(FEDERALJACK) Paul Krugman says FED policy does not effect food & oil prices, the dollar hasn’t gone down, inflation is good for workers. EPIC FAIL Paul.
Rich Americans renouncing U.S. citizenship rose sevenfold since UBS AG (UBSN) whistle-blower Bradley Birkenfeld triggered a crackdown on tax evasion four years ago.
About 1,780 expatriates gave up their nationality at U.S. embassies last year, up from 235 in 2008, according to Andy Sundberg, secretary of Geneva’s Overseas American Academy, citing figures from the government’s Federal Register. The embassy in Bern, the Swiss capital, redeployed staff to clear a backlog as Americans... (more)
US citizenship has gone from a coveted asset to a liability. As they highlight in this article, it's only going to get worse as the new "FATCA" law will turn US citizens into untouchables. - Chris, InfoLib
Beginning last year, mainstream reporters began kvetching about a rather brilliant tax strategy used by Google, Apple and hundreds of other technology firms. It's been the path to survival for these companies. It relies on a feature of digital goods that would have otherwise been impossible with physical goods. Firms are setting up revenue-receiving subsidiaries in lower-tax states and countries as a means of lowering their overall tax liability.
Not noted in this list is the fact every one of these products is made more efficiently than ever. If gold was still used as money, they would be a fraction of a fraction of their old price today. - Chris
Yes. That's exactly it. That's why the politicians hate economics. That's why the media are so… selective in which economists they call on to talk about policy.
That's why the economics departments in colleges are put down by the sociologists, philosophers, literature professors and just about everyone else who has romantic longings for a coerced utopia.
"The teachings of the principles of economics sho... (more)
Finally an Austrian gets to debate arch-statist Paul Krugman. Ron successfully shows Krugman to be a complete idiot (not that we need any more evidence).
First, he owns his "Austrians want to go backwards in monetary policy by 150 years" quip by pointing out inflationists want to go back 1000-2000 years to the inflationary policies of the Roman & Gree... (more)
Today's New York Times is a treasure trove of stories of government standing in the way of commerce. Anyone visiting the Big Apple knows hotel lodging costs an arm and a leg. Some enterprising property owners in the city and outer boroughs have stepped in to fill consumer demand and make some money in the process. And with the aid of internet search engines and websites devoted to helping travelers find cheap rooms, demand has been brisk.
When most people think of the economic decline that is happening in America, most of them think of states like California and cities like Detroit. In both cases, unemployment is rampant, government finances are a mess, and businesses and families are both leaving in droves. So what is causing this? What do California and Detroit have in common? Well, for one thing, both the state of California and the city of Detroit have been run by anti-business socialist control freaks for decades. Once ... (more)
The Federal Reserve says that everything is going to be okay. The Fed says that unemployment is going to go down, inflation is going to remain low and economic growth is going to steadily increase. Do you believe them this time? As you will see later in this article, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been dead wrong about the economy over and over again. But the mainstream media and many Americans still seem to have a lot of faith in the Federal Reserve. It doesn't seem to matter th... (more)
A year ago the Treasury Department bragged about an analysis that claimed the government's massive bank bailout in response to the 2008 financial crisis (TARP) would actually end up turning a $24 million profit.
At the time, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that while the government's overriding objective was to "break the back of the financial crisis and save American... (more)
Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings Inc. stopped by the Business Insider office yesterday to chat about China, commodities and his work life balance.
In this segment, he shares some fascinating thoughts on the transition of power to the fifth generation, the ... (more)
Several well-known billionaires are forming the new company Planetary Resources with plans to send a robotic spacecraft to mine precious metals from an asteroid and bring them back to Earth.
A proposal from the Obama administration to prevent children from doing farm chores has drawn plenty of criticism from rural-district members of Congress. But now it's attracting barbs from farm kids themselves.
The Department of Labor is poised to put the finishing touches on a rule that would apply child-labor laws to children work... (more)
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extended its reach and tightened its grip on every cent Americans earn or try to preserve anywhere in the world. The final regulations of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) were announced.
Enacted in March 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, FATCA seeks to have foreign financial institutions report on accounts held by any American living in the United States or abroad. You can take your m... (more)
