Don't Press the Great Reset Button!

 

A radical movement called the Great Reset -- embraced by some government and business leaders in America -- poses a significant threat to liberty and free markets in the U.S. and around the world. President Joe Biden hasn’t officially endorsed the movement, but his ties to it are growing as he changes his long-held policy views to appease the far-left.

While it hasn’t yet gained widespread attention, the Great Reset is perhaps the biggest danger to capitalism and individual rights since the Soviet Union. The Great Reset is a global movement among some of the most powerful leaders all over the world to push the reset button on the entire global economy and replace it with something that they call stakeholder capitalism -- which is essentially socialism.

Many young people love socialism. They don’t like capitalism. Socialism appeals because it promises fairness and equality. Unfortunately, many from the rising generation don’t notice or appreciate what capitalism gives them. They protest in expensive Nikes, and tweet about it from the latest model iPhone.

 

The Great Reset is the blueprint for an unnecessary and complete transformation of the world economy. There will be no money, no private property, no democracy. Instead, every key decision (what you do for a living, how much you consume, whether you can take a vacation) will be decided for you by an unaccountable group of self-annointed experts.

 

Regarding the abolishment of private property: Amendment V of The Constitution says you cannot have your private property taken from you for public use without just compensation. Good luck slipping that one past the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Build Back Better is the slogan of the Great Reset.  The man who invented it, Klaus Schwab is a German engineer and economist best known as the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF holds an annual summit at Davos in Switzerland.

 

At its most recent event, the WEF released its plans for a global reset that includes a change in capitalism with a focus to “shift from short term and profit only to longer term, incorporating value creation for people and the planet.” The group intends to make this happen by dismantling capitalism by the year 2030.

 

It strikes me as ironic that some of the individuals pushing hardest for a socialist economy already have their own personal wealth -- protected either in family trusts or tax-free foundations. Leaders like Al Gore, who had multiple presentations at the 2020 WEF, are for every socialist program that will increase your taxes and limit your freedom. Yet, elites like Gore pay very little, if anything, in taxes, despite their vast wealth.

 

Joe Biden used the Build Back Better phrase as his presidential campaign slogan. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also inserts the phrase into some of his speeches.

 

The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports recently conducted a poll of 1,000 voters on December 6-7, 2020. The results proved the vast majority of Americans do not support the radical, globalist Great Reset movement, a movement that ultimately would upend market economies around the world. The movement particularly has the United States in its crosshairs.

Despite the fact that it appears the Biden administration is on board with the Great Reset, including Biden’s climate czar John Kerry, most Americans strongly oppose a move that would undermine U.S. sovereignty while increasing global governance.

 

Sources Cited

 

Justin Haskins: Biden Is Echoing Davos Agenda of ‘Great Reset’ of Capitalism

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2020/07/26/justin-haskins-biden-is-echoing-davos-agenda-of-great-reset-of-capitalism/

 

Delingpole: The Great Reset Is Trending. Here’s Why…

 

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/11/18/the-great-reset-is-trending-heres-why/

 

National Poll Reveals What Americans Think About the Radical ‘Great Reset’

https://stoppingsocialism.com/2020/12/poll-the-great-reset-rasmussen-heartland-institute/

Why Does Capitalism Have a Negative Reputation?

 

“Capitalism was the only system in history where wealth was not acquired by looting, but by production – not by force, but by trade – the only system that stood for man’s right to his own mind, to his work, to his life, to his happiness, to himself.” – Ayn Rand

 

The Mises Institute recently unveiled a series of short, animated videos that highlight the role capitalism has played in empowering the public, undermining tyranny, and promoting peace and prosperity. The Mises Institute is a nonprofit organization that encourages teaching and research in economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace. The institute gets its name form Ludwig von Mises, one of the most notable economists and social philosophers of the twentieth century.

These videos are ideal for parents looking to supplement their child's economics education at home, or adults looking to broaden their understanding of economics. Ludwig von Mises strongly believed that the fate of civilization rested upon the ideas that motivate the masses -- ideas including socialism -- currently receiving praise from academia and the rising generation.

“Today it seems evident that we are rearing a generation of Americans who do not understand the productive base of our society and how we came by such prosperity,” said Ezra Taft Benson in his 1977 book, This Nation Shall Endure. Benson was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and as the 13th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Benson continued, “Evidence of this fact is found in surveys taken among some of our high school and college students, the majority of whom, it is reported, believe private enterprise is a failure, although they don’t have a clear understanding of what private enterprise is. With them, as with many adults, there is a vague notion that it is some unfair system that tends to give special advantage to big corporations and wealthy individuals.”

Conservative leaders and economists warn that if we fail to win the battle of ideas, we will see the horrors of socialism and communism repeated. According to the Mises Institute, “Capitalism was revolutionary by recognizing property rights for all, regardless of background and social standing. Under capitalism, even the most vulnerable in society had an absolute claim to their own labor and property. It did not guarantee equality of property, but capitalism eliminated any right by anyone else to infringe upon it.”

Capitalism has empowered consumers -- rather than government -- to influence what is produced in the economy. This happens, thanks to profit. If enough people demand a good or service and it’s sold for more than it costs to produce, that means the production of that good or service is profitable.

Is it not our responsibility to warn the rising generation of the dangers of state control over individual liberty and the means of production? The collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing control will not lead to a utopia, but eventually to the horrors of the former Soviet Union, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea.

Sources Cited

https://mises.org/

Economics for Beginners Series

https://mises.org/economics-beginners?utm_source=Mises+Institute+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=9dfef06608-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_15_02_03_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8b52b2e1c0-9dfef06608-228897856

This Nation Shall Endure

By Ezra Taft Benson, 1977, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah

Why We Need More Entrepreneurs

“Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create.” – Calvin Coolidge

 

 

Some economists will tell you that the wealth and living standards we enjoy today (and take for granted) happened because of a shift in social attitudes. There was actually a time in history when most people regarded merchants, inventors, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs with distrust and contempt. Thankfully, most rational people view this group with dignity and prestige. However, entrepreneurs today are increasingly viewed as less than heroes.

 

Entrepreneurs are, in fact, heroic figures. Their hard work and accomplishments are actually worth celebrating. In fact, most of the world is better off today because entrepreneurs were willing to attempt what others thought they knew couldn’t be done.

 

Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Benjamin Franklin, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison all dreamed, worked and persisted in the face of adversity. Their entrepreneurial visions extend beyond their existing horizons. One could argue their ideas, inventions, products transformed their generation’s dreams into the next generation’s necessities. Before January 9, 2007, when Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, we didn’t know we needed a touchscreen mobile phone with an iPod, camera and web-browsing capabilities, among other features.

 

According to the authors and scholars at the Foundation for Economic Freedom, “Societies are shaped by the ideals they embrace. A society that embraces entrepreneurship creates more jobs, produces more wealth, and allows individuals to exercise their creative talents. Cultures that value ambition, honesty, integrity, courage, productivity, long-term planning, and individual responsibility tend to create more economic growth and individual well-being than those who do not.”

 

In a fascinating YouTube video titled, Prosperity Paradox, Clayton Christensen and Efosa Ojomo, BYU Strategy Professional Conference 2018, Christensen and Ojomo reveal the limits of common economic development models, that tend to be top-down efforts, and offer a new framework for economic growth based on entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation.

 

Christensen is the late Harvard Business School professor who coined the phrase, Disruptive Innovation. This describes a process by which a product or service initially takes root in simple applications at the bottom of a market—typically by being less expensive and more accessible—and then moves upmarket, eventually displacing established competitors. Ojomo leads the Global Prosperity research group at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a think tank based in Boston and Silicon Valley.

 

A couple of years ago Christensen and Ojomo published the book, The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty. In a Wall Street Journal review of The Prosperity Paradox, Rupert Darwall said: "The authors return the entrepreneur and innovation to the center stage of economic development and prosperity."

Their YouTube video presentation reveals how two brothers, entrepreneurs in Nigeria, created a noodle factory that made cheap meals available (about 20 cents each) and helped lift thousands in their community out of poverty, poor health, crime and a meager education.

 

Small business, already the most important source of innovative activity and new job opportunities in the world, can play an even more important role when the government eases restrictions on entrepreneurial incentives. Some may criticize my romanticizing entrepreneurs. However, societies are shaped by the ideals entrepreneurs embrace. If one of my children or grandchildren desired to emulate an entrepreneur who heroically struggled in uncharted territory and helped change the world for the better, I would be proud.

 

 

Sources Cited

 

https://courses.fee.org/courses/take/economics-in-one-day/texts/215691-culture-and-values

 

https://fee.org/articles/the-entrepreneur-on-the-heroic-journey/

 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/steve-jobs-debuts-the-iphone

 

https://fee.org/articles/small-business-and-entrepreneurship/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGQBccrVKoQ

 

https://efosaojomo.com/

Socialism Sucks

 

A recent Fox News article reports that Millennials and Gen Z-ers are becoming increasingly comfortable with socialism. This is according to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC), an organization that conducts a poll gauging Americans' attitudes toward socialism. The article revealed, “More young Americans are unaware that some 100 million people have been killed by communist parties in power over the last century, and many are unaware that the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for more deaths than Nazi Germany, according to the VOC.” The article mentions how Venezuela has turned from a market economy -- and a very prosperous economy at that -- into a humanitarian disaster through democratic socialism.

In their new book “Socialism Sucks, Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World” authors Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell detail their recent visit to Venezuela. They also toured Cuba, Sweden (not socialism), China, and ventured close to the border of North Korea.

Lawson is an economics professor at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Powell is a professor of economics at Texas Tech University. These two friends contend that “Most people seem somehow to have missed Economics 101 and don’t understand that socialism isn't a nice, cuddly government that takes care of everything for you so that you can remain an adolescent forever. No, we’ve seen it tried over and over again with catastrophic consequences.”

To prove their point, Lawson and Powell decided to visit countries that practice socialism and write a “truthful accounting of our travels, and [include] our excessive drinking.” They also wrote the book because “too many people seem to be dangerously ignorant of what socialism is, how it functions, and its historical track record.”

One common experience the authors share is how hard it is to find good beer—or sometimes any beer at all—in socialist countries. One of their most vivid trips was to socialist Venezuela. They do an admirable job of explaining how the country went from being the toast of liberals everywhere to being just toast. Sadly, their visit to this once-prosperous country introduced them to desperate Venezuela women who sell their hair for about $20, enough to provide food on the table for a month.

They also witnessed middle-class and upper-class Venezuelans toting suitcases stuffed full of cash into Columbia, only to return home with scant supplies including car tires, diapers and sugar. Inflation is so bad in Venezuela that the authors exchanged a $20 bill (US) for a foot-high stack of large denomination Venezuelan currency.

Lawson and Powell say the collapse of the economy in Venezuela is largely due to attempts at price control, seizure of private property by the government, and strict controls on imports and exports. They also report that beer is mostly unavailable in Venezuela because the government won’t let brewers import essential ingredients.

The authors then tour Cuba, where there are some restaurants, but menus are essentially identical and bland (no spices, seasonings, thanks to government embargos). The government-run hotels are worse than most low-budget motels in the US. They say the beer is bland and of very low quality. And, automobiles are expensive, even for moderately functional units from the 1950’s.

This is an excellent read, though some of the language is PG-13. Socialism Sucks is a brilliant approach to get some people, especially American socialists who have no idea what socialism really is, to understand why socialism really isn’t a good thing for anyone except those at the center of power.

Sources Cited

Millennials, Gen Z increasingly comfortable with socialism, Marxism, activists say

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/millenials-gen-z-socialism-marxism

Socialism Sucks, Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World

by Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell, Regnery Publishing, Washington, CD, 2019

Socialism Takes, Capitalism Creates

 “Socialism is on the way, get set for Sweden on steroids.” -- (Bill O’Reilly on the upcoming presidential election.)

There’s no doubt about it, socialism is on the rise in the United States of America. Its popularity is growing the most among younger generations. According to a Harris poll, unbelievably half of American Millennials and those belonging to Generation Z say they would prefer to live in a socialist country. Even more concerning, the growing general support around socialism is fueling policy proposals—including healthcare for all and the Green New Deal.

Conversely, the free-market system has been the biggest creator of wealth and prosperity the world has ever known. According to the Job Creators Network, capitalism has lifted billions of people out of poverty and is far more superior than any government program ever could be.

This new small business advocacy organization has launched a campaign to teach the truth about socialism. According to the Job Creators Network website, “Too many people don’t understand that the American dream cannot exist in a socialist country. While some may say socialism is well intentioned, the fact is it robs people of their independence, their dignity and their finances. Socialism leads to government dependence, suppression of ideas, and lower standards of living for those under its thumb.”

Troy Vincent, energy economics consultant and writer maintains,  “There is no more recent example of the many theoretically apparent pitfalls of socialism coming to life than in Venezuela.” Vincent says the South American nation is the latest example on the long list of countries to have fallen victim to the false promises of a socialist utopia.

Vincent explains that while journalists and activists like Michael Moore, politicians such as Bernie Sanders and various liberal economists have praised the socialist economic miracle in Venezuela -- with hyperinflation now leading to starvation and millions fleeing the country -- “it is inarguable that these praises were premature and wholly unwarranted.”

Enrique Padron grew up in Cuba under Fidel Castro’s regime. He later escaped to the United States. Padron risked his life to live in a free society with a free market. In a Job Creators Network video, Padron warned, "The problem in socialist Cuba is we didn't have freedom. You cannot pick against the government. You cannot even go to church. In 1994 I jumped in a boat with 20 other Cubans looking for freedom. We made it to the United States. ... I have had so many opportunities like being an owner of two restaurants, international sales manager for a company traveling the world and ... working for a United States congressman. ... Any of these opportunities wouldn't be possible in Cuba."

Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek once warned, “Socialism, while presented as a means of assuring equality, does so through ‘restraint and servitude’, while ‘democracy seeks equality in liberty’."

Now more than ever, it’s vital for families,  educators, business and civic leaders to instruct the rising generation about what socialism really is and why it has no place in our country. Future leaders must learn why short-term gains like free education, free healthcare, free stuff, etc. eventually disappears. The road to socialism eventually leads to long-term damaging consequences such as loss of freedoms, freedom of religion, speech and loss of economic opportunity.

Sources Cited

Donald J. Trump, RIP?

https://www.billoreilly.com/b/Donald-J.-Trump-RIP/984097000955302797.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=staff_column

Socialism Takes, Capitalism Creates Website

https://capitalismcreates.com/

Venezuela: Poster Child for Socialism, by Troy Vincent

https://mises.org/wire/venezuela-poster-child-socialism

Socialism Takes: Enrique Padron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMO6nyL-U50&feature=emb_title

The Road to Serfdom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_to_Serfdom#cite_note-17

Does God Have a Place in Business?

In his autobiography, David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, shares four keys to retailing success. These are:

 

1. “Run your business in harmony with God’s laws. This will keep you on an ethical footring. Seek to please God in everything you do.
2. “Focus on people more than money. Without employees and customers, you’re going nowhere. Make sure you never stop thinking about the customer’s perspective. And make sure you have the right people at the helm of each area.
3. “Be a merchant. Notice, I didn’t just say ‘businessperson.’ That’s too generic. Your core activity is buying and selling merchandise. That’s what it’s all about. The rest is periphery, or even distraction.
4. “Install the proper systems to support the first three keys.”

 

Hobby Lobby, founded in 1970, modestly began with a $600 bank loan. The company enjoyed a volume of over $5 billion in 2018 and has over 900 stores.

 

You may recall that Mr. Green publicly opposed the Affordable Care Act (nicknamed Obamacare) because of its requirement that companies provide access to contraception and the morning-after pill.Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit against the United States in September 2012 over regulations requiring health insurance provided by employers to cover contraceptives. In June of 2014 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby and other corporations could choose to be exempt from the law based on religious preferences.

 

Green maintains it’s vital to honor the Lord in all you do by operating a company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles. But is this rational or even practical within today’s highly competitive business markets? A substantial portion of Americans today do not believe in God, or supernatural beings, entities, etc. They do not engage in religious behaviors, and increasingly do not identify as religious and are not a member of a religious community. Why should this be of concern in a business setting?

 

Diann Cattani, VP of Business Growth for software company Adplorer, became involved in an embezzlement scheme from her employer in the 1990’s that lasted for over four years. Her actions only came to light after she went into the office of the owner and confessed. She spent over a year in federal prison as a result. Cattani, who was raised in a religious family, is a popular corporate speaker who warns employees and leaders about the importance of God’s warning within Exodus 20:15 “Thou shalt not steal.” Cattani says, “Small missteps, when rationalized, can quickly lead to bigger problems -- even if it’s something minor as parking where you shouldn’t.”

 

Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas probably summed up the topic best, “The values that shaped and sustained America through economic downturns and wars had to be taught and instilled in the next generation. Today’s younger people … seem intent on making their own rules (if they can be called rules) and creating their own gods.”

 

Is it important to run a business in harmony with God’s laws? Thomas warns that the rising generation “will eventually learn the impossibility of it all as their substitutions [for God] will fail them. The question is can America survive when our moral, spiritual and patriotic foundations are destroyed?”

 

So, do religious values have a place in today’s business world? Yes, if our success depends on treating others with respect, kindness, honesty and all the values that helped build the greatest nation under God.

Are These the Worst of Times?

 

I know you feel these are the worst of times

I do believe it's true

When people lock their doors and hide inside

Rumor has it it's the end of Paradise

-- Styx, The Best of Times

Earlier this week Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said our nation has been “cloaked … in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division.” Mr Biden said, “history has delivered us to one of the most difficult moments America has ever faced. … The worst pandemic in over 10 years. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.”

Mr. Biden said five million Americans have been infected with COVID-19. More than 170,000 Americans have died, and he maintains that this has been “By far the worst performance of any nation on Earth.”

Sounds pretty dark, right? This made me wonder, are we really living during one of the most difficult moments our country has ever faced? Are we actually experiencing a “chapter of American darkness”? Has our response to COVID-19 truly been the worst?

I then remembered years ago watching a compelling YouTube video by Professor Don Boudreaux titled: “The Hockey Stick of Human Prosperity. In this less-than-five-minute presentation, Boudreaux skillfully reviews the timeline of human history, and how the recent rise in standards of living resembles a hockey stick on a graph. If you examine progress and prosperity throughout the ages, the chart is flat for much of human history, and then skyrockets in just the last few centuries.

Boudreaux reveals that before the Industrial Revolution, life expectancy was about 30 years. Today in the United States we expect to live to about 80. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, about one in four children would die before the age of five. Today in developed countries that ratio has ballooned to about one in 200! And, due to better nutrition, today we grow about four inches taller than we were just 150 years ago.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thanks to advances in medical research -- mainly in the US -- vaccinations protect against several diseases that used to be prevalent in the United States. These include: Polio, Tetanus, The Flu, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Whooping Cough, the Mumps, Measles and more.

A global race is currently underway to develop and mass-produce an effective vaccine to counter COVID-19. The US government has initiated Operation Warp Speed (OWS), with the goal to deliver 300 million doses of a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021. This is part of a strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. It is hoped this will be accomplished by investing in and coordinating countermeasure development. OWS allows a vaccine to be delivered to patients more rapidly while adhering to standards for safety and productiveness.

When it comes to prosperity today, even the least fortunate Americans typically have electricity, running water, toilets, refrigerators and televisions. Boudreaux says, “Those of us who live in modern, industrial society are incredibly, amazingly, off-the-charts rich, compared to our ancestors.”

Do we live in the “worst of times”? Life is indeed difficult and by no means do I intend to make light of those who are experiencing genuine adversity; but I wonder if it helps from time to time to examine root causes of division, anger, fear and contention. It wouldn’t hurt to keep things in perspective and remember how fortunate we are to live during such prosperous and promising times.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

Sources

Styx Lyrics

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/styx/thebestoftimes.html

Transcript: Joe Biden's DNC speech

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/biden-dnc-speech-transcript/index.html

The Hockey Stick of Human Prosperity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9FSnvtcEbg

Diseases You Almost Forgot About (Thanks to Vaccines)

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/forgot-14-diseases.html

Fact Sheet: Explaining Operation Warp Speed

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/06/16/fact-sheet-explaining-operation-warp-speed.html

What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important?

https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/