THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE, AND WE ALL HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT THEY’RE HIDING: WSJ: China is stalling global investigations into origin of the coronavirus.
Archive for 2020
May 13, 2020
THEY’RE ON THE PAYROLL: Democrats’ $3 Trillion Bill Would Include a Massive Gift…to Communist China.
FASTER, PLEASE: Unleash the entrepreneurs America needs to build a post-coronavirus economy. Perhaps we need some sort of across-the-board regulatory suspension, like in postwar Germany under (and even before) the Marshall Plan. Here’s more on the German plan:
On July 7, 1948, the German government approved a law giving the economic authorities the right to “take all necessary measures in the field of control and to determine in detail which goods and production should be freed from price controls.”
The ensuing deregulation was dramatic and shocking to occupation forces. As Erhard notes, “It was strictly laid down by the British and American control authorities that permission had to be obtained before any definite price changes could be made. The Allies never seemed to have thought it possible that someone could have the idea, not to alter price controls, but simply to remove them.” With determined action and the strong support of one American, a Gen. Lucius Clay, the German free market exponents were able to blast through the inertia of Allied supervision.
The sweeping success of the currency reform is of little doubt. As Prof. Henry Wallich put it, “The spirit of the country changed overnight.” Two observers not native to Germany, Jacques Rueff and Andre Piettre, had the following report: “Only an eye-witness can give an account of the sudden effect which currency reform had on the size of stocks and the wealth of goods on display. Shops filled up with goods from one day to the next; the factories began to work. On the eve of currency reform the Germans were aimlessly wandering about their towns in search of a few additional items of food. A day later they thought of nothing but producing them. One day apathy was mirrored on their faces while on the next a whole nation looked hopefully into the future.”
I’m just sayin’. Plus:
Almost all consumer goods were immediately deregulated (excepting agricultural commodities); wages were set free three months after the currency reform; and industrial commodities (steel, iron, coal, oil, etc.) were gradually deregulated over the next few years; while foreign trade, which was under technical restrictions in law, was turned to free competition in practice in a very short time. The one area where price control would remain in effect throughout the 1950’s was the special case of rents.
The result of this substantial deregulation was to let the Germans take full advantage of the powerful incentives set before them. The gravity of the German postwar condition provided strong motivation for productive effort, yet economic restriction had prohibited the enterprise and imagination of the populace. In a system where supply and demand cannot coincide, the result is economic chaos. In the German instance, the price regulation had legislated massive shortages, for the surest way to curtail supply is to make it impossible to reap the rewards of production. Additionally, the heavy reliance on black markets created vast senseless gyrations and economic waste. Commenting bn the explosion of effort in the post-reform era, Gordon Hallet has noted how “the startling change between the period before and after July 1948 indicates the extent to which an economic system can either frustrate individual efforts or give them the opportunity to be effective.”
Contemporary analysts might paint the German policy as harsh in that it left few rewards for those who did not seek to take care of themselves. While government expenditures on social welfare through transfer payments were comparable with those of other European nations, the State abstained from further economic intrusions via “full employment” policies, subsidies, and income redistribution. In fact the tax policy was shifted to reduce the burden on upper-income brackets. The tight money policies pursued by Erhard created buyers’—rather than sellers’—markets.
If the harshness of the policy was great, so was the positive record of accomplishment. Industrial production and national income skyrocketed. Industrial output increased 50 percent within the year, and national income (in constant prices) was restored to the 1936 level in just over a year (it had fallen 20 percent below this figure). Economic recovery was complete except for one plaguing phenomenon—the emergence of unemployment, which steadily rose to a peak of 10.2 percent in 1950. The instantaneous response of the British and Americans was to explain the dilemma in Keynesian terms and diagnose the problem as “insufficient effective demand.” The prescription; immediate government and monetary expansion, along with reintroduction of economic controls.
The German response, in the light of the Keynesian revolution, was terribly naive. The Germans theorized that an increased money supply would simply cause inflation and that the employment problem was frictional, fueled basically by the stream (still flowing) of millions of refugees. The resultant policy was a strict balanced-budget fiscal framework and a conservative monetary course by the Deutsche Bundesbank. Unemployment dropped steadily—to six percent in 1952, three percent in 1956, and one percent by 1960.
Again.
HMM: Did Missouri Just Out-Lawfare China? “Much remains to be seen in a very dynamic, geo-strategically charged time as the present amid the backdrop of great-power competition. If the lawsuits proceed and the PRC is implicated, then Missouri may be justified to go after all manners of Chinese assets and enterprises operating in the state. And American companies in Missouri with significant Chinese interests could be in jeopardy. The state’s lawsuit may even portend more legal action by other American municipalities and states, even perhaps private citizens and companies. Additionally, the Missouri lawsuit could snow-ball across as others from across the international community file lawsuits of their own. To counter, the PRC will likely challenge or ju-jitsu Missouri’s litigation with its own brand of lawfare.”
Regardless of how the mainland People’s Republic of China responds, the Communist Party is just one organization. But there are 50 states, 3,141 counties, and countless municipalities in this country, all with potential legal scores to settle against Beijing.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, COLLUSION EDITION: University of Arkansas professor arrested for hiding ties to China.
According to a Justice Department press release (via the Arkansas Times), Professor Simon Ang, head of the UA High Density Electronics Center, did not reveal his connections to China when he applied for grants from NASA.
“These materially false representations to NASA and the University of Arkansas resulted in numerous wires to be sent and received that facilitated Ang’s scheme to defraud,” the release said.
Ang has worked at UA since 1988 and is a 1980 graduate of the school. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
40/29 News reports the investigation began when a UA employee discovered a hard drive in the school library’s lost-and-found. On it were emails allegedly from Ang which stated “there are things that are becoming very difficult for me recently because of the political climate” and “I have to be very careful or else I may be out of my job from this university.”
In another, Ang wrote “You can search the Chinese website regarding what the US will do to Thousand Talent Scholars. Not many people here know I am one of them but if this leaks out, my job here will be in deep troubles.”
Full criminal complaint at the link.
CORONAVIRUS ISN’T WUHAN’S ONLY EXPORT TO THE U.S.: It’s also fentanyl, the chemical compound so powerful “that just two milligrams — enough to cover Lincoln’s beard on a penny — can prove fatal,” according to City Journal.
COMMUNIST CHINA CONTINUES TO TARGET AMERICAN CREATIVITY:
In mid-April, a senior FBI official warned that cyber spies were attacking U.S. and allied medical research institutions developing coronavirus vaccines. The U.S. Department of Justice later pegged China as the chief witch doctor of medical espionage and suggested a crash American COVID-19/Wuhan virus vaccine project nicknamed Operation Warp Speed is Beijing’s major target.
More:
…the nation that develops and deploys the first safe and clinically effective vaccine will be able to do many things. Protecting your nation’s population is more than a material medical advantage. A vaccinated population has an economic advantage over adversaries.
Developing an effective vaccine enhances diplomatic power. Obviously, the discoverer’s allies are in line to benefit. But don’t underestimate prestige power of an effective vaccine’s quick discovery and rapid employment.
Beijing craves prestige, but its system discourages creativity. This column ties the theft of American medical research to Communist China’s “unrestricted” war on America. Suggest you read it.
THE COWARD OF THE COUNTY: Tesla May Get to Reopen California Plant Next Week, County Says.
Health officers for Alameda County said late Tuesday that the factory can reopen if Tesla adopts safety recommendations in addition to a new plan the company submitted on Monday. While the county will let Tesla start to augment its operations this week, city police will be called upon to verify that the carmaker is adhering to the agreed measures aimed at protecting workers.
Translation: They caved to Musk.
CONRAD BLACK: Democrats Charge Into a Political Cul-de-Sac. “Democrats don’t have much hope to cling to, but they don’t deserve better.”
Too much detail for a proper excerpt, so be sure to read the whole thing.
I’d just add that Democrats will sacrifice Biden long before they’d ever give up on the Obama myth, but if Barr pushes hard enough there’s some small chance they’ll have to give up both.
PUNCH BACK TWICE AS HARD: Anti-male bias lawsuit drags college to court. “The lawsuit against Colgate University on the basis of male gender bias is the first of its kind to move to trial. The judge found that an anonymous male student received a harsher punishment than his female counterpart.”
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Let California Twist in the Wind Without a Bailout. “There is something particularly infuriating about governors who are arbitrarily keeping their states’ businesses shut down longer than they need to be — looking at you, Kate Brown — begging for money from the federal government. Perhaps they should look at firing up their tax bases again.”
Endorsed.
MASKED PARATROOPER: This photo has to have a special place in The Museum of the Covid-19/Wuhan Virus Pandemic Era. So I’ll quote the entire DOD caption: “A paratrooper with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, prepares for an Airborne Operation at Fort Bragg, N.C., on May 7. The airborne operation marks the 82nd Airborne Division’s return to limited training operations while following health and safety guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Paratroopers were required to wear masks while in close proximity to each other and Jumpmasters wore masks while conducting inspections in the passenger terminal.”
JAMES LILEKS’ WEDNESDAY REVIEW OF MODERN THOUGHT:
Made the mistake of looking at Twitter before the usual “let’s get irritated by the news of the day” time, which is 11 AM, and encountered someone I know and like retweeting stuff about how people want grandma to die. It’s like a switch flips: nope, not going to take you seriously on this matter ever again. Grandma killer is the Godwin of the pandemic.
* * * * * * * *
Ding! Godwin gets another royalty check.
I think a lot of people who lived their lives in a quivering state of imminent ecological collapse-panic have moved those emotions from that box into this one, and feel energized because the dread now seems even more imminent, and they have Science! on their side, and their enemies are all the right enemies, and this time they can make a difference. And it requires nothing.
Exit quote: “Also lol at the idea that people were more decent in the 80s. They just didn’t have international platforms to advertise their soullessness.” Read the whole thing.
HAS THERE EVER BEEN A BIGGER PIECE OF MEDIA BULLSHIT THAN THE “RUSSIAN COLLUSION” NARRATIVE? RealClearInvestigations: Hidden Over 2 Years: Dem Cyber-Firm’s Sworn Testimony It Had No Proof of Russian Hack of DNC.
AND THE CRITICS WHO SLANDERED SAMARITAN’S PURSE WILL APOLOGIZE WHEN? No, I’m not holding my breath, either.
OBAMABIDENGATE: Joe Biden Denies Then Admits To Knowledge Of FBI’s Flynn Set Up.
“I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn,” Biden said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” when George Stephanopoulos asked what he knew of the FBI’s operations in early 2017.
Biden went on to call new earthshattering revelations in recent weeks about the Obama administration’s spy scandal a distraction from the ongoing public health pandemic in an effort to avoid the topic.
“This is all about diversion. This is a game this guy plays all the time. The country is in crisis … He should stop trying to always divert attention from the real concerns of the American people.”
Stephanopoulos followed up, adding that Biden was present at a Jan. 5, 2017 Oval Office meeting where he and President Barack Obama was briefed by top White House national security officials on plans to question Flynn over conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislak as the presidential transition was underway.
“I thought you asked me whether or not I had anything to do with him being prosecuted,” Biden said. “I was aware that there was, that they asked for an investigation, but that’s all I know about.”
It’s impossible to tell whether Biden is lying, confused, forgetful, or all three.
I STILL THINK THEY’RE GOING TO TRY TO PULL A TORRICELLI BEFORE THE ELECTION: Tepid Democratic support for Biden helps odds of Trump reelection.
CORONAVIRUS, MURDER HORNETS, SPACE DEBRIS — CHINA’S NOT MESSING AROUND THIS YEAR: Space junk from Chinese rocket was about 15 minutes from hitting NYC.
BECAUSE OF COURSE: MSNBC Suggests Russia Behind Dropping of Flynn Case.