Posts Tagged ‘economics’

The Financial Matrix

Posted: June 6, 2015 in Economics, Finances, Freedom
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Financial MatrixThe book ‘The Financial Matrix’ is awesome! The Financial Matrix itself is pretty terrifying. When you understand a bit about history and human nature it should come to no surprise that it exists though.

The Matrix from the movie was system of control enslaving the human race without their knowledge. In the same way, the Financial Matrix enslaves people; it hides the enslavement from those trapped in its net like the machine in the movie, but no one is forced into this one. No one is coerced into it. People are brought up into it and enticed into it.

Orrin Woodward does a beautiful job explaining the whole concept in one chapter of his book (and in large part on this blog post he did). I encourage you to take a look at the post, along with all the other followup posts he did on the subject.

Just as Morpheus explains to Neo in the movie, so is it true for us today. (more…)

It IS Fair! In Fact it’s Good;For Everyone!

Posted: July 14, 2014 in Economics, Freedom, Fun
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LaRonde - Flash PassI got involved in a conversation the other day when someone was talking about LaRonde; Montreal’s amusement park. The discussion ended up veering to the price of admission and what the park was doing to earn to earn a greater profit. At this point one of my coworkers started to say that it wasn’t right that you can get special passes to jump a head of the line and not have to wait.

The conversations started down the path of it not being fair, but knowing who he was talking to, he quickly changed it to him not liking this ‘legal’ line jumping to be done around other kids because they wouldn’t understand. He quickly came to realize why it was fair, if not right in this circumstance, but only after seeing what is not normally seen; which is part of what I want to share here.

As is usually the case when it comes to economic issues, the problems start at the same spot; not seeing the whole picture, but only looking at what is happening directly in front of our eyes. In this case, what is seen is one group of people getting preferential treatment that another does not have access too. It is allowing those with more money to be able to cut in line. The question is then asked (negatively) “What gives them the right? Why should they be allowed? They should have to wait like everyone else!”

(more…)

Price Controls on Books in Quebec, in France, and in Principle

Posted: December 6, 2013 in Economics, Freedom
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VENEZUELA-ECONOMY

When regulated on the low side, price controls can be devastating; as seen with the lack of toilet paper in Venezuela.

A while back I read an article on Mishs Global Economic Analysis blog about France doing something pretty strange. They wanted to make books more expensive. They didn’t come out and word it that way of course; they said they were trying to protect their culture of reading.

I found this argument to be preposterous, yet at the same time I wasn’t surprised, knowing the type of information people have when it comes to this field. This is why it came as no shock to see a very similar situation here in Quebec, with the government wanting to make books more expensive. There are some benefits to certain individuals, but it’s important to consider the costs as well, and what it means to our freedoms and overall prosperity.

In France, it was about stopping online retailers like amazon from being allowed to offer free shipping in order to protect the local bookstores, while in Quebec it’s about not allowing stores to offer too big a discount on new books.

Its price controls. When price controls are in place, they are never good; whether it’s to make things cheaper for consumers or more expensive to serve suppliers. (more…)

The 5 Laws of Decline – (#4) The Law of Diminishing Returns

Posted: November 1, 2013 in Economics, Freedom, Leadership
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law of diminishing returnsThe 5 laws of decline detailed by Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille continues with law #4. Previously we have seen how 90% of everything is crud, leaving a good possibility of bad people being in the wrong positions of leadership. We have also seen how people will always do the least amount of work possible for the most gains, including outright theft if there were no repercussions. The last law we looked at showed that if bad behaviors get rewarded, there will be more of it, and it will drive out the good.

The first 3 laws from ‘Resolved‘ and ‘LeaderShift‘ all tie together in how one law set in motion leads to another and makes it even worse. The 4th and 5th laws are a little bit different, but still connected in their own way

The Law of Diminishing Returns

I believe most of us know what this one represents, as it’s a basic law of economics and business taught to us in high school. For those of you who weren’t taught, or who may have forgotten, let’s review.

The principle is that when you add more of one good, or one action to a process, each addition unit being added produces less of an output than the previous unit did. As the return on each additional unit decreases, there will come a point where more units will not add any more output, and in fact will start reducing the total output. (more…)

The 5 Laws of Decline – (#3) Gresham’s Law

Posted: September 2, 2013 in Economics, Freedom, Leadership
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GreshamWe have been discussing the 5 laws of decline detailed by Orrin Woodward at the end of his book ‘Resolved‘, and in his and Oliver DeMille’s book ‘Leadershift‘.

In our look at Bastiat’s Law, we saw how people do the least amount of work possible to get what they want, which includes nothing and theft. Add to that Sturgeon’s Law, and we know at most 10% of the people in charge will stand up to that law and do what is right, even if the easier way is available.

That leaves at least 90% of politicians and leaders to fully embrace Bastiat’s Law.

It would not be surprising if you were convinced that the numbers are even worse than that. With the 3rd law of decline, I would be on youre side in that argument since it brings out the worst in a company; and in a country’s leaders as well. It is also always in action when you have Bastiat’s Law showing it’s teeth; in fact it feeds Bastiat’s Law, making Surgeon’s Law even a smaller percentage.

Gresham’s Law

Orrin Woodward takes his 3rd law of decline from Thomas Gresham‘s view on what happens to money. In the book ‘LeaderShift’, he describes it like this:

Thomas Gresham, an English financier, first elaborated Gresham’s Law as it pertains to money. He taught that when a government uses force to support one kind of currency over another, the bad money drives out the good.

But Gresham’s Law applies to more than just money. In short, when a bad behavior is rewarded, more of the bad behavior will be done, and that in turn will drive out the good behaviors.

In the leadership field, this is displayed when bad behavior is rewarded. For example, if someone can sit at their desk all day watching movies and get paid, this will cause others to choose this simpler method of making money (plunder).

Rewarding bad behaviors either converts others to plunder or drives them out of the company as they seek a firm that rewards people based upon productivity, not plunder.

Gresham’s Law: When bad behavior is rewarded, more of the bad behavior will be done, and in turn will drive out the good behavior. (more…)

The 5 Laws of Decline – (#2) Bastiat’s Law

Posted: August 11, 2013 in Economics, Freedom
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TheLawPreviously we had discussed the first law of decline; Sturgeon’s Law. This law stated that 90% of everything is crud, and showed how you can’t count on 90% of leaders and politicians to do the right thing without some kind of check in place to stop them. 90 percent of them will undoubtedly fall to the second law of decline; Bastiat’s law.

These laws come from Orrin Woodward‘s book ‘Resolved‘ as well as his and Oliver DeMille‘s book ‘LeaderShift‘.

A couple of years ago I read a book by Frederic Bastiat called ‘The Law‘. In this book, Bastiat goes through the concept of having a law; what it is supposed to be used for and what it then actually get’s used for. He shows how laws are supposed to be there to protect a persons property, and thus people themselves, but end up getting used to steal or harm people’s property.

Bastiat’s Law

Bastiat wrote a profound passage that Orrin Woodward takes for his second law of decline, which he first outlined in ‘Resolved: 13 Resolutions for Life.’

Man can live and satisfy his wants only by ceaseless labor; by the ceaseless application of his faculties to natural resources. This process is the origin of property.

But it is also true that a man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the products of the labor of others. This process is the origin of plunder.

Now since man is naturally inclined to avoid pain—and since labor is pain in itself—it follows that men will resort to plunder whenever plunder is easier than work. History shows this quite clearly. And under these conditions, neither religion nor morality can stop it.

When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor. It is evident, then, that the proper purpose of law is to use the power of its collective force to stop this fatal tendency to plunder instead of to work.

– Frederic Bastiat, The Law

Bastiat’s law: Since men are naturally inclined to avoid pain, which labor is itself, it follows that they will resort to plunder whenever it is easier than work. (more…)

Should The Government Do Something?

Posted: August 4, 2013 in Economics, Freedom
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This might be one of the most important questions you can ask about a problem.

Do you ever feel that the government is ruining your country with its partisanship and inaction? Don’t you wish they would just stop all the bickering and come together to pass the laws, instead of always in a stalemate and getting salaries for accomplishing nothing?

I would say ‘yes’ to that in some situations, while in others I’m grateful they are arguing with each other and, as would seem to the average individual, accomplishing nothing. In most cases accomplishing nothing is actually a great accomplishment in the end.

The thing is, how can you be sure that when the government does come together, that they are actually accomplishing something good?

I believe in equality. I believe in equal rights and equal opportunity; this means that I don’t believe in complete equality (more…)

3rd Party Spending in Action: Canada’s Economic Action Plan Advertisements

Posted: May 8, 2013 in Economics
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Have you been watching playoff hockey lately? If you’re Canadian, the chances are you have. You would then have seen those commercials about Canada’s Economic Action Plan. It’s VERY hard to get under my skin, but every so often something comes along that just gets to me. Did you know you’re spending around $95 000 each time that advertisement plays; to be told that you’re spending money on improving the economy?

A while back I wrote a piece on the different ways money is spent, and I encourage you to go through it if you haven’t already. It explains how when you’re not spending your own money for yourself, it tends to get wasted. This is especially true when it’s not your money and it’s not for you, which is called third party spending.

If given that $95 000 to spend, even assuming you can’t spend it directly on yourself, how many people do you think would have chosen to spend it on that advertisement? I’ll bet anything that even the people who spent it on the ads would have spent it elsewhere if given the choice; if it wasn’t set for that campaigns budget by the government.

I recently read an article that showed the government has spent $113 million on these type of advertisements since 2009, that tell us they are doing a good job improving the economy. (more…)

A LeaderShift is Coming!

Posted: February 28, 2013 in Economics, Freedom, Leadership
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Orrin Woodward recently posted this article on his site. He did a little introduction to an Amazing article by Oliver DeMille about the need for a new party. Although this article is about the United States, I believe this also applies to Canada. Even if we do have more than one party, none are what we truly need; we need a party of small business!

I’m super excited about the book LeaderShift, co-wrote by Orrin Woodward and Oliver DeMille. After reading Oliver’s FreedomShift and 1913, along with Orrin’s Resolved and Launching a Leadership Revolution – There is no doubt this book is going to be a top seller, and a book that will help change the course of our countries; in a positive direction!

Get the book. Mine is pre-ordered!

Enjoy,

Lee Weishar

Orrin’s article:

LeaderShift by Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille
LeaderShift isn’t a political party, but it is a freedom movement of productive members in society (of both left and right persuasions), who are concerned about the decline in dialogue, decision-making, and direction of our country’s political leaders. Oliver DeMille and I wrote LeaderShift to provide new thinking to an old problem, using the Five Laws of Decline to describe the process. Governments, by their very nature, tend to centralize and control. Indeed, local leadership and freedoms are inversely proportional to centralized powers and control. (more…)

Ron Paul’s Farewell speech

Posted: November 16, 2012 in Economics, Freedom
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I don’t like to delve into politics on this site, but prefer to discuss principles. However the last speech Ron Paul gave to congress is too important to not share it, and the only politics involved stems from Ron Paul being in Congress himself.

As political as you may find it, it was all about principle. It’s about looking at what it going on around us, and why we got to our current situation. If we don’t know what it is really happening and how we got here, how can we fix it? It comes down to working more on our own education and our own actions.

You can read the whole thing here, or watch it on YouTube here.

Here are some of my favorite parts from it that should be considered by everyone, in whatever country you live in. (more…)

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