California Libertarian Alliance

“A Swiss court just threw a wrench in the gears of an IRS effort to impose bad U.S. tax law on an extraterritorial basis, ruling that Switzerland-based UBS does not have to hand over data to the American tax authorities. This ruling nullifies an agreement that the Swiss government was coerced into making with the U.S. government last year.”…

“This battle is part of a broader effort by uncompetitive nations to persecute “tax havens.” Creating a tax cartel for the benefit of greedy politicians in France, Germany, and the United States would be a mistake. An “OPEC for politicians” would pave the way for higher taxes, as explained here, here, and here.”

Daniel Mitchell of The Cato Institute celebrates a Swiss Court decision @ http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2010/01/22/a-victory-for-fiscal-sovereignty-and-human-rights/

Bloomberg News reports on the Swiss decision against the US IRS @http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahda1JxPJaU8

“When Judge Richard Posner, the prolific conservative intellectual, released his book A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of ‘08 and the Descent Into Depression last year, you might have thought the final verdict was in: Capitalism caused the economic downturn and high unemployment….”

“But what exactly is this “capitalism” that is blamed?”

“The word “capitalism” is used in two contradictory ways. Sometimes it’s used to mean the free market, or laissez faire. Other times it’s used to mean today’s government-guided economy. Logically, “capitalism” can’t be both things. Either markets are free or government controls them. We can’t have it both ways.”

“The truth is that we don’t have a free market—government regulation and management are pervasive—so it’s misleading to say that “capitalism” caused today’s problems. The free market is innocent.”

John Stossel makes a critique of interventionism & the mised economy  @ http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/14/lets-take-the-crony-out-of-cro

“Two decades ago, the newly independent Czechoslovak Republic set out on the gargantuan task of privatizing an entire country’s economy, a project that spurred wild successes and flagrant abuses but nevertheless was dubbed the “Czech miracle.”…Despite the hurdles along the way, the Czech economy has emerged as a stable and significant one in the Central and Eastern Europe region, even surviving the recent recession relatively unscathed compared with its neighbors.”

The Prague Post reviews the most-successful capitalist transition in East Europe @ http://www.praguepost.com/business/2793-experts-recall-the-czech-miracle.html

“Two weeks ago, both the administration and the Fed announced with straight faces that the recession was over and the signs of economic recovery were clear. Then last week, the president made a stunning decision that signals the administration’s determination to repeat the mistakes of the Great Depression. Much like the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs that set off a global trade war and effectively doomed us to ten more years of economic misery, Obama’s decision to enact steep tariffs on Chinese imported tires could spark a trade war with the single most important trading partner we have. Not only does China manufacture a whole host of products that end up on American store shelves, they are also still buying our Treasury debt.”

Full commentary by Rep. Ron Paul (Rep-Tex) @ http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003913.html

“With delays in the manned space program that have pushed the development of NASA’s replacement for the shuttle to 2015, the future of the space agency is at a crossroads. One possible direction that could be chosen leads toward the private sector…”

Full column by James Heiser @ http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/tech-mainmenu-30/space/1706

“Congressman Ron Paul’s H.R. 1207, calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve, has attracted 270 cosponsors in less than five months. The Republican congressman’s bill has received strong bipartican support, and approximately 100 of the bill’s cosponsors are Democrats. Support for H.R. 1207 has frightened some of the Fed’s champions in the academic world, Fed officials themselves, and, of course, many of the Fed’s friends in the financial world.”

“There are obviously some who don’t want the American people to know what the Fed has been doing ever since it was launched in 1913.”

Full article by John F. McManus @ http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/economy/commentary-mainmenu-43/1433

America’s third largest party Thursday criticized Democrat and Republican leaders in Congress for suggesting that rising unemployment can be solved by passing another “stimulus” government expansion, or by spending current appropriations more quickly.  Libertarians propose an alternate package of tax and regulatory relief that will create the jobs Americans need.

When Congress passed President Barack Obama’s “stimulus” package early this year the White House stated the spending expansion would keep unemployment below eight percent.  It instead skyrocketed to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent…

Full release from The Libertarian Party @ http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/with-unemployment-skyrocketing-libertarians-suggest-real-stimulus