The Free Agent conveyed her surprise to a friend the other day—the federal government’s economic indicators—corporate profits, GDP, net investment—all point to an economy catching a trade wind, finally, out of the doldrums. This seemed to contradict lots of her experience, stubbornly-high unemployment (even allowing for employment to be what economists call “sticky”, employers believed […]
If it Quacks Like a Recovery? Read More »
The Free Agent once worked at a publication she will pseudoname Hippy Week. Oh, how happy she was there, how her duties suited her, and how she enjoyed her intelligent, energetic, and humorous coworkers. But while they tolerated her politics—they could accept any position as long as it was perceived to be on the lunatic
Most-Merciful Profit Read More »
The Free Agent is in the mood for something a little more comedic than her columns of late. A coworker (who spent the first thirty years of her life in communist Poland) told her about the following situation and her assessment of it, and FA relayed the anecdote to a Democrat friend of hers. The
A Libertarian, a Communist, and a Democrat Walk into a Bar… Read More »
The Free Agent is still trying to understand her demonification on the web. After all, if someone who just wants to provide for herself and isn’t asking anything of you is your enemy, you’ve got a lot of enemies. She was able to sort the invective into three categories, the first two, arguments ad hominum,
Insert the usual “not an April Fools joke” disclosure here. Some diligent city council members took a long, hard look at what’s wrong with the city council. Oh sure, they could have tackled the usual suspects — chronic budget crises, unabashed pandering to government unions — but that would have been too obvious. No, what
Just What NYC Council Needed — A Liberal Caucus Read More »
The Coffee Party is a new movement founded as a response to the Tea Parties (according to the CSPAN subtitles). They talk a lot about being civil and bringing people together to foster understanding and cooperation in politics. Here is the mission statement from their website. The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who
Coffee, Tea or Freedom? Read More »
In years past some Staten Island politicians have suggested Staten Island would be better off if it seceded from New York City. Last Thursday night at Karl’s Klipper on Staten Island, an upstart Staten Island Libertarian Chapter (SILC? SILP? RCLP?) seceded from the Manhattan LP. Since no organized chapters existed in Richmond and Bronx Counties, those
Staten Island Finally Secedes Read More »
One of the major objectives of health care reform ought to be reducing costs. That seems lost on the Democrats. The bill seems to focus more on sucking money out of consumers and taxpayers so they can spend it on growing the welfare state. The National Federation of Independent business has published a health care
And this reduces health care costs how? Read More »
The Democrats may have a shiny new law but they may have a hard time getting some of us to obey it. According to the Tenth Amendment Center about 30 states have already introduced Health Care Nullification legislation. In Utah, Arizona and Virginia it has passed both houses and in Idaho it’s passed as
Obamacare: Just Say No Read More »
The wound of the last night’s victory of Magic Wand politics is too fresh to discuss, so The Free Agent will instead encourage the use of the word political in general. She means that to substitute for words like socialized, universal, and especially, government. In The Free Agent’s circle, the adjective government is understood to
The Word is Political Read More »