Monday, December 28, 2009

And then there were none

Whoomp, there it is. A self-contained experiment in credit expansionism gone wrong.

I think this article from the Mises Institute describes the situation fairly well, and while it is indeed a cop-out to writing a full post, it is Christmas season, so I get off the hook easily (let's start with a bang in January, say, free apartments in Burj Dubai to all who suscribe?)

However, I would like to add two things to the LvMI article.

No. 1. The article raises an interesting point, but leaves it undeveloped. Judicial institutions will now be extremely important in the UAE and the perception the world will have of Dubai will depend heavily on how it will manage the fact that its most attacked defendant will be the State itself.

The lesson here is that the judicial system is extremely important for the market to develop its self-corrective forces. I don't want to sound statist, I am convinced that any sort of judicial system is favorable (though I do vouch for the existence of a state-run judicial system coexistent with private means of arbitration), so the important thing is a clear headed system that protects property rights and is not afraid to lay the blame where it should rest.

No. 2. Hey, invest in Dubai. No, no, I'm not being paid to fuel another bubble. But asset-price correction is driving the cost of Dubai homes and estates down like crazy. Maybe by mid-2010 the properties will be accessible to non-institutional investors in the int'l marketplace. Mortgage liquidation procedures will definitely help.

What better way to aid the ailing Dubai economy and at the same time find a great, luxury estate at an at-cost price than relocating to Dubai?

Fellow bloggers, am I wrong in this prediction?

Monday, December 7, 2009

World Domination By Taxing The Air You Breath


This type of news gives me the creeps. It makes me think that the future could make Rand's Atlas Shrugged look like a walk to the park. My unnerving mood arises from various very grave reasons. To name a few:


-That the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) can ORDER cuts in emissions without the approval of Congress...surely paves the way for a SUPRANATIONAL MONSTROUS ENTITY aiming to control our lives through the environmental case.


-That they're saying using cap-and-trade as a more efficient way of reducing emissions doesn't pay it off for me. This is an artifitially created market in which they do mess around with the way resources are assigned.


-How they dare to categorically say "The US government has declared that greenhouse gases threaten human health" and then add "the EPA's "endangerment finding" was needed to allow the agency to regulate carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases released by vehicles, power plants and factories under the federal Clean Air Act." What?! This means that you no longer are allowed to breath for free because carbon dioxide comes from where...? Yes, you got ir right: your own breathing.


I mean, haven't you just read how very important raw data and econometric models had been manipulated to fit the EPA's claim and tricking people into believe this is all true. Notice the marketing effort on making it all seem necessary by portraying the picture of pipelines in the midst of the work. Now, to me what this image represents is the picture of progress for everyone in this planet.


The picture is from the BBC News site and you can read the full report here

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Candidato Libertario podría forzar una segunda vuelta electoral en Costa Rica


¡Saludos a todos nuestros lectores! Mi nombre es Felipe Echandi Lacayo y soy el tercer autor de este blog (que hasta ahora se incorpora al la discusión). Soy costarricense de nacimiento y panameño naturalizado y creo firmemente en la libertad individual en todas sus manifestaciones. Junto con Susette y Alfonso estaré subiendo noticias y posts relacionados con las ideas que defendemos.

Como primera participación mía, quiero compartir una noticia que salió en el diario La Nación de Costa Rica el día 1 de diciembre de 2009: Otto Guevara duplica apoyo y emerge opción de 2a ronda. En esta noticia, se presentaron los resultados de una encuesta que revela que el candidato del Partido Movimiento Libertario, Otto Guevara Güth duplicó su apoyo desde el mes de septiembre de este año contando con una intención de voto del 30%. Este resultado lo posiciona como segunda fuerza política detrás de Laura Chinchilla, del partido socialdemócrata Liberación Nacional quien cuenta con un 43% de la intención de voto.

La Constitución Política costarricense requiere que para que un candidato presidencial sea elegido, éste debe obtener al menos un 40% de los votos válidos. Por este motivo, el hecho que Chinchilla haya reducido su apoyo de 63% a 43% desde el mes de septiembre podría significar que luego de las elecciones de febrero del año que viene, los costarricenses tengamos que acudir a una segunda ronda entre Chinchilla y Guevara.

En lo personal, esta noticia me ha alegrado muchísimo. El Movimiento Libertario es el partido que representa de manera más fiel el ideal liberal que defiendo como modo de vida. Entre las propuestas de Guevara figura hacer apertura económica unilateral, dolarizar la economía (eliminando el Colón), eliminar trámites que entorpecen la creación de empresas, y desregular ciertos sectores que se encuentran fuertemente intervenidos por el Estado.

¡Se puso emocionante la contienda electoral en Costa Rica! Especialmente considerando que podría ganar un gobierno libertario.