more and more government intervention means less and less freedom and economic progress.....

but the 'progressives' (ie: socialists et al) believe just the opposite, yet they do not look at the reality of their 'thinking'.....and the actual real-life results of their so called progressive agenda: less freedom and liberty!

What's the Best Country for Business?

December 30, 2014

Forbes recently released its list of the best countries for business, and the United States has found itself far down the list. Kurt Badenhausen reports that America fell four spots this year, dropping to 18th place. While the country was second on the list in 2009, it has declined every year since.

Why the decline? Badenhausen offers a number of reasons:

• The U.S. government has expanded in size, bringing with it a host of new regulations in the health care and finance industries.
• Since 2009, there have been 130 new major federal regulations for starting businesses, costing $60 billion annually.
• For seven years in a row, the United States has dropped in the "economic freedom" rankings, as compiled by the Heritage Foundation, and its "monetary freedom" ranking is eighty-first out of 146 countries.
• America's corporate tax rates are the highest in the developed world, and the tax system is incredibly complex. The World Bank ranks the U.S. corporate tax system forty-third among 146 nations.

Which nation topped the Forbes list? Denmark. Badenhausen explains that its few regulations make it easy -- and relatively inexpensive -- to start new businesses in the country. Following Denmark and rounding out the top 10 were Hong Kong, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Finland.

Source: Kurt Badenhausen, "U.S. Slides Again As Denmark Tops Forbes' Best Countries For Business," Forbes.com, December 17, 2014.

proliferation of laws, rules, and regulations...

Liberty and freedom require effort, sacrifice, honor and a people with a strong moral character.

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”-Benjamin Franklin

Historian Tacitus noted, as Rome became more and more corrupt, the number of laws grew rapidly. The Roman aristocracy, through corruption and thievery achieved lofty status in Roman society. Senators and wealthy knights engaged in extensive practices of conspicuous consumption, creating palatial town houses and monumental “art villas” to demonstrate their high rank in society. The peasants sank into poverty, while being satiated with bread and circuses. And it was all done legally, just as it is being done legally today by our beloved aristocracy and their minions.

“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” – Tacitus – The Annals of Imperial Rome

Has the proliferation of laws, rules, and regulations over the last century made us freer, safer and less corrupt?

(this is truly an amazing graphic.....)

We live in a warfare/welfare surveillance state built on a foundation of debt, consumerism, and delusion, with no tears. We’ve learned to love our servitude.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-10/bread-circuses-bombs-decline-american-empire-part-2

Yesterday's FOMC Statement

The FOMC voted to leave the Fed's target interest rate unchanged at 0.00% to 0.25% for the 49th consecutive meeting yesterday. 

They did, in fact, announce the end of the third round of quantitative easing although they will continue to reinvest the cash-flows from the S.O.M.A. 

All told, the Fed has now increased its balance sheet through three rounds of quantitative easing by $3.7 trillion, from 6.2% of GDP to 25.7% (see chart).

(The Market Today ONLINE)

A very interesting data set....

starts and permits - September 2014

Some interesting data sets regarding housing...can anyone say 'continued volatility' with multifamily taking the lead...

U.S. housing starts increased 6.3% in September, driven primarily by multifamily construction.

GDP and Income - very revealing...

Source: NY Times

GUNDLACH: This Chart Is Why Janet Yellen Doesn't Want To Raise Rates 

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has long said she remains focused on the health of the labor market, and in her most recent public comments at Jackson Hole, she said that given the current state of the labor market, there was "no simple recipe for appropriate policy in this context." 

And for Gundlach, one chart makes clear why Yellen's desire to raise interest rates is most likely far less than many assume. 

Wages as a percent of GDP remain near multi-decade lows, and until this trend shows any sign of improvement, Gundlach doesn't think that Yellen will want to do anything with interest rates. 

Gundlach also noted that real wages for the bottom seven deciles of earners had fallen between 2007 and 2014, to which Gundlach said, "It seems tough that with so many workers losing purchasing power on a year-over-year basis, you could raise short-term interest rates." 

This graph appears to provide a vivid indicator that the world's economic condition is not moving in a 'positive' direction....yields headed downward is not indicative of strong economic growth trends! 

How much 'spoken word' power from the European central banks has assisted with this downward movement with everyone speaking about potential QE?

Although it is very interesting that the 'risk premium' for Italy and Spain appears to have dissipated...in spite of their continuing economic struggles.

Chart Of The Day