Category Archives: Politics
History Minus 101
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th September 2011The following is attributed by CBS News to Senator Lamar Alexander (R Tenn): In talking about consensus building, Alexander described himself as a “very Republican Republican,” but he said senators do their jobs with excessive civility. He rejected the notion that Congress is overly divisive and cited more egregious examples from U.S. history — Vice President…
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Unreasonable Health Insurance Premiums
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th August 2010New York Times columnist and Nobel prize winner in economics Paul Krugman is famous for his dedication to fiscal stimulus as an escape from our current economic woes. No matter how much money the government pumps into the economy he wants more if the result is not what is desired. Thus he is indulging in…
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Milton Friedman’s 98th Birthday
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st August 2010Milton Friedman was born July 31, 1912. He died in 2006. This brief excerpt from a speech given decades ago is eerily apposite. It also is pure Hayek. There’s not a thought in this clip that isn’t almost word for word from Hayek. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu0hMiBTJPo&feature=player_embedded#!]
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Hayek in Brief
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th June 2010Frederich Hayek (1899-1992) was one of the most profound and influential thinkers of the 20th century. His most famous book is The Road to Serfdom, which though first published in 1944, is currently the #1 bestseller at Amazon.com. That this book is so widely read and so widely ignored by the leaders of the West…
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Terrorism and Healthcare Reform
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th December 2009The recent attempt to blow up a US airplane as it was about to land in Detroit may not seem to have much connection to healthcare reform, but on reflection the relationship is proximate and interesting. The would be underwear bomber was known to the federal bureaucrats charged with protecting us from what is now…
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Draft of House Health Insurance Bill
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st July 2009If you are addicted to punishment you might want to page through the draft of the House’s health insurance bill. Not only have most congressmen not read it, they would have to understand bureaucratease – the language in which the bill is written. This is the June 19th version and comes in at a concise…
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Follow-up
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th May 2009Recently I posted an article I wrote in 1997 – We Lose Money on Every Car We Sell But Make It Up In Volume or The Accountant Ascendant. In it I mentioned that a study (published in 1996) concluded that the CPI was underestimating the true degree of inflation by 1.1%. Now another report concludes…
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We Lose Money on Every Car We Sell But Make It Up In Volume or The Accountant Ascendant
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th April 2009I was flabbergasted when I reread the following piece originally published in 1997. It outlines our current economic plan. I had no idea that our future president read Lubbock Magazine 12 years ago. But don’t impute any bitterness to my remarks. I’m perfectly willing to let him take all the credit for the plan I…
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Why Politicians Lie
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th April 2009Human nature being what it is, all men prefer a false promise to a flat refusal. At the worst the man to whom you have lied may be angry. That risk, if you make a promise, is uncertain and delayed, and it affects only a few. But if you refuse [to promise aid or a…
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Off With Their Thumbs
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st March 2009I propose that the top 2% of earners in the US have their left thumbs amputated under the direction of the Department of Health and Human Services. Of course, this would be done under the proper medical supervision and with all necessary anesthesia and post-operative analgesia. We are a humane country. Left handers would have…
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