Sense and Nonsense

This week I want to write about the differences between a market driven economy and a centrally controlled economy as I promised last week. The question essentially boils down to, “How should the United States of America allocate its resources”? It is a political question. As such, it is difficult to address objectively and succinctly.

First, the federal government in the USA does not have the authority under the Constitution to allocate resources. That power is reserved to the states or to individual citizens. The fact that the federal government does shift resources from the young to the old, from the industrious to the lazy or from the healthy to the unhealthy does not make it legal. It just means that they do it in violation of the most fundamental body of law in the United States of America. It replaces the rule of law with the rule of people who have seized sufficient power to act illegally. If Americans want a centrally controlled economy, then the Constitution should be amended or or replaced to achieve that goal legally. That will not happen.

As you may have noticed, there have not been any money management and investment comments at Sense and Nonsense for six months or more. That is because I have simply been aghast at the speed which the US has moved from market driven to a centrally controlled economy. There is also an element of denial. It is hard for me to concede, to myself or anyone else, that the accumulated knowledge of some thirty years of successful investing is now obsolete and useless.

I concede. I must start over with little more than an open mind and willingness to adapt to new realities. This concession is not based on desperation or defeat – I have made at least a small investment profit every year since 2001. I have more assets and fewer obligations right now than I have ever had before. My life is good and I am grateful.

Tim Lambert's blog "Right in Texas" carries up to date news and opinion on candidates and issues facing Home Schooling in Texas. In addition, there is a Texas Home School Coalition Political Action Committee which accepts political donations to preserve and promote Home Schooling in Texas.

A Home School History Lesson

Tim Lambert

President of the Texas Home School Coalition

THSC Handbook for Texas Home Schoolers ©

Home education continues to grow by leaps and bounds not only in Texas, but also all over the country. Many estimate that the number of home schooling families is increasing by 15 percent per year. Nationally, some put the number of home educators at around one million. In Texas, there are between 75,000 and 100,000 families home educating. As more and more people make the ultimate choice in education, the advocates for this educational alternative multiply.

Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.

Sometimes doctors (or family members) refer patients or loved ones to therapy to fix something they -- the doctor or family member, that is -- consider a problem. The motivation for therapy is on the part of the referring party, not the client/patient him- or herself.

To this I respond: Get real!

You cannot cure someone who's indifferent to a "cure." If he's indifferent, then the only way to cure him is without his participation (other than minimal cooperation, such as showing up).This will work with medical conditions, but not with mental or emotional ones. The person can stand there passively while you treat him medically, but he cannot solve his emotional problems unless he thinks, and unless he is willing to challenge and change his errors in thinking.