Paradocracy

In modern economics, no greater effort has been made than in identifying some lack of money as the solitary drag on economic growth.  However, the present state of money, a fiat currency with no inherent value, has confounded the nature of money and, in turn, the most important dynamics pertaining to economic growth.  In effect, the rise of fiat currencies and their digital formations has produced an abstraction effect that has obfuscated the meaning of investment, prices and economic growth.  In order to better appreciate these concepts, we will endeavor to classify and relate them to the inherent state of human affairs, whereby we may aspire to truly understand their meaning and influence over the economy and our lives.  To begin, we must appreciate that economic growth stems from saving (from underconsumption) and capital investment (which stems from the surplus enjoyed from saving), whereas consumption essentially draws from saving and capital investmen...

While the investment world attempts to make sense of the burgeoning tensions arising from the so-called "trade war" between China and the Trump administration, the US Dollar Index (DXY) has moved sideways along with the major stock-market indices.  Meanwhile, smart money has piled into precious metals gold and silver, which have witnessed remarkable dollar gains over the past three months: the spot price of gold has gained $270/ounce, or twenty-one percent, compared to $2.31/ounce, or fourteen percent, for silver.  For the investor seeking alpha, gold and silver stocks present tremendous upside, while silver bullion and miners are particularly appealing at a time when the metal continues to trade at historically-low premium compared to its yellow rival.  At the beginning of June, one ounce of gold traded against 93 ounces of silver.  The last time gold traded so expensively in terms of silver, quarterback Brett Favre was preparing for his rookie season with...

By its very nature, the minimum wage law can never be effective.  Where it is too low to influence wages in any industry, it will be moot, whereas wherever it is high enough to affect wages in any industry, it will cause a surplus of labor supply and a shortage of labor demand.  Alternatively, in order to achieve a similar result, government could theoretically institute a price ceiling on the goods regularly consumed by the working class.  However, this too would predictably produce the same result through a shortage, whether through quantity, quality or some combination thereof.  Whether a price floor, by the name of a minimum wage, or a price ceiling, by way of a maximum sales price, the results are always identical: unintended consequences magnitudes of order beyond the wildest imaginations of the initiatives’ unwitting supporters; profound social, legal and economic implications outside the frame of hypnotizing propaganda; and devastating losses dispropo...

Before journeying into the facts and figures around Dak Prescott and the implications of a new contract, one must first consider the following questions:  How accurate does a quarterback need to be with mid-range and deep passes in order to have long-term success in the NFL?  Can the Cowboys remain as competitive as a team with an obligation upwards of $40 million per year (in a salary-capped league) to a quarterback who has demonstrated only that he can win games with an elite unit? Of course, in committing to such a contract with Prescott, the Cowboys will ironically surrender a great measure of that 'elite' unit that enabled his successes in the first place, and thus they will sacrifice that surrounding cast for one athlete who, despite the risk that he's less qualified than he has appeared on film, faces the real risks of injury and underperformance, which have thus far been mitigated by that aforesaid surrounding cast.  In the case of Dak Prescott...

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." No solitary sentence has been the subject of greater debate than the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, and no sentence has been more wildly misconstrued or misrepresented.  Whenever mankind experiences any devastating loss of life, it appears so common that so many among us leap at the opportunity to cast blame well beyond the individuals responsible for the violent acts.  Many among us automatically conclude that the acts represent some greater trend, a systemic problem, or an eradicable evil.  On one hand, the morbid events that surround us expose the primal instincts of the human race, while the campaigns that leverage them to advance their agendas expose much of the same: the human being is thrust into the position of fighting for survival, and this remains just as relevant for the wilderness as f...

When Tarō Gomi’s 1977 children’s book “Everyone Poops” first sold in the United States in 1993, Gomi couldn’t possibly have predicted the title of the story's sequel, let alone America's twenty-first century analog to his first book. Although we haven’t yet heard any official word on its future release, or even whether it’s yet being written, the subject is bound to be just as familiar, only far more repulsive.  I just hope that whichever author and publisher decide to collaborate on this important undertaking are aware of the associated risks.  Either way, “Everyone Sues” is sure to be a massive hit, and Lady Gaga’s latest predicament will certainly help to bolster sales.  In news this week, nine-time Grammy Award winner Lady Gaga is being sued for "millions and millions" for her song's use of three solitary chords whose short progression resembles that of a relatively unknown five-year-old song by an obscure artist on music sharing website SoundCloud.  ...

One of the leading causes of social dysfunction is the breakdown of the system of inheritances.  More than just the mere inheritance of material wealth, this subject centers around the inheritance of qualities and practices that are best suited to endure and thrive throughout life on earth.  It is the responsibility of every child-bearing parent to equip his or her offspring with the physical and psychological tools to survive, lest the parent risk imperiling his or her child through neglect.  Unfortunately, many parents broadly misinterpret ‘neglect’ as the active forms of abuse that are visibly apparent, but ‘neglect’ is much more than that.  In the context of parenting and families, ‘neglect’ takes the form of unmet obligations that are instrumental in enabling children to survive and thrive under the protection, guidance and provisions secured by those who have honored their responsibilities.  As parents and as families, it is absolutely essential...

Outside of government and mainstream media, YouTube is home to the largest contingent of resident self-proclaimed experts.  A series of recent videos published by a former police officer offers no exception.  In one of these videos, the YouTuber presents footage captured by a citizen who recorded a traffic stop from her vehicle in a parking lot.  One of the police officers on scene approached the videographer to inform her that the traffic stop is “none of [her] business.”  The officer told the woman, “You have no interest in that traffic stop whatsoever.”  The officer then insulted the two citizens by calling them “ignorant” and telling them to “go do something else, go have fun, go do something.”  The officer then concluded, “It’s Friday night. Don’t be such idiots.”  In summation, the YouTuber labels the so-called "First Amendment auditors" as "big losers."  The dilemma presented here is rather interesting.  On one end,...