Education is war?

There is probably no other factor as decisive for a child's future as the level and quality of education he or she receives.

Compared to other industrialized countries, high school students in the US do perform way below average.

Even though most people favor competition in almost all other areas of life, when it comes to education, competition between schools and teachers is seen as damaging to the child and as an additional hardship to teachers.

However, in other parts of the world competition between high schools - for example through voucher systems - is well established and is seen as a decisive factor for the superior results of students.

In this highly interesting documentary, the upsides of establishing competition in the field of education are explained:

Greed

Greed (or self-interest) is a natural and important human trait in achieving our goals
and an essential aspect of the free market. Milton Friedman explains in this great video clip
why greed is important in improving the overall wellfare for society.

Have a look:

Bitcoins – The money of the future

Yesterday, I blogged about the downsides of fiat money (currencies that are not backed by real assets). –Through the actions and interventions of central banks, a currency may lose its value and the resulting inflation may “eat up” the savings of people.

The introduction of electronic money, which is not controlled by any central bank, provides an alternative payment method. Even though a number of virtual currencies have been introduced prior to bitcoins, this currency offered a reliable alternative to “common” money for the first time.

Invented by a mysterious programmer who calls himself Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoins do not rely on any central money supply but are created by so called “miners”, users who solve cryptographic puzzles and by this, slowly increase the money supply.

Even though the currency is only accepted by relatively few companies, the acceptance of bitcoins grew has increased greatly over the past years.

Let’s see what the future holds: In a couple of years we may all pay in bitcoins :)

If you are interested in more information on bitcoins, take a look at this great article: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/mf_bitcoin/all/1     

Fiat money increases inequality

In 1971, Fiat money was introduced, replacing the gold standard. Since then, money is not backed by any collateral any more. As a consequence, governments (or rather central banks) continuously increased the money supply, therefore causing inflation. People hurt most by inflation are employees and savers. On the other side, banks and investors who can effort to own real assets have profited from the increase in money supply. Therefore, fiat money increases inequalities between the rich and the poor.

For a short and comprehensive view on Fiat money, take a look at the video:

The philosophy of liberty

What is liberty? What is the principle libertarian ideals are based on?
The key theme of liberty is self-ownership. No human being can be owned by another human or a group of humans.

Self-ownership manifests itself in three forms:
1.    Life
2.    Liberty
3.    The product of your life and liberty

The product of your life and liberty is your property.
Liberty in all of its forms is the most important good we have!

For an insightful perspective at liberty, take a look at this great video:

One million dollar penny

Through TARP banks received $ 700,000,000,000 in bail-out money, paid for by US taxpayers. This caused an outcry by many Americans - and rightfully so. However, this 700 billion dollar bailout is tiny compared to the more than $ 16,000,000,000,000 (16 trillion) spent by the Federal Reserve in emergency loans.

The following video (by jazzntoehead) explains very well how much money this actually is.

Ron Paul beats Obama in Ohio

According to a Fox News poll based on a telephone survey with a random sample of 505 registered voters, Ron Paul would beat President Obama in Ohio (42% vs. 41%), should he be nominated as the Republican candidate in the 2012 elections.

Also two other Republican candidates, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, are able to get more votes than Obama, according to the poll. Only Newt Gingrich would lose the state if he was running against Obama.

As one of the swing states, Ohio played a key role in the 2008 presidential elections.
Ron Paul’s approach to foreign policy, emphasis of personal freedom and constitutional rights and reduction of the federal government’s influence secured him widespread support – especially from younger voters.

In addition, Dr. Paul is one of the few persons in politics who did not change his political decisions when it seems politically advantageous, but stuck to his principles.

Even if Ron Paul should not be nominated and go on to win the presidency: He has motivated a lot of people to pay attention to politics more closely.