A Communist Under Every Stone-or Maybe That's Really a Fascist

I just received a copy of an investment advisory letter from a "libertarian" company. Forgetting the fact that it is alarmist/sensationalist bordering on the rabid it is also insidious.

In its zeal to rid us of (any?)government interference it ran through 8 demands from Marx's Communist Manifesto and 'translated' them into modern vernacular. They are:

1. Abolished property rights and applied all rents towards public purposes. [Modern corollary: Don't pay your property taxes, lose your house. So who really owns your house?]

2. Levied a heavy, progressive income tax to equalize wages. [Modern corollary: Combined federal and state marginal income and payroll taxes approach (or surpass) 50% in many U.S. states.]

3. Abolished all rights of inheritance. [Modern corollary: The estate tax.]

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants. [Modern corollary: The 2008 "Hero's Act" which forces people leaving the U.S. to pay the equivalent of their estate taxes on the global assets before they turn in their passports.]

5. Centralize access to credit in the hands of the State by means of a national bank and an exclusive monopoly. [Modern corollary: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which make more than 90% of all of the mortgages in the U.S. and have dominated the market for mortgages for decades.]

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. [Modern corollary: AT&T was a legal monopoly for decades. Amtrak is a ward of the states. The government owns all the roads. And the State controls all air traffic.]

7. Free education for all children in public schools. [Note the emphasis on public schools. Paying for education isn't enough. What counts is indoctrinating the kids in glorifying the State.]

8. A common agricultural policy to maximize the productivity of the land. [Modern corollary: Massive ethanol and agricultural subsidies.]

What was great, as well as totally scary was how he concluded that democracy was actually communism and this was the root evil inherent in our governments.

What I don't know is what the author of the report really thinks for the gist was actually that you should buy gold and silver and, because in their view shorting a stock is "no big deal at all – no different than buying a stock", you should short the largest home builder in America!

Now I know if you are trying to stampede people into investment decisions you have to first scare the bejesus out of them so it might be that the anti-democracy diatribe was merely posturing-they didn't offer an alternative-and maybe their readers don't reflect on the underlying message.

Except that is perhaps exactly what is wrong with America. It's always blame something/someone else. And in the pursuit of Mammon it is perfectly acceptable to saw on the limb you are sitting on. How else do you explain getting rid of democracy as a means of making money?

So in the end capitalism is a political movement...