(Please note: this is a new series ECN is running moving forward. Let us know what you think in the comment section.)
News Story of the Day: A plethora of new reports suggest that everyone is ramping up their lobbying efforts. You know, businesses and professional activists attempting to gain influence with obsequious behavior.
First, let’s start with former Florida Republican Governor and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush and his remarks on lobbying. Bush used to be a lobbyist, but yet he lambasted the practice. It seems with his latest comments, he’s beginning to act like is brother: full of incompetence and arrogance, and it used be just arrogance!
Here is a statement he made Thursday:
“The overspending, the overreaching, the arrogance, the sheer incompetence of the city are sometimes treated as though it’s a fact of life,” Bush said during a speech at Florida State University. “But a president should never accept it and I will not. We need a president willing to challenge the whole culture in our nation’s capital – and I mean to do it.”
Second, two huge companies who receive taxpayer support from the crony government-owned Export-Import bank have doled out millions of dollars into lobbying efforts in order to revitalize the bank, which gains support from both Republicans and Democrats. Boeing and General Electric
Boeing Co. and General Electric spent a total of more than $16 million in lobbying: $8.1 million and $8.5 million, respectively.
Third, Amazon, Apple and Facebook are continuing to generate influence from GOP and Democratic officials. The three tech titans spent a total of about $5 million in lobbying politicians in the second quarter: Amazon boosted its lobbying by 103 percent to $2.15 million, Facebook increased its lobbying by 27 percent to $2.69 million and Apple raised its lobbying spending by 47 percent to $1.23 million.
It seems the companies are learning the lessons from Microsoft in the 1990s: you don’t put all of your eggs into one innovation basket. You have to give the politicians their kickbacks otherwise they’ll go after you like presidents go after anti-American leaders.
Chart of the Day: The M2 money stock continues to soar. According to Federal Reserve Economic Data, the money stock hasn’t relented so far this year, despite the end of quantitative easing.
Illustration of the Day: you’ve seen oil prices come crashing down over the past year, while gas prices have become a lot more affordable since last summer. You’ve heard the reasons, and one of them is because of fracking. Just what is it exactly? For most people, it’s very hard to explain, but this illustration (courtesy of the American Enterprise Institute’s Mark Perry) shows the difference between conventional drilling and this newest type of drilling (fracking).
Quote of the Day: This week, I had to an economics article for another publication. I was writing a lot about Murray N. Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises and Milton Friedman. For my research, I came across this superb quote from Friedman, who was great at pretty much everything except monetary policy. Here is his quote:
“Indeed, a major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it… gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.”
Video of the Day: finally, this video will make you laugh on a hot Friday. President Ronald Reagan was a great public speaker, but that was because he was an actor. The only worthwhile picture I can recall of his is the 1951 film “Storm Warning.” Anyway, this clip provides viewers with a montage of jokes regarding the Soviet Union. Enjoy!
Leave a Comment