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Rogers: U.S. Recession Within a Year

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Billionaire investor Sam Zell is predicting global economic turmoil will push the U.S. into recession. Janet Morissey writes at The Wall Street Journal: Billionaire investor Sam Zell, who correctly called the top of the last commercial real-estate cycle, is predicting global problems will likely push the U.S. into a recession in the next year. While the U.S. is humming along fine at the moment, Mr. Zell warned that it isn’t immune to problems in the world economy. Those problems include low oil prices, falling import demand from emerging economies, volatile financial markets, deflation, … [Read more...]

The Catastrophe of Massive Government Debt

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Jim Grant's estimate that Americans each owe $42,998 has whipped up the liberal blogosphere into a fury not seen since conservative economists began picking apart Thomas Picketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Here, Cato Institute scholar Chris Edwards defends Grant's estimate, and says that it may be too low. A Time article by James Grant warning about rising federal debt has prompted pushback by columnists questioning whether debt is really so bad. At the Washington Post, Wonkblog columnist Matt O’Brien says “there’s no reason to cut the debt today.” Fellow Wonkblog columnist Max … [Read more...]

Silver at 10-month High

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With interest rates negative around the world Silver jumps to a 10 month high. Silver prices jumped to their highest levels in 10 months during trading in Asia. The price of silver rose 3 per cent to $16.73 a troy ounce, the highest level since June. It is now trading down at $16.63, writes Henry Sanderson. Silver prices rallied on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, rising as much as 4.3 per cent to 3,595 yuan per kilogram, according to Reuters. Silver prices have lagged gold this year, even though traditionally, gold rallies lead to higher silver prices. Prices started to rise at the beginning of … [Read more...]

Emergency Gun: The First 24 Hours

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“As I get older, I find that my demands for weapons have started to change. Earlier in life, I would only ask a single job of a single weapon (deer gun, home protection, etc.). Today, I want a more versatile weapon; one that can do multiple things well,” writes Robert McCartney at Loadout Room. McCartney is writing about the Taurus Judge: Named because of the number of judges who carry it into the courtroom for their protection. It is capable of chambering both .410 3" shotshell and .45 Colt Ammunition, ideal for short distances - where most altercations occur, or longer distances with the … [Read more...]

3 Million Tax Army Zombies

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Happy April 15th. Another dreadful tax filing is behind us. What an energy sapping, demoralizing process. You’re literally penalized for your success. “[F]ederal tax-code compliance overall consumes more than 6 billion hours of time each year, which is like having a “tax army” of 3 million people just filling out tax returns year-round,” writes my friend Chris Edwards, the director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute. Edwards continues: The problem is getting worse. Federal tax rules span about 75,000 pages today, which is three times more than when President Jimmy Carter called the … [Read more...]

Follow the Moving Van

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Follow the money or the moving van to see which states are open for business and which one’s are not. From the United Van Lines "United National Movers Study": United has tracked migration patterns annually on a state-by-state basis since 1977. For 2015, the study is based on household moves handled by United within the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. United classifies states as “high inbound” if 55 percent or more of the moves are going into a state, “high outbound” if 55 percent or more moves were coming out of a state or “balanced” if the difference between inbound and outbound … [Read more...]

Another Fatally Ignorant Concealed Carry Law

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Rhode Island General Assembly House Bill 7243 proposes to make it illegal for concealed carry licensees to carry in school zones. This week the Newport school committee said it supports the proposed legislation by a vote of 4-3. And last night, the Newport City Council unanimously approved the resolution supporting the proposed state legislation. “What’s the good of guns in schools?” asked Councilman Justin S. McLaughlin. “There is no good that can come of it. Schools should be devoted to education. Schools should be gun-free zones. It’s as simple as that.” Schools should be for education. … [Read more...]

Pensions in a Load of Trouble

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Pensions assume an average rate of return of 7.5%. That’s not the future we’re going to be living in, especially with a diversified portfolio. Read what Mr. Kim has to say at the end of this article and you can see how clueless leadership is about the problem. Having a front row seat to the pension mess in Rhode Island, I can tell you it’s simply a game of chicken—no side is ever going to give an inch. There will be pain. Here’s the article from the Financial Times: The US public pension system has developed a $3.4tn funding hole that will pile pressure on cities and states to cut spending or … [Read more...]

Boston Globe Hacks Away at Trump

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My family happened to be staying in Boston over the weekend. The Sunday Boston Globe was complimentary with our room. Inside was a special editorial section, which I thought was real news. Turns out it was a hit piece on Donald Trump. The arrogant staff at The Globe owe readers an apology. And they wonder where their readers have gone? Jennifer Harper writes at The Washington Times: The Boston Globe spent much time and energy to craft a realistic looking but frankly fake front page Sunday, all for an editorial titled “The GOP must stop Trump.” It consisted of imaginary speculation about the … [Read more...]