Doctor Tom's Rant

Slow Economic Growth in 2013 March 14, 2013 "Recent economic news has created just a sliver of hope, yet the overall economic picture for 2013 looks bleak. The combination of deficits, regulations and labor trends will create significant obstacles to achieving the economic vibrancy of decades past, says Bruce Yandle, a distinguished adjunct professor of economics with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts a 1.7 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013, the World Bank predicts 1.9 percent and Wells Fargo predicts 1.7 percent. This suggests that 2013 will be a rockier year than 2012 but luckily all signs point to a stronger recovery in 2014. However, growth will continue to be suppressed by fiscal policy and macroeconomic conditions. The United States will spend about $388 billion per year servicing $16.4 trillion in debt at current interest levels but this cost would jump to $820 bill...

Farm Subsidies: Inexcusable Waste "Subsidies are typically economic assistance or tax benefits for businesses and industries to support their growth and limit their decline. Agriculture subsidies for farmers were introduced in the 1930s to help struggling small family farms. Today, they represent a form of corporate welfare that must be eliminated, says Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center. On January 2, the same day President Obama signed the fiscal cliff deal, he also extended a 2008 farm bill another nine months that rewards wealthy dairy farmers with milk subsidies. The Department of Agriculture spent $22 billion on subsidy programs in 2012, though only 2 percent of Americans are directly engaged in farming. An average farm household earned $84,400 in 2010, already above the average nationwide household income. Most subsidies go to only a handful of farmers who produce wheat, corn, soybeans, rice and cotton...

"Most people own guns because they’re afraid. Before you jump, hear me out. If you have a weapon for “defense,” you are afraid of an offense. Self-defense is the fear of an offense against oneself. Whether the fear is burglary, robbery, rape, assault, or murder, the gun defends. If one did not fear these offenses, one would not need to defend against them. The idea that one can struggle against offense without a gun is moot. Since guns exist, there is no reason to struggle against offense without one. Self-defense can also be against widespread oppression and persecution. Every human being ought to fear groupthink. As an individual, I ought to fear slavish adoption of or to behavioral standards. For example, the idea that “community benefit” outweighs my own desires. I ought to fear the taking of my private property for the common good. I ought to fear communism. For another example, I ought to fear being singled out for being different. I ought to fear an angry crowd gath...