Economics | Articles
Interview with Jerry Leeman: Today we bring you a story about a handful of fishermen rallying against a billion-dollar green industrial project, shady foreign corporations, and our own federal and state government. All are conspiring to generate a cash cow for...
By Greg Yates The criminal case People v Gosselin took place in a little red house structure known as the “Town of Highland Justice Court” located in Sullivan County, New York. This little red structure is also known as the Barryville Town Hall, where court is...
If we continue as we have been, the prospect of our children living shorter, less healthy lives than we do is a real possibility.
When Alexander Hamilton became the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, he immediately began to prepare a schedule of tariffs, along with excise taxes on such commodities as alcohol and tobacco. The Constitution forbids taxing the exports of any state, and so American tariffs have always been laid only on imports.
We must take the steps necessary to protect our defense investments. If we don’t, we may one day find ourselves engaged in a conflict with an enemy who is much better prepared for the fight than we are.
Prior to this November’s elections many voter’s concerns were identified. Concerns include high property taxes, high taxes in general, drugs and crime, overdose deaths, lack of affordable housing, high electrical rates, a steep decline in Maine’s student’s standing,...
Concerns over the state of the economy loom large in Mainers’ minds, and there are significant partisan gaps when it comes to the state’s direction and approval of its elected officials, according to a new statewide survey. The Voice of Maine: Critical Insights on Maine Fall 2024 report, conducted by Digital Research, asked Mainers their
Maine’s September unemployment rate and labor force participation rate remained largely unchanged in comparison to recent months, according to the Maine Department of Labor’s (MDOL) Tuesday press release. For the fourth month in row, the state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate has been calculated at 2.8 percent, while labor force participation came in at 60.1 percent. Seasonal
What the government ought to be doing to counter inflation and get prices low is to free and encourage the producers—not to put them in a straitjacket by fixing prices.
Maine homes are 7.53 percent more expensive than they were in August of 2023 — now reaching a median sale price of $400,000 — according to data from the Maine Association of Realtors. The number of homes sold has increased slightly since last year, rising 1.66 percent from 1,510 to 1,535. Although the available housing
Redfin.com lists $415,600 as the median sale price for a home In Maine, up 4.7% ($18,656) compared to last year. Home ownership is one gauge of the economic health of a country. The ability to buy a home is affected by average cost of homes, wages, interest rates,...
By: David Deschesne BRUNSWICK, Maine—Housing being built specifically for illegal immigrant “asylum seekers” is now coming online at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. The housing is intended only for illegal immigrants, not homeless Maine citizens or veterans....
Dear Editor: As Argentina’s new government administration moves to reverse a debilitating history of progressive socialism by means of populist policy changes, could America be headed in the opposite direction? Growing revelations of foreign exploitation of our open...
Question 3 asks Maine voters to endorse buying a “pig in a poke.”The subject electric-power distribution system is not for sale, the unknown price is a matter of speculation, the cost of future borrowing to support that outlay is conjectural, and such a problematic...
The New Deal, Great Society & Bidenomics by Michael Ozga Centrally planned economies are economic malfeasance. They are social welfare schemes predicated upon government intervention, excessive regulation, tax & spend mentality, inhibited growth, high...
The entire de facto financial system is nothing more than a private-central banking debt-based fiat-currency Ponzi scheme. The purpose of this conglomeration of vehicles is to siphon your lifeforce, sweat-equity (intellectual and physical labor energy) into the hands...
The natural state of mankind in this fallen realm is abject material poverty. Naked you came into this world, and you take nothing with you when you leave. Wealth and prosperity are the exception, not the norm. In recent generations, we have seen the rise of assembly...
As I peruse and lurk in the various outlets of news, forums, telegram threads, and online comment sections in my own cyber-sphere, I noticed that a number of people (presumably people) are still concerned about "The Debt Crisis" or "The National Debt." One may think...
Governments and their instruments are instituted by people for the benefit of the populace, that benefit best being: To aid in protecting a man or woman's unalienable rights to freedom, liberty, life, pursuit of happiness, and property. There seems to be a common...
Not long ago, elections were won and lost by a simple question; are you better off than you were 4 years ago? Jimmy Carter lost in 1980 due to a bad economy, inflation, high oil prices, the hostage crisis, and no clear answers or a vision of how to proceed. It ushered...
The Maine Anchor recently had the opportunity to interview and film Jim LaBrecque, a Carbon Mitigation Specialist (CMS) and a well-known Energy advisor. He is a man passionate in his beliefs of conservation and low energy costs. On behalf of the rate payers, he is...
We are at a crossroads in our nation’s history and presented with two distinct choices: liberty or tyranny.
We either believe in American exceptionalism and the founding principle of self-governance or we choose a style of governance that centrally plans our very existence. Ben Franklin gave us a warning against apathy when he stated, “we have a Republic if we can keep it” following The Constitutional Convention. Ronald Reagan planted his flag when he asked, “if not us who, if not now when?”
Inflation is an economic concept that refers to the overall increase in prices of goods and services in an economy. It is usually measured as an annual percentage change. Inflation can be caused by various factors, including excess money supply, high government spending, and production bottlenecks.
May 17, 2022 When big things go bad, it is seldom the result of a single event. The 2008 recession was caused by more than just the banking shenanigans known as "subprime mortgages". At the same time: The stock market was overvalued (remember the Fed Chair warning of...
I read a severe critique of the United States nuclear power industry in the July 1 Lincoln County News. Unfortunately, our nuclear power industry is in decline as new construction has stopped and our reactors age. The US nuclear industry has an enviable safety record....
The Republican Party was formed as an anti-slavery party and has been the leader in civil rights since its inception. Under Lincoln, a Civil War was fought and won, slavery was ended, and the Republic saved. For a brief time, during Reconstruction (1865-1877), civil rights for freed slaves were enforced.
A March 21 article from the Pew Research Center titled, Public Trust in Government 1958 – 2021 Near Historic Lows stated only 2% trusted the government to do what was right “just about always” and 22% trusted the government to do what was right “most of the...
Little has changed after another year of global warming headlines. All of Maine's record highs and most of the world’s Continental high temperature records remain unchanged. Maine’s record high temperature of 105°F set July 10, 1911, in North Bridgton, is now one...
For years Maine has been at or near last place on Forbes “business friendly” list. We have been successful in claiming the top of the “oldest population list”. The two go hand in hand. It is not that we are ageing faster than the rest of the country it’s because our...
State run lotteries have been described as a special tax on those who do not understand probability. Another mantra used by government to justify increased spending is, “we will fund it with taxes on businesses”, a statement accepted by those who do not understand...
This is what distinguishes his scholarship: courage. Sowell wasn’t afraid. It’s the sort of thing that ought to be commonplace among scholars and intellectuals—and journalists, for that matter—but clearly it is not.
Murders nationwide in 2020 rose a stunning 29.4 percent over the previous year, the largest annual increase since the FBI began tracking that data in the 1960s. The number of murders in Chicago climbed even more sharply, rising 55 percent. It was as if a switch had been flipped. At least ten major U.S. cities hit new murder highs in 2021, but Chicago led the way with 797, the city’s highest number in 25 years.
”It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” Henry Ford is most credited for these words, and here at The Maine Anchor, our research...
The following is adapted from a talk delivered at Hillsdale College on November 7, 2021, during a Center for Constructive Alternatives conference on “The Great Reset.”
We should respond to the COVID virus rationally: protect the vulnerable, treat the people who get infected compassionately, develop a vaccine. And while doing these things we should bring back the civilization that we had so that the cure does not end up being worse than the disease.
The reason for a space force is simple: space is the strategic high ground from which all future wars will be fought. If we do not master space, our nation will become indefensible.
A company’s stock will likely decline when it becomes known that the company is providing surveillance cameras for concentration camps or producing ICBMs targeting American cities. You would think that demanding this kind of disclosure would be unobjectionable—but then why is it so hard? Is it because China would be offended?
Economists since Adam Smith have taught us that in a competitive economy, the pursuit of private interests leads to the best possible outcome for everybody. But notice the qualifier: for this arrangement to work, there must be competition.
Dishonest passivity and dependence combined with harmful activity becomes a pattern of life, and not just among drug addicts.
Just as ObamaCare was the wrong prescription for health care, Dodd-Frank was based on a faulty diagnosis of the financial crisis.
As seen in the recent government shutdown and the showdown over the debt limit, the federal budget stands at the heart of American politics.
The best case for lower taxes is the moral case—and as Coolidge well understood, a moral tax policy demands tough budgeting.
What made Americans who we are is a historically unprecedented level of freedom and responsibility.
The standard kilogram—a cylinder of platinum and iridium that is maintained by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures—has been losing mass.
If the Great Depression teaches anything, it is that property rights must be established or else we will not have strong recovery.
I think we can safely say that America has departed from the constitutional principle of limited government that made us great and prosperous.
What has happened to GM is essentially bankruptcy by other means, and that is an extraordinary event in the political and economic history of our country.
The key to our becoming self-sufficient—and doing our part for our fellow Americans—is to develop further our state’s vast natural resource wealth.
The fact of the matter is that we in the United States have just lived through the greatest period of prosperity in human history.
We are entitled to call ourselves socialist, if by that we mean that we are devoted to the early socialist goal of the well-being of all members of society.
The question is, how do you make money in a free market? You only make money if you can provide someone with something he or she is willing to pay for.
We see violence, terror and fear nearly every day, thanks to 24-hour news coverage. We see poverty and hunger in too many places around the globe.
Government, by going outside its proper province, has caused many, if not most, of the problems that vex us.
What we’re seeing around the world at the moment is a silent revolution, reflected in a change in how people view government accountability.
If we are to keep America and its economy on the right track, we must find a way to return to our citizens more control over their lives.
The damage done by regulation is so vast, it’s often hard to see.
You can be assured that the propagation of the statist, anti-freedom position is being funded largely with union money.
The key to Nucor’s success is the culture of our company—one that we plan to extend into the next century.
“Politicians, properly observed, will often disappoint. Ideas, properly understood, seldom will.”
Each decade offered us hope, but our hopes evaporated into smoke. We became the poorest of the poor, the most segregated minority in schools.
No person decided to spite Mother Teresa. It was the law. And what it required offends common sense.
“It’s the economy, stupid.” The slogan is as fresh today as it was during the presidential campaign four years ago that cost Republicans the White House.
Our vision controls the way we think and, therefore, the way we act.
The future of small business, like the future for our children and our grandchildren, is not in the hands of politicians or bureaucrats. It is in our hands.
We desperately need to uncover the real root cause of criminal behavior and learn how criminals are formed if we are to fight this growing threat.
When we look at the present system, we are dealing with not just the dispersal of dollars but with the destruction of lives.
The welfare state is much more than a set of entitlements and subsidies—and its impact reaches much further than the disadvantaged underclass
Federal, state, and local governments together spend 42 out of every 100 dollars we earn.
America is literally built upon the backs of the small businessperson and that is the way it has been throughout our more than 200 years.
The word economics, I observed, comes from the Greek “oikos nomos,” which literally means “the law or custom of the home.”
The laws favor false crises instead of real environmental problems and even create greater problems than they were made to eliminate.
Financial costs are not the only burden. Regulations also result in a tremendous loss of one of our most valuable and limited resources—time.
We forget that good intentions are not enough, and that massive government programs carry unintended consequences.
Schemes of top-down economic coordination are a hopeless absurdity whether tried by the U.S. or the former Soviet Union.
The leaders of the independent sector would do well to remember that philanthropy does not exist in unfree societies.
The greatness of America is more than its force of arms and the opulence of its economy: Its real power is its vision of an unlimited future.
Socialism is based on a false view of human nature, and its institutions stifle the very conditions—opportunity, creativity and initiative—that make it possible for societies to prosper.
More than half a century ago, America was in the middle of a wrenching depression. One-third of our nation’s wealth vanished in a matter of months.
The ultimate reform is, of course, limiting government, especially the federal government. In the 1990s, this problem has gained a new urgency
The New York Times Magazine recently alerted us to a “return to religion” among intellectuals. It struck me as odd and perhaps even alarming
If our problems are caused by racism, and their solutions dependent on ending racism, our fate is in the hands of people who, by definition, don’t love us.
1914 was the first year income tax was collected in this country and the average per-capita tax at that time was just 41 cents.
We live in an entrepreneurial era. New businesses are sprouting everywhere, and small business owners possess a renewed measure of social status.
A little more than 50 years ago, the New Deal farm program was launched. Today, we may refer to its “golden anniversary,” but it is tarnished gold.
For those deeply concerned about a fundamentally liberal order, the embrace of Colbert rather than Smith in our century has been deeply disturbing.
The primary concern of political economy is the appropriate role of government in social affairs. The debate, in brief, is whether the economy should be left free to establish a “spontaneous order,” or whether government regulation is necessary to maintain efficiency and economic welfare.
The so-called liberation theologians not only promote a synthesis of Marxism and Christianity, but attempt to ground their recommended restrictions of economic and political freedom on their interpretation of the biblical ethic.
The great economic attribute of small business is said to be its entrepreneurial bent.
Americans who pay attention to fashions in ideas began hearing about supply-side economics sometime in the mid-1970s. Within half a dozen years, publicists and politicians had succeeded in making the term a household word, electing a new national administration pledged to its implementation, and then actually making some of its precepts the law of the land.
We can confound the prophets of doom by opening the vast and rich High Frontier of space for industrialization.
Capitalism has been indicted on many counts.
True consumer protection, it stands to reason, is that which advocates free market solutions, opposing any action by government or business which discourages competition—because competition surely is what provides the consumer with his advantage in the marketplace.
For all the recorded history of human beings on this earth, various degrees of tyranny have been the natural state of affairs for most people.
We must remember that the nation we are defending is a great nation, and that the economy we want to preserve is a great economy.
Alexis de Tocqueville, wrote these words: “The American republic will endure until the politicians find they can bribe the people with their own money.”
“The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom.” So wrote the notable German philosopher, George Hegel.
What lies ahead for the industry? Recently Mr. Schlesinger of the Department of Energy promised a golden age for the oil industry for the next twenty years. But there was one little string attached.
The modern American Food Machine is perhaps the greatest single source of strength undergirding the unparalleled level of American living.
Political support for saving and building of wealth seems to offer little promise of popular acclaim or votes at elections.
I will only note that economic inequalities somehow still survive despite the incredible complexities that have been written into the law to reduce them.
One of the problems is that government has decided that the tax system can be used as handy incentive to prod people into doing supposedly desirable things.
In its loopholes, the federal income tax shows bias in favor the low (or no) producer and against the high producer and earner.
The first thing to be said about wage and price fixing is that it is harmful at any time and under any conditions.
