How A Mormon Thinks | Blog

Ron Paul vs. Paul Krugman On Bloomberg

2012-04-30T21:10:00.001-06:00

This is for all those economics nerds out there. This is a very fascinating "debate" between Ron Paul and Paul Krugman, earlier today.

Personally, I cannot see the logic behind Krugman's belief that increasing the debt levels, the money supply, and inflation is the solution to this recession. We have already been spending like crazy and has it worked? I think there is enough evidence to show that it hasn't.

The solution is we need more spending? I don't know about that.

Here's the "debate":

What peeves me is that Krugman claims that he believes in free markets and that he believes in capitalism, but then he blames the free market for those recessions, and claims the solution is increased government intervention, and decreased free markets. In my opinion, shoveling debt onto the people is not a solution, it is a farce.

Some bubbles are inflated by massive government spending. When they pop, it creates a recession. The housing bubble collapse can be traced to government laws and intervention into the housing market. Basically, through mandates, the US government forced banks to finance loans to subprime borrowers. This caused a large increase in subprime loans, which, I am sure anyone can agree, is very risky.

So, the market then hot potatoes the loans until they explode, leaving the mess for the rest of us.

Politicians in Washington wanted to give subprime borrowers a chance to own a home despite their credit, so they basically said, 'we will pay you banks to finance these subprime loans.' Then, when the bubble pops, the same politicians in Washington blame the market, and say the solution is to give those same banks more money...

It's absolutely ludicrous to me.

So Krugman, from one amateur economist to another: Presenting the argument that boosting aggregate supply through debt will provide a boost to aggregate demand as the solution to our down economy is both misleading and dangerous. I call it a false choice. Here's why:

In our current economy--where people don't have enough money to spend--debt and spending carries heavy (and in our case, unsustainable) liabilities that can wreck the entire currency when those same people have even less money to spend on the new supply. If there is no increase in the monetary value of the dollar, people can only spend more on less stuff--as the prices for everyday things like food, gas, etc rise. This does not help the poor and the middle class, but rather, cripples them even further.

Remember this: "Increased spending" decreases the spending power of the dollar, sir.

If the currency devalues too far, we risk a very real collapse of the dollar in the world market through hyperinflation (the same route as Rome's, Italy's, Germany's and many other past civilization's currencies). Doesn't this frighten you sir?

So Krugman, if we happen to collapse our currency through your proposed policies, what would be your end-game?

Aside, to the reader: How can anyone, especially an economist, support a possible 30% plus increase in prices across the board? Does that really help the poor and the needy?

That is insanity! When will the insanity stop?!?

House Passes CISPA: Make Sure It Dies In Senate!

2012-04-27T12:10:00.001-06:00

On thursday, April 26, 2012--the day before it was scheduled to be voted upon, the US Congress added a few amendments (all which make it worse) and passed CISPA with an overwhelming majority: 248-168.

It still needs to get through the Senate before our Commander in Chief can sign it into law. So,, what are you gonna do to stop it in the senate?

Here are a few suggestions:
1. Call/write/email your Senator! I can't help you find out how to contact them, though. This may be the most important of all the things you could do!
2. Sign a few petitions! like here, here, here, here, here, here, here

3. Share what your doing! Articles, information, memes, pictures, status updates, this blogpost, anything that can help your friends to see what is happening!!

4. Caption your own memes against CISPA!! Here

5. Learn more about the very real debate for/against CISPA! Some great links to start you off here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and on facebook here.

6. Some memes to download and share to facebook, twitter, google+, linked in etc:

CISPA cat is cyber spying.

CISPA gives Uncle Sam the power to legally go through your emails.

Caption your own CISPA cat here.

Cool MAD magazine meme about CISPA.

Where is their opposition to CISPA?

and coming very SOON

Ironic, that Mark Zuckerberg, a supposed supporter
of internet privacy, supports CISPA, which is the
complete opposite.

STOP CISPA IN THE SENATE

Raise your awareness of CISPA, which is set for the senate
to decide it's fate! Contact your senator!

CISPA Up For Vote TODAY!!! STOP IT NOW!!!

2012-04-26T22:43:00.000-06:00

Stop CISPA!! Contact your legislators NOW!!!

Click here to sign the petition!

***********************************************************

UPDATE: CISPA has passed the House of Representatives and now must pass through the Senate before Barack Obama can sign it. Click here for a more full update!

Sacrifice Secures Success; True Success Requires Sacrifice

2012-04-25T17:21:00.001-06:00

Here's a thought: "Sacrifice secures success; true success requires sacrifice."

The way I see it, sacrifice is an eternal principle that yields results directly related to what you sacrifice. For instance, if we want to receive a 40 hr paycheck, we must first sacrifice 40 hours of time to a company first. It's a sacrifice because we would be giving up at least 40 hours of all that time that we could be spending in front of the TV, on Facebook, looking at cat pictures, or sleeping.

It's interesting to note that sacrifice is also a basic principle in economics (opportunity cost).
We seem to know that when it comes to money and success, we must first sacrifice whatever it takes to receive our acceptable levels of money or success. Nothing less will suffice.

But unlike money and success, spiritual healing and spiritual growth require completely different types of sacrifices: like giving up hatred to make place for love, giving up grudges to make room for forgiveness, giving up vices for personal rectitude, etc. Sacrifice is the precursor to any stable level of spiritual fortitude.

Of all the personal principles to begin aligning ourselves to, spiritual fortitude may be one of the most elusive, yet most rewarding. It leads to joy, happiness, abundance and hope.

Yet, just think about it--without sacrifice, we are without all of these things. Therefore, sacrifice must be of paramount importance.

Learn More, Study Less: The Ultimate Study Guide

2012-04-23T12:00:00.001-06:00

I just finished my personal review for the study course put together by Scott H. Young called "Learn More, Study Less" at the website that I am managing of the same name. Please tell me what you think of the review, as it will be trafficked heavily in an ad campaign over the next few weeks/months (and of course, I do not want to waste money if it's no good).

Be critical! I want to hear it if it turns you off, gets you interested, makes you fall asleep, or if it motivates you to buy (cause that's my ultimate motivation for the ad campaign). Tell me of spelling errors, awkward wording, poor grammar, poor word choice, look of the site, the feel of the site as a whole, or just anything that you feel like sounding off about.

I need it!!!

So please, help me to make this upcoming ad campaign successful, and click on the link below:

Learn More, Study Less: The Ultimate Study Guide

Also, if you feel like buying the product, it would help me greatly. :)

TRON PAUL by xckd

2012-04-18T17:56:00.002-06:00

TRON PAUL, just in time for the 2012 elections!

Meme Bomb #1

2012-04-18T09:38:00.000-06:00

This is the first of many meme bombs. Like, tweet, share with your friends!

The difference between isolationism and non interventionism.
See Switzerland, then North Korea. See the Difference?

Malcolm X was a great man--not because he supported violence
to protect his people, but because he protected his people from violence
with his words.

Mitt has yet to fill a bathroom. Ron Paul regularly gets thousands at his rallies.
Why is this not televised again?

I can understand if you don't like Dwight D Eisenhower as a politician--
but as a 5 star general? Can you really say he's wrong?

Guy Fawkes for the win!

This is the truth in so many ways.

President Spencer W Kimball with some timeless wisdom. Was he right?
visit the "Warlike People" website for more info: http://www.warlikepeople.com

Why did he say "we are a warlike people"?
Keep this billboard up in Utah by donating at:
http://www.warlikepeople.com

Joseph Smith and Mitt Romney seem to have some disagreements.
Oh to have Joseph Smith back!

True story.

Left and right, hand-in-hand. Should we be proud of the cooperation?

I don't think I have ever seen a politician speak so much truth in my short life.
Ron Paul gets it right again!

Drugs Are Bad, Mmmmkay?

2012-04-10T14:43:00.000-06:00

The following is the PowerPoint slideshow that was created to assist a public speech I give tomorrow in class, illustrating the need to treat the drug war much differently than we are currently. In my view, drug addiction should be treated as a medical condition, not as a criminal action. This would solve many of the problems that the drug war has caused over the last 90 years (especially the last 30).

I will post a corresponding article on my proposed solutions for fighting the drug war sometime over the next week, so be sure to come back to see ya hear!

Here's the presentation. It's called:Drugs Are Bad, Mmmmkay?

Article | Stand And Be Counted

2012-03-27T12:00:00.003-06:00

BY AARON ABELL
(Reposted with permission. Original article at Government As Fiction)

With the passage of the National Defense Authorisation Act of 2012 (NDAA) the police state, about which every US citizen has been so often warned, has come to pass. IGNORE THIS AT YOUR OWN PERIL AND CONDEMNATION. I will begin with a quote:

     "It is said in the Doctrine and Covenants, that he that keepeth the laws of God, hath no need to break the laws of the land [D&C 58:21]. It is further explained in section 98 [D&C 98], what is meant in relation to this. That all laws which are constitutional must be obeyed, as follows:
     “And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them.
     “And that the law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me;
     “Therefore I the Lord justify you and your brethren of the Church in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land. And as pertaining to laws of man, whatsoever is more or less than these cometh of evil” [D&C 98:4–7].
Click Here To Read More>>

LDS Liberty Podcast: "In Mine Own Image" by GLH

2012-03-23T16:31:00.001-06:00

Here is an incredible audio podcast I found featuring one of the best written articles on the LDS Liberty website called, "In Mine Own Image" (also found at the author's personal website, Scriptural Libertarian).

"In Mine Own Image"

Right click the link above and choose 'save as' to download this gem to your iPod, mp3 player, or computer.

I Endorse Ron Paul For President. And You Can Too!

2012-03-23T14:23:00.003-06:00

I just registered for Votizen, where I have created an official campaign to elect Ron Paul for President. If you can, register and do the same for your candidate!

I shared it to facebook:

Shared it to twitter here and here:

You can view my official campaign profile at Votizen here. Below is a screenshot:

America Must Be Free Again

2012-03-20T13:59:00.002-06:00

What makes Ron Paul so different from the other candidates? He is one of the few politicians that actually considers the United States Constitution as the rule of law! So what's so different about that?

Everything!

Remember, the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were created to limit the power and scope of government, not to limit the power and rights of the people. Without these "limiting" documents, we would have a Federal government that is more powerful than the will of the people to be free.

Now think for a second. Is your will represented by our Federal government today? Do you support the wars abroad? Do you support Obamacare? Do you support the actions of the Federal Reserve (including the bailouts)? Do you support the Department of Education? The EPA? FDA?

If you are like most people, you may feel helpless or scared at the thought of trying to restrain your governments' and agents of governments' overreaching actions.

Did you know that if we actually followed our Consitution we would not have all these problems? It's interesting to know that just one simple principle can fix those problems.

There is only one man that is running for President this year that is obedient to that principle, as you will see in this video below. It is an adherance to simple principles like this, that cause people like me, and many others to support Ron Paul for President.

Ron Paul and Ezra Taft Benson: What Is Our Moral Obligation?

2012-03-19T09:15:00.000-06:00

This post here is an addendum to my past post called "Peace, The Prophets and Ron Paul". To me it is obvious that Ron Paul is the only candidate that is obeying and preaching the true precepts concerning agency, liberty and freedom as it is taught by the Prophets in this dispensation.

ETB: "It is imperative that American citizens become alerted and informed regarding the threats to our welfare, happiness and freedom. No American is worthy of citizenship in this great land who refuses to take an active interest in important matters."

RP: "You know, there should be an urgency about what we do. It would be nice to be relaxed, and think that we are in the 1950s when I first--barely--started thinking about politics. But it's not the 1950s anymore. It's a new century, and there is a lot more problems. We have terrible threats from around the world, we have a foreign policy that has gone amuck, a monetary system that's in a mess--and we know all our problems. But there is an urgency in what we do! Because we are carrying the banner! And we must act, because we, as a group, have a greater moral responsibility to act than those who live in ignorance! Once you become knowledgeable, you have the responsibility to do something about it!!"

ETB: "...To the patriots, I say this: Take the long eternal look. Stand up for freedom no matter what the cost. It may help save your soul, and maybe your country. In this mighty struggle, each of you has a part. Every person on the earth today chose the right side during the war in heaven. Be on the right side now. Stand up and be counted!! If you get discouraged, remember the words of Edward Everett Hale when he said: 'I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, that, I ought to do. And what I ought to do: by the grace of God, I shall do.'"

So a question first, before you press play on this video: What is our moral obligation as American citizens? I'll give you my answer: To stand for truth, knowledge and freedom. May we all have the courage to stand for what is right and true. Now is the time.

My Picks For March Madness 2012 -- Hint: Watch Kansas!

2012-03-14T11:09:00.003-06:00

Here are my picks for this years (2012) March Madness. Although I am a New Mexico fan-- and we did exceptionally well this year--I don't believe we'll get any further than the 3rd or 4th round. We have been far too inconsistent to win any sort of Championship.

My Final Four are Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Kansas, with the eventual team to be crowned champion as Kansas. See the bracket below:

For those of you looking, directly below is a blank form to fill out your prediction/keep track of the tournament while your at work or going to classes.

Blank March Madness Bracket 2012

Who Are The Mormons?

2012-03-13T18:10:00.001-06:00

The below is a great graphic from the LDS Newsroom:

Peace, The Prophets & Ron Paul

2012-03-07T11:22:00.002-07:00

I have been asked why I support Ron Paul for the Presidential seat this election cycle. The answer is, from what I understand of my faith, Ron Paul is the only candidate that would support the doctrines and lessons of my faith, as I have learned them through my membership and service within the church. Here is one of the many examples of that:

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And here is another example:

New Cell Phone Barcode Link

2012-03-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

I made this barcode link rather ridiculously easily through

the website called Mobile Barcode Link Generator at http://www.barcodelink.net. Now I can print up thousands of pages of website propaganda and distribute them with this link at the bottom! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Go ahead, try it out. You know you wanna...

Dr. Stephen Davies, of Learn Liberty Explains How to Solve Our Public Debt

2012-03-05T12:23:00.002-07:00

Directly below, I have typed the full transcript for the Youtube video called, "How Should Governments Deal With Debt?", in which Dr. Stephen Davies explains the different possible approaches that governments can take to deal with the debt crises that happen around the world. I have also embedded the video at the bottom of this post.

In my opinion, the below is a strong, simple, and succinct argument for increasing personal liberties and for decreasing government spending.

“Nations that spend too much face very difficult choices and options. One is to actually return to the paths of virtue and bring the public spending under control—through a combination typically, of raising taxes and cutting spending. This can be done, but it can often take very a long time—but it is certainly better than the alternatives.

“The other two alternatives are: first of all, for the government to repudiate its debt. In some ways, this is the least painful, but it does mean that nobody is going to lend money to that country except at prohibitively high interest rates. This in itself is not good, not in the least, because it raises the general level of interest rates in that economy—which has all kinds of negative effects on economic activity.

“The more common solution unfortunately, is for the government to resort to inflation. And to inflate away the value of the debt, while depreciating the currency. There are already alarming signs that this is what the American administration is thinking of doing. In the long run also, totally dysfunctional public finances are associated with dysfunctional politics and dysfunctional government, and historically they have been a major cause of serious political unrest and upheaval—even revolutions, as in the French case, for example.

“Increasing taxes to get out of debt is better than the alternative route of causing inflation which is in fact, in this sense, just like another tax. However it is ultimately undesirable—simply and strait-forwardly—for two reasons:

“The first is that taxes inhibit or distort economic activity, as any economist will tell you. So to the extent that you raise taxes, you are going to slow down or reduce economic growth and the increase in the human well-being.

“The other thing is, and it’s a principled one, that a rise in taxation is the increase in the proportion of income that is decided and allocated by the political process, rather than by personal and individual choice. And that is a bad thing to do, on civil liberties and independence grounds. So therefore, the best way of dealing with the kind of fiscal crisis that many countries face today—not least, The United States—is to cut spending, and to reduce the number of things that the government does.”

And here is the video that I pulled it from:

Dr. Stephen Davies is education director at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London and program officer at the Institute for Humane Studies. Previously, Dr. Davies was a senior lecturer in the Department of History and Economic History at Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England. He has also been a visiting scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. A historian, he graduated from St. Andrews University in Scotland in 1976 and gained his PhD from the same institution in 1984. He has authored several books, including Empiricism and History, and was co-editor with Nigel Ashford of The Dictionary of Conservative and Libertarian Thought.

My New About.Me Profile

2012-02-27T11:58:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd share the link to my new about.me page. I figure I can revise it later. Also! Klout.

Ron Paul Knocks It Out Of The Park Again! -- AZ GOP Debate Highlights

2012-02-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is Ron Paul's new ad, blasting Rick Santorum as "fake". Does he have a point? Check it out:

Now, see what happened during the debate, pay attention to Ron Paul's reaction and response to John King's question about Paul's ad calling Santorum "fake" in the video below:

LOL I love it! I think Santorum's numbers should drop now...

If you have the time and the interest, you can watch the full debate here:

The Scourge of False Choice

2012-02-15T11:32:00.001-07:00

ORIGINAL ARTICLE BY DIEGO LUCERO

In today’s world, we have choices. We can choose which Supermarket we can shop, we can choose which car we drive, we can choose which restaurant we take our family to eat. We choose our careers, we choose our mates, and we choose our elected officials. We can choose right or wrong. We choose our faith. It could even be said that our individual moral codes are actually a complex system of the choices that we have made throughout the courses of our lives. Here in America, we are accustomed to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of our choices. We have choices because we have freedom.

However, we also have ‘false choices’.

"The logical fallacy of false choice is a correlative based fallacy in which options are presented as being exclusive when they may not be. It’s often used to obscure the likelihood of one option or to reframe an argument on the user’s terms."(1)

Simply put, false choices are based on misinformed or misrepresented facts. This is usually because they are the products of narrow-minded worldviews, which have been closed off from outside or opposing opinions. They can also be called ‘biased’, ‘partisan’, and/or ‘divisive’.

False choices fool us. They disarm us by causing us to believe that we are solving problems, even if the choices presented yield the same result or no result.

This is why I believe ‘false choices’ are a root cause for the mass confusion present in our world.

Dallin H. Oaks (Apostle of the Lord in the LDS church) gave a powerful address concerning false choice and deception in October of 2004. He stated:

“From your position on the road of life, you . . . have many miles to go and many choices to make as you seek to return to our Heavenly Father. Along the road there are many signs that beckon. Satan is the author of some of these invitations. He seeks to confuse and deceive us, to get us on a low road that leads away from our eternal destination.”(2)

Most of us can agree that this is true. We wrestle with deception at various levels on a daily basis. One of the best ways this concept is represented is through an analysis of our tradition of choosing politicians. After all, haven’t we all heard the statement, “Choosing the lesser of two evils”?

Every year, we are bombarded with phone calls, door-to-door pamphleteers, national news coverage of political races, and various forms of solicitation for donations. We watch, hear about, and read politically charged articles that are meant to sway public opinion in one direction or the other, or to support this candidate or the other candidate. Our social networks are flooded with personal insights, political language, and aggressive graphics opposing other people’s views. We endure painful political debates where candidates trounce on and demean all that we believe to be noble and true.

We ask ourselves: which is the best way? What is the best choice to make? Of the various political candidates vying for my vote, who embarrasses me the least?

A lot of us realize that when we must choose between different policies or politicians that the choices made available to us do not represent our thoughts as much as we would like.
So should we choose between two evils? I’d say no. With logic, when that statement is taken through to its ultimate outcomes, we see that the act of choosing between the lesser of two evils can only lead to more evil. And this is exactly what happens.

This is the reality: when we choose between false choices, we are literally choosing which evils we will tolerate in our societal systems.

What does this mean for those of us that actually have to live in society? Nothing good.

SOURCES:
(1) Indopedia
(2) Dallin H Oaks talk (“Be Not Deceived”, Ensign, November 2004, 43)
See Also: “False Choices: The Most Effective Form of Propaganda Known To Man”

This original article was published on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 to The Moral Liberal.

Louis CK Tells It Like It Is!

2012-02-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

A lot has been said about the hoplessness of our situation here. Our debt now exceeds double the world GDP, and we have

these excessive wars acovering the globe. My hope is that we can eventually fix this nation, and once again have hope. All of my writings from here on out will reflect that as my new and more refined message as a columnist, blogger, American citizen and Patriot.

By the way, for those of you have not been following, I am now a contributing editor to a news publication called the The Moral Liberal. I will repost my articles to this site, and I will eventually re-organize things to be more visually appealing and easy to find.

SOPA Will Cripple The Internet: The Sad Story of Intellectual Property Lawsuits Against Veoh

2012-01-25T09:08:00.003-07:00

I found this on the website Minglewing.com, which is founded by and run by the same man that started Veoh (Dmitry Shapiro). He tells a sad story about how intellectual property (via DMCA, the current intellectual property law) lawsuits from big corporations ruined his business, his life and his resolve. He then gives his opinion about the bils called SOPA and the bills like it. This is a must read if you are to understand the real effects of Intellectual Property lawsuits by the big guys against the little guys. This is Dmitry's entire post:

With all of the discussions going on about SOPA and PIPA, lots of people have reached out and asked me to write about my experience with UMG vs. Veoh. In Nov of 2004, while on my honeymoon, I had an idea : Let anyone broadcast video over the Internet. I believed that with the convergence of broadband, inexpensive video cameras, and editing software that shipped with everyday computers it was the right time to launch a service that would facilitate 'free speech' over video. When I got back from my honeymoon, I immediately transitioned out of the company that I had founded 4 years prior, Akonix Systems, and pursued building my vision. It took 8 months for us to raise the Series A round of venture capital, with dozens of potential investors passing, arguing that "no one was going to watch amateur video on the Internet". SERIOUSLY!

Art Bilger from Shelter Capital partners was the first one that believed in my vision, and in August of 2005 we announced a $2.5 million Series A financing. Our first product was released in September of 2005, 3 months after the launch of YouTube, by which time YouTube was already a giant success. With lots of work, pivoting and sacrifices by our team we were able to carve out a space in the market and gain traction. Over a four year period of time we grew our viewer base to over 28 million unique viewers per month, and raised $70 Million in four rounds of investment. Our investors included : Art Bilger - Shelter Capital Partners Spark Capital - Now investors in Twitter / Tumblr Time Warner - The world's largest media company Michael Eisner - Former CEO of Disney Jon Dolgen - Former CEO of Viacom Tom Freston - Former CEO of Viacom Goldman Sachs - Perhaps you've heard of them Adobe Corporation - They make Photoshop Intel Corporation - They make Microchips and many other prominent investors, all of whom did LOTS of due diligence on our technology, business model, and of course legal standing. We built partnerships with thousands of broadcasters including ABC, CBS, and Turner, all of whom told us that we were exemplary at working with content owners to make sure that their content was protected. We implemented state of the art 'audio filtering' technology, that was recommended to us by industry groups such as Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA). I was a featured speaker at NATPE, the National Association of Television Programming Executives. We did EVERYTHING that we could to make sure that our business was sound, legal, and good for the world at large. Unfortunately, Universal Music (UMG), the world's largest music company didn't agree and in Sept 2007 they sued Veoh in federal court claiming that we are infringing on their copyrights. Even though we had worked with many big media companies in protecting their copyrights, following the provisions of the DMCA, UMG scoffed at their responsibilities to notify us of infringement and refused to send us a single DMCA take down notice. They believed that the DMCA didn't apply. They were not interested in making sure their content was taken down, but rather that Veoh was taken down! As you can imagine the lawsuit dramatically impacted our ability to operate the company. The financial drain of millions of dollars going to litigation took away our power to compete, countless hours of executive's time was spent in dealing with various responsibilities of litigation, and employee morale was deeply impacted with a constant threat of shutdown. Trying to convince new employees to join the company in spite of this was extremely challenging. To make sure that our money supply was cut off, in an unprecedented move, UMG sued not only the company, but our investors (Michael Eisner, Art Bilger, and Spark Capital) personally. This move raised lot of eyebrows in the legal community, and at one point was thrown out by a judge, only to continue to be appealed and litigated by UMG. This completely choked off all of our financial oxygen, as trying to convince investors to invest with the threat of them personally being sued is insurmountable. There were many a times when we thought about simply giving up and moving on, but my father taught me early in life that you "never back down from bullies", and we really felt that we were fighting not only for ourselves but for the very freedom of the Internet. I was so fortunate to have brave people by my side to get me through those tough times. With money running out, we had to "reduce our staff" (fire people that worked their asses off for years, at startup pace, people that were our family). Doing this was by far the hardest thing that I have ever had to do, and makes me emotional to this day! We reduced our workforce from over 120 people to under 20 and continued to operate the company in "hibernation mode" to live out the lawsuit, as we expected a decision to come down in our favor. In Sept 2009, the decision did come down with the judge ruling in our favor, but there was no time to celebrate, as UMG with their practically infinitely deep pockets simply appealed. With the appeal looming, financing continued to be choked off for us, and in April 2010 we had to sell the company in a fire sale to a small startup. The company that we had built, that was once valued at over $130 Million was gone. Along with it went the livelihoods of over 120 people and their families, $70 million of money entrusted to us by investors, and a big part of me. I had sacrificed so much to live the life of an entrepreneur. My marriage couldn't stand the strain of this lifestyle and ended in 2009, and while all of this was going on, my father was dying. Instead of spending time with him at his bedside, I was sitting in depositions with lawyers, and stressing over the lawsuit. He died July 13 2009, two months before we won the original judgement on the lawsuit. He would have been proud of me for following through with the fight. I felt so beaten down after this experience, that I couldn't imagine going back to being an entrepreneur. I was disenchanted, disgusted by the system that would allow these kinds of behaviors to go on, and it is not until recently that I have been able to come up to bat again. In fact, you are reading this on my new endeavor http://MingleWing.comIhope that this one will not meet the fate of Veoh :) Coincidentally, last month a federal appeals court once again ruled in Veoh's favor. The DMCA works, but proponents of SOPA / PIPA want something else, because they feel that the DMCA doesn't give them the power they need to stifle innovation and protect their turfs! It is IMPERATIVE that SOPA and PIPA are STOPPED! I urge you to take a stand NOW, to spread the word. The Internet must remain free of censorship and bullying by organizations with power. The Internet is OUR medium, the medium of the PEOPLE. Yes, the Internet is a great medium for commerce, but it is an even better medium for connecting people to each other. It has SO much potential to change our lives for the better, to bring us closer together, to let us connect like never before. It MUST be protected! Dmitry Shapiro Founder Veoh Networks I will respond to questions/comments below :

I read this and quite honestly, I was surprised. I think because of this story, and many like it, we can realize the true importance of understanding the nature of "intellectual property" and it's supporters (the big corporations). The case of Veoh offers some proof that solving everything through the law is not the answer. Dmitry is a true patriot, fighting for freedom of speech against the big guys that fight for their monopoly. I hope he can inspire us to stand up against the bullies against the internet.

Why School Tuition Is So Expensive: A Lesson In Opportunity Cost

2012-01-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

ORIGINAL ARTICLE BY DIEGO LUCERO

It’s the beginning of the year again, and students are filling the halls of universities and colleges across the United States. Touted as essential to the “American Experience,” students are leaving their homes at the advisement of parents to pursue their educations. It can be said that in today’s world, there is almost nothing more desired--or even needed--than an education that would adequately qualify us as participants in the “American Dream”.

This year though, things are different.

We are in a prolonged recession. Real unemployment is very high. Deficit spending is at a record high. Our national debt now exceeds our Gross Domestic Product. Let’s not even talk about the interest our country owes against our national debt. We have wars and rumors of wars. Political discussion has become polarized and has been overtaken with evil intent. It’s becoming difficult to be hopeful, as it is becoming more and more clear that the change that we desperately need may never actually come.

Because of these reasons and more, colleges and universities have been seeing a very significant upward trend in enrollment over the last few years. The National Council for Educational Statistics¹ reports that there are more students applying for admission into higher educational institutions this year than in any prior year (an estimated 20.7 million²). In 1990-1999 and 2000-2009, overall enrollment increased 38 percent and 45 percent, respectively. Non-traditional students make up 63.15% of all new enrollments during the 2000-2009 time period¹. Total enrollment is projected to continue setting records each year, ultimately reaching about 24 million students by the Fall of 2019².

Just like our demand for quality education, tuition prices have never been higher. According to Bloomberg and the College Board³, the average tuition increases last year was 8.3% at public universities (almost three times the rate of inflation), and 4.5% at private universities. At an average tuition increase of 8.3% per year, the price of college will double in 9 years. It’s also important to notice that the ten-year historical rate is 6%⁴, which doubles college prices after a period of 12 years. From looking at the data, it is clear that our college prices are rising at much faster rates than our nation’s inflation and average wage.

At the end of the day though, what really matters are completion rates. In a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)⁵which is based on data up until 2007 derived from 30 member countries, it was reported that the United States completion rate ranked first in 1995. In 2007 however, we had fallen to 14^th with a 36.5% completion rate, well below the OECD average rate of 39%.

"What that tells you is that a number of other countries have been much more successful in expanding their higher-education systems," [says Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD unit that produced the study.] "The United States has fallen so far behind in higher-education completion, and private costs have become so high, that some people are suggesting that tuition has become a barrier to extending participation."⁶

So, we have evidence of a tuition barrier. It’s actually becoming so expensive that people must drop out of school because they cannot afford it.

What is the primary cause of this trend of expensive schooling? The short answer: subsidy. More specifically, federally guaranteed financial aid (student loans and grants included). Why does financial aid drive up the prices of school you ask? The answer lies in a basic understanding of how opportunity cost works.

In economics, opportunity cost is defined as “the cost of an alternative that must be forgone to pursue a certain action.” Put another way, opportunity cost is a measure of the benefits you could receive when you take an alternative action instead.

To better understand opportunity cost try to visualize a really nice, brand new big screen TV that you would love to have in your living room (or room). However, when you see the price tag, your mouth drops. If you were to buy this TV you would have to give up eating at Red Lobster weekly for 5 or 6 months to afford it. To you, that’s too expensive--because you really like your weekly outings to Red Lobster, more than you would love having that really nice big screen TV in your room. That’s your opportunity cost, and in this case, your opportunity cost is too high. The lower your opportunity cost for a good, the more affordable that good is to you. Get it?

University tuition can be explained through this same economic principle. Put simply, Federal Financial Aid disbursements can be considered extra capital for spending that would not normally be there if the Federal Government did not provide aid at all.

If you help someone pay for something, they can pay more for it—and for more of it.

The purpose of Financial Aid is to lower a student’s opportunity cost for a college education so they will be more likely to purchase. In other words, Financial Aid is there to make college “more affordable” in the short term (even in spite of inflating prices). Of course, we all know that Financial Aid is not accessible to everyone.

Like any business or industry, a college’s main incentive is to increase revenue. The way they do this is by charging students the most they possibly can for their service and bringing in as many new students as possible.

So the explanation goes like this: the more students that have Financial Aid for college tuition, the more Colleges can “get away with” charging more money for tuition every year--because there are more people that can afford the higher prices.

Sources:

¹http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/

²http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/tables/dt10_003.asp?referrer=report

³ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-26/tuition-jumps-8-3-doubling-inflation-as-obama-plans-debt-relief.html

⁴http://www.savingforcollege.com/tutorial101/the_real_cost_of_higher_education.php

⁵http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/39/45926093.pdf

⁶ http://chronicle.com/article/Across-30-Nations-Public/48323

Success!! Congress Tables PIPA & SOPA For Now

2012-01-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

I received this message in my email yesterday. Success! This message captures the excitement that results from a strong protest. We were heard, and at least for this issue, things are changing back to the people's favor. Now if only we can do the same thing for the NDAA!!

From Tiffiniy Cheng at Fight For The Future:

Hi everyone!

A big hurrah to you!!!!! We’ve won for now -- SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today -- the votes we’ve been scrambling to mobilize against have been cancelled.

The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game. You were heard.

On January 18th, 13 million of us took the time to tell Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet. Hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, people all around the world saw what we did on Wednesday. See the amazing numbers here and tell everyone what you did.
This was unprecedented.

Your activism may have changed the way people fight for the public interest and basic rights forever.

The MPAA (the lobby for big movie studios which created these terrible bills) was shocked and seemingly humbled. “‘This was a whole new different game all of a sudden,’ MPAA Chairman and former Senator Chris Dodd told the New York Times. ‘[PIPA and SOPA were] considered by many to be a slam dunk.’”

“'This is altogether a new effect,' Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing 'an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically' in the last four decades, he added."

Tweet with us, shout on the internet with us, let's celebrate: Round of applause to the 13 million people who stood up - #PIPA and #SOPA are tabled 4 now. #13millionapplause

We're indebted to everyone who helped in the beginning of this movement -- you, and all the sites that went out on a limb to protest in November -- Boing Boing and Mozilla Foundation (and thank you Tumblr, 4chan)! And the grassroots groups -- Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Demand Progress, CDT, and many more.

#SOPA and #PIPA will likely return in some form. But when they do, we'll be ready. Can you make a donation to Fight for the Future, to help us keep this fire going?

We changed the game this fall, and we're not gonna stop. $8, $20, every little bit helps.

13 million strong,

Tiffiniy, Holmes, Joshua, Phil, CJ, Donny, Douglas, Nicholas, Dean, David S. and Moore... Fight for the Future!

P.S. China's internet censorship system reminds us why the fight for democratic principles is so important: In the New Yorker: "Fittingly, perhaps, the discussion has unfolded on Weibo, the Twitter-like micro-blogging site that has a team of censors on staff to trim posts with sensitive political content. That is the arrangement that opponents of the bill have suggested would be required of American sites if they are compelled to police their users’ content for copyright violations. On Weibo, joking about SOPA’s similarities to Chinese censorship was sensitive enough that some posts on the subject were almost certainly deleted (though it can be hard to know).
...
After Chinese Web users got over the strangeness of hearing Americans debate the merits of screening the Web for objectionable content, they marvelled at the American response. Commentator Liu Qingyan wrote:

‘We should learn something from the way these American Internet companies protested against SOPA and PIPA. A free and democratic society depends on every one of us caring about politics and fighting for our rights. We will not achieve it by avoiding talk about politics.’"

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(press release is here: https://fightfortheftr.wordpress.com/press-releases/)