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Many people predicted the economic collapse of 2008 and yet very few listened. Economists like Peter Schiff and Lew Rockwell were mocked as doomsday soothsayers rebelling against a postmodern age. Those of us who advocate a sound economic system are seen as enemies of modernity and the status quo. And this much is true, someone born into the Fractional Reserve System advocating sound currency, well that is postmodern rebellion.

But, as we know from the economic and social pains from the fourth quarter of 2008 the system does indeed appear unstable. The question is what do we do about it?

LewRockwell.com: The ‘No Problem’ Mindset: Guaranteed Destruction

For students of Austrian economics we know the truth: 

We know that the Federal Reserve System creates economic bubbles through manipulation of interest rates.

We know that the Federal Reserve System creates inflation by obligating the taxpayer to debt based currency.

We know that the Federal Reserve System, like all central banks, inherently seeks to consolidate national power and autonomy to the state.

We know that wealth without value is no better than the paper it is printed on.

In our parents’, grandparents’, and great grandparents’ lifetimes great nations have risen and fallen. As someone interested in history I always worry about the families and individuals who were conscripted into the Nazi party, forced to serve on one side or the other in the civil war (often times family against family), or forced to march with Napoleon simply because they were not prepared and had no other economic choice but to serve.

Some ideals are worth fighting/dying for. Liberty. Freedom. Representation in government. Protecting our inalienable rights. But at some point the social contract must cease its infiltration into everyday affairs. Freedom isn’t defined as reliance on one another.

Let’s start with the basics: food, clothing and shelter.

Do you know how to grow a garden? What about reseeding?

Do you know how to raise chickens, cows, or pigs?

Do you know how to can and preserve food?

Do you know the basics of food storage?

And clothing: have you ever made your own shirt, pants? What about the fabric? Or even more basic, have you ever repaired your own clothing when worn down? And on shelter, how much of what permeates your household is produced by someone other than yourself? Are you electrically self-sufficient? In an emergency do you have water for bathing, drinking and cooking?

Clearly I think we can all agree that the free-market can provide all of this so we don’t need to know. But given the state of affairs, are we safe to assume that the current system will always be able to provide the goods and services that we need? We must assume that in a total economic collapse there would be some times of uncertainty, even more so when an economy is based on central reserve banking.

We must be more like our ancestors if we are to shed the shackles of tyranny that have crept into our lives. Ayn Rand once penned a line for the infamous John Galt, “an honest man is one who knows he can’t consume more than he has produced”. Are you an honest man? Can we live more simply and be free? Or worded better, is a postmodern world an inherit enemy to liberty and freedom?

I am not saying pack up and go mountain-man, well that is unless you choose to do so. I am just saying let’s get ourselves better prepared for the next time the Federal Reserve puppeteers choose to crash the party. We can do this by becoming more self-sufficient and wiser in our investments.

One idea is to have a garden, even it it doesn’t provide all of your food. We do this so that if we had to rely on our own gardening skills we would know how to do it. Even if we only grow ten percent of our own food, aren’t we that much more free should things get that much worse? Besides, kids love watching plants and animals grow.

Or let me simplify this entire argument: If the only thing you need to worry about is paying the mortgage, what does it matter what the rest of society does? Self sufficiency my friends, not quite the dirty word it was come late 2008.

So even though i failed to snap the picture of Luke and Ron Paul, i was able to find MYSELF on the internets!

EPIC WIN!  ^^

From WSJ:

Here’s a two-minute drill in soak-the-rich economics:

Maryland couldn’t balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O’Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were “willing and able to pay their fair share.” The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would “grin and bear it.”

One year later, nobody’s grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller’s office concedes is a “substantial decline.” On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year — even at higher rates.

No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the recession. However, this is one reason that depending on the rich to finance government is so ill-advised: Progressive tax rates create mountains of cash during good times that vanish during recessions. For evidence, consult California, New York and New Jersey (see here).

The Maryland state revenue office says it’s “way too early” to tell how many millionaires moved out of the state when the tax rates rose. But no one disputes that some rich filers did leave. It’s easier than the redistributionists think. Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, notes: “Marylanders with high incomes typically own second homes in tax friendlier states like Florida, Delaware, South Carolina and Virginia. So it’s easy for them to change their residency.”

All of this means that the burden of paying for bloated government in Annapolis will fall on the middle class. Thanks to the futility of soaking the rich, these working families will now pay Mr. O’Malley’s “fair share.”

These are musings off the top of my head- 10 things that every Patriot should be doing right now

1)   Pay off debt- Sorry BHO/Bush, I reject the spend, spend, spend notion. Debt is not the answer. Encouraging people to live within their means is. Limiting debt in your life reduces one’s exposure to the Federal Reserve’s puppetry.

2)   Build your reserves- be it cash, food, guns, tangibles… we need to be prepared.  For many, this economic crash hit us unprepared. Let us learn our lessons and be better stewards of our homesteads.

3)   Build your library- some would disagree with me on this, but we cannot assume that we will have the comfort of the internet forever. We must assume government will attempt to control this medium as well. Build your library so that you can speak with knowledge to those in your community.  I would suggest the works of our Founding Fathers or books from the CATO or Mises Institute.

4)  Find someone you can rally around- for many areas the local political class is void and barren of any respect for Liberty, Freedom or the Constitution. A great number of tyrants have been allowed to rule simply because Patriots did not work to keep them out. Find a politician who respects Natural Law, the Constitution and puts Freedom and Liberty first and vigorously support him/her. Yes, that means you will have to knock on doors or make phone calls.

5)  Start your own gathering of Patriots- under whatever label you want, connect with like-minded people. Go to, or start, a Campaign For Liberty (or any other entity that advocates Liberty and Freedom) monthly meeting to plan, discuss, socialize and strengthen your cause. Invite said candidate, if they don’t already attend, to join.

6)  Multi-Stream your income- yes I know you already work 60 hours a week, but we must assume that those who seek national control will move to silence those who oppose their agenda. By shoring up our incomes we can help protect ourselves from isolation via the threat of losing our job.

7)  Engage self-sufficiency… despite what certain Republican hacks will tell you, not all environmentalism is bad. In fact, in many ways the idea of self-sufficiency helps protect one from having to turn to government when the going gets tough. If you don’t have a garden, start one. If you have never looked into energy independence, do it. You may have to re-learn and ask questions, but living within your means requires limiting what you need to purchase.

8)  Cut propaganda out of your life- please realize that the greatest tyranny ever foisted on man is television. The puppet masters have unfettered access to your mind with the situational morality and agenda driven programming. Yes, I know that you won’t know who won ‘American Idol’ then. Please realize the biggest supporter of top-down information flow is the main-stream media. Your mind is too precious to waste. Besides, your family wants to spend time with you.

9)   Realize inflation is coming- thank you Federal Reserve. If you have the cash, consider making large purchases now. Much of what we see in the market will not, or will not be allowed to, survive in its current form. Only you know what your family really needs.

10)  Did I mention eliminating debt? Really, debt is slavery. And until we know the outcome of these banker-bailouts and the intentional economic collapse, we really shouldn’t be leaving ourselves without options. Engage any and all means to reduce economic slavery. None of these other points matter if this one isn’t first priority.

“Road Trip!” Tyler, Jared and myself decided just two days before formally committing ourselves to driving to Seattle to hear Dr. Ron Paul and Tom Woods speak. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but having been there and done that I can now say that C4L Seattle has renewed my commitment to Liberty and Freedom.

There were vendors from all sorts of organizations at the conference- Midas Resources, Open Currency, the CATO Institute, the Free State Project, PEACEPAC, various anti-income tax vendors and of course the usual stickers, books, shirts and buttons. The Young Americans For Liberty, University of Washington chapter, was there to help organize the whole show.

I met Chad Peace from Polaction. He runs PEACEPAC which seeks to grow a groundswell to draft candidates who support Liberty and Freedom. It was because of his efforts that Rand Paul, Dr. Ron Paul’s son, has entered the race in Kentucky. Chad is now working diligently to get Peter Schiff, Ron Paul’s economic adviser, to formerly announce his intention to run.

I met Katja Delavar, the Washington State Coordinator for the Campaign For Liberty. She shared her story coming from Iran, and the oppression that she endured as a young woman. She shared her perspective that Freedom and Liberty can never be taken for granted. It is because of her efforts and organization that only two of Washington’s congressional representatives have not signed on to support H.R.1207, Ron Paul’s Audit The Fed bill.

I also spoke with Mikayla Hall, Vice President for the YAL-UW. UW is very lucky to have someone so committed and energetic about the cause. I can testify that not a single person under 30 was missed in Mikayla’s efforts to get all signed up on the YAL email list. My only complaint was that she entered me as an Idaho Vandal rather than a Boise State Bronco. A near unforgivable sin in Idaho.

My favorite conversation was probably with the sales rep for Midas Resources. He shared with me the historical perspectives on investing in gold and silver. He recommended to everyone interested in Ron Paul’s H.R.1207 or concepts of sound money to read ‘The Creature From Jekyll Island’ by G. Edward Griffin. Incidentally, nearly every vendor had a copy of this book for sale.

The couple running the booth for the Free State Project were very likable and informed on the Free State Project, a libertarian plan to get 20,000 liberty minded people to move to New Hampshire to get, “Liberty In Our Lifetime”. I have strongly considered this over the years, at some point it may be an inescapable necessity.

But of course, while nice, the main purpose of eight hour trip was to see Dr. Tom Woods and Dr. Ron Paul.

If you have never had the opportunity to see either of these men speak, I encourage you to do so. You will come away recommitted, refocused and purpose driven in your desire for Liberty and Freedom.

Dr. Wood’s shared thoughts similar to mine. Never in my lifetime did I expect to see Freedom and Liberty, the Constitution, taken so seriously. Never in my lifetime did I know that there were so many others out there who felt and believed as I did. Looking around you felt as if this were a battle that could be won. This movement, this reawakening, was a gift to us from Ron Paul. For that we shall remain forever in his gratitude.

“There is a bull market for Truth”- Dr. Tom Woods.

And then…. Ron Paul spoke. On nearly every subject Dr. Paul reminded us that we have been re-awakened and we are now the majority. We need to help educate, get the young people involved and connect with like-minded folks. Dr. Paul reminded us that this will not happen overnight and may very well take our whole lifetimes. Political organization, the purpose of the C4L Seattle event, will also be essential.

“Optimism comes from telling the truth. We only need the tiny crack of truth to be spoken to those shrouded in deceit to win”- Dr. Ron Paul.

Having been there and back again I feel as if this is a profound shift, a change, in the conservative philosophy. I know in my heart that this is the direction that the country needs to go. Liberty and Freedom cannot be compromised. If we fail in our attempts to restore the Constitution our country will fail.

I know that this will be the moment that we found our voice and never looked back.

“The time has come to act. May future generations look back and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crises, stood up to the politicians, the opinion-molders, and the establishment, and saved their country.”- Dr. Ron Paul

The best part of the trip? I got to shake Dr. Woods’ and Dr. Paul’s hand. Due to a fail, there is no picture however.

From WSJ:

Here’s the problem for states that want to pry more money out of the wallets of rich people. It never works because people, investment capital and businesses are mobile: They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states.

And the evidence that we discovered in our new study for the American Legislative Exchange Council, “Rich States, Poor States,” published in March, shows that Americans are more sensitive to high taxes than ever before. The tax differential between low-tax and high-tax states is widening, meaning that a relocation from high-tax California or Ohio, to no-income tax Texas or Tennessee, is all the more financially profitable both in terms of lower tax bills and more job opportunities.

Updating some research from Richard Vedder of Ohio University, we found that from 1998 to 2007, more than 1,100 people every day including Sundays and holidays moved from the nine highest income-tax states such as California, New Jersey, New York and Ohio and relocated mostly to the nine tax-haven states with no income tax, including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and Texas. We also found that over these same years the no-income tax states created 89% more jobs and had 32% faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts.

Did the greater prosperity in low-tax states happen by chance? Is it coincidence that the two highest tax-rate states in the nation, California and New York, have the biggest fiscal holes to repair? No. Dozens of academic studies — old and new — have found clear and irrefutable statistical evidence that high state and local taxes repel jobs and businesses.

Martin Feldstein, Harvard economist and former president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, co-authored a famous study in 1998 called “Can State Taxes Redistribute Income?” This should be required reading for today’s state legislators. It concludes: “Since individuals can avoid unfavorable taxes by migrating to jurisdictions that offer more favorable tax conditions, a relatively unfavorable tax will cause gross wages to adjust. . . . A more progressive tax thus induces firms to hire fewer high skilled employees and to hire more low skilled employees.”

More recently, Barry W. Poulson of the University of Colorado last year examined many factors that explain why some states grew richer than others from 1964 to 2004 and found “a significant negative impact of higher marginal tax rates on state economic growth.” In other words, soaking the rich doesn’t work. To the contrary, middle-class workers end up taking the hit.

Finally, there is the issue of whether high-income people move away from states that have high income-tax rates. Examining IRS tax return data by state, E.J. McMahon, a fiscal expert at the Manhattan Institute, measured the impact of large income-tax rate increases on the rich ($200,000 income or more) in Connecticut, which raised its tax rate in 2003 to 5% from 4.5%; in New Jersey, which raised its rate in 2004 to 8.97% from 6.35%; and in New York, which raised its tax rate in 2003 to 7.7% from 6.85%. Over the period 2002-2005, in each of these states the “soak the rich” tax hike was followed by a significant reduction in the number of rich people paying taxes in these states relative to the national average. Amazingly, these three states ranked 46th, 49th and 50th among all states in the percentage increase in wealthy tax filers in the years after they tried to soak the rich.

We would be at war in Iraq, bailing out the bankers and enacting Patriot-style legislation no matter who was President.

It has long been my belief that there is very little change from Administration to Administration. Outside of the ‘token’ issues (i.e. abortion or stem cell research) there is very little wiggle room for a President to operate with. The Bush-to-Obama transition is a perfect case study for those seeking standards of consistency in government.

As my long held belief goes, as one President steps down, the new one has the legal, moral and social obligation to continue the prior administration’s agenda until his ‘tweaks’ are added to this massive ball of social, political and economic regulation. A president’s agenda from 40, 50 or even 100 years ago has just as much relevance to this rolling mass of government as does the current one. A new President is simply obligated to take the mantle of this ever increasing tyranny, imposing his own minor ‘legacy’ tweaks and enacting legislation to promulgate the ‘Cycle Of Perpetuality’.

In essence, every President’s agenda since inception is continually and constantly in perpetual motion. This will continue to be the case until such a time as 1) the regulatory affairs run their course and naturally die out or 2) the growth of regulation and governmental power becomes so large that the constitution is amended or a political revolution occurs.

But as this cycle goes on, government continues to grow and regulations increase.

This crisis occurred largely out of the growth of the “living Constitution” ideal. Namely, that the written words of the Constitution are merely guideposts along the way to successful governing. For example, the “general welfare” clause, as such a living theory goes, does no more to limit the growth of government in its constitutionally limited and enumerated areas as does a more “sophisticated understanding” of the text. Namely that the “general welfare” clause can be summed up as follows: if it protects the general health and safety of the American public and does not infringe on the rights in the amendments of the Constitution, then it is a permissible action of government, no matter the direct enumerated power.

 This, of course, is in a natural conflict with the Framers’ view of the Constitution who held that our rights precede government and that we enter into a social contract with each other to preserve, protect and defend these said liberties. Such a view of civil rights demands that amendments to the Constitution are not to limit government or to give new rights, but rather to expand the proper scope and authority of government.

For those who follow the latter of the two views, there is a real and present crises of legitimacy to the United States Government. It has far exceeded its enumerated and constitutionally appropriate legislative powers in favor of  bold regulatory action. In areas where government cannot act or is constitutionally prohibited, it has established quasi-private entities (Fannie Mae/Mac, FINRA, et al) to further the agenda of this rolling mass of historical legacy. It has acted with the broadest definitions of the powers given to it, often ignoring the historical or common sense understanding of the Constitution in favor of more modern definitions. Worse yet, at times it has blatantly violated the Constitution to further the agenda of the agenda setters.

It is understandable how we came to this point. After all, we are told politics is a game of compromise. It starts very early in the legislative process when a legislator has to come to agreement with at least a majority of his fellow peers to enact legislation. A “I will scratch your back if you scratch mine” mentality has often ruled this process and deals are made. One bill, for instance, will pass with a simple majority because the legislators who sponsored said bill agree to vote for another. After a bill becomes law, it becomes politically unfavorable to enact legislation to repeal bad ones for fear of upsetting this arrangement.

And so this cycle goes on, and government continues to grow and regulations increase.

Perhaps this helps explain this, this, this, or this.

What is clear is that Libertarians and Constitutionalists need to be rock solid in their resolve to return the Republic to the Constitution if Liberty and Freedom shall prevail. Constitutionalists will have to work these deals to shrink government and limit executive power.

Coming soon- Ideas to break the cycle