Republican (fascist/socialist) governor Gary R. Herbert, of utah, signs Senate Bill 11, asserting his state’s lawful prerogative to regulate intrastate commerce in guns.

       [added 2/27/2022] G. Edward Griffin for this entry.

       Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

—- Isaiah 5:20

       When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you. … you may know that your society is doomed.

—- Francisco d’Anconia, Atlas Shrugged

       Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Director of the International Monetary Fund, speaking to the Annual Meeting of the Bretton Woods Committee, in the District of Columbia, argues for greater international regulatory control over the world’s economic affairs:

       [I]t is critical that a multilateral institution be ready to answer the call. In this context, we are currently exploring various options—including for short-term, multi-country credit lines that the Fund might extend in a systemic crisis.

· · · · · ·

       I mentioned climate change.  At first sight, this may seem not to fall within the IMF’s core “mandate.” But I see assisting our members to deal with the serious macroeconomic and financing consequences of climate change as very much part of our responsibility to support long-term global stability. And I believe we must work with others—including our colleagues here at the World Bank, of course—to craft creative solutions to what is perhaps the most critical issue facing the planet in the 21st century.  A longer-term question is whether a new global reserve asset is needed.

       Certainly, having several suppliers of reserve assets would limit the extent to which the international monetary system as a whole depends on the policies and conditions of a single, albeit dominant, country.

· · · · · ·

       And one day, the Fund might even be called upon to provide a globally issued reserve asset, similar to—but in important respects different from—the SDR. That day has not yet come.  But I think it is intellectually healthy to explore these kinds of ideas now—with a view to what the global system might need at some time in the future.

· · · · · ·

       If this crisis taught us anything, it is that the world needs multilateralism even more today than it did when the Bretton Woods institutions were founded in 1944. We saw this during the crisis—when countries came together to act. In fact, I believe that when historians look back, it is this level of unprecedented international collaboration that will stand out.

       And as we look forward, we will need more of this kind of collaboration, not less. More multilateralism, not less.  More IMF, not less.

· · · · · ·

       Make no mistake: the original mandate of the Mihas been validated.  Now we need to clarify and strengthen it even more. …

       [added 3/20/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.

       While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are stationed at 737 bases, in 130 nations around the world, defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,” President Andrew Stern, of the Service Employees International Union, joins the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, appointed by Democratic (socialist/fascist) de facto President Obama (either a natural born subject of the United Kingdom enclave of Kenya, or a natural born resident of the republic of Hawaii) to reduce the annual Federal budget deficit of 1,368,000,000,000 “dollars.”  Stern is leaving the SEIU 85,000,000 “dollars” in debt, partially from the 60,700,000 “dollars” in SEIU funds he admits having spent to help elect Obama.

       Question: Might Obama have made a better choice that set a more fiscally responsible example?

       [added 3/20/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.

       Chief Executive Officer Mike Williams, of Federal National Mortgage Association (a.k.a. “Fannie Mae”) says that his company will need another 15,000,000,000 “dollars” Federal bailouts on top of the 60,000,000,000 “dollars” it has already received.  Fannie Mae has lost more than 90,000,000,000 “dollars” since it was seized by the Federal housing Finance Agency, a year and a half previous.

       [added 3/20/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.