There are many reasons for people to relocate within the United States. Traditionally, it has been because of physical environment, job opportunities or family ties. Recently there have been reasons added to that such as the cost of housing or the nature of the government in the state or locale in which one is relocating. A new reason came to my attention which I found quite fascinating.

I was watching a well-known news/finance show where a guest, Donald Luskin, was being queried by the host. Mr. Luskin founded a company, Trend Macrolytics, after a long and distinguished career in the investment sector of the economy.

Three years ago, Mr. Luskin relocated his business to Dallas from Chicago. This had been his second stint in in Chicago. During the 1980’s he moved to Chicago for the opportunities, especially in the commodities area of investments. The Chicago Board of Trade was vibrant at the time. Someone could start as a runner at the Board, work hard, get noticed as someone to nurture along, and eventually end up as a trader on the floor making a very nice living.

There were low entrance barriers to success. You could dress right, smile, show a… Read More

We all remember that line from Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow finally get to Oz, find the Wizard, seek an audience with him, and find thunder, lightening, and a booming voice. They are scared, shaking and bow in front of the Great and Powerful Oz. Toto then walks up to the stage, pulls back to curtain, and the group sees an old man pushing buttons, and obviously manipulating the picture. Oz bellows “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” The group now knows the truth, and the Wizard is still trying to hide it. The group is no longer afraid, and they go to the old man behind the curtain to really solve their problems.

What has this got to do with the political scene today? In the Wizard of Oz, the wizard turns out to be a kindly old man. Not so with the political scene as we head into the last month of the election. Democrats are not kindly old men who have our best interests at heart, and who want to solve our problems. They want to retain power. However, crime is out of control, the economy is collapsing, people are struggling to pay for gas and put food on the table, our inner cities have turned… Read More

With each new natural disaster (sometimes even earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) comes the usual suspects confidently predicting “It’s gonna get a lot worse, and fast, unless we(fill in the blank).”

But the MSM never later go back to see how these “scientific” prognostications actually turned out.

The truth is, they are ALWAYS wrong. And by quite a bit. They ALWAYS GROSSLY OVERSTATE the coming adverse effects.

Yet anyone who challenges the prevailing (and most financially lucrative) viewpoint is labeled a “science denier.”

When it comes to longer term Armageddon global weather predictions, too many scientists reject their own scientific method (which should include challenges and debate) — instead mindlessly adopting the religious beliefs of those who worship Gaia.

Here are three links to some articles that list the doomsday predictions vs. what actually happened. They sometimes overlap in their examples, but repetition may well be the key to learning.… Read More

One of the most annoying aspects of our modern political discussions is how Democrats or their media mouthpieces are constantly pointing out that our Democracy is in danger. This came on the heels of The Washington Post’s immensely stupid new slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” Once again Democrats in California are actively attempting to take voters’ rights away. This time they are asking voters to do it themselves.

California’s overwhelming Democrat Legislature in 2017 passed the The Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act. Jerry Brown, then Governor and the great protector people’s rights, signed it into law. This had as much to do with transparency and fairness as The Inflation Reduction Act has to do with inflation. The bill stole rights away from Californians.

The Board of Equalization (BOE) has five elected members. This bill emasculated their responsibilities and gave them to career bureaucrats. The BOE previously handled reviews of any sales tax and income tax appeals. The Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) now hears all those appeals. Of the twenty-four appointed judges, just five were not government employees prior to setting up this new structure.… Read More

As the tensions of civil war reached a boiling point, President Lincoln vainly reached out to Democrats with these words: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”

The contrast with Mr. Biden’s September 1st speech in Philadelphia is jarring. In it and many remarks since, Mr. Biden clearly addresses the 74 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump as enemies who – quote – “threaten the very foundation of our Republic.” He condemned us as “extremists” who “do not respect the constitution” who “do not believe in the rule of law,” and who “refuse to accept the results of a free election.” In other forums, he has called us “semi-fascists.”

Mr. President, we revere our Constitution and the structure of individual liberty it was designed to protect. We do not understand how a government established under that Constitution could use the FBI to pressure social media platforms to censor and suppress free speech, or to intimidate parents concerned about their school boards with threat tags, or to instruct its field offices to regard anyone who displays our founding American flags as a political extremist.

Mr.… Read More

Discussions about converting the American fleet of over 275 million vehicles to EVs keeps accelerating as more car companies begin to offer EV models. In California, the enlightened leadership has dictated that no internal combustion vehicles will be sold in the state after 2034. Let us look at the practicality of this conversion.

This investigation began in conversation with a friend who knows the vehicle market as well as anyone. Not only is he one of my go-to guys regarding his in-depth knowledge of cars, but he operates a leasing/car acquisition company and has detailed knowledge of the vehicle market. The discussion was during the highest gas pricing phase in California. He stated he regularly gets calls from people wanting EVs. He advised clients that the additional cost of an EV – even at that moment when gas prices had hit their highest point – did not make economic sense. Overall, you will still pay more for the EV in total cost than with a gas-fueled vehicle, and that includes rebates. This was before the price of EVs escalated significantly because of the soaring cost of lithium and cobalt — essential to the building of EV batteries.

Is that… Read More

This column often rails against government at all levels for their heartless failings, lack of responsiveness and lack of taking responsibility for ill-fated actions. Occasionally, big business deserves a slap across the face for errant behavior or worse.

When the customer has a bad experience, 95% of the time it is the fault of the business. Let me remind you of a Bialoskyism: There are three steps to resolving an issue. First, apologize. No matter how irate the customer is, saying “I’m sorry” almost always halts them. Second, take responsibility. Third, promise to fix it.

A second Bialoskyism is that people (businesses) make mistakes. It is not that you make a mistake; it is how you fix the mistake that is important. A quick response and remedy to the mistake is mandatory and gains customer respect (and continued loyalty).

We are life-long followers of UCLA basketball as BW’s (the Beautiful Wife) father was co-captain of the 1947 team when 6-foot-tall Jews could still play college basketball. The team frequently gets into the Final Four and most years we make plans to attend.

The BW made a reservation, which she made sure… Read More

In an announcement that shocked many, the Biden Administration has announced they will be paying off all car loans and leases for people who have internal combustion engine cars. This is their biggest move yet to migrate Americans from their gas guzzlers to EVs.

President Biden made the announcement saying “We had to take this bold move to achieve our goal of getting my fellow Americans to transition to electric vehicles. As long as these people are burdened by these financial obligations, they will be blocked from making the decision they want to make – a clean, energy efficient vehicle. We are unleashing the power of the American economy.”

An immediate response of overwhelming joy came from the environmental community. The President of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Ray Bradbury, applauded the move. He said, “With this stroke of bold leadership we will remove millions of those environment destroying vehicles from our highways.” Rachel Carson, the Sierra Club spokesperson stated, “We can’t imagine a better move by the current administration to eliminate destructive CO2 gases and save our forests.”

“This is going to change the lives of… Read More