Friday Morning Ramble–18.03.16

 

So taxing the hell out of foreign companies will encourage them to do more business here? Really?!
The Apple Tax – DIM POST

One reason house-price inflation took off: QE.NZ. We may not have had QE officially, but compared to “New Zealand has had the second fastest rate of money supply growth” of all major developed countries – around half of which was borrowed into existence to buy houses.
A strange op-ed from a business lobby group – CROAKING CASSANDRA

“If spending money on Maori was the answer, they would be fixed by now. $1.7B a year.”
How much exactly is ‘special treatment’ for Maori that Kelvin Davis says doesn’t exist – WHALE OIL

Yet again, NZ got there first.
USS Gabrielle Giffords Christened As Navy’s First Gun-Free Warship – DUFFEL BLOG

A new Facebook campaign... if Britain votes Brexit, get Britain into a Commonwealth free-trade zone. “Facebook campaign to get New Zealand to be the first Commonwealth country to seek to strike a free trade and free movement of people and capital deal with Britain upon June 24th, should her people choose to leave the EU.
Welcome Home, Prodigal Mum – Andrew Bates, FACEBOOK
Commonwealth 'free movement' widely supported: poll – ABC

David Seymour: “If you haven't seen this heartbreaking story, it helps explain why I've introduced my End of Life Choice bill to the parliamentary ballot.”
'Rachel should have right to choose' – STUFF

Well, that's interesting.
Kauri campaigner cut down protected tree – 3 NEWS

“2016 could be the year governments admit the war on drugs has failed. Or they could maintain the status quo.”
Opponents of the War on Drugs Are Not Satisfied With the UN's Plan to End It - VICE

The Economist Intelligence Unit just included a Trump presidency as one of the top 10 risks for the global economy. Evil elitist bastards.
Trump presidency rated among top 10 global risks: EIU – BBC NEWS

It’s not like the ignoramus hasn’t been answered centuries ago: “Along came Adam Smith and made a different argument, that mercantilism punished consumers and the poor, while rewarding producers and the rich; that imports were a good thing because they raised people’s standard of living by giving them what they wanted at lower prices. With money to spare, consumers bought more things from producers, creating jobs and generating prosperity. If bread was cheaper, people could afford more textiles. Gradually, with the help of David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill, Britain was persuaded of this and by the time Robert Peel, William Ewart Gladstone and Richard Cobden were in charge, Britain had declared unilateral free trade and dared the world to follow.”
The Case Against Mercantilism – Matt Ridley, MATT RIDLEY
Donald Trump versus Adam Smith- Richard Ebeling, FACEBOOK

“If you listen to Trump’s answers to almost any question about how he will fix a problem, he uses up the first 95 percent of his time explaining, re-explaining and demagoguing about how bad the problem is. (That is, if he’s not talking about polls.) Then in the last few seconds, he says we’ll fix the problem by being really smart or by winning or by hiring the best people.
    "In other words, he has no idea how to fix it."
A Slow-Motion Invasion of the Body Snatchers ... – Jonah Goldberg, NRO

“No one who is as obsessed as Clinton obviously is with gaining power should be trusted with power. Nothing good will come of a Clinton presidency; it will be calamitous, at home and abroad.
    “But I do understand those who fear Trump more than they fear Clinton. Trump's lack of a political track record makes a President Trump even less predictable than a President Clinton. And while being less predictable means, in the abstract, that the policies pursued by Trump might turn out to be surprisingly better than those pursued by Clinton, in practice such an outcome is unlikely.
    “Nearly everything spouted from Trump's loud mouth should frighten the bejesus out of sane adults. Build a border wall? “Protect” ourselves from low-priced goods from China? “Rough up” protesters at political rallies? Really? These are the rantings of a thug, not the proposals of a civilized liberty-loving man.”
Which presidential candidate will do the least harm? - Donald Boudreaux, TRIB LIVE

These are your "grownups," people.
Kasich’s Despicable Play For King Maker – THE RESURGENT

“"Whenever you see the inequality gimmick at work, you can be sure that the goal of the speaker is not to end hardships or remedy injustices, but to smash the successful."
Bernie Sanders and the Inequality Gimmick – Don Watkins, YOU TUBE

“Today’s right is always complaining that the left holds the cultural high ground and that we need to do more to influence popular culture. But Ayn Rand is the only figure on the right who has really succeeded at it. She wrote some of the world’s most popular and enduring fiction, which has succeeded in the marketplace—for 70 years and still going strong—in the face of unrelenting hostility from mainstream critics."
5 Things the Right Can [Still] Learn from Ayn Rand – Robert Tracinski, THE FEDERALIST

“Conservatives wonder why they keep losing to the leftists. It’s because conservatives justify capitalism, individual rights and private property with faith. “God says it’s true!” This makes it easier for leftists to argue, “We have science, reason and logic on our side.” Conservatives apologize for human nature by saying, “Socialism may be ideal, but human nature requires capitalism.”
    “That’s not so.
    “Capitalism is great because it enables the best and the brightest to lift everyone out of poverty and because under capitalism, individuals are free to think and reason. Prayer and faith do not create comfort and material wealth...”
Governments, Rights Should Be Religion-Neutral – Michael Hurd, NEWSMAX

Nice fellow.
Bernie Sanders Supported Press Crackdowns, Bread Lines, and Castro's Cult of Personality – REASON

“Q: "What did socialists use before candles?" A: "Electricity."
Venezuela to shut down for a week to cope with electricity crisis – BLOOMBERG

    “But there is no justification, in a civilised society, for the kind of mass civil disobedience
    that involves the violation of the rights of others – regardless of whether the demonstrator’s
    goal is good or evil. The end does not justify the means. No one’s rights can be secured
    by the violation of the rights of others. Mass disobedience is an assault on the concept
    of rights: it is a mob’s defiance of legality as such."
      ~ Ayn Rand in “The Cashing-In: The Student ‘Rebellion’” 1965.

Crazy? Or just crazy enough to work?
Why Europe should build a Hong Kong in Syria – THE WEEK
Help Refugees 
Help Themselves - FOREIGN AFFAIRS

“A minimum wage law is a balancing act for politicians. They have to have the wage be just high enough to create a constituency for the wage that will support them but not so high that people who actually vote will lose their jobs...For every two people who benefit from a minimum wage law, one is put out of work. That’s okay if the people who are out of work don’t vote."
Oregon Legislature Repeals Laws of Supply & Demand – CATO

“Consider that Arabs wandered for centuries across desert sands that concealed vast petroleum deposits, but it was Western investors who actually made Middle Eastern petroleum valuable. These companies searched for many years in a vast wilderness, moving in frustration from one dry hole to another, risking utter failure and financial ruin. Eventually, by virtue of their ingenuity, courage and perseverance, world markets were flooded with oil that Middle Eastern governments should have deemed private property — 100 percent private.
    “Instead, those governments muscled in, claiming public ownership based on nothing but their sovereignty over the geographical areas where oil deposits happened to reside.”
Nationalisation Is Theft – Tom Bowden, ARI

“Under a proper gold standard, the rate of interest is kept in a band that is not only narrow, but which is also stable over long periods of time. This is the principal virtue of the gold standard. It does not fix the level of prices, which would be neither possible nor desirable. It keeps the rate of interest consistent, which serves the interests of wage earners, pensioners, and other savers, and of entrepreneurs whose work provides the goods, services, jobs, and interest payments, on which everyone else depends (and which they take for granted)."
Interest Rate Stability: The Primary Virtue of the Gold Standard – Keith Weiner, THE SAVVY STREET

Here’s the slogan that would acutually fulfil the empty promise:

“St. Patrick's Day in the United States is a celebration of immigrants. … People across the country will be celebrating today the legacy of a relatively more open boarders immigration policy of an earlier period. Between 1820 to 1860, roughly 2 million Irish arrived in the US, most fleeing the famine ravaging Ireland. They came poor, uneducated, and facing prejudice and discrimination. The lesson that this experiment was a strong net gain for America hopefully isn't lost amongst the fearmongering of politicians or the abundance of green beer.”
Celebrating Immigration – Emily Skarbek, ECON LOG

“It just came to my attention that if you don't like the group of organized racist thugs known as "Black Lives Matter," it makes you a racist. Who knew? A refresher article for those interested in a response.
    “I don't like black supremacist groups any more than white supremacist groups. Morally, they should be regarded as one and the same.
    "The moment you start treating black lives as either more or less important than anyone else’s life is the moment you have become a racist."
Do Black Lives Matter ... Or Do Lives Matter? – Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER

In a nutshell:

“Alex Epstein faces off with Ben Mankiewicz from The Young Turks on the heated topic of "being green."
Jolted: The Big, Fat Lie Of "Being Green" - with Alex Epstein – THE SURGE

Oh, by the way …
NASA’s chief climate scientist admits record warm temps due to El Nino – JUNK SCIENCE

An essentially flat cost of living is "abysmal" according to the Bloomberg headline writers. Morons.
Imports Share Blame [sic] for Switzerland's Abysmal Inflation Rate – BLOOMBERG

How do we get richer? Things get cheaper. An example: The price for light in a household. From 1300 to 2006

“Which is to say , if you start looking for something carefully … you will often find it.”
Cancer Rates Spiked After Fukushima. But Don't Blame Radiation. – Sarah Fallon, WIRED

“The most educated (in terms of degrees) generation ever. The lowest overall ability to do anything …”
American Millennials Are Some Of The World's Least Skilled People – HUFFINGTON POST

Don’t make it complicated.
Simplifying Childhood May Protect Against Mental Health Issues – HUFFINGTON POST

Yes, YouTube gets a free ride.
Why Spotify's Royalty War Is a Giant Industry Distraction – DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS

The Road Runner episode we've waited 20 years to see:

Fairly fascinating look at the origins and use of the language we speak (or try to) every day—and immigration plays a large part! Not sure however whether “fo shizzle” would really constitute part of an expanded vocabulary.
25 maps that explain the English language – VOX

“Are you a “worry wort?” If so, then read on. If not, then don’t worry about it — unless you’re worried that you might miss something good….”
What, Me Worry? – Dr Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER

“To understand Ayn Rand’s view that selfishness is a virtue and altruism a vice, one cannot take for granted the conventional meanings ascribed to these terms … “
Exploring ARI Campus: Ayn Rand on Altruism – AYN RAND CAMPUS

“This 1967 lecture is Ayn Rand’s flagship talk on capitalism. In it she explains in depth what capitalism is, why it is often misunderstood and why it is the only social system consonant with man’s nature.”
What Is Capitalism? – AYN RAND CAMPUS

Yeah, That one.
The Myth about Ayn Rand and Social Security – Onkhar Ghate, ARI

“Secluded behind a screen of tall bamboo shoots in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, the Kings Road House (above) may be considered the first [American] home ever built in the Modernist style. Designed by Rudolf Schindler in 1921, the architect’s use of tilt-slab concrete construction (highly innovative at the time) and an informal studio layout, set it apart from its contemporaries; indeed, the design would set the tone for other Modernist residential design for decades.”
AD Classics: Kings Road House / Rudolf Schindler – ARCH DAILY

See: I really did learn  something useful at architecture school: “Architecture school is a peculiar beast. It almost never actually prepares students to be practicing architects, and 90% of what is written by architects and architectural theorists is incomprehensible garbage. But being able to discern what is and what is not incomprehensible garbage is a profoundly useful life skill."
6 Phases Every Architecture Student Goes Through – ARCH DAILY

A fourth consecutive win and reported new world record for combined take-off/landing! 20 foot landing, 24 foot takeoff:

Is there anybody who hasn’t seen this yet? New Order on old instruments:

Older music on newer instruments:

Great music that never gets old:

I do. Do you?

[Hat tips John Strong, Michael Strong, Anoop Verma, Rust Watkins, Phil Oliver, Maria Montessori Education Foundation, Robert Bartnik, Stephen Berry, David Seymour, Betsy Speicher, Max Roser, stan stewart, Sassy Little Hobbit, Rudolf E. Havenstein]

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
Cheers
PC

PS: Here’s what I’ll be drinking (heh, heh):