Category: America

Milton Friedman and Social Security Taxes

Agreeing with the economist Milton Friedman,

“one of the things that have always shocked me is how people, whom I would have trust with my pocket book in their private capacity and of whom I would never question their integrity, will in their public capacity -because they believe it is in the best interest of other people- lie to the American People.”

And this is exactly what happens with Social Security in the U.S. and with the immense Nanny State in Europe and with the corrupt welfare systems of Latin America; all of which I have been able of knowing.  I invite you to take a look to this short video of Milton Friedman (1975) explaining how the Social Security taxes are fundamentally a lose-lose option for employees, employers and society.

Earth in Detail. Fantastic high resolution photographies!

The Spanish blog “Pasa la vida” shared these wonderful pictures of Earth in high resolution (11500 x11500)  As mentioned by them, the pictures were taken by the satellite  Suomi NPP with the instrument Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).

Picture 1

Picture 2

by by NASA Goddard Photo and Video in Flickr.com

Atlas Shrugged Part 2 Teaser Trailer

And here it is, the Official Teaser for the movie Atlas Shrugged Part 2!!! Based on the book Atlas Shrugged written by Ayn Rand. Check it up!
in theaters Fall 2012

February 02, 1905. The day my Heroine was born.

Today we are commemorating the birth of Ayn Rand.  Ms. rand was a wonderful romantic realist novel writer that choose America as her home after fleeing from the USSR in the 1920s.  Ms. Rand was the philosopher who made the first defense of the morality of Capitalist and who elaborated a complete philosophical system that she later called Objectivism.

Ms. Rand was the greatest advocate for individual rights and she is my heroine. It is in her ideas that I find daily inspiration to pursue happiness and objectivity in my life!

Today I share with you the audio to one of her most powerful lectures.  “In March 1974, Ayn Rand faced the improbable task of lecturing on the crucial importance of philosophy—to the graduating class of West Point. She succeeded magnificently: she attracted three times the expected attendance, she elicited an enthusiastic ovation, and her lecture was reprinted in a new philosophy textbook published by the U.S. Military Academy. Relive this memorable occasion, and rediscover the irresistible intellectual power of Ayn Rand.”

Here is the link to Ms. Rand’s fabulous lecture in West Point

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Gene Epstein
Gene Epstein is Barron’s economics editor and author of the column “Economic Beat”. Previously, he was senior economist at the New York Stock Exchange, and has taught at the City University of New York and St. John’s University. Epstein holds a MA in economics from the New School and a BA in history from Brandeis University. He is author of the book Econospinning: How to Read between the Lines when the Media Manipulate the Numbers.