds
https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/412552-majority-of-republicans-say-the-support-medicare-for-all-poll?userid=288549
PARENTING
6 ways to raise confident decision-makers
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1018/raise_confident_decision-makers.php3
PROGRESSIVES RUNNING AMOK
BUSINESS
The Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Offer Retirement Benefits
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/10/trump-administration-small-business-retirement-benefits/
67% of workers earning over $100,000 see themselves quitting in the next six months—here's why
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/67percent-of-workers-earning-over-100000-plan-to-quit-in-the-next-6-months.html
Your clothes could be made in the USA again. No, really
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1018/bershidsky102218.php3
FINANCIAL
Taxes Will Go Up in Every Congressional District if the TCJA Is Repealed
https://www.heritage.org/taxes/report/taxes-will-go-every-congressional-district-if-the-tcja-repealed
METEOROLOGY
RIVERINE RESTORATION
4 Exciting Dam-Removal Projects to Watch
https://www.ecowatch.com/dam-removal-projects-2613358351.html
VOLCANOLOGY
Chunk of Mount Etna Could Collapse Triggering Mega-Tsunamis
https://weather.com/science/environment/video/chunk-of-mount-etna-could-collapse-triggering-mega-tsunamis?pl=pl-the-latest
NATIONAL SECURITY
Canada installs Chinese underwater monitoring devices next to US nuclear submarine base
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2169474/canada-installs-chinese-underwater-monitoring-devices-next-us
DEFENSE
WWII hero who stopped Nazis from getting nukes dead at 99
https://nypost.com/2018/10/22/wwii-hero-who-stopped-nazis-from-getting-nukes-dies-at-99/?utm_campaign=iosapp&utm_source=mail_app
LAW AND ORDER
'Swipe right to sue': Now you can file lawsuits the same way you find hookups on Tinder
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1018/swipe_right_to_sue.php3
IMMIGRATION
RGV Texas Border Patrol Chief Begs For Help Before Caravan Hits as Over 12,000 Illegals Caught in Last Three Weeks in Rio Grande Valley; 700 Caught Saturday
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/10/rgv-texas-border-patrol-chief-begs-for-help-before-caravan-hits-as-over-12000-illegals-caught-in-last-three-weeks-in-rio-grande-valley-700-caught-saturday/
Mexican news says caravans grow to 14,000 people
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/22/caravan-grows-14000-people-report/?bt_ee=FBuC6Br1xnq%2FmWXDhxpybC5lPx39fmu6jzBsnVK36hh9G9f9YmaGwZOZx5Y5VCYn&bt_ts=1540233607989
CHINA
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, world's longest sea-crossing, finally opens
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/hong-kong-zhuhai-macau-bridge-worlds-longest-sea-crossing-finally-opens/ar-BBOHPSt?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCDHP#image=BBOHPSt_1%7C4
ISRAEL
IDF uncovers Hezbollah post one km from border, defying U.N. resolution
https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/IDF-uncovers-Hezbollah-observation-post-one-km-from-border-569986
TERRORISM
Authorities: Explosive device found near George Soros' home
https://start.att.net/news/read/article/the_associated_press-authorities_explosive_device_found_near_george_sor-ap/category/news
TRUMPGATE
End could be near for House investigation of Trump-Russia investigators
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-end-could-be-near-for-house-investigation-of-trump-russia-investigators
POLITICS
Bernie Sanders Kills the Dream: I Don't Believe in the Blue Wave
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2018/10/22/bernie-sanders-the-blue-wave-isnt-happen-n2530875?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&newsletterad=&bcid=3cb4e56ddeac8885c78e874bb1d8f1a4&recip=27077809
Dems lower expectations for 'blue wave'
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/412635-dems-lower-expectations-for-blue-wave?userid=288549
Colonel Martha McSally
https://www.onepoliticalplaza.com/t-143496-1.html
PIERS MORGAN: The media hates him, Hollywood hates him but every hysterical piece of abuse they throw at him just makes Trump stronger and now the Democrats are heading for a midterms disaster
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6303125/PIERS-MORGAN-abuse-throw-Trump-makes-stronger-Democrats-heading-disaster.html
President Trump Takes Aim At Voter Fraud, Liberals Go Berserk
https://townhall.com/columnists/scottmorefield/2018/10/22/president-trump-takes-aim-at-voter-fraud-liberals-go-berserk-n2530657?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=&bcid=3cb4e56ddeac8885c78e874bb1d8f1a4&recip=27077809
--
"You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to
Lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever
they might be."
- VAdm James Stockdale, USN (1923-2005)
FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (without permission)https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-universally-bad-idea-1540147422
A Universally Bad Idea
Silicon Valley titans push the Marxist-Leninist nonsense of a guaranteed income.
Bad ideas just won’t die. Ronald Reagan’s goal was to “leave Marxism and Leninism on the ash heap of history.” But they keep coming back, albeit in different forms. Of today’s bad ideas—from net neutrality to open curriculum and living wages—the most dangerous is the universal basic income.
For twisted reasons, Silicon Valley, the embodiment of meritocracy and incentives, thinks universal basic income will be the next great economic force. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes is helping to fund a UBI pilot program in Stockton, Calif. He even wrote a book about the idea—something about 1%-ers paying money via tax credits—hardly original.
For twisted reasons, Silicon Valley, the embodiment of meritocracy and incentives, thinks universal basic income will be the next great economic force. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes is helping to fund a UBI pilot program in Stockton, Calif. He even wrote a book about the idea—something about 1%-ers paying money via tax credits—hardly original.
He’s not alone. Barack Obama has recently expressed interest in the idea. So have Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Marc Benioff and others in Silicon Valley. Why? I figure it’s their misplaced guilt about patriarchal dominance over workers displaced by automation. That’s a triple crown of bad excuses.
The enthusiasm seems infectious. In July, Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar told the Intercept, “We need to start having a conversation about automation and a regulatory framework so that if jobs simply go away, what are we going to do with the workforce?” It wasn’t a long chat. This summer, Mr. Pawar introduced legislation for a pilot program that would give $500 a month to 1,000 families. Think of it as a new version of walking-around money. Never mind that Chicago can’t even afford to fund its public-employee pensions.
It sounds eerily similar to startup incubator Y Combinator’s Basic Income Project Proposal. It’s the harebrained idea of the organization’s president, Sam Altman. A thousand lucky folks would receive $1,000 a month for as long as five years. Another 2,000 would form a control group and might get $50 a month for their troubles.
What troubles? Well, University of Michigan researchers will be asking how they spend their time, if their political and social attitudes change, the effect on crime, and if their children do better on standardized tests. And there will be blood tests too: The study will “measure markers that serve as predictors of later disease as well as cortisol, an indicator of stress.” If $1,000 a month lowers your stress, shouldn’t everyone get $1,000 a month? Netflix and chill is cheaper.
Mr. Altman has almost sinister plans for UBI. Forget $1,000 a month. He told Spectacle “instead of getting a fixed fee, you get a percentage of the GDP every year.” Maybe everything should be owned by the state and divvied up? All he’s missing is five-year plans. Perhaps Mr. Altman dropped out of Stanford before taking economics—or history for that matter.
Not to be outdone, this summer the People’s Policy Project—Get it? Like the People’s Republic?—proposed an American Solidarity Fund. Every citizen over 17 would own a share of this sovereign-wealth fund. Slowly but surely, up to one-third of the assets of the U.S. economy would find their way into the fund. That’s $90 trillion for those keeping track at home. Then the investment returns from the fund would be paid out as, you guessed it, a universal basic dividend. This isn’t sliding a slippery slope toward socialism, it’s a trapdoor.
How would the fund get all those assets? Start with all government-owned land and buildings. Then add a 3% market-capitalization tax on public companies. Apple would owe $30 billion. Add a continuing 0.5% market-cap tax, a 5% levy on initial public offerings and 3% on mergers. Smells Marxian: “government owning the means of production.” So much for the ash heap. Then increase the death tax and get rid of every tax deduction. Heck, they better pay hefty universal basic lay-on-the-couch dividends because why would anyone ever go to work again? Companies would have minimal retained earnings to invest in the future, and workers wouldn’t keep much of their pay. The fund would shrink annually as the stock market imploded.
Progress is about incentives. The reason UBI will fail is the cycle of dependency built into it. It is a gateway drug to collectivism. Turning the U.S. into Venezuela is a universally bad idea.
Remember Mr. Pawar’s fear of automation? He’s in good company. At a February 1962 press conference, when President Kennedy was asked about a Labor Department estimate that 1.8 million jobs would be replaced by machines each year, he replied, “I regard it as the major domestic challenge, really, of the ’60s, to maintain full employment at a time when automation, of course, is replacing men.”
In February 1962 U.S. nonfarm payroll stood at 55.2 million. Fifty-six years and several major tax cuts later, jobs stand at 149.5 million. Call it basic and universal capitalism. Let’s stick with that, shall we?
The enthusiasm seems infectious. In July, Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar told the Intercept, “We need to start having a conversation about automation and a regulatory framework so that if jobs simply go away, what are we going to do with the workforce?” It wasn’t a long chat. This summer, Mr. Pawar introduced legislation for a pilot program that would give $500 a month to 1,000 families. Think of it as a new version of walking-around money. Never mind that Chicago can’t even afford to fund its public-employee pensions.
It sounds eerily similar to startup incubator Y Combinator’s Basic Income Project Proposal. It’s the harebrained idea of the organization’s president, Sam Altman. A thousand lucky folks would receive $1,000 a month for as long as five years. Another 2,000 would form a control group and might get $50 a month for their troubles.
What troubles? Well, University of Michigan researchers will be asking how they spend their time, if their political and social attitudes change, the effect on crime, and if their children do better on standardized tests. And there will be blood tests too: The study will “measure markers that serve as predictors of later disease as well as cortisol, an indicator of stress.” If $1,000 a month lowers your stress, shouldn’t everyone get $1,000 a month? Netflix and chill is cheaper.
Mr. Altman has almost sinister plans for UBI. Forget $1,000 a month. He told Spectacle “instead of getting a fixed fee, you get a percentage of the GDP every year.” Maybe everything should be owned by the state and divvied up? All he’s missing is five-year plans. Perhaps Mr. Altman dropped out of Stanford before taking economics—or history for that matter.
Not to be outdone, this summer the People’s Policy Project—Get it? Like the People’s Republic?—proposed an American Solidarity Fund. Every citizen over 17 would own a share of this sovereign-wealth fund. Slowly but surely, up to one-third of the assets of the U.S. economy would find their way into the fund. That’s $90 trillion for those keeping track at home. Then the investment returns from the fund would be paid out as, you guessed it, a universal basic dividend. This isn’t sliding a slippery slope toward socialism, it’s a trapdoor.
How would the fund get all those assets? Start with all government-owned land and buildings. Then add a 3% market-capitalization tax on public companies. Apple would owe $30 billion. Add a continuing 0.5% market-cap tax, a 5% levy on initial public offerings and 3% on mergers. Smells Marxian: “government owning the means of production.” So much for the ash heap. Then increase the death tax and get rid of every tax deduction. Heck, they better pay hefty universal basic lay-on-the-couch dividends because why would anyone ever go to work again? Companies would have minimal retained earnings to invest in the future, and workers wouldn’t keep much of their pay. The fund would shrink annually as the stock market imploded.
Progress is about incentives. The reason UBI will fail is the cycle of dependency built into it. It is a gateway drug to collectivism. Turning the U.S. into Venezuela is a universally bad idea.
Remember Mr. Pawar’s fear of automation? He’s in good company. At a February 1962 press conference, when President Kennedy was asked about a Labor Department estimate that 1.8 million jobs would be replaced by machines each year, he replied, “I regard it as the major domestic challenge, really, of the ’60s, to maintain full employment at a time when automation, of course, is replacing men.”
In February 1962 U.S. nonfarm payroll stood at 55.2 million. Fifty-six years and several major tax cuts later, jobs stand at 149.5 million. Call it basic and universal capitalism. Let’s stick with that, shall we?
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