News Story of the Day: The final reading for the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) came in at 2.1 percent, up from the initial reading of two percent. It should be interesting to watch GDP numbers in 2020: trade certainty, accommodative Federal Reserve policy, and an election year.
Chart of the Day: What’s your password? Well, if you are like most people, then it is probably “123456,” at least that is what a new data reveal. Here is a chart that looks at the worst passwords of 2019:
Illustration of the Day: Greta Thunberg is a climate hypocrite. Don’t believe it? Here is an image that looks at her oil consumption habits:
Quote of the Day: The man, the myth, the legend Robert Murphy nailed it in his latest Mises Institute piece on Bernie Sanders and Robert Reich wanting to abolish billionaires.
What’s funny is that when Bernie Sanders or Robert Reich complain about billionaires per se, they never seem to list these ones: Oprah Winfrey ($2.7 billion), Michael Jordan ($1.9 billion), and J.K. Rowling ($1 billion by this estimate, though she had earlier been on and off the billionaire list because of Britain’s taxes and her large donations). Whatever you think of the merits of these individuals, it would be harder for Bernie to vilify the self-made Oprah, or to criticize the market for paying a boatload of money to the greatest basketball player of all time and to the author of some of the most beloved books in a generation.
More generally, as the global market continues to grow, we are going to see more billionaires. Quick: how many billionaires does the reader think there are, right now? The answer, according to Forbes, is 2,057.
There are plenty of billionaires who have benefited from special government privileges, or who have engaged in other forms of nefarious behavior. To the extent that we want the government to “do something” about this, the obvious answer is for government to stop giving such privileges to the super rich.
However, to the extent that people accumulate wealth through voluntary means, then they should be able to retain it. Whipping up the public to hate billionaires is a very destructive turn in U.S. politics. Progressive leftists always warn about the “harmful rhetoric” on the Right, and of course point to Nazi Germany to end all arguments. Well, we can look at the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France to see what happens when the masses get fired up against the rich.
Tweet of the Day: So, was President Donald Trump really impeached? Maybe not. According to Justice John Roberts, a president is not impeached until the articles of impeachment are sent to the Senate. Oh, snap! Scott Adams has some holiday advice:
Holiday Tip: When your anti-Trump relatives tell you Trump was impeached, forward this tweet to their phones and smugly reply, “Not so much.” But don’t do this until you have already opened your gifts and put them in the car. https://t.co/mHaUoGx5Rf
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) December 20, 2019
Video of the Day: Remember when President Donald Trump apparently mocked a disabled reporter? This was debunked because he mocks everyone the same way. But will the mainstream media clutch at their pearls after former Vice President Joe Biden seemingly imitated a stuttering child? Probably not. If you missed last night’s Democratic debate (we don’t blame you), here is the clip:
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