Right Opposition

The 5.7% jump in the 4th quarter 2009 has excited many who claim that this is evidence that government intervention in the markets has worked. Some think we are saved because of the government’s intervention via the stimulus prorgrams of the past year. But let’s look at three important points.

GDP Is Still Low

The actual GDP in the 4th quarter stood at 14,463.4 billion dollars. The high was in the 3rd quarter of 2008 and we aren’t back there yet. The number may be an improvement but we are still below where we were. This is not surprising because we know unemployment is still high.

GDP Report is Incomplete

The 5.7% report is “incomplete” according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Most economist expect that the number will drop when all factors are finally factored in. Don’t count your chickens just yet.

GDP is Built on Government Deficit Spending

The present economy is growing, in part, because of deficit government spending. Every penny of the stimulus comes from taxpayers. But much is deficit. That means we have a massive federal debt hanging over our heads which must be repaid.

The number is good and is a slow improvement but keep it in perspective.

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Right Opposition has been dormant for some months. Nevertheless many of you have still come to the site reading old material.

That has changed.

We’ve moved to new servers which are better suited to host a blog. Please continue to visit and post your comments. We’ll try and give you the value you were accustomed to.

Sadly, the old posts are gone, eaten by the old machines. But we will replace it with new and more updated material.

Thanks!

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There is a surprising but welcomed story in the papers this morning. Some people in Haiti are beginning to rebuild their homes without waiting on government help. The government is opposing their efforts.

The Associated Press says the Haitian government opposes the self-starting re-builders. The Culture and Communications Minister said the rebuilding “wouldn’t be tolerated.” She said, “the governemnt wants to develop and implement a comprehensive reconstruction plan that might feature building codes…”

The people of Haiti are not waiting. They are collecting pieces of wood and tin and rebuilding their own homes instead of waiting.

That is just like government. Oppose people who are hard working and force them to accept layers of government bureaucracy. These hard working people who desire to be self-sufficient should be encouraged. That is a nugget of freedom that shouldn’t be ignored.

The island nation has been suffering under ineffective and corrupt governments for generations. The recent earthquake with the staggering loss of life has brought the Haitian troubles squarely into the view of the entire world. There has been a massive outpouring of support, led by the United States, which so far has proven woefully inadequate to relieve the suffering there. The aid is necessary and ought to continue but it shows that the government is simply unable to respond fast enough to such disasters. That is a lesson we learned after Katrina.

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Economics 101 teaches  the concept of the Supply and Demand Curve. It is a powerful illustration which shows the relationship between prices and demand. As demand rises prices follow. The point at which price and demand balance one another is the point of equilibrium. All markets will stabilize at equilibrium if artificial forces are excluded. It’s a frustrating law that governments often try to bypass. But the curve always wins. Attempts to artificially shift the curve result in fouled economic conditions producing shortages or surpluses of goods. An inefficient economy is the result.

An article from the AP shows the curve in action. The makers of Tide detergent has been forced to cut prices. Why? Because of decreased consumer demand. IT’s and example of the Supply and Demand Curve in action and moving toward equilibrium. It’s a normal process.

Political leader should take note. Leave the market alone and they will work.

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The leftist green movement continues to suffer from its own dishonesty.

The much hailed Copenhagen Summit, which failed to achieve any of its lofty goals, was acting on bad science. Word comes today  that the head of the UK’s climate change watchdog group knew before the summit that data on glacial melting was just wrong. You can read about it at the The Times website.

Science is supposed to be about facts. But what we are seeing is a deliberate attempt to craft science as a propaganda tool. What a mistake. Science, which has generally been widely accepted on both the left and right, is proving itself unreliable. We are left to wonder how much, if any, of the left’s agenda is also based on fantasy.

Meanwhile an investigation into the first Climategate fiasco has determined that the scientist broke the law by refusing to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests. The statute of limitations has passed so no one will face criminal charges. The story  is in The Mail.

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