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Ron Paul Equivocates, but… Welfare/Warfare State Ending Means EVEN MORE Brutal Regime

The Federal Reserve is Why the People are Unhappy

by  | Jun 1, 2026

According to the University of Michigan’s latest Index of Consumer Sentiment, a record number of Americans have negative views of the economy. This is yet more evidence that the American people are dissatisfied with their economic condition. Some commentators have claimed to be perplexed by the people’s negative views of the economy since government statistics show that most Americans have good jobs that pay them good salaries.

One problem with this defense of the economy is that government statistics are manipulated to understate the true rates of inflation and unemployment. Trip Powers, writing on Substack, looks at the situation using a more accurate definition of unemployment than what is used by the government. By, for example, including those who have given up looking for work and those working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job, the unemployment rate is over ten percent. An unemployment rate that high indicates a significant economic downturn.

The main reason why even many Americans with above average incomes are dissatisfied with the economy is high prices. According to the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which is known as the Federal Reserve’s favorite measure of inflation, prices have increased by an understated 3.8 percent over the past year. The culprit behind the price increases is the Federal Reserve. Today, prices are several times higher than they were when President Nixon in 1971 severed the last link between the US dollar and gold, thus removing any restraints on the Federal Reserve’s ability to inflate the currency.

With inflation rising more than incomes, many Americans have suffered a loss of purchasing power even though their nominal income increased. The erosion of Americans’ purchasing power has led to a debt-based economy. This has created a number of bubbles that likely will soon burst. According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by economist Mike Shedlock, total car, credit card, and student loan debts are now higher, measured in real dollars, than nearly 20 years ago during the Great Recession.

Of course, the greatest debtor is the US government. The Federal Reserve’s practice of buying government debt in order to pump more money into the economy enables maintaining the largest government in history. Without the Federal Reserve, the US government would have to finance the welfare-warfare state via direct taxation, instead of through the central bank’s hidden (and regressive) inflation tax.

Many Americans voted for President Trump in 2024 because of his promise to lower prices. Now, Democrats may gain control of one or both houses of Congress by running as the party of “affordability.” Unfortunately, most politicians think the way to address the affordability crisis is with more government spending facilitated by the Federal Reserve. That will only worsen the affordability crisis.

Eventually, Congress will be forced to cut spending as the soon to be over 40 trillion dollars Federal debt leads to a dollar crisis. This crisis will result in the collapse of the welfare, warfare, and fiat money system. Whether it is replaced with an even more authoritarian system or a restoration of liberty depends in part on whether those of us who know the truth do all we can to spread the ideas of liberty. If we are successful, we can make America free, prosperous, and affordable.

From RPI, here.

How Humor Helps Havanah

Humor and Learning Torah

Monday, March 24, 2014
When we began this website, many people were drawn here by divrei Torah, but then they were put off by the humor.  Since they could only recognize serious divrei Torah when they’re bound in a black book, they never came back.  Others were drawn by the name Havolim, looking for letizanus, for jokes, and were put off by the serious divrei Torah.  What can I do.  The Beis Halevi first printed his teshuvos together with his divrei torah on the parsha, but in the later editions he separated them into two volumes, saying that the audience that was interested in the one was totally uninterested in the other.  Lehavdil, I’ve done something similar, and have begun posting the serious Divrei Torah on my other site, Beis Vaad.But the truth is that there is no contradiction between humor and learning Gemara.

Stimulating the mind through humor is mentioned in the Gemara (Shabbos 30b) where it says that before he would begin the shiur, Rabba would say something that would make the students smile, and then his tone and demeanor would change, the mood in the room would shift from light-hearted to an extremely tense focus, and he would begin the shiur, expecting absolute attention, unforgiving of even the smallest lapse.

כי הא דרבה מקמי דפתח להו לרבנן אמר מילתא דבדיחותא ובדחי רבנן לסוף יתיב באימתא ופתח בשמעתא

Rashi says that one should begin with something comedic, and the rabbis/students would laugh, and their minds would open from the happiness.

 ובדחי רבנן. נפתח לבם מחמת השמחה

I don’t think most people realize how wise and effective this method is.  It sounds, to some, like just another quaint story in the Gemara.  So for us, the modern thinkers, who don’t believe anything if it’s anecdotal, here are some interesting studies.

A 1976 study by the late professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University, Avner Ziv, (the author of the entry on Humor in the Encyclopedia Judaica) found that those who listened to a comedy album before taking a creativity test scored 20% better than a control group that had not heard the routine.

From Havolim, here.

I Hasten To Repost This Before It Becomes Ridiculous…

Mailbag: Why Ron Paul Is Really ‘Pro Israel’

Dear Editor,

In wake of many overheard conversations on the upcoming Republican primaries, I realized it might be a good idea to remind our readers of three important facts regarding Presidential contender Ron Paul’s true policy on Israel.

  1. When Congress roundly condemned Israel for destroying Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981, Ron Paul stood almost alone in defending Israel’s right to self-defense. While the present administration pressures Israel to sit on its hands, and other presidential hopefuls assert their right to dictate and control Israel’s response to the Iranian threat, Ron Paul stands alone once more, insisting the USA respect Israeli sovereignty absolutely. Regardless of who actually stops Iran, it is specifically Israel that will suffer from retaliation, just like during the Gulf War.
  2. True, Paul would stop all foreign aid, including to Israel. But please remember, surrounding unfriendly Arab countries receive seven (!) times the amount of money Israel does! So, who stands to gain most?
  3. Sometimes, it is actually Israel that suffers the blowback from America’s aggressive foreign policy. Ron Paul would change that with his famed non-interventionism. Perhaps that’s precisely the kind of ally Israel really needs.

This is not an endorsement designed to influence anyone’s decisions, but an attempt to clear up the confusion on the subject.

Yehuda K., Jerusalem

From YWN, here.