ZF Capital

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Tradecraft – Chicago’s Mob Rule

On August 30, 2010, In Good Articles, by ElfLord

IT MIGHT SURPRISE you that Chicago, known for its rough-and-tumble futures pits and passionate support for free-market capitalism, has been slowly morphing into a borderline socialist society where every aspect of private life is tightly controlled by the state.

We first noticed it a few years ago, when we outlined the Chicago City Council’s attempt to ban smoking at all bars and restaurants. Of course, smoking in any large buildings and workplaces had already long since been outlawed.

Score one for the socialists. Thanks to opportunistic local politicians and an aggressive lobbying effort from liberal think tanks, the smoking ban passed, making it illegal to smoke cigarettes — a legal substance — in any bar or restaurant within city limits. Public-health advocates have heralded the move as a major score for the best interests of smokers and nonsmokers alike. (more…)

Tagged with: politics

Tradecraft – A Mean Left Hook

On August 2, 2010, In Good Articles, by ElfLord

IT HAS BEEN A tough month for the White House, with a botched Supreme Court nomination and a staff indictment among the black marks pushing the president’s approval rating to an all-time low.

The Bush administration’s follies have helped to animate the efforts of political rivals. Consider the misguided and un-American legislation proposed in recent weeks by Senator Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.).

Schumer has called for a 50% tax on the profits of oil companies, the money being used to help pay for Hurricane Katrina relief as part of a proposal he has dubbed the REPAIR Act, or Recapture Excess Profits and Invest in Relief. According to Schumer, the largest oil conglomerates might reap $80 billion in windfall profits. “If we took half of that, $40 billion, that could go to Katrina relief, and that would be money taxpayers wouldn’t have to pay,” he said at a recent press conference. (more…)

Tagged with: politics • private property • socialism

Tradecraft – A Nation of Laws

On June 14, 2010, In Good Articles, by ElfLord

LISTEN TO PRESIDENT BUSH AND others in the administration, and you might think that American values are rooted in religion — that liberty is “God’s gift” and that America’s core ideology is one of theocracy.

Other leaders, especially those on the political left, suggest America is founded on the premise of altruistic self-sacrifice. For these folks, no tax or government control is too onerous to provide every citizen with their supposed birthright of housing, health care, education or whichever campaign promise scores high with the focus groups that week.

Lost among the religious right or liberal left is a basic understanding of what core American principles are. Considering that we’re overseeing the process of a new democracy being launched in Iraq, it might serve us to remember what’s at the heart of our own. (more…)

Tagged with: individualism vs collectivism • politics

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Tradecraft – Chicago’s Mob Rule

Tradecraft – A Mean Left Hook

Tradecraft – A Nation of Laws

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