ljp Profile

Latest Blog Posts

• o A Representative Republic Without Political Parties
  on Jan 2, 2011
  The task of the current generation is not to bicker about individual issues, its to reorganize the entire system of government to ensure its continuous existance. Individual issues are fads that come and go with the social climate. The real challen...
• o Federal Budget Appropriations and Taxes
  on Nov 6, 2010
  Imagine that each congressional district had its own IRS tax code crafted by the congressman in that district. For example, Congressional District 1 in Pennsylvania, the District that contains the city of Philadelphia might have a flat tax. While P...
• o Competition in Elections
  on Nov 6, 2010
  I recommend a mandatory minimum of three political parties. Each political party must run a minimum of three candidates in all primary elections. If an election has no primary, then have three candidates for each party in the general elections. Th...
• o Civil Unrest
  on Oct 16, 2010
  Japan’s economy may unravel in the next two to three years if its interest payments on debt will exceed revenue. Greece and France are dealing with riots in 2010 This is what happens when governments over spend and then need to cut back programs...
• o Role of the Federal Reserve
  on Feb 6, 2010
  Allan Meltzer talks about the history of the Federal Reserve.http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/217674...
• o Government Agencies
  on Dec 31, 2009
  The four most common 'windows' into how government agencies operate are the post office, income tax returns, voting booths, and the DMV. I can't think of a worse torture than wasting time filling out confusing forms and standing in long lines. Pain...
• o FDIC Bankruptcy
  on Dec 31, 2009
  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system by insuring deposits. Each depositor insured to at least $250,000 per insu...
• o Drug Policy
  on Dec 20, 2009
  The drug policy should focus on putting drug dealers out of business while at the same time reducing the demand for drug use. Policy has to be crafted to fight drugs on both on the supply side and demand side. The solution is to legalize drugs and...
• o Gulfo Currency
  on Dec 20, 2009
  Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar are set to launch a single currency called the Gulfo. The creation of the Gulfo is a statement by countries in the region that they have lost faith in fiat US dollars as the world's reserve currency.
• o Senate Banking Committee votes 16-7 for Bernanke
  on Dec 20, 2009
  It appears that Ben Bernanke will be reconfirmed as Federal Reserve Chairman. Its a mistake to reappoint the very person that lead the US into the financial downfall of 2008.This from the website of the Federal Reserve Board (http://www.federalreser...
• o Economic Meltdown Videos
  on Dec 6, 2009
  The following videos reveal insight on what lead to the bank bailouts and how the bailouts were handled.PBS Frontline special called "The Warning".http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/Senator Jim Bunning speaking at the Banking, Hous...
• o Ratios to Evaluate for Stocks and for Real Estate
  on Oct 24, 2009
  Price per square foot for real estate.Price per earnings for stocks.http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com...
• o The Nobel Peace Prize
  on Oct 11, 2009
  The five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee award the Nobel Peace Prize each year. It carries no official powers or responsibilities. The five judges can award the to whomever they want, unlike an election or Olympic gold medal which is won i...
• o Voting Along Political Lines
  on Oct 10, 2009
  Party identification holds more significance than the quality of the candidate up for election. The two party system does not give voters much choice. I think a third party would help reflect the views of more moderate voters.The message to peopl...
• o FTC Toughens Endorsement Rules For Bloggers
  on Oct 6, 2009
  Going forward, the FTC will require bloggers to clearly state when they receive cash or "payment in kind" for endorsing a company's products or services. So if Blackberry pays a blogger $5k to say good things about the new Blackberry Curve, the blog...
• o Chinese Money Habits
  on Oct 2, 2009
  This is from a post on http://www.wisebread.com.1. Being frugal is a virtue - Being frugal did not start as communist propaganda. Actually it is a concept that has been taught for thousands of years. The classic Chinese text Dao De Jing states that t...
• o Changing the Constitution
  on Sep 6, 2009
  The constitution was signed and agreed upon in 1787. Its outdated.Here are a few suggestions to make things better and more competitive.1) Get rid of the House of Representatives.2) Create a fourth branch of government called the Commerce Branch. W...
• o Change the Constitution
  on Sep 6, 2009
  The constitution was signed and agreed upon in 1787. Its outdated.Here are a few suggestions to make things better and more competitive.1) Stop gerrymandering and redistrict states in a fair way. Create an independent commission whose priority is t...
• o CFTC Looking for Excessive Speculation
  on Jul 29, 2009
  The CFTC has woken up to the fact that speculation may have behind the commodity bubble of the last few years. The easiest place to look for speculation in with Exchange Trade Funds (ETF's) and Commodity Index Funds. These "investment" vehicles allow...
• o Local Currencies
  on Jul 18, 2009
  A local currency keeps money circulating in a smaller area. It’s a way to support local businesses and craftsman because anyone outside the local area, for example Starbucks, will not accept the local currency. Smaller robust economies have less...