China’s Annual Trade Surplus With U.S. Hits Record Despite Trump’s Tariff Offensive – WSJ

China’s trade surplus with the U.S. hit a fresh record last year, as robust American demand for Chinese goods undercut the Trump administration’s tariff offensive aimed at narrowing the countries’ lopsided trade gap.
— Read on www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-annual-trade-surplus-with-u-s-hits-record-despite-trumps-tariff-offensive-11547439977

People who buy made in China are supporting an oppressive regime, who cares little about the environment or censoring its own citizens.

Understanding Why the Euro is a Failure & The One Big Happy Family | Armstrong Economics

If you ask in Europe are people happy with the Euro, you will generally get a response of about 80% in favor. Even if you ask are people happy to be part of the EU, the majority over 90% will say yes. The curious thing is they buy this propaganda that on the surface Europe is all one big happy family. However, when it comes to consolidating the debts of Europe, you barely get a 10% approval rating. So on the one hand, Europe is one big happy family, but they are not about to support the cousin or brother-in-law who they regard as a derelict spendthrift who always squanders his money on wine, women, and song. So yes, he is a family member, but you keep him at a distance and tolerate him at obligatory family weddings and funerals. There it is – the Euro Crisis. The cultural disparity will never be overcome. The proposals being whispered behind the curtain now is for Brussels to issue Euro bonds and then distribute that money to the derelicts in the family. They have realized that the failure of one may bring the whole family down. Because there is this monumental resistance toward assuming the debts of the derelict brother-in-law, it is best to leave him with his debt and hand him charity so he does not starve.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/europes-current-economy/understanding-why-the-euro-is-a-failure/

Still Fighting the Last War Against Socialism | Mises Institute

Why does support for socialism persist? The short answer may be simple human nature, our natural tendency toward dissatisfaction with the present and unease about the future. Even in the midst of almost unimaginable material comforts made possible only by markets and entrepreneurs—both derided by socialists—we cannot manage to conclusively defeat the tired but deadly old
— Read on mises.org/power-market/still-fighting-last-war-against-socialism

The problem are no critical thinking skills, ignorance of history and economics. Our education system is badly flawed and rife with leftists professors .

Using Cameras in the Hunt for Taxes | Armstrong Economics

COMMENT: Hi, Hunt for taxes is running full scale in Scandinavia. In Sweden, all vehicles including foreign registered vehicles, are obliged to pay congestion taxes in Stockholm and Gothenburg as well as infrastructure charges in Motala and Sundsvall. Sometimes, the automatic camera system reads the license plate falsely and few people in Finland have gotten monthly invoices, even though they or their car never were in Sweden, including some fire trucks that never leave their home town. The payment is usually a few euros but the overdue payment is 500 SEK. The most horrible thing is that, of course, the due date comes so fast that if you don’t want to pay the 500 SEK overdue payment you just pay the invoice and then it is your burden to prove you never were in Sweden. BR JP REPLY: We are witnessing police being converted into tax agents. This is no longer about protecting the public. It is about exploiting the public to fund government pensions. For every person who moves to retirement, the state then hires their replacement. Consequently, the cost of government is growing now exponentially on a global basis and this is the reason why we are undergoing a MAJOR Cycle Inversion in how the markets will react between now and 2032. In Australia, they have been handing out parking tickets in your own driveway. In Australia, there are people who have figured out how to beat all these automated cameras. They clone license plates so other people get the tickets. In the USA, there have been major class actions lawsuits against automated cameras. In Cherry Hill, New Jersey, if you stopped but were 6 inches over the white line, you were still being given a ticket for running a red light. Then people making a right turn on a red were being given tickets for “rolling” rather than coming to a complete halt for at least 5 seconds. Other states are photographing your plate and then send you a ticket for whatever they can find or make up. Failure to have insurance is a popular one even if you have it, they know it is often cheaper to just pay it than spend all day in court. This is no longer about safety or protecting anyone. It is just about raising revenue any way they can pretend to justify it. This is one component that illustrates how Western Society is collapsing. Governments are greedy and only care about raising revenue.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/taxes/using-cameras-in-the-hunt-for-taxes/

Just as I pointed out in “The National Debt”, the are trying to tax away their overspending on our backs.