06 Mar 2009

Posted at 13:30h in The Friday Brief by
The free enterprise system that made this country second to none on earth is in the cross-hairs of an increasingly out-of-touch Washington, D.C.  Frank, Dodd, Pelosi, Reich, Schrum, and others boldly, arrogantly, and endlessly flog the whole of in particular Wall Street and free-enterprise in general. As they continue, they risk dousing the spirit of risk-taking which drives our economy. If Mr. Obama places himself in the company of Abraham Lincoln he must better understand that the 16th President was a champion for the protection and nurture of the free enterprise energy of this country. In a famous speech in February of 1859, Mr. Lincoln the patent system “secured to the inventor, for a limited time, the exclusive use of his invention; and thereby added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius, in the discovery and production of new and useful things.” Mr. Lincoln observed that the government was not the inventor, the creator, or the risk taker, but rather the protector of the free citizen; protected by this government to take risk in hopes of profit, not vice versa.

27 Feb 2009

Posted at 14:09h in The Friday Brief by
Mr. Obama’s budget is out and the message for investors is as clear as any missive from Washington in a long time. Get the defense on the field and keep ‘em all well watered. . . they may be out there for a while!

20 Feb 2009

Posted at 14:13h in The Friday Brief by

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."George Santayana, in The Life of Reason 

“Common sense is very uncommon.” Horace Greeley

There seems to be a sense in Washington in this time of crisis that the rules of ordinary behavior of most any kind simply don’t apply. Whether observing economic behavior, spending behavior, fiscal behavior, monetary behavior, political behavior, or what used to be generally acceptable and responsible behavior, it’s all up for grabs these days. Didn’t we get into this mess by abandoning the ordinary rules of lending and of borrowing and regulating?

13 Feb 2009

Posted at 14:36h in The Friday Brief by
In uncertain times we look for some bedrock to anchor into. While history cannot predict the future, it can provide a useful frame of reference. Some say we are in completely uncharted waters. Others argue there are eerie similarities to the Great Depression, and still others argue that this will be no more than a deep recession not unlike those of the 1970’s.