Free Markets

Few of us ever think about how the Ninth Amendment preserves all of our rights not cited in the Constitution. What are some examples of these unenumerated rights?

Obama would have you believe that $2,200 is a fiscal cliff, but $119,878 is just paying their fair share.

It is a crisis fabricated 100% by politicians. And avoiding the fiscal cliff is being used hypocritically for additional political gain.

With the enormous increase in the taxation of dividends, high net worth investors may be tempted to abandon dividend-paying stocks entirely. This is not necessary.

“I was talking to a doctor in town who said he was surprised how many patients he had seen with clinical depression over the election results. I believe the definition of clinical is the thought that ‘Things will never be good again.'”

Many people support public funding of disaster relief partly because they fear being described as unfeeling and selfish. Is there a moral obligation to support this public funding?

“Unless we begin to close this gap, then the inevitable result will be that our debt/GDP ratio will continue to rise, the Fed would print money to pay for the deficiency, inflation would follow, and the dollar would inevitably decline.”

Here are thirty reasons Obama doesn’t deserve a second term.

The presidential election should be settled by a single question: “Who caused the financial crisis of 2008?” President Obama’s entire campaign has centered on his claim that he inherited a mess caused by the failed policies of the past.

It might be a good idea to listen to those who watch the cause and effect in the economy on a regular basis.

In 2008 Obama captured 66% of the youth vote. But unlike the liberal ideological baby boom generation, millennials are more pragmatic. Support for Obama among the 18- to 29-year-old age group has dropped to 48%.

“Sesame Street,” for example, made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales from 2003-2006. Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 in compensation in 2008.

Perhaps the most significant part of the vice presidential debate was the exchange over Romney’s proposal to lower tax rates by 20% and close loopholes and deductions. Does the math add up?

David John Marotta was featured on radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show on October 9, 2012 discussing politics and the upcoming election, focusing on small businesses and their tax burden.

Since the time of Adam Smith, free enterprise has always needed defenders. Though imperfect at best, the record of immigrants striving to reach America’s shores proves that our forefathers’ defense of free enterprise created fertile soil for human flourishing.

Just over 12% of small business tax returns had gross receipts over $250,000. Their marginal tax return is the highest and tax changes to this group is what has the greatest effect on employment.

Two critical questions were raised during the first presidential debate: Are small businesses important to American’s prosperity? And if they are, which candidate will unleash that engine of economic growth and employment? Fact-checking the candidates offers a clear answer.

Personally I think it is a mistake to value supporting the government (taxes) higher than supporting society (charitable giving).

I am always amazed at the power of a good story. A good story teller will always have more influence than encyclopedia of powerful data points. Politicians understand this concept better than most, which is why they spend time talking about people.

Interview with George Marotta on his time at Stanford’s Hoover Institution with Miilton Friedman, Thomas Sowell and Edward Teller.

MarketWatch is seeking a top-notch writer who will bring a fresh perspective on money to the world’s investors. We believe that fresh perspective ought to include the idea of freedom investing.

Is Social Justice
an expression of good will towards the less fortunate -OR-
a principle that rewards should be determined by political power?

Sometimes the medium term trend seems to weigh more heavily in our minds than the long or short term trends.

David Marotta appeared recently on radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show discussing Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential pick of Paul Ryan, and what Ryan’s economics really look like.

It would have been more accurate to say, “The Joint committee on Taxation by agreement with congress is required to limit their analysis to a fixed GDP assumption.”

If eight times as many people are leaving the country than they were 4 years ago, maybe there’s something wrong with the country?

Mitt Romney’s recent announcement of Paul Ryan as his running mate makes this election even more about government spending, programs and taxes. Ryan is the primary author of the Republican-led House’s 2013 budget proposal. Consider these five proposals to evaluate Romney’s wisdom in selecting him.

There’s a term in the financial world for Internet sites like these and that term is “fraud.”

David John Marotta appeared recently on 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show discussing power–particularly government power–and what kind is the most dangerous.

Apparently, Never. The Dodd-Frank bill can be likened to giving the government unlimited powers and asking them to eliminate evil.

Countries are constantly in flux, and with all the noise of the markets, it is easy for the noise drown out the signal.

The unintended consequences of good intentions can do more economic harm than all the mean-spirited greed within capitalism.

David John Marotta was interviewed on radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show discussing the idea of “equality” in society.

Most work toward equality of results impoverishes everyone.

Studies suggest that brains may be wired with either a utopian or a tragic view of the world, corresponding roughly to liberals and conservatives. We continue to talk past each other in political debates.

How the five countries with the most economic freedom (Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Switzerland and Canada) and Emerging Markets have been faring in comparison to the EAFE Index?

The rules which would begin to be applied to the watchdogs would not be for the sake of protecting the roost no matter how much the foxes suggest they do.

David John Marotta was interview on radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show discussing why you shouldn’t hold gold or cash, how governments can destabalize economies, and what investments you should hold instead.

What we would really like to measure are the changes in price (P) that cause a company with a good long-term track record to look relatively cheap. Economist Robert Shiller created just such a measurement.

The qualified dividend tax rate is currently at a maximum of 15%, as are capital gains. Starting January 1, 2013, dividend tax rates will go up to the investor’s ordinary income rate.

“Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt is one of the classics which should be required reading before voting. It is interesting to see that he knew more in 1946 than the politicians of our age.

“Unlike the government economic advisor, these entrepreneurial castaways are not making, i.e. printing, money. Instead, they’re creating new wealth by producing things that others find valuable.”

Freedom scores ranged from #1 in freedom Hong Kong at 89.9 to #92 ranked mostly unfree Italy at 58.8.

Over the past five years, countries with the most economic freedom averaged annual returns just below emerging markets.

Sovereign debt and deficit weigh most heavily on a country’s level of government spending, one of the ten components of freedom in the Heritage Foundation economic freedom study

We believe this is one of the times when your asset allocation should tilt foreign and overweight the handful of countries with high economic freedom.

New Zealand, the fourth highest country in economic freedom, joined the United States with positive returns for 2011.

The equation of the trend line shows that every point on the freedom index was worth 0.36% annual return over the past year.

Now at year end, I will review how freedom investing fared in 2011 and in the decade since 2002.

The world markets groaned as the burden of the rising American debt and the European deficit weighed down more productive countries.