On the radio today, I heard show after show promote the idea of infrastructure spending, in line with Obama’s recent statement:

“It is my intention to lay out a series of bipartisan proposals that the Congress can take immediately to continue to rebuild the American economy by strengthening small businesses, helping Americans get back to work, and putting more money in the paychecks of the middle class and working Americans, while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order.”

I’ve taken the time to translate Obama’s political rhetoric into plain english. What he really said (in plain english) is as follows:

“It is my intention to expand our plan of robbing the American people through taxation and monetary inflation, ram it through congress with as little debate as possible, to put people to work doing things like digging holes and filling them back in again, helping Americans to do other such meaningless work, and funneling money to special interests, while still pretending we believe that the nation’s debt can ever be paid off.”

This is the kind of Keynesian economics I wrote about in yesterday’s letter. It really begs the question: how is it economic stimulus to steal money from some people to give to others to do work that is unprofitable (after all, if it was profitable, then the private sector would be doing it)?

I actually don’t mind all the talk of stimulus. The sooner the United States goes bankrupt, the better.

Who are the Real Copper Thieves?

With the increase of copper prices to as high as $4.62 per pound, it’s no wonder that copper thefts are on the rise. Thieves have been taking the copper from construction sites, cellular towers, and street lights. Miami-Dade County in Florida is considering a special task force to combat copper theft.

I’d like to briefly mention the biggest copper thief of all – the U.S. Treasury (and other governments). In 1982, pennies were no longer minted with copper. After 1982, copper was used only as a coating, making the pennies shinier, but less valuable. Taking the copper out of our money supply effectively took the copper away from the American people.

Consider this: if you have $1.39 in copper pennies, you have one pound of copper, which is currently $4.12 per pound. That makes each cent worth almost 3 cents. As of now, pre-1982 pennies are still in circulation, but I predict they will soon be removed completely, as were silver quarters, dimes, and half dollars after 1964.

So if you really want to combat copper theft, collect older pennies, before the government steals them from you for good.

Have a great weekend, and I will be back in your inbox on Tuesday.

Thanks and peace,

Nick Foley
The Basic Liberty Letter
http://www.basicliberty.com
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