"The Atlas Index"

There was a short article in the Economist a couple of days ago linking sales of Atlas Shrugged to the economic downturn. The most surprising stat to me is that at one point in January its sales were higher than that of Obama's "Audacity of Hope". Gives me a slight sense of optimism...

The article also led me to join the Facebook group, “Read the news today? It’s like ‘Atlas Shrugged’ is happening in real life”. So much for keeping my politics off of Facebook...

UK "Environment Czar" threatens fundamental freedoms

One of the outdoor industry organizations we belong to recently sent out this news headline. This is the kind of thing that makes me sick to my stomach and scared for our future...

UK’s “Environment Czar” Proposes that the Government Limit Travel to Prevent CO2 Emissions

In a move roundly condemned by British travel organizations, Adair Turner, chairman of the independent Committee on Climate Change that advises UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, recently proposed rationing overseas air travel by British Citizens. In remarks to Parliament's Environmental Audit Select Committee on Feb. 5th Turner said, "We will have to constrain demand in an absolute sense with people not allowed to make as many journeys as they could in an unconstrained manner.”

With all due respect, Mr. President, that's not true.

I love this ad that the Cato Institute ran in major newspapers across the country. They have this blurb alongside it on their website:

"President Obama says that "economists from across the political spectrum agree" on the need for massive government spending to stimulate the economy. In fact, many economists disagree. Hundreds of them, including Nobel laureates and other prominent scholars, have signed a statement that the Cato Institute has placed in major newspapers across the United States."

Business Week has a brief "pro/con" article on Obama's proposed salary restrictions for CEOs. Yaron Brook does his usual clear and concise job with the "con" side of the argument. Readers can post comments and I submitted the following in response to the leading quote:

"No cap pay for CEOs? The companies are going from bad to worse yet the bastards are making more money plus benefits--you call that talent? No."

Obviously those that needed a bailout so badly that they went to the Feds begging for money weren't going to last much longer without it. Yes, incompetent CEOs may have made a lot of money they didn't deserve for a few years, but obviously that time was quickly coming to an end until the government decided to prop them up.

For those of you who argue that corporations that receive government money should accept government regulation to monitor the use of that money, I would have no response other than to ask why on earth they were given that money in the first place.

Giving money to incompetent institutions directly prevents the good ones from succeeding. Wells Fargo, a competent, well-run bank, was patiently waiting for its over-leveraged competitors to fail so they could claim more market share and benefit from their intelligent practices. Now that their incompetent successors have been propped up, they may never have a chance to be rewarded for their prudence or to provide quality service to millions of Americans.

Please let us run our businesses as we see fit, and succeed or fail on our own merit, for the benefit of us all.

Thailand Photos

I've been away for the last couple weeks traveling around Thailand with my cousin. Click here to see photos!