Search ideas and policy for liberty

55+ min ago (521+ words) International Man:A recent BHG Financial survey found that 62% of Americans earning over $300,000 a year still struggle with credit card debt. What's your take on this? It's hard for a middle-class person to get by when a new car, one that you feel suits your station in life, costs $50,000 or even $100,000. And it's financed over seven years. Or leased, so there's zero chance you'll ever own it. So I don't doubt that what BHG says is true: almost everybody is in debt, and few have any savings. It makes for a very unstable financial, economic, political, and social situation. International Man:Is the erosion of the upper-middle class deliberate or an unintended consequence of inflation? The above calculation doesn't include debt service, which almost everybody in what passes for the middle class has lots of. The numbers just don't work....

55+ min ago (724+ words) Six political prisoners who targeted factories arming Israel's genocide are weeks into a hunger strike. But in contrast to the IRA's 1980s hunger strike, this one is being blanked by the media If we truly had a free media in the UK, rather than one serving the interests only of the state and billionaire class, this would be a front-page news story: Six political prisoners " held unlawfully for a year or more on remand, and retroactively deemed to be "terrorists" for trying to stop the Gaza genocide " have been on hunger strike for many weeks in prison. At least one is already seriously ill. There has been blanket silence from the media on these developments, and barely any coverage of the appalling conditions these political prisoners are being subjected to since Palestine Action was reclassified by Sir Keir Starmer's government as a…...

55+ min ago (926+ words) By Charles Hugh Smith The conclusion that soaring asset prices mean the economy is strong is a hallucination that goes unrecognized because the entire financial system is hallucinating. Consider the data that the financial sector bases conclusions / decisions on(i.e. the data that the financial sector "trains" on)in a Bubble Economy like the present.The Bubble Economy's core goal is to inflate the valuation of assets not by increasing utility-value or productivity but by artificially expanding credit and leverage. This benefits those who already own assets, as their collateral (i.e. "wealth") expands without any effort, and this swelling collateral enables them to borrow money to buy more assets. This also benefits those with high incomes and modest debt, as these boost their credit rating, enabling them to borrow at lower rates than the bottom 90% of the workforce'credit they can use to…...

55+ min ago (175+ words) By Ted Snider The American Conservative The people of Honduras had not yet made up their minds. So, Donald Trump intervened to help them. In the lead-up to the election, the polls suggested a three-way race with no clear favorite. But Trump had a favorite. Firing off two Truth Social posts within 18 minutes of each other, Trump dramatically intervened in the election. With the threat of military and economic intervention now clear, Trump declared, "Democracy is on trial in the coming Elections," and he left it to the people of "the beautiful country of Honduras" to decide. Moncada was not guilty of hyperbole or sensationalism when she'complained'that Trump's posts, "three days before the election," were "totally interventionist." One of the key congresspeople'keeping tabs'on the Honduran election is Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL). She is hardly averse to non-democratic transfers of power…...

55+ min ago (429+ words) Remember to click on our Amazon link to support LRC this week." LewRockwell.com readers are supporting"LRC"and"shopping"at the same time. It's easy and does not cost you a"penny more than it would if you didn't go through the"LRC"link. Just click on the Amazon link on LewRockwell.com's"homepage and add your items to your cart. It's that easy! If you can't live without your daily dose of LewRockwell.com in 2025, please remember to"DONATE TODAY! Everlasting Comfort Adjustable Cloud Foot Rest for Under Desk at Work with Pressure Point Nodes" Leather Briefcase for Men 17 Inch Laptop Crossbody Shoulder Messenger Bag Attache Case for " Continue reading " The post Top Gifts for Everyone on Your Shopping List! appeared first on LewRockwell. Remember to click on our Amazon link to support LRC this week. LewRockwell.com…...

55+ min ago (236+ words) By Milan Adams Preppgroup A heist has a scoreboard. After the robbery, you don't argue about theories. You count what's missing. For fifty years, we've been told a story: that your struggle is a personal failure. That the economy is just "evolving." That the system is broken. The system is not broken. It was picked clean. The following numbers are the evidence. This is the financial autopsy of the American Dream. CRIME #1: THE GREAT WAGE THEFT CRIME #2: THE CEO PAY EXPLOSION CRIME #3: THE DISAPPEARING PENSION CRIME #4: THE UNION BUST These numbers are not abstract. They are the reason you feel it every day: The Erosion of the American Dream: A Generational Crisis The American Dream, once a beacon of opportunity where a single income could comfortably support a family, has become an increasingly elusive ideal for many. The stark realities…...

55+ min ago (305+ words) The American contract, a combination of Constitution and myth, is unraveling like the marriage of an unimaginative yet loyal wife who wakes up to find the money gone, eviction imminent, and he loves another." Further, in a battle for the kids, or any remaining resources, our lying spendthrift plays cards with the judge and drinks with the sheriff, while we are friendless. This is late stage American empire." Some citizens still refuse to acknowledge the empire, much less our dead broke, meddling, force-driven and corruption-wracked empire led by fools and grifters." But a growing number do. At this time of year, winter brings a mental and physical rest, introspection, a time to connect, heal, dream and plan for a better spring, summer and fall. Yet how many of us really feel rested, connected, healed or able to dream?" The gifts…...

55+ min ago (835+ words) Whitney Webb'is right. America is'One Nation Under Blackmail.'From the White House to Congress to state governors and legislators to the mainstream media to mega churches and televangelists, they are on the take. And the godfather with the money'our money'(and the enforcers to make sure they take the bribes)'is Israel. From Bill Clinton to Donald Trump and every U.S. president in between (with slight hesitation from Bush Sr.), each of these men has been but a mere pawn and puppet of the Israel lobby. For all intents and purposes, the U.S. president is not Donald Trump (or Joe Biden or Barack Obama or G.W. Bush or Bill Clinton); he is Benjamin Netanyahu'or whoever else might be Israel's Prime Minister. It has been common knowledge for decades that many of our major cities' police officers have been and are being trained in…...

55+ min ago (750+ words) By A Midwestern Doctor The Forgotten Side of Medicine Since our society is conditioned to believe all vaccines are "safe and effective" many do not realize the risk and benefits of'each vaccine vary greatly. One of the most controversial vaccines has been the Hepatitis B vaccine, which is given to every newborn in the country at their most fragile moment of life despite their risk of contracting hepatitis B being negligible. Bonnie Dunbar PhD'has also been in contact with numerous physicians and research scientists from several countries who have independently described thousands of identical severe reactions occurring in Caucasian recipients of the hepatitis vaccine. Since entering the market, the hepatitis B vaccine has been marred with safety concerns: " As early as 1976, one researcher cautioned that since autoimmunity is involved in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B infections, it they might also…...

55+ min ago (1747+ words) David Stockman's Contra Corner The Trumpian attack on immigrants is about as anti-supply side, pro-statist and inimical to free market prosperity as it gets. As we have seen in Parts 1 & 2, immigrant labor accounted for 42% of the thundering3.62%annual real GDP growth during the golden age of American industrial expansion between 1870 and 1920, but that wasn't the end of the story. Per Annum Population Growth Rate: That's right. Embedded in the mainstream Census Bureau population projections and CBO's longer term economic outlook is an assumption that immigration will add an average of1.4 millionpersons per year to population growth. In whole numbers that would amount to the following over the next 50 years: In short, the Trumpified GOP's policy amounts to azero net immigration strategyfor the long haul. To place the potential long-term impact of this radical departure from past policy in historical perspective, we have…...