The Economist's Cookbook

Recipes For A More Free Society

  • "The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they know about what they imagine they can design."

    - F.A. Hayek

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/25/1356027/state-patrol-officer-shoots-pregnant.html
Well, Let's see, Drug War? Check. Pregnant Suspect running from the people kicking her door in with guns? Check. Shooting of said pregnant female? Check. Now this fine upstanding officer will most likely get put on desk duty during the investigation, and be back at work in a month. If a concealed carry permit holder pulled a stunt like this, we'd never hear the end of it from the Brady Campaign. Keep licking your master's hand boys.

I'm not saying that drug dealers are nice people. I'm not saying that they are roll models. I'm not saying that drugs aren't destructive to one's health. But so are burgers, nicotine, and many prescription drugs. It's this goddamn neurotic thought that somehow these boys in blue are better then we are. Bullshit. These guys are people and should be trusted no more than you or I.

You're An Asshole

Posted by The_Chef On 11:30 AM 0 comments

Today's entrant is a complete hack, a completely intellectually dishonest hack.


Behold! I present Markos Moulitsas, the founder
of the Daily Kos.

In his latest piece that is published in the San Fransisco Chronicle's Online arena, He equates the Radical Right with the Taliban. But here's the funny thing. He lumps in gun owners and anyone who thinks pop culture is complete joke. He also states that what these "radicals" are doing is sewing the seeds of violence. maybe he's right. I can't say for sure what the outcome of their actions will be. But since I'm in the business of making fun of both sides of the aisle, let's take a look at what Markos stands for. Let's see: Theft of property: Check. No right to resist any government action that he deems is right and just: Check. Economic Illiteracy: Check. Preventing people from freely practicing their ideals even at the exclusion of others: Check.

No Markos, you're a fascist, you just don't want to admit it. It's not that I like the religious right. It's not that I support people that think that we should let the Bible inform invasive domestic policy and regulation of lifestyles. It's the fact that not only does he paint with such a broad brush over gun owners, he doesn't even understand that he's encouraging people to make themselves servants and slaves to this monstrosity we call the state. Reminds me of this:
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” – Goethe
Yeah Markos, keep towing that empty headed line, attacking strawmen, and refusing to acknowledge that there is more than just a false Left-Right dichotomy in this country.


See here is what I don't understand, if you look at the history of Marijuana and you learn WHY it was banned, there should be no problem legalizing/de-criminalizing it. My own mother has had cancer... twice. So this one is near and dear to me. She almost didn't survive her first encounter and was extremely ill due to the treatments.

Medical Cannabis is a wonder drug basically. The fact of the matter is that too many people shriek about how EVVVVVIIIILLLL it is, or how those that smoke pot are wastrels and no good people that are not worthy of relief from pain or other symptoms that Medical Cannabis can treat. I don't smoke pot, but by god, if I had severe pain issues I'd rather smoke pot than take any of the myriad of opiate derivative drugs out on the market for pain management.

These people are the same damn breed of Prohibitionists that we had running around the US in the 1920s and 30s. They should be treated with the same mockery and scorn.

There are no, repeat zero reasons for banning this for medical use as proscribed by a physician.
(Personally I think there are no reasons to to ban it period, but hey, I'm just a crazy liberty nut, what do I know?)

...0% actually willing to do anything about it.


Seriously people, stop voting for these schmucks. They do not have your best interest at heart. Their job is to rule, how dare you question that.

It doesn't matter what side of the aisle they are from. They are willing to do anything to get elected. This is the essence of Public Choice theory. Almost every one of these people nothing more than pure parasites.

Yet you keep going to the voting booth chanting the mantra "... the lesser of two evils." Hey guess what, you're still making an evil choice.

Until the American people are ready to ditch the fallacious Left-Right dichotomy, we're going to be stuck with this mess.

Why Marriage Equality Is Irrelevant

Posted by The_Chef On 12:38 PM 3 comments

Many of the more "left-libertarian types" might disagree with me. In fact I know some of them will. With all of the fervor over the whole Prop 8 thing in the People's republic of California, there has been quite the outcry over this. I see this on some of the blogs I read all the time. Frankly I'm sick of seeing it. It's not that I have anything against people who bet for the other team. I just don't care about the issue. And here is why:

1.) If you take the Anarcho-Capitalist (Market Anarchist) view there shouldn't be a government so leave it up to the movements of private contract enforcement to decide what they will and won't enforce, combined with the fact that the churches/religious organizations could do as they pleased in the same field. There I gave the AnCap line. Now for the more practical one.

2.) Marriage has, for a stupidly long time had religious subtext. It was a union brought together by the gods/God. Trying to make marriage a secular institution is ... an end-run around the issue at best. SO I have a better idea. Let's separate the religious nature of marriage from the legal and "official" nature of mutual contract between two individuals. This would do several things. It would shut up the religious right about a Federal Amendment banning Gay marriage. And it would let all of this play out on a smaller level, whether that be state, locality, or individual religious institutions.

Have the governments of both states and the Feds recognize any Civil Union Contract between two voluntary people that desire the legal/official rights and responsibilities of a couple etc.

Make marriage the sole area of religious institutions. Some institutions are already willing to marry homosexuals, others are not. Why not get the government out of marriage and let it go? Let the churches etc. fight it out amongst themselves. The simple fact of the matter is that this would allow straight or gay couples to get married, legally unionized, and any combination thereof, with no Federal WARRRGARBLE over the debate about who can and can't get married.

Free up competition in the market for unions/mates/marriages and let the chips fall where they may.

There, solved that problem. I doubt that many of the Liberals or Left-libertarians will agree with me, but that's okay. I don't need their approval to be right.

While the AnCap position is a logically consistent one, it simply isn't possible to go from massive statism to rampant Market Anarchy overnight. It's a process and smaller steps toward a better, more free, world are better than standing in our respective towers of intellectual fortitude shouting heretic at one another.

The Obama Myth (and its followers)

Posted by The_Chef On 5:47 PM 0 comments

I remember back when this guy was running his campaign. The fervor he inspired was down right scary. The blind fanaticism for reasons that no one seem to explain to beyond the idea of "It's historic" and "He's younger, and understands 'our' generation better." The simple fact of the matter is that "He's not Bush" is probably the correct answer. And while I hated Bush with a passion, the Bamster has managed to kindle a fire of Dantean proportions. The rage is still there but has been slowly subverted by disgust and depression.


It would seem that the guy is little more than an empty suit. A figurehead for those that are actually of influence. And yes I am talking about the likes of Pelosi and Reid. Seriously, the guys numbers are tanking, the economy is still in shambles. We have a healthcare bill that no one (not even the IRS) can figure out, and the response of many Americans has been "Well he's not doing enough."

Au Contraire!

He's done too much. Or more precisely those that control things using him have done MORE than enough to damage this country. And yet I still meet those people that seem to worship the ground this guy walks on. The country is going to be broke in the near future and the only obvious solution will be to monetize the debt. The people will not put up with massive tax increases and the government will NOT cut its spending especially in the areas that are going to kill us (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security). The only solution will be to either keep rolling our huge and ever-growing debt (will people keep buying our bonds?) or to fire up the printing presses.

If we do the later. The ensuing economic fallout will make the 70s look like a picnic with a mere ant problem.

So to all of the former and current supporters of Barack "I'm an Empty Suit" Obama:

Yes the song is supposed to refer to GW Bush. but I find it strangely fitting.

Your Fall Reading List:

Posted by The_Chef On 1:11 PM 1 comments

So Dr. Chris Coyne is teaching at GMU this semester and was kind enough to post up his syllabus at Coordination Problem.



Included in the PDF are links to papers by Pete Boetke, Peter Leeson, James Buchanan, and others, here is your chance to do the reading for a PhD level course in Free-Market Austrian Economics. I took courses in Austrian and Disequilibrium Macro in Undergrad

Go get it and start reading. Hell the book list is authored by Mises, Hayek, Kirzner, etc. It's solid.

In an era when Paul Krugman is seen as an economic sage, it's high time that you educate yourself with the weapons on an intellectual battlefield to defend the very things a free society is based on.