Steve Rampton's Brain

So it’s been awhile since I made a post, and this one isn’t going to be too long, but it IS going to be political.

I would love to convince anyone who isn’t an voluntarist (I hesitate to use the word “anarchist” because of the negative propaganda courtesy of the state…) or at least a libertarian to think about your relationship to the state. We are taught in school that the government is us, and our leaders act in accordance with our wishes, or at least for our benefit. Think about that premise and apply it to the last few years. Congress was bombarded with letters, phone calls, and protests against the bank bailouts, the auto bailouts, and Obamacare. They all passed anyway. If WE are the government, how can that happen? Well it’s simple: you were lied to. We are not the government and there is a clear divide between the rulers and the ruled.

Think about the chill you get up your spine when a cop car follows you on the street. Think about the hassle of jury duty. Think about the hours and/or expense in filing income taxes. Think of your paycheck! How much does the government take (steal) from you every pay period? They use it to fund the warfare and welfare state. Could YOU not put YOUR money to better use?

This is your relationship to the state. They are the master, you are its servant.

So news reports are coming in that Osama bin Laden has been killed. Thousands cheer in the streets. I, however, am saving my celebration for when our soldiers come home and our freedoms are restored. Not a day before. Am I a buzzkill? Maybe. But I fear this development will lend legitimacy to the tentacles and power of the American military-industrial complex. I fear that the president-worship will continue, and stronger. And I fear the people will look to the government to solve their problems. I hope I am wrong.

UPDATE: Why did they kill him? Why didn’t they arrest him to ask questions? Why is no one asking questions? We’re too busy chanting “USA! USA!”

This video is well done and contains a lot of good arguments against humans’ need for a state. Anarchy is given a bad name through government propaganda, and of course a few rotten apples (violent anarchists) spoil the basket. The argument must be made if we are ever to be free of the shackles of institutional parasites.

This is the most accurate view of America I’ve ever read: (from Chapter3: The Great Wall Street Bailout p. 40) “The Fed’s bailout of AIG was, in the words of the New York Times, ‘the most radical intervention in private business in the central bank’s history.’ The Fed would lend AIG $85 billion in exchange for 80 percent of the company. Congress, as usual, was not consulted. Meanwhile, social studies teachers across the country continued to report for work to detail how a bill becomes a law, how the will of the people is the guiding principle of the U.S. government, and how the public good motivates their government officials. By November, AIG needed another $40 billion. Washington had become a beggar’s alley for corporations, and taxpayers had become milk cows.”

I had to file 4 sets of tax returns this year, since I had 3 different jobs in 3 different states (the fourth being the federal return). The state of New Jersey was one of them, and their calculations were that I owed them $62 for 2010. (I would argue I owe them nothing, but that’s another debate.) Turns out I paid them $63, meaning they owe me a dollar refund. Will I get it? No. I got a notice in the mail (which cost $0.44 to mail) saying my requested refund was denied. No explanation, no nothing. But I assume it’s because it’s only $1 and they figure I won’t chase it. What if they shoe was on the other foot? What if I owed them $1? You better believe they’d come snarling after it, spending much more money to collect what was owed. So, my time preparing the tax documents is worth nothing? Yes, it’s only a dollar, but it’s a dollar I earned and was stolen from me.

My girlfriend’s father loaned me a copy of Meltdown by Thomas Woods. I’m only about 72 pages in, but what brilliant work! Once again, the Austrian economists (Murray Rothbard, FA Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Peter Schiff, Thomas Woods, Lew Rockwell, etc.) are the only ones who understand what’s happening in the economy, to our businesses and to our currency. Highly recommended, no matter your political affiliation. He skewers Democrats and Republicans the same. Because they are the same.

Woods covers the housing bubble, the Wall Street bailouts, the Fed and it causes the boom-bust cycle. That’s where I left off in the book. I can’t wait to read Chapter 5 which is about the Great Depression. My grandmother always told me how many of FDR’s contemporaries thought him an ignoramus; a political genius, yes, but totally ignorant on business, economics, and money. Looking forward to Woods’ take. I’ll probably write an update when I finish the book.

UPDATE: This is the most accurate view of America I’ve ever read: (from Chapter3: The Great Wall Street Bailout p. 40) “The Fed’s bailout of AIG was, in the words of the New York Times, ‘the most radical intervention in private business in the central bank’s history.’ The Fed would lend AIG $85 billion in exchange for 80 percent of the company. Congress, as usual, was not consulted. Meanwhile, social studies teachers across the country continued to report for work to detail how a bill becomes a law, how the will of the people is the guiding principle of the U.S. government, and how the public good motivates their government officials. By November, AIG needed another $40 billion. Washington had become a beggar’s alley for corporations, and taxpayers had become milk cows.”