This is excellent from Foreign Policy (hat tip to Paul Kedrosky):

“Those who think Asia’s gains in hard power will inevitably lead to its geopolitical dominance might also want to look at another crucial ingredient of clout: ideas. Pax Americana was made possible not only by the overwhelming economic and military might of the United States but also by a set of visionary ideas: free trade, Wilsonian liberalism, and multilateral institutions. Although Asia today may have the world’s most dynamic economies, it does not seem to play an equally inspiring role as a thought leader. The big idea animating Asians now is empowerment; Asians rightly feel proud that they are making a new industrial revolution. But self-confidence is not an ideology, and the much-touted Asian model of development does not seem to be an exportable product.”

Here is the link: Think Again About Asia’s Rise

This is a great post from Carpe Diem showing that it is patently false that the poor get poorer and the rich get richer:

A Treasury Department study of the 1996–2005 period used IRS income tax data to discern considerable mobility: more than 55% of taxpayers moved to a different income quintile. More than half the people in the lowest fifth of earners moved to a higher quintile over this period (29% to the second, 14% to the third, 10% to the fourth, and 5% to the highest).

Moreover, there is a great deal of movement in and out of the top income groups. The Treasury data show that 57% “of households in the top 1% in 2005 were not there nine years earlier.” The rich sometimes get richer, but they get poorer as well. The study also reveals that income mobility has increased, not decreased, during the past twenty years. For example, 47.3% of those in the lowest income quintile in 1987 saw their incomes increase by at least 100% by 1996. That number jumped to 53.5% from 1996 to 2005.

Here is the link: Income movement

The excellent blog, Zero Hedge, has been following the legal issues surrounding the Chrysler bankruptcy and the terrible political and what I believe are “illegal” actions of the Obama Administration in placing union jobs ahead of creditors.

Here is an excellent update from Zero Hedge that the legal process and the clean and easy exit from bankruptcy may not be what the Administration hoped for. Let’s all root on the Indiana Pensioners in the quest to observe the rule of law: Chrylser Appeal

The New York Times profiles Brian Deese, the 31 year old in charge of dismantling GM. Brian Deese represents what I think is a big problem in th Obama administration: No one really has any business experience or has experience operating in the business world. This will come back to bite Obama, the economy and us. Mind you, that this has nothing to do with his age. But take a look below and please do tell me why in all of the United States, Brian Deese was the one who was in charge.

Mr. Deese’s route to the auto table at the White House was anything but a straight line. He is the son of a political science professor at Boston College (his father) and an engineer who works in renewable energy (his mother). He grew up in the Boston suburb of Belmont and attended Middlebury College in Vermont. He went to Washington to work on aid issues and was quickly hired by Nancy Birdsall, a widely respected authority on the effectiveness of international aid and the founder of the Center for Global Development.

But he wanted to learn domestic issues as well, and soon ended up working as an assistant for Gene Sperling, who 17 years ago in the Clinton White House played a similar role as economic policy prodigy. Eventually, Mr. Deese headed to Yale for his law degree. But his e-mail box was constantly filled with messages from friends in Washington who were signing up to work for the Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigns. Mr. Deese chose Senator Clinton’s.

31 Year Old In Charge of dismantling GM

Hugo Chavez is a thug. He is currently in the process of destroying the country of Venezuela, which is suffering from soaring crime, inflation and imploding economy. His thugs flout Venezuelan law and recently ransacked a Jewish synagogue, and he openly courts Iran. He is the enemy of anyone who loves freedom and democracy.

For Obama to shake his hand is disgrace. This is the first thing that Obama has done that has really upset me.

Here is a link with a picture, which Chavez is now using for propaganda: Obama and Chavez

Ice is Growing Not Shrinking

I read a wonderful newsletter every month called the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report, written by Marc Faber. (Gloom, Boom and Doom report I highly recommend it.

Marc Faber if you don’t know is a great investor, market commentator and newsletter writer. Some of his highlights include calling the 1987 crash, the recent housing bubble and the great debt bubble we have been building. His newsletters are not all about financial markets but include a lot about history and geopolitics. He occasionally has some thought provoking, controversial comments. His latest comments in the April 6th issue stunned me.

He mentioned how there is growing outrage at how taxpayers are bailing out the financial elite. Here are the comments that stopped me cold:

“In every society, outrage by the people has been very dangerous. But throughout history, before it turned in earnest against the government, the political elite always managed to turn it against minorities, whether it be Jews throughout Western Europe (conveniently assisted by the Church), Armenians in Central Asia, Kurds in the Middle East, Indians in Africa, and Chinese in Southeast Asia. And since I have far more Jewish friends around the world than friends of any other ethnic background, I am deeply concerned about the growing outrage of the American people – particularly if the US economy doesn’t improve, which I believe it won’t in the long term. For sure, if I were of Jewish origin and living in the US I would be insuring against the eventuality that that outrage will be turned against a minority group. I would buy property in Asia and keep some assets in Asia (but not through an American bank), where Jews are such a tiny minority and such an economically insignificant economic force that they don’t attract any attention. In fact, if I were Jewish, I would leave the US without delay! The “outrage” writing is on the wall and I wouldn’t trust Mr. Obama for a second.”

Now normally he isn’t prone to hyperbole. And he is strong student of history. And history is on his side in the argument. It seems to have started with the biblical story of Joseph being Pharaoh’s adviser to years later Jews being enslaved by a Pharaoh, who “knew not of Joseph.” The Jews had a prominent place in Ottaman empire only to be turned on savagely by fanatical Islamic sects.

The best example though is Germany’s Jews. Before WW1 crushed Germany and after a series of terrible economic policies destroyed Germany’s economy, Jews had never had it as good in any country. They were scientists, musicians, doctors and financiers. A short 15 years after the end of WW1, Hitler was in power and a reign of terror started. One of the reasons that so many Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust is that they thought that it was impossible that this would happen in their beloved country of Germany.

And here we are with wars that are draining our economy and economic policies that some would argue are very similar to the Weimar Republic’s (pre-Hitler Germany) policies of printing money. Now while this time it may not be the Jews, history shows that when “things get bad, the majority turns against the minority,” Marc Faber says.

Let’s hope the US is somehow different and that history does not repeat itself.