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MLLG Christmas 2021 Posting . . . Ebenezer Scrooge Gets A Bum Rap

George Noga

Scrooge accomplished much good – prior to his Christmas Eve epiphany.

MLLG Christmas 2021 Posting . . .

Ebenezer Scrooge Gets A Bum Rap

By: George Noga – December 5, 2021

Ever since Charles Dickens published his allegorical novella, A Christmas Carol, in 1843, Ebenezer Scrooge, before he was visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley on Christmas Eve, has been universally regarded as a pathetic hoarder. For nearly two centuries the word Scrooge has been both an eponym and epithet for miserly. Scrooge gets a bum rap; although unwittingly, he was really a beneficent humanitarian.

The definition of beneficent is doing good or resulting in good; a humanitarian is someone who promotes human welfare. Scrooge’s behavior meets these definitions even before his epiphany and reclamation on Christmas Eve. Whether he intended to be beneficent and humanitarian is immaterial; his actions meet the definitions.

Scrooge was a rich, hard-working, parsimonious businessman who hoarded his wealth. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, worked long hours for low pay, the norm in that milieu. Cratchit and hordes of others, who had been largely invisible in rural England, flooded English cities during the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and suddenly became very visible. Their lives in the cities were bleak, but vastly better than the devastating rural poverty they voluntarily fled. Scrooge’s actions did not harm anyone but himself.

Although his wealth did not benefit Scrooge personally as he took his gruel alone by the embers of a dying fire, it was a godsend to humanity. It provided capital to fuel the industrial revolution, then just beginning. While Dickens’ books paint a grim picture, every metric of human well being reveals a golden age for workers started circa 1840: wages exploded, life expectancy and literacy soared, child nutrition and mortality improved and child labor receded as school enrollment surged. There had never before been a comparable period of prosperity – and it has continued to our day!

All these blessings were made possible only by the capital accumulated by Ebenezer Scrooge and others like him. Scrooge’s tight-fisted parsimony and self-denial, whether wittingly not, was a great gift to humanity. Scrooge helped to fund the factories, railroads and equipment that greatly increased workers’ productivity and wages. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to call Scrooge a beneficent humanitarian.

“May God bless us, every one!” (Tiny Tim)

Scrooge’s thrift benefitted humanity more than if he had tried to do good via Scrooge & Marley. Marley’s ghost fails to understand that by minding one’s business, one best serves mankind. Profit is the best metric of a business’ value to society and Scrooge’s business was highly profitable. Thus, Scrooge had no duty to give back as he already gave via his business. Scrooge’s capital benefitted humanity far more than if he had donated to charity or if government had taxed it in a misguided attempt to do good. The next time you hear Scrooge used as an epithet, remember, it is . . . humbug.

We end this, our final scheduled posting of 2021, by echoing the final words in Dickens’ novella, as spoken by Tiny Tim: “May God bless us, every one“

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Outside-the-box analysis, such as contained in this post, is what readers have come to expect from MLLG. Precious few people would defend the behavior of Ebenezer Scrooge before his Christmas Eve epiphany; yet, one must acknowledge his actions harmed no one and, to the contrary, resulted in great economic benefit to humanity. You may expect more of the same when we resume our postings on January 16, 2022.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS. WE ARE TAKING A HOLIDAY BREAK AND WILL RESUME ON JANUARY 16, 2022; HOWEVER, WATCH FOR POSSIBLE UNSCHEDULED POSTINGS.

Our next scheduled posting is on January 16, 2022.

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Identity Politics and Tribalism

George Noga

Identity politics is a cancer growing in America; we must not let it metastasize!

Identity Politics and Tribalism

By: George Noga – November 28, 2021

With progressives, it is identity politics uber alles. This is reflected in Biden’s cabinet, which includes the first African-American defense secretary, the first gay cabinet officer, the first woman of color to head OMB, the first woman DNI, the first Hispanic secretaries at Homeland Security and HHS and the first woman treasury secretary. Checking off all the PC racial, ethnic, gender and LGBTQ boxes is all that counts.

This monomaniacal focus on identity comes at a steep price. To begin, there are nagging doubts about merit, competence and true equality. Progressives wield diversity mainly as a weapon to silence criticism and opposition. They have created a tyranny of diversity which undermines other values. Moreover, identity politics harms those who putatively benefit from being placed in exalted positions; they are subject to lingering but sub-rosa questions whether they owe their positions to identity or to merit.

Identity politics leads to tribalism, misunderstanding, anger and hostility.

Identity politics inevitably intensifies tribalism, which is anathema to the body politic. Tribalism has been the default condition for most of human history, but life in a tribe is easy in all the wrong ways and for all the wrong reasons. Tribal members don’t ever have to think; they just believe whatever the tribe says is right. Now, due to identity politics, we are seeing more and more Americans becoming tribal about where and how they live, work, socialize, vacation, marry and educate their children. This leads to anger, misunderstanding and hostility. It is a cancer we must not let metastasize.

Identity Politics is a Marxist Construct

Identity politics has a Marxist provenance. At the heart of Marxism lies class struggle, the belief workers, abused by capitalism, would arise, seize the means of production and create a workers paradise. However, as Ludwig von Mises pointed out (see our 10/3/21 post at www.mllg.us), Marx did not see workers also as consumers; he believed they were slaves under capitalism and would remain slaves under socialism.

In actual practice, Soviet-style Marxism brutally murdered over 100 million of its own people. It was a economic disaster; see our 10/24/21 post about the Trabant compared to the Mercedes. The human carnage and economic destruction were so monumental, that even die-hard Marxists understood that workers in Western Europe, North America, Japan and elsewhere would never accept the idea of class struggle.

Marxists desperately needed an alternative, so they substituted race and ethnic struggle for class struggle, which led directly to identity politics and Critical Race Theory. They mean to end private property and redistribute everything according to race. They aim to abolish individual rights in favor of group rights based on race and ethnicity.

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Fortunately, many things unite Americans: culture, history, language, traditions, flag, manners, landmarks, national symbols and sacrifices of past generations. In closing, we recall the salving words of Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address.

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break, our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely as they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

Next: Our Christmas special features that great humanitarian, Ebenezer Scrooge.
More Liberty Less Government – mllg@cfl.rr.com – www.mllg.us
MLLG

The Authentic Thanksgiving Narrative

George Noga

This year resolve to teach your children the authentic Thanksgiving narrative.

The Authentic Thanksgiving Narrative

By: George Noga – November 21, 2021

This post presents a complete and authentic Thanksgiving narrative. It is an inspiring and uplifting story about human survival, adaptation and triumph over starvation and death. It takes place in Plymouth, Jamestown and Xiaogang, China. The Chinese celebrate Thanksgiving on the same day as Americans; it’s called Gan’en Jie, or feel thankful holiday. They decorate with pumpkins, corn and nuts, connect with family and friends and eat sesame turkey (or duck), cranberries and ginger-pumpkin pie.

The Usual Feel-Good Thanksgiving Narrative

Americans are cannonaded with the narrative of Pilgrims celebrating their abundant first harvest and sharing it with native Americans. It is a warm, fuzzy, multi-cultural, feel-good, politically correct narrative. However, it is incomplete and largely untrue. The Pilgrims’ first harvest ended with them eating rats; over 50% died, most from starvation. In Jamestown, two-thirds died; when another 500 settlers arrived, 440 of them starved to death within six months. In desperation, they resorted to cannibalism. In Xiaogang, people ate roots and ground tree bark into flour to avoid starvation.

The Authentic Story of the Pilgrims

The Pilgrims were governed by the Mayflower Compact that established communal property; everything went into a common stock and was withdrawn as needed. This was pure communism and it soon resulted in mass starvation. Governor Bradford took action. He immediately instituted private property rights, granting a parcel of land to each family. This made everyone uber-industrious and much corn was planted.

If the Pilgrims could not make socialism work, no one ever can. They were deeply religious, homogeneous, few in number and their survival depended on one another. Nonetheless, they starved to death en masse rather than work collectively. They chose death over socialism. Yet, the following year, with private property rights, these same people produced a veritable bounty and celebrated the first Thanksgiving in America.

The Authentic Story of Jamestown

As in Plymouth, everything was placed into a common store owned by everyone and hence, no one. There was no direct connection between work and benefit. Soon there was starvation amidst plenty and 478 out of 576, (83%) died. A new governor, Sir Thomas Dale, arrived. His first action was to give every man three acres. Overnight, the colony prospered as people became inventive and industrious. John Rolfe, husband of the first Pocahontas, wrote about how private property turned everything around. The following year Jamestown enjoyed an abundant harvest due entirely to abandoning socialism for private property. As in Plymouth, the very same settlers who had starved under collectivism now prospered when granted private property rights.

A Chinese Thanksgiving: The Story of Xiaogang

The Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”) abolished private land ownership and forced farmers onto communes. Over 40 million starved to death, with survivors clinging to life. In the village of Xiaogang there was no food. A young farmer, Yan Hongchang, organized a clandestine meeting with the heads of each family. They divided the commune’s land into individual family plots. Each family agreed to submit its share of the quota to the state, but got to keep the rest. The next year, Xiaogang produced a grain harvest of 100 metric tons, equal to 20 years of quotas. The CCP tried to suppress news of the Xiaogang miracle, but word spread like wildfire. Within two years, China abandoned collective farming and allowed people to farm their own land.

The Authentic Narrative for Thanksgiving

A Parable for Our Children and Grandchildren

Once upon a time, good and righteous people seeking a better life came to settle in America; they had sincere and lofty ideas about how they would govern themselves in the new world. They believed that sharing all work and benefits equally was just and even noble. They strove gallantly to make such a socialist system work. But after enduring social dissonance and unfathomable hardships, they came to the realization that a system of communal property is incompatible with human nature. They quickly took decisive action and instituted private property rights. The next harvest resulted in a veritable cornucopia and they held a feast to celebrate, inviting their Wampanoag neighbors. Today, we celebrate this as the first Thanksgiving in America.

Pilgrims starved rather than collectivize, choosing death over socialism.

The authentic Thanksgiving narrative is one of early Americans overcoming starvation, death and collectivism. It is about understanding that socialism always results in starvation amidst plenty. It is about understanding that severing the link between work and benefit is contrary to human nature. It is about understanding that socialism is such a perversion that people chose starvation over living and working communally. People in Plymouth, Jamestown and Xiaogang literally chose death over socialism. Yet, all these same people who, one year earlier, starved under socialism suddenly became industrious, inventive and prosperous when they had property rights. And that, dear readers, is the complete and authentic narrative for Thanksgiving!

This year, resolve to share the real Thanksgiving narrative with others. To our Chinese readers, happy Gan’en Jie; to everyone else, a happy and authentic Thanksgiving!

Our next post presents MLLG’s inimitable take on identity politics in America.

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Political Correctness: Weaponizing Language

George Noga

Language frames our view of reality and changes the way we think of and treat people.

Political Correctness: Weaponizing Language

By: George Noga – November 14, 2021

Progressives are winning the culture war by seizing and weaponizing language. The best example is abortion. Leftists contort themselves into pretzels to avoid uttering the word abortion. Instead, they use palliatives such as women’s health, right to choose and reproductive rights. All the maskirovka notwithstanding, it is about abortion and only abortion; it has nothing to do with choice, health or rights. Nonetheless, they have largely succeeded in framing the issue as being about choice rather than abortion.

The master of weaponizing language was Winston Churchill. At Britain’s darkest hour even his own cabinet favored negotiating terms with Germany, i.e. surrendering. Then Churchill delivered his famous speech: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Later in this post we present a Churchill collection showcasing how he weaponized the English language, mainly through humor.

Political correctness is propaganda and, like all propaganda, it is a lie.

The term political correctness (“PC”) was first coined by French philosopher Foucault in the 1960s as criticism of unscientific dogma, but its antecedents go back at least as far as Marx. The best definition I have seen is by economist Jeff Deist: “Political correctness is the conscious, designed manipulation of language intended to change the way people speak, write, think, feel and act, in furtherance of an agenda.”

Political correctness is not what you may think. It is not about politeness, good manners, social sensitivity, cultural awareness, inclusiveness, respect, caring, etiquette, deference, courtesy, being nice or about avoiding hurt feelings or slurs. It is an integral weapon in a war for your heart and mind with the ultimate goal of eviscerating the first amendment and criminalizing all speech distasteful to progressives.

We must fight back. We must never surrender the language.

Political correctness is about abnegating realities such as by calling a terrorist attack (Fort Hood) workplace violence. At bottom, PC is propaganda and, like all propaganda, it is a lie. It is about coercion, intimidation, control and totalitarianism. Thought police have existed for as long as demagogues have sought control over others. The only thing different this time is its ubiquity and the sheer lunacy of it all.

We must fight back. We must fight in the schools and universities. We must fight in the blogosphere. We must fight in the media. We must fight in pop culture. We must fight in social media and big tech. We must never surrender the language! Sound familiar? Humor, scorn and ridicule are effective in the battle against PC. And no one was better at those things than Winston Churchill. Following are some of his best uses of the English language to disarm and to put down those with whom he disagreed.

Collection of Lesser Known Churchillian Quips

“She got her good looks from her father; he was a plastic surgeon. . . . If I agreed with you, we both would be wrong. . . . Don’t argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience. . . . Light travels faster than sound; that’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. . . . History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. . . . He has the gift of compressing the largest amount of words into the least amount of thought. . . . He is a modest man who has much to be modest about. . . . I have often had to eat my words, and I have found it a wholesome diet.”

Next is our special posting: An Authentic Thanksgiving Narrative.
More Liberty Less Government – mllg@cfl.rr.com – www.mllg.us
MLLG

Run Forrest Run . . . You Won the Election; Now What?

George Noga

Forrest persisted despite heat, humidity, pit bulls and vicious personal attacks.

Run Forrest Run . . .

You Won the Election; Now What?

By: George Noga – November 7, 2021

On November 2, 2021 many Americans won political office for the first time. This is the story of a man named Forrest, who was elected a few years ago. It is about what happens when well-intentioned people encounter the realities of politics.

Forrest Runs for Office

Forrest had fervent views about many political issues and was motivated to seek office to make his community better. He began at a huge disadvantage versus his incumbent opponent who had name recognition, fund-raising prowess and knew the system. Forrest began early and devoted every spare minute to walking neighborhoods to meet voters. He persisted through heat, humidity, downpours, rudeness and vicious dogs.

Forrest made 50 fund-raising calls daily despite his discomfort with asking for money. Many who contributed wanted something in return – same with endorsements. He had to master every issue and respond to personal attacks. Everything in his (and his wife’s) past and everything he had ever written or posted on social media was scrutinized, distorted and used to attack him. Nonetheless, Forrest worked incredibly hard and a week before the election pulled even with his opponent. Then the bombshell dropped.

A politically motivated former coworker accused Forrest of sexual harassment and revealed some intimate text messages. This incident occurred before Forrest’s marriage and he claimed the relationship was consensual. The media printed the most salacious portions of the texts and his opponent used them in a vicious hit piece mailed to all voters immediately before the election. Forrest’s wife was mortified and his children were taunted at school. His campaign was out of money and could not respond. The negative mailers worked; Forrest’s support waned and he lost by a few points.

Forrest Runs Again

Encouraged by his earlier strong showing, Forrest decided to try again, this time vowing to win whatever the cost. He raised megabucks from special interests, giving the impression he supported their agendas – same with endorsements. He dug up dirt and attacked his opponent. He worked even harder then before walking neighborhoods despite being bitten by a pit bull. When his opponent resurrected the sexual harassment canard, Forrest was prepared with his own direct mail savage hit piece.

The final week before the election, the race was a tossup. Forrest urgently needed money for more media, robocalls and another direct mailer. He and his wife took out a $50,000 mortgage on their home to loan to the campaign. It worked. Forrest won but had to continue raising money to repay the mortgage. Since Forrest had won, many donors were eager to contribute – provided of course that he consider their positions.

Forrest Takes Office

Forrest met with many constituents, all of whom wanted something from government. Every committee hearing was an urgent plea to fund a particular cause or project. Government employees and lobbyists fawned over Forrest, constantly inflating his ego. There were no voices urging restraint. And then there were all those promises Forrest had made and the debts he incurred to raise money and to obtain endorsements. Forrest found himself increasingly focused on doing what was necessary to get reelected.

Forrest sought public office to better his community, but he soon became seduced by power and metamorphosized into an archetypical politician. He relished the power and felt entitled. After all, he had worked himself to exhaustion, been attacked by a pit bull, mortgaged his home and endured vicious personal attacks. Therein lies the problem.

How do we get all the Forrests of this world to understand that America neither needs nor wants more laws, regulations, government programs, taxes, debt or spending? In the overwhelming majority of cases, the correct thing for Forrest is to do absolutely nothing. What America needs is more liberty and less government!

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Our next post is about political correctness and the use of language.

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Socialism’s Promises Versus Its Realities

George Noga

They promise Elysium, Xanadu and Zion; you get Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea.

Socialism’s Promises Versus Its Realities

By: George Noga – October 31, 2021

Happy Halloween! Imagine an entire nation going trick or treating hoping to get a treat of Utopia, but instead gets a trick of dystopia. Today there are only three truly socialist states: Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea; former socialist states include the USSR, China Vietnam, Yemen, Cambodia, Eastern Europe and several in Africa. China (today), Sweden and the Nordic nations have market economies and are not socialist.

Why do so many people desire socialism despite its dismal record? Socialists make high falutin, seductive promises such as: “from each according to his ability; to each according to his need”. They appeal to a basic human egalitarian ideal that the world somehow would be better if everyone held hands, sang Kumbaya and shared equally. Many intellectuals believe their ideas are superior but they must have control over others to achieve their goals. Another path to socialism is incrementalism and this is the great danger now facing America; we are slouching toward socialism.

Almost everyone understands that socialism fails to deliver the goods, while capitalism delivers a veritable cornucopia. Yet America is moving closer and closer to socialism. It’s like taking increasing doses of a potent drug we know eventually will kill us but that delivers a momentary high. Americans – especially the young – are beguiled by the Siren song of collectivism and its flirtatious promises. Therefore, it is altogether fitting that we examine socialism’s myriad promises and compare them to the results.

The Promises Versus the Realities of Socialism

They (socialists) promise you liberty; they give you the Berlin Wall and closed borders with watchtowers, mine fields, razor wire, and vicious dogs. They promise equality; they give you equal squalor and poverty. They promise a clean environment; they give you a toxic wasteland. They promise modernity; they give you Chernobyl and Aeroflot. They promise a classless society; they give you elites with dachas living in decadent luxury. They promise freedom; they give you Gulags, Stasi and the KGB.

They promise Apple, Google and Disney; they give you lines, shortages and shoddy goods. They promise peace; they give you war. They promise hope; they give you nihilism. They promise a Volkswagen; they give you a Trabant. They promise Eden, they give you hell on earth. They promise plentitude; they give you rationing. They promise Utopia; they give you dystopia. They promise truth; they give you Pravda.

They promise Elysium, Xanadu, Valhalla and Zion; they give you North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and the USSR. They promise comradeship; they give you the secret police. They promise freedom; they give you totalitarianism. They promise progress; they give you stagnation. They promise fulfillment of eternal dreams; they give you nightmares. They promise hope; they give you lives of quiet desperation. They promise a new social order; instead, they give you a smorgasbord of virulent social pathologies.

They promise Sweden; they give you Angola. They promise pristine intentions; they give you devastating results. They promise education; they give you propaganda, reeducation camps and little red books. They promise Singapore; they give you Yemen. They promise technology; they give you antiquated products. They promise the arts; they give you censored and banned books, movies, radio, TV and internet. They promise justice; they give you show trials, preordained verdicts and persecution.

They promise butter; they give you guns. They promise a treat; they give you a trick. They promise a workers’ paradise; they give you nations held captive to keep workers from escaping paradise. They promise morality but are the embodiment of evil in the world. They promise good government; they give you kleptocracy, oligarchy and cronyism. They promise elections but they murder or imprison opponents and journalists. They promise abundance; they give you starvation amidst plenty. They promise a better life; they give you death, killing 100+ million of their own people.

Socialists promise the moon; instead, they give you a phantasmagoria of lies, terror, slaughter, misery, poverty, injustice, death, desperation and social pathology.

Our next post about elections in America is titled: Run Forest Run

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Communism: The God That Failed

George Noga

Communism fails because it is opposed to and irreconcilable with human nature.

Communism: The God That Failed

By: George Noga – October 24, 2021

On this day in 1917 communists took over the government of Russia to the rapture of collectivists everywhere. They now would have the chance to demonstrate, once and for all, socialism’s superiority. It would, they believed, be the fulfillment of mankind’s eternal dreams of paradise on earth. Man has worshipped at the altar of collectivism and longed for Utopia since the days of Elysium, Xanadu, Zion and Valhalla.

But despite having every opportunity to make communism work, it collapsed in less than 75 years. This should not have come as a surprise, as all collectivist schemes have failed always and everywhere. The pattern follows a preordained script: collectivists make high-minded and exalted promises, but end up delivering a phantasmagoria of terror, slaughter and poverty. In the end, it is all lies; it is the god that failed!

The Trabant could go from zero to 60 mph in the same day.

We have tried many approaches to contrast socialism with free market capitalism. This year, on the anniversary of communism, we try yet another approach. We present three examples that showcase the failure of socialism better than any academic tome.

The Trabant

The best car ever produced by commies was the Trabant. I saw one once in a museum; it looked more like a lawn mower than a car. It had a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine and went from zero to 60 in the same day. It had 26 horsepower and a top speed of 60 mph. (Note: some riding lawnmowers have 24 horsepower). The gas gauge was a dipstick and oil had to be mixed in with the gas in precisely the correct proportion. Because it had no fuel pump, the gas tank was located atop the engine for gravity flow. Despite all its deficiencies, the waiting time from order to delivery was 12-15 years.

Contrast the East German manufactured Trabant with cars manufactured in West Germany such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Volkswagen. All of these cars are available with a stunning array of options and can be delivered in less than one hour from being ordered. Communists promise you a Mercedes but give you a Trabant.

The Sears Catalog

There is an old commie joke wherein the chief soviet economist (oxymoron) bursts into the office of the head commie and says, “We have conquered the entire world except for New Zealand.” The head commie asks why they had not conquered New Zealand; the economist replies, “We must have one place where there are real prices.” This story is funny because it is true. Soviet commies had no way to know what things cost or what prices should be charged. So, instead of looking to New Zealand, they turned to Sears catalogs to set prices for consumer goods – as did the Chicoms.

Computer Technology

The East German communists possessed the most advanced computer technology in the Soviet bloc. Their computer scientists were subject to extreme security measures by the Stasi to safeguard their technology and to keep it from falling into the hands of enemies. They were proud that their technology was so superior. After the Berlin Wall fell, the top commie computer scientist visited West Berlin. He was flabbergasted to find far more advanced (100 times faster and better) computers for sale to ordinary citizens at ridiculously low prices. The strict secrecy was imposed not because commie computer technology was so advanced, but because it was so far behind.

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The enduring legacy of communism, and all collectivist schemes, is that it never can work because it is unalterably opposed to and unreconcilable with human nature. It fails not because it was implemented improperly, but because it was implemented faithfully. Instead of Utopia, the communists wrought gulags, death, destruction and misery on a monumental scale. Understanding the difference between communism and capitalism is as simple as the difference between a Mercedes-Benz and a Trabant.

Answers to Numeration Problems from Last Week

For those of you who missed last week’s posting about numeration, you may wish to visit our website at www.mllg.us to take the quiz before your read the answers.

Problem #1: The correct answer is (f); each answer from (a) to (d) is correct.

(a) The stock decreased by 20% as $10 is 20% of $50

(b) Since the 20% decease happened in 6 months, the annual rate of decrease is 40%

(c) To breakeven, the stock must go from $40 to $50 – an increase of 25%

(d) If you bought another 100 shares at $40, you now own 200 shares that cost $9,000. If the stock went to $45 (a 12.5% increase) the 200 shares would be worth $9,000.

Problem #2: The correct answer is (d). This is all about knowing which denominator is correct. It is helpful (but not necessary) to assume there are 10 slices. You ate 6 slices and your spouse ate 4. You ate 2 more slices than your spouse’s 4 – or 50% more – not 20%, 33% or 40%. Your spouse ate 2 slices less than your 6 slices, or one-third less.

Problem #3: The correct answer is (d). Dividing $90 by (1-.35) is the same as dividing $90 by .65, the result of which is $138.46. You can confirm this is correct by working the problem in reverse. Multiply $138.46 by 35% to get $48.46. Then subtract $48.46 from $138.46 to get $90 – the correct result.

Our next post contrasts the promises versus the results of communism.

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Just How Numerate Are You?

George Noga

Asked if he wanted his pizza cut into 6 or 8 slices, Yogi said, “Just 6; I’m not very hungry”.

Just How Numerate Are You?

By: George Noga – October 17, 2021

American students lag far behind the rest of the world in math. This has consequences far beyond the classroom as it turns our children into future victims – unfortunately, along with many adults as well. If you didn’t immediately grasp the point in the Yogi Berra pizza story in the preheader above, you could very well be a victim in waiting. Full disclosure: I was a math major, CPA and once worked as a financial analyst.

This story is unbelievable, but true. A McDonalds competitor (A&W) aggressively marketed its one-third pound burger at the same price as McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. In blind taste tests, consumers preferred the A&W burger; nonetheless, they were not selling. Perplexed, A&W hired a leading market research firm to conduct focus groups. The answer turned out to be simple but shocking: most people surveyed believed that 1/4 pound was bigger than 1/3 pound. After all, 4 is bigger than 3, isn’t it?

There are many common misunderstandings about numbers that harm consumers; the most ubiquitous and most damaging involves interest. Consumers are bombarded with promotions advertising “interest free“. This is highly deceitful. Whenever credit is extended, someone somewhere is incurring interest and you are bearing the cost. There is no such thing as no interest or interest-free; it is an economic impossibility!.

Some mortgage finance companies advertise “no closing costs“, another impossibility. Closing costs, often many thousands of dollars, don’t magically disappear, nor does some beneficent philanthropist pay them. The closing costs simply are buried in other parts of the transaction, most likely in the interest rate. By charging an above the market interest rate, a finance company can recover many thousands in closing costs. The closing costs are not free; you are still paying every last dollar of them.

You receive an unsolicited stock recommendation from a broker and the stock goes up. Soon you receive a second stock pick and it also goes up. You receive two more of these recommendations, both of which are profitable. The broker now has been right four out of four times and when he contacts you to open an account, you eagerly oblige and then promptly lose money. What happened? The broker started out with 1,600 prospects, advising 800 to buy and 800 to sell. By continuing this process, the broker is assured of having 100 prospects for whom he has been right four times in a row.

It is rare but possible that some advertised sales are genuine and products actually sell for less than before. Typically however, “sales” are legerdemain, prestidigitation and maskirovka. It works like this. A business wishes to sell a product for say $80 but establishes a phantom price of $100. The business then serially promotes a variety of specials such as low or no interest, no payments for one year, price discounts and free add-ons – each of which is calculated to result in an effective price of $80. The ways of doing this – and hoodwinking potential buyers – are limited only by the imagination.

Test Your Numeration Skills

We close with three problems for readers who wish to test their quantitative knowledge. These are at middle school level and involve simple percentages. We will publish the answers along with explanations in next week’s posting. Good luck.

Problem #1: You buy 100 shares of ABC company for $50 per share. Six months later you sell it for $40 per share. Which of the following is the most accurate?

(a) Your stock deceased 20%.

(b) Your stock decreased at the rate of 40%

(c) For you to break even, the stock would have to increase by 25%

(d) If you buy 100 more shares now, you break even if the stock goes up 12.5%

(e) Only (a) and (b) are true

(f) All are true except (e)

Problem #2: You and your spouse share a 12-inch pizza. You eat 60% and your spouse eats 40%. Which of the following is/are true?

(a) You ate exactly 20% more than your spouse

(b) You ate exactly 33% (one-third) more than your spouse

(c) You ate exactly 40% more than your spouse

(d) Your spouse ate exactly 33% (one-third) less than you

(e) Both (b) and (d) are true

(f) None of the above is correct

Problem #3: You desire to establish a price for your product that will enable you to have a gross margin of 35%, i.e. 35% of the sale price needs to be available to cover overhead and profit. It costs you $90 to make the product; what price must you charge?

(a) There is insufficient data provided to compute that answer

(b) The price should be $125 to cover the $90 cost and have $35 left over

(c) The price should be $90 x 1.35, or $121.50

(d) The price should be determined by dividing $90 by (1- .35)

(e) The price should be computed by dividing $90 by (1.35)

(f) None of the above is correct

Our next post observes the anniversary of Red October.

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Christopher Who?

George Noga

It’s not about Columbus; it never was. It’s all about weaponizing history.

Christopher Who?

By: George Noga – October 10, 2021

Over the years, certain posts have become reader favorites and are forwarded en masse to friends and relatives. Our July Fourth, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas posts fall squarely into that category. Rather than disappoint, we present this post for Columbus Day 2021; it contains new material and perspectives while continuing tradition. You may read our 2019 and 2020 Columbus Day posts at: www.mllg.us.

In much of the USA, Columbus Day is a victim of cancel culture. Instead, Americans, and especially children, are force fed progressive claptrap that Columbus and all of western civilization (including you) are hateful, evil and geocidal, while all indigenous peoples are peace loving and noble. This is standard bilge by progressives, who seek to weaponize history to riddle Americans with guilt – especially on holidays.

The following states (or parts thereof) now call it Indigenous Peoples Day or Native Americans Day: AK, CA, DC, HI, IL, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, RI, SD, VT, VA, WA and WI. In Colorado, Columbus Day is now Mother Cabrini Day in honor of Frances Cabrini, who started schools and hospitals. Canada abolished Columbus Day entirely, replacing it with First Nations Peoples Day.

Were Europeans or Americans Guilty of Genocide?

Progressives like to blame Europeans and Americans for genocide and massacres. Most native deaths post-Columbus resulted from infectious diseases brought from Europe, many of which originated in and migrated from Asia. The bubonic plague (and Coronavirus) originated in China, yet no one accuses them of genocide. There is not one record extant that shows any European or American government had a policy of genocide. What transpired following Columbus’s discovery of America was the same as what happened throughout human history when any aboriginal people encountered a more technologically advanced society. It is disingenuous to condemn western civilization for innate human behavior unchanged since men lived in trees.

Why was Iraq, with a casualty ratio of 11 to 1, a battle and Wounded Knee, with a ratio of 3 to 1, a massacre? It all depends on who writes the history.

It also is a myth that aboriginals were noble and peace-loving. If that were true, how could a handful of Europeans subjugate enormous populations and territories? Columbus allied with the Arawaks against the Caribs, who were vicious cannibals. Cortez, with only 500 conquistadores, subjugated the Aztecs with the help of 50,000 natives terrorized by the Aztec’s ritual human sacrifice and enslavement. It s much the same with Pizarro, who had but 180 men when he landed in Peru. Yes, Europeans committed many brutal acts, but it is manifestly dishonest to focus only on those while ignoring or excusing equal (or even worse) savagery by indigenous peoples.

Wounded Knee – Battle or Massacre?

In recent years, Wounded Knee has become the latte-left’s poster child for massacres. Like many Americans, I once accepted the progressive and media narrative that Wounded Knee was a massacre. Once, while driving in South Dakota, I planned to visit Wounded Knee. I stopped at a convenience store and asked for directions to the “Wounded Knee Battlefield“. My interlocutor, who happened to be a native American, glared at me and in a spittle-flecked voice made clear there was no battlefield and that it was a massacre. After that encounter I resolved to learn more about Wounded Knee.

Following are the facts. At Wounded Knee, the Miniconjou Sioux suffered 197 casualties (146 killed, 51 wounded); the US Cavalry had 54 casualties (25 killed, 39 wounded). The ratio of casualties was three Sioux to one cavalry. The cavalry cared for the wounded Sioux and transported them a great distance to receive treatment.

In the Iraq war 50,000 Iraqis died to 4,421 Americans – a ratio of 11 to 1. At Agincourt, Henry V lost 400 men to 6,000 French – a ratio of 15 to 1. In the 331 BC battle of Gaugamela, the Persians under Darius III had 40,000 killed to 500 Macedonians under Alexander the Great – a ratio of 80 to 1. History is chock full of battles with even higher ratios, yet no one ever refers to them as massacres. Whether Wounded Knee was a battle or a massacre depends, more than anything, on who writes the history.

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The circus engulfing Columbus Day is nothing more than progressive Svengalis seeking to brainwash your children to despise America and all of western civilization.

To our readers in Colorado, happy Mother Cabrini Day; to our Latino readers, happy Dia de la Raza and to everyone else, we wish you a happy Columbus Day 2021!

Our next post challenges readers to see how numerate they really are.

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Ludwig von Mises 140th Birthday – Part II – Wisdom From the Greatest Social Thinker of Our Time

George Noga

“Freedom is indivisible; once it is restricted, a decline begins which is difficult to stop.”

Ludwig von Mises 140th Birthday – Part II

Wisdom From the Greatest Social Thinker of Our Time

By: George Noga – October 3, 2021

Ludwig Heinrich Elder von Mises, born in 1881, was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician and sociologist. He wrote and lectured extensively on the societal virtues of classical liberalism and is best known for his work on human choice and action. He is revered today because his body of work has proven accurate about the success of free market capitalism and the failure of collectivism. He was a mentor to Friedrich Hayek, author of The Road to Serfdom. Von Mises died in 1973 at age 92. Note: please visit our website at www.mllg.us to read last week’s Part I on von Mises.

The legacy of von Mises is kept alive today by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, located at Auburn University. It maintains a website with a blog, books and publications, podcasts and a graduate program in Austrian economics. The institute also publishes a free daily (M-F) newsletter chock full of articles applying von Mises’ teachings to today’s issues. You can subscribe to the newsletter at https://mises.org. This is one of a very few publications I look at each day. It can be a bit wonkish – but give it a try,

More Wisdom from Ludwig von Mises (lightly edited)

Socialism: “The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they want a system characterized by rigid observance of routine and resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals but they are intent on abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries but they want to make government omnipotent. They promise the Garden of Eden but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office.”

Dictatorship: “Nobody ever recommended a dictatorship aiming at ends other than those he himself approved. He who advocates dictatorship always advocates the unrestricted rule of his own will.”

Marx and freedom: “The Marxian love of democratic institutions was a stratagem only, a pious fraud for the deception of the masses. Within a socialist community there is no room left for freedom.”

“Socialism is not what it pretends to be. It is not the pioneer of a better world, but the spoiler of civilization; it does not build, it destroys.”

Status of workers: “In Lenin’s eyes workers were only workers and not also customers. He believed they were slaves under capitalism and their status did not change under socialism. Socialism substitutes the sovereignty of a dictator or a committee of dictators for the sovereignty of consumers. Workers are no longer men, they are pawns in the hands of the chief social engineer. Even freedom to rear progeny will be taken.”

Von Mises sampler: “If history teaches anything, it is that private property is linked inextricably with civilization. . . . . . Making undeveloped nations more prosperous cannot be solved by material aid. It is a spiritual and intellectual problem. . . . . All people, however fanatical they may be in their zeal to disparage capitalism, implicitly pay homage to it by clamoring for the products it turns out . . . . . Economic knowledge is an essential element to human civilization; it is the foundation on which all moral, intellectual and technological achievements have been built. If men disregard its teachings, they will stamp out society and the human race.”

Next up is our politically incorrect celebration of Columbus Day

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