Distortions in the Incentivesphere Destroy Nations

Spheres of Reality. The composition of this world can be analyzed and defined in many ways. There is the sphere of economics, the sphere of politics, and other social science spheres. From a material perspective, there is the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere. Most of these spheres are dominated by a particularly complex organism called […]

Small Government Reduces the Impact of Corruption

Entry Points Into Our Lives. The politically-driven expansion of the federal government is what enables special interest distortions to penetrate deeper and deeper into every aspect of a society. Each new special interest issue creates an “entry point” for politicians to burrow their way into our communities and into our homes. As the physical and financial […]

The Real Power of the Mind-Body Connection

Most adults understand the mind has a powerful impact on how the body responds to events in our lives. However, I still meet many accomplished and educated people who scoff at the possibility that they might be underestimating how much their perception of stress in their lives is responsible for creating their physical ailments. This article explores this interesting phenomenon. The Epidemic […]

How Does the Federal Reserve Really Work?

Preface.To avoid any confusion, I want to emphasize up-front that all the functions of the Federal Reserve (and any central bank) are entirely unnecessary in an economy based on a well-designed cryptocurrency, which automatically provides the relatively useful technical functions that central banks provide. Additionally, all the toxic elements of central banking that plague our […]

What Caused the Great Depression? (Part 3)

Americans Are Sentenced to Generational Debtor’s Prison. As we learned in Part 1 and Part 2 of this “What Caused the Great Depression?” series, specific humans in the U.S. Congress, White House, and the Federal Reserve made conscious choices to sentence the American people to debtor’s prison to pay for a foreign war that posed no significant existential or economic threat to the United States. […]

What Caused the Great Depression? (Part 2)

Too Much Debt. The total private debt-to-GDP ratio in the United States was nearly 300% by the time the Great Depression started in 1929. In fact, “never before in this country had such a volume of funds been available at such low rates for such a long period,” said Harry Jerome in Mechanization in Industry (1934). The reasons for all this […]

What Caused the Great Depression? (Part 1)

Bad Diagnosis Leads to Bad Solutions. This is the most important question that any person can ask if they want to understand how an economy works and what is wrong with their economy today. We’ve all heard various explanations from partisan politicians and political pundits, but given the severity of the Political and Economic Toxic […]

Political Redemption & Reconciliation

No Demonizing. I have met numerous members of Congress and many unelected federal officials who I sincerely believe are thoughtful, passionate public servants. Many of them really do have an authentic desire and intention to serve their country. And to their credit, they wake up every day and see the dysfunction in government and do their best […]

Corruption & The Path to Political Purgatory

Syndrome of Distortions. With the exception of economically destructive natural disasters, every financial or political crisis is caused by either a corrupt regulatory process, prodigal fiscal policy, short-sighted monetary policy, or all of the above. Distortions in any one of these three processes can cause great damage to a nation’s economy and its democratic processes. This […]

Beware of the Congressional Experience Myth

“Is experience in Congress required to be a good congressional representative?” This question is rooted in a common misconception perpetuated by the politicians themselves and all the lobbyists and staffers who feed from the trough of the existing political establishment. As we learned previously, the reality is that approximately 80% of a politician’s time is consumed by […]