Scattershots – 21jun22 (updated 25jun22)

George Rebane

Solar Tax – California, as regular as the sunrise, is again showing the world that it knows how to expand its unchallenged butt-stupid ways to govern possibly the most blessed land mass on God’s green earth.  Sacramento, led by our idiot governor, is contemplating levying a tax on homes that have installed solar panels.  These are housing units that use less electricity from the grid, and also pump back electricity into a grid that is already overloaded, poorly maintained & managed, and expensive to boot.  Instead of encouraging the installation of more environmentally friendly photovoltaics, the state wants to dun those who already have them, and provide more reasons why not to install more of these home power-generating systems.  Call your governor and tell him what you think of the Democrats’ latest brainchild.  (info here)

Economic Freedom.  And then we have the Heritage Foundation’s annual update of America’s economic freedom index as we compare ourselves to the international community of countries.  Sadly, but expected under this administration, the US continues its decline as our leftwing political cadres implement more and more socialist policies in this divided and now economically ravaged land.  In the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom we read - A notable reshuffling has taken place at the top of the rankings. Singapore maintained its status as the world’s freest economy, but Australia dropped out of the “free” cat­egory, and New Zealand dropped to fourth place, behind Switzerland and Ireland. Luxembourg, Taiwan, and Estonia joined the “free” category for the first time.  Quite notable is the continuing decline in the “mostly free” category of the United States, which plummeted to 25th place, its lowest ranking ever in the 28-year history of the Index. The major causative factor in the erosion of America’s economic free­dom is excessive government spending, which has resulted in mounting deficit and debt burdens. (Click image to enlarge.)

[22jun22 update]  Biden and his team are much more stupid than reported in any previous assessments of their disastrous administration.  Now the WH idiots, with Bumblebrain as spokesman, are mandating that the Fed include “racial equity as a third central bank priority.”  The Fed demonstrated for years it doesn’t know how to concurrently manage price stability and full employment (added more recently).  Now the Left’s economic lightweights are piling on a new Woke requirement in a bill now going through Congress.  Rating banks on “equity and inclusion” is just a sliver of the byzantine regulations this new law will require – what enlarged bureaucracy will monitor/enforce that?  Another butt-stupid provision will call for private companies to “disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission the racial, gender identity and sexual orientation of directors and executives.”  This latest vote-buying scheme will also require that lenders make a fraction of their loans to people who have no demonstrated means to repay what they have borrowed.  And when millions of such get their financial tits in a wringer, then the Democrats will again – a la 2008 – scream that the greedy capitalists bamboozled the poor minorities by making racially tainted predatory loans.  But the worst part of it all is the ongoing confirmation that half the country sees nothing wrong with this (witness the absence of liberal response in the comment stream below), while the other half has their heads up where the sun don’t shine.  “… a republic if you can keep it.”   (more here)

[23jun22 update] Govt assistance  programs – The country’s Left, again well-represented by some of our readers, does not acknowledge the Biden administration’s disastrous policies that have given rise to historic workforce participation lows, national shortage of workers, plans to shutdown entire industries and raise taxes on corporations (i.e. their customers), pump unneeded new cash into the economy to cause inflation, and prepare piecemeal implementation of their economy-stifling ‘Green New Deal’, all of which are driving us into recession (depression?).  What boggles minds capable of reason is the progressives’ work to expand an already expansive list of government assistance programs, while concurrently claiming that they neither exist nor cause the nationwide staffing shortages that businesses from large to small experience.  A miniscule of research reveals that “there are seven major welfare programs in America, they include Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), housing assistance, and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).”  And this is just the tip of the iceberg, here is a more complete list of the federal and state assistance programs that keep American workers from working.  And for even more, just google ‘active government welfare programs’.  Yes Virginia, being a progressive means that you are clinically insane with a malady known as Woke, currently for which there is no known treatment, let alone a cure.

[25jun22 update]  We again confirm that there is no middle ground in the land on which both sides can come together.  The SCOTUS rulings on the 2A and abortion make that very clear.  Our Left continues its violence started when the draft abortion ruling was leaked, and now it’s building up in cities across the country.  (more here)  The latest gun ratchet has yet to settle in for the states set on removing the right by law-abiding citizens to own and bear arms.  Leading the way, California is coming up with all kinds of new ways to constructively deny the SCOTUS ruling in particular and the 2A in general.  The same is happening with the state wanting to become the go-to abortion capital of the nation.  If the evil Dems in Sacramento get their way, California’s will not only pay for out-of-state abortions, but also for the pregnant women’s travel and lodging expenses to get and stay here.  As for gun confiscations, none of the Left’s useful idiots know the history of what has happened as a result of such mandates by governments. (more here)  Is it time to use these ‘SCOTUS crises’ to start the Great Divide conversation with our progressives?

Comments

[Paul Emery]

George

Concerning the Economic Freedom index you lionk to:

How come so many of the countries that rank higher than us have governments that you consider to be Communist-Marxist especially since virtually all of the countries ahead of us have national health care. Here are the 24 countries that rank ahead of us.

Rank Country Overall Score Rank Country Overall Score Rank Country Overall Score
RANKING THE WORLD BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM

Rank Country Overall Score Rank Country Overall Score Rank Country Overall Score
RANKING THE WORLD BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM
1 Singapore 84.4
2 Switzerland 84.2
3 Ireland 82.0
4 New Zealand 80.6
5 Luxembourg 80.6
6 Taiwan 80.1
7 Estonia 80.0
8 Netherlands 79.5
9 Finland 78.3
10 Denmark 78.0
11 Sweden 77.9
12 Australia 77.7
13 Iceland 77.0
14 Norway 76.9
15 Canada 76.6
16 Germany 76.1
17 Lithuania 75.8
18 Latvia 74.8
19 Korea, South 74.6
20 Chile 74.4
21 Czech Republic 74.4
22 Austria 73.8
23 Cyprus 72.9
24 United Kingdom 72.7
25 United States 72.1

[The Estonian Fox]

The Rankers gave the U.S. a 0 (zero) for fiscal health. Which pairs us with Venezuela, that Sisyphean stand-in for socialist systems in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba scored 11.4 for fiscal health.

Boy, Joe sure must be proud.

[George Rebane]

PaulE 835p - you may have missed the above figure.

[Paul Emery]

Where did you access that number George? It's not part of the chart you provided. Can you provide a link?

[George Rebane]

PaulE 846am - Don't know what number you're asking about. The link to the above chart is provided.

[Paul Emery]

That chart ranks economic freedom but there is no reference to the "0" for fiscal health Fox references to. It shows us with a ranking of 24 and an overall score of 72.1. Were did the 0 come from?

[Bill Tozer]

Punch Emerytoad: Perhaps you should direct your question to The Estonian Fox @ 6:18 am.

“The Rankers gave the U.S. a 0 (zero) for fiscal health.” Fiscal health is important, but not economic freedom, IMHO.

[Paul Emery]

Bill

Economic Freedom was the chart George provided.

[Bill Tozer]

Paul.

One more time. Dr. Rebane did not bring up ‘fiscal health’. The Esteemed and Illustrious Estonian Fox did…..unless you think that the revered Estonian Fox is George Rebane’s sock puppet name. Projecting much?

Witness my failure, aka, bootless errand · fool's errand · lost cause · merry chase · red herring · snipe hunt · vain attempt · wasted effort · wasted labor · waste of time:

The Rankers gave the U.S. a 0 (zero) for fiscal health. Which pairs us with Venezuela, that Sisyphean stand-in for socialist systems in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba scored 11.4 for fiscal health.

Boy, Joe sure must be proud.

Posted by: The Estonian Fox | 22 June 2022 at 06:28 AM

Ah, never mind. Never had one, never will Paul.

[Gregory]

My expectation is the zero point zero for the financial health of the USA in the referenced chart is an obvious error.

[Don Bessee]

No way to spin this one oh great ponytail of ignorance -

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/06/22/fed-chair-jerome-powell-shoots-down-biden-administrations-putins-price-hikes-inflation-spin/

;-)

[Bill Tozer]

Don @ 11:31 am

You were right. Our profession entertainer is a 11%er.

Just 11 percent of Americans say inflation is the fault of Vladimir Putin, according to a recent poll.

[The Estonian Fox]

To answer Mr. Emery- you actually have to read the guts of the report. Each country has 2 pages of data, the 2nd page contains 12 different points it is judged on to arrive at a final score. One of those 12 is "Fiscal Health". See page 428 for the data for the U.S.

It was actually my cat who found these little tidbits tucked away in the 490 pages of the report. She's a real pain at times. Not too bright either. Though she can locate data when humans cannot.

[Don Bessee]

Just when creepy grampa joe thought it could not get worse it does! LOL

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/06/22/nolte-biden-losing-dems-black-voters-as-job-approval-rating-crashes-to-32/

;-)

[The Estonian Fox]

WW Peppers closes it doors.
Perusing your food & drink category from 06May 2011, some things never change: but see end of comments.

06 May 2011
On the Road to Denver (updated 8may2011)
George Rebane
We are on our way to visit our month-old great-granddaughter Lucy Pearl in Denver. On the outward bound we chose ‘The Loneliest Road’, better known as US50, out of Reno....
Tonight we are in Grand Junction, Colorado and just back from dinner. Jo Ann picked WW Peppers from the AAA book, and did we luck out. The place is 35 years old and an icon of good eating in the greater Grand Junction area....
I complimented her for the food and service, and invited her to consider our neck of the woods if she and her husband ever decided to move operations to California. She in turn thanked me for the invitation, but said that they would have to decline because “California has some (business, regulatory, and tax) issues” that would be pretty hard to overcome (this in 2011). Can’t say I didn’t try, but the word is definitely out.

May 20, 2021.
A go-to Grand Junction restaurant has closed after 37 years in business.
WW Peppers, 753 Horizon Court, closed its doors for the final time this past Friday.
The southwestern-style restaurant had its final day of operation on May 14. WW Peppers’ owners Debbie and Hal Wederath have spent 45 years in the restaurant business.

[George Rebane]

Efox 415p - thanks for the heads-up; sad news for the Grand Junction folks. It sounds like they survived Covid and then retired - right?

[The Estonian Fox]

The article said they were going to close up shop anyway, but not due to the Wuhan virus.