2022 is no exception. Since 1991, Congress has failed to pass its twelve appropriations bills. To avoid public failure, Congress takes the easy route. It bundles all spending into the proverbial secret Santa grab bag called an Omnibus appropriation. The corporatists and social advocates, like children opening presents, must wait to find out what they got until they can read the new law. The timing is usually the end of the year before Congress goes home for Christmas.

While Republicans claim they want to stop the next giveaway, they want their share of gifts even more. For this year’s share, several Republicans will likely help the Democrat business community keep their prize gifts, favorable tax treatment for research and development, and carried interest. The social activists want billions of dollars of higher childcare tax credits. The final deal is always more spending, never less.

Since the beginning of the republic, there has been a debate over the scope of Congress’s power to spend our money and then tax us to generate more money for Congress to spend. James Madison argued Congress could only spend on the items enumerated in the Constitution. Alexander Hamilton argued the Constitution’s Spending clause is independent of the enumerated powers, thus allowing Congress to tax and spend as it deems necessary. The only limitation – spending must be for the general welfare, and Congress is the only institution that determines the general welfare.

Continuing to debate the limits of Congressional spending is a waste of time. The Supreme Court has made it clear that Congress can spend on whatever it wants as long as it promotes the general welfare.

Such a broad interpretation of Congress’ ability to tax and spend has resulted in a massive expansion of government and a $31 plus a trillion national debt.  The growth of the national debt will likely force posterity into involuntary servitude to the federal government. Most troubling is that the general welfare has morphed from building canals, bridges, and highways to make the U.S. an economic superpower into trillions of dollars of gifts to special interests and friends. These gifts to private entities come in the form of grants, tax credits, low rates, loan forgiveness, and paycheck protection plans.

Listed below are a few of the thousands of congressional gifts to private parties.

Suspending  $20 billion of student loan payments for two years and now seeking $600 billion more in student loan forgiveness based on the Higher Education Relief Opportunities Act of 2003, an act that addresses national welfare emergencies.

$ 721 billion was given in grants to states as a bribe to manage federal programs enacted outside the constitutional authority of Congress to legislate.

Forgiving tens of billions of dollars of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans made to organizations controlled by the elite rich such as Paul Pelosi (husband of the Speaker of the House); Khloe Kardashian, Tom Brady and Reese Witherspoon, Forbes Media, Ruth Chris Steakhouse, The Washington Times, and more than a few members of Congress.

$16 billion was given in farm aid to offset losses suffered by farmers on tariffs imposed on products sold to China. The top 10% of farmers receive 70% of the subsidies. This top 10% includes insurance companies, multinational corporations, and corporate farms.

Flood insurance subsidies are given to insure high-end housing in flood-prone areas, i.e., beach front properties. This insurance program is potentially liable for $1.3 trillion in flood claims while only collecting $3.5 billion in annual premiums. The program already has $25 billion in losses taxpayers will have to pay.

The $330 billion prescription drug industry received $64 billion in federal research funding, along with  immunity for any harm their drugs may cause.

Most recently, through the falsely named “Inflation Reduction Act,” Congress authorized $370 in new tax credits for corporations and individuals if they acquire green energy products or build green energy facilities. These tax credits are in addition to federal regulations imposing energy efficiency requirements on at least sixty products and $577 billion in tax credits and grants for green energy projects since 2004. The tax credits are to boost corporate sales of electric vehicles, the installation of rooftop solar panels, the development of solar power systems, heat pumps, water heaters, space heating, electric stoves, circuit breaker boxes, additional home insulation, and exterior windows, to name a few beneficiaries.

A week before the passage of the IRA, Congress authorized $280 billion to incentivize the semiconductor industry to build plants in the U.S. and invest in new research. The $ 573 billion semiconductor industry is expected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2029 due to high product demand.

With a $31 trillion-plus national debt, citizens need to appreciate that every taxpayer owes $247,882 as their portion of the debt.

Christmas gifts to children are rewarding when parents see happiness in their eyes. Unfortunately, as some of these children grow up, they still expect gifts from the real Santa Claus, the federal government. The federal government likes playing Santa but never considers the immutable fact that the only money the federal government has is what it takes from taxpayers. The federal Santa game is simple. The federal government sees the glimmer in the eyes of its friends when they find out about the billion-dollar gifts they received for doing nothing. This tradition is the true meaning of a Washington, DC Christmas.

The post Yes, Virginia, The Federal Government is the Real Santa Claus appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

-Frank Reynolds, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

(Disclaimer 1: I do not have children. After you read this, you will probably say, “Thank God.”)

When I was a child, my family took Christmas very seriously. Though we weren’t what you would call serious churchgoers, we went all out for Yuletide. Lights, decorations, a blinged out tree, and of course the whole Santa Claus thing. My father, to his credit, was an exceptionally good Santa. Though we often didn’t have a lot of money, Santa always managed to show up and do his thing.

I was the most fervent Santa believer of all the kids in our house. He generally brought me what I wanted, too, except for that one year I went overboard and requested my own personal flying reindeer (as noted in a prior piece.) That was a bridge too far even for Ol’ St. Nick.

But all good things must come to an end. Eventually, the truth must come out. When my folks finally told little Chris the truth about Santa, I of course did not react well. In fact, I bawled my adorable little eyes out.

My dad’s reaction? To grab a camera and take a picture of my caterwauling. Isn’t his trauma so cute?

Now that I am older, jaded, and thoroughly damaged, I look back on the whole Santa thing and think: what the fuck? 

If one views the Santa Claus mythos at face value, it’s batshit crazy.

He supposedly lives at the North Pole—where there is no actual land. Is he on a huge ass boat? Does he hole up in some sort of Bond villain-ish underwater lair? Did he build his evil empire on a sheet of (literal) thin ice?

He supervises a team of elves. How are they paid? What are the benefits? Are they unionized? Are the elves a minority group that is being exploited? Are they, in fact, slave labor? Does the Thirteenth Amendment apply to the North Pole?

Who has jurisdiction over the pole, anyway? Canada? Russia? Denmark (via Greenland?) Are NATO and NORAD aware of this possible national security threat lurking in the middle of the Arctic Ocean?

Santa tells young children to sit on his lap and tell him all of their most base, greedy, material desires, which he will grant them…in exchange for certain behaviors. Nothing creepy about that. Grooming much?

Is Santa, for lack of a better term, a pedo? Or at least pedo-adjacent? Did he take the ol’ sleigh down to Epstein Island for a little jailbait action? Check those flight logs. Does the North Pole bear more than a passing resemblance to Neverland Ranch? Is he a prime candidate for chemical castration? How did this creeper survive the “Me Too” purges? Concerned citizens want to know.

Santa also accepts fan letters in lieu of lap dances. Still weird, but at least more sanitary.

He enters millions (or billions) or homes in the middle of the night undetected. Nothing creepy about that either, right?

What sort of acid-inspired fever dream thought up flying reindeer in the first place?

He is omniscient, knowing whether every single one of the 2.2 billion children on the planet has been good or bad for the last year. Does he accomplish this by some sort of magic? Or, does he have a 24/7/365 surveillance system that would be the envy of the NSA and the CIA even in their wettest of dreams? What would Edward Snowden think about this gross violation of privacy rights?

He is also omnipresent, at least on Christmas Eve, visiting the households of those 2.2 billion children in under twenty-four hours.

So we have omniscience and omnipresence. The only ingredient missing here is omnipotence. If Santa can somehow pull that off, then He isn’t just some jolly old elf. Santa is God. That has some pretty serious theological implications. Santa can not only bring you presents if you’ve been good, he can send your eternal soul to Hell if you’ve been bad. (The sad thing is, if this was made into a new religion tomorrow, it wouldn’t even be the craziest one out there.)

Are Santa’s acts a violation of the Non Aggression Principle? Does he only come into homes when he’s been invited? What constitutes an invitation? Cookies and milk? Does he just telepathically know? Is a child’s invitation legal even if his/her parents object?

You know who else requires an invitation to enter your home? Vampires, that’s who. Nobody’s ever seen Santa Claus and Count Dracula in the same place at the same time, you know. The mind wanders…

Entering a home without permission is trespassing; entering that home not only without permission but when people are present is straight up home invasion. If you catch Santa poking around downstairs at midnight, you are legally allowed smoke him. That’s Castle Doctrine, Holmes. Double tap that corpulent bastard in America and no authority will prosecute you. (Except maybe renegade St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner, who will indict your grandma’s fruitcake if it is politically to the right of Che Guevara.)

Even if we accept that there are many problems with the Santa mythology: why did we create him in the first place?

Essentially, Santa exists as a form of behavior modification. Be good, you are rewarded. Be bad, and you will be punished.

But why outsource this? Why lie? If I had a child, I would want him or her to know that I was the one rewarding him or her for good. I would want the credit. Fobbing it off on a fictional third party just seems lazy and wrong.

The same goes for punishment. If Santa exists as the holiday carrot, then Krampus and Belsnickel act as the holiday stick. But the same thought applies: why outsource your punishments? I wouldn’t want my kids believing some mythical anti-Santa is going to smack them if they get out of line;  I would rather they know it’s me that would be beating that ass. And not Christmas Eve, either; your bundle of switches or lump of coal will be delivered tout de suite.

The fact that Santa, Krampus, and Belsnickel all have Germanic origins tell you all you need to know about German culture. It’s not enough to terrify Poland, France, or Europe in general; they must also terrorize their own children. No way these folks could start two world wars and kill millions, right?

(Disclaimer 2: I am largely of German descent, so I can say this shit.)

Lying to kids at a young age only to reveal your treachery later plants seeds of distrust that can lead them to later question all sorts of other things. It’s a slippery slope from Santa to the void.

If you don’t use Santa as a behavior modification tool, then he’s just a prank. A fun thing you do with kids, right? What’s the harm?

But what fun is it to punk a child? There’s not a lot of sport in it. Don’t pat yourself too hard on the back after you pull a fast one on a rug rat. Or take pictures of him crying after you reveal your long running elaborate ruse.

If I were fortunate enough to have children of my own to traumatize, I would choose to do it in different (yet probably no less Teutonic) ways. Regardless, I would certainly advise them to stay off the laps of strangers who promise them goodies in exchange for who knows what. Nothing good comes from that. That’s just common sense.

This is the conversation I would have with my imaginary child regarding Kris Kringle:

“Daddy, is Santa Claus real?”

“Life is meaningless. Nothing you do matters. You are just one individual among a species of primates with billions of relatives living on a tiny rock in the middle of nowhere.”

Just kidding. I would cover that later. But as to Father Christmas, I would actually respond:

“No, it’s total bullshit. But you’re real. I’m real. Our family is real. Beyond that, everything is negotiable. And oh by the way, there’s no such thing as ‘free’, and taxation is theft.”

In a more rational world, we’d march Santa Claus, Elf on the Shelf, Silver Spurs, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy up the stairs to the guillotine and let the blade sing.

The rapey old coot is dead; long live Mom and Dad.

The post Santa Claus: Who Needs Him? appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

The South Bend mayor said that he joined “millions around the world in celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty..”  

It was his next characterization of Jesus that brought on an avalanche of scorn and mockery,  “…not as a citizen but as a refugee.”

He was schooled on history and geography since Mary and Joseph actually traveled to their hometown as required by the Roman government for a census.

Christians and non-Christians alike took issue with what they see as Buttigieg’s hypocritical use of religion for his campaign platform, including Townhall’s Kurt Schlichter and the Daily Wire’s Josh Hammer.

And, of course, no one has forgotten Mayor Pete’s biblical cherry-picking to defend abortion up until the first breath.

[Related: Buttigieg Draws On Bible, Suggests Unborn Babies Can Be Aborted Up Until Their First Breath]

While it may seem risky for Buttigieg to incorporate his religious views into his campaign, it is likely that this appeals to more moderate, ‘boomer’ Democrats. He has gained ground in recent months, and some are making the case for why he could be the Democratic candidate to defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

The post Pete Buttigieg’s Not-So-Merry Christmas Tweet appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

James Bovard 

When I moved from the mountains of Virginia to Boston in 1977, it was just like the Beverly Hillbillies going to California except I didn’t have $80 million. I had dropped out of college and decided Boston was the place to pursue literary fame and fortune. I had sold one piece a few months earlier and naively presumed I could speedily sell enough articles to survive in the big city.

No suck luck. I struck out everywhere I submitted and was soon  slicing the gravy extra thin. I took refuge in what is now almost a relic from a bygone era — the Help Wanted section of the Boston Globe.

Two days later, I reported for a Santa Claus training session run by Western Temporary Services. A motley crew showed up for that gig, including two guys who caterwauled about being summoned at such an ungodly hour. I was puzzled by their moaning since it was noon. The primary qualification for the job was not dropping a flask on the floor during the 28 minute training session.

After a long subway ride and bus trip to a Filene’s department store in the south suburbs, I met the Boss Lady from Hell. Her forehead was a Mississippi Delta of throbbing veins and her eyes bulged as if she’d mainlined caffeine every day since Nixon resigned. She looked me over, grimaced, snorted, and growled: “I hope you’re not like those Santas that damn temp agency sent me last year.”

“Why? What’d they do?” I asked.

“The first one was a wino who drooled on kids while slurring the names of his reindeer. The second pranced around like Peter Pan. The third was the worst — he seemed perfectly normal till he dropped trousers with a hundred kids watching.”

I made a note to double check the belt on the Santa outfit.

Boss Lady was only in her mid-40s but she was crotchety beyond her years. She greeted me everyday with the traditional Boston “Howahya?….. LISTEN!!!! I thought I told you to shave that red beard. Stop eating so many potato chips. Now, get out there and look jolly gawddammit.” Her management motto was, “spare the cussing, spoil the underling.”

I worked as a restaurant Santa, circling the dining room and talking to kiddies as they munched their two-star cuisine. As a walk-around Santa, physical contact with the kids rarely extended beyond a pat on the head. That was also an excellent recipe for keeping the Santa outfit dry.

Visiting Santa was a highlight of the holiday season for lots of  kids, many of whom engaged in screaming contests to draw me to their tables. But that exuberance wasn’t universal. I walked up to one agitated four-year old, blond-haired girl clutching her chair’s arms rests like a life raft. I asked what she wanted for Christmas. She gritted her teeth and replied: “I want you to leave.” (RELATED: Philadelphians Are Angry Their Tattooed Mall Santa Has To Tone It Down)

I never aspired to fit the cookie cutter mold of Santa. My laugh has always been rambunctious and it became rowdier when I occasionally slammed down a beer before clocking in as Claus. One petrified seven-year-old boy who was clinging to his mother’s skirt sputtered at me: “Santa, you have a weird laugh.” My Cheshire Cat grin failed to tamp down his fears. That same boisterous laugh got me evicted from the press box of the Supreme Court almost 20 years later.

There were a few youngsters each night who savored the chance to expose me as a fraud. After a few minutes’ interrogation, such kids usually beamed after proving that I could not possibly exist. I would shrug and say, “Well, if I’m not Santa Claus, I guess I can’t bring you any presents.” The secular version of Pascal’s famous wager  quickly hushed most hecklers. And for those who refused to recant, I gave ‘em a wink and mosied merrily on my way.

As I traipsed around the restaurant one night, a four-year-old, curly-haired Shirley Temple lookalike was yelping up a storm. When I stopped at her table, she went mum as a Greek statue. The more I implored her to speak, the tighter she pursued her lips and stared at me unblinking.

So I asked her standard-issue suburban Mom — middlin’ height, middlin’ physique, dishwater brown hair — what she wanted for Christmas.

“Nah — you don’t want to hear what I want,” she said sheepishly.

“Sure I do — tell Santa what you want.”

“For Christmas, I want to be laid twice.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult in Boston,” I shrugged and moved on to the next challenge. I hustled away before she offered to show me her tattoos.

Near closing time the following evening, I sauntered up to a large table with five kids and their genial mother. The children were well-dressed, enjoying a dinner out after putting up Christmas decorations at their church. Three of the kids were still “believers.” I got their wish lists while their older siblings behaved immaculately, not snickering once. The mother — tall, lithe, late 30ish, wearing a long green skirt — leaned back contentedly puffing Virginia Slims. After her flock finished their recitals, and with five young faces peering on, she asked laconically, “What time do you get off work, Santa Claus?”

It wasn’t me, it was the uniform. The alternative explanation is downright unflattering: that women found me more attractive when the only part of me that was uncovered was the swath that the Lone Ranger hid.

Towards the end of my final night on the job, the assistant manager summoned me to follow her to a nook in the restaurant far from the prevailing hubbub. As I readied the jollity, Boss Lady Jr. tapped me on the shoulder: “The little girl is blind.”

There sat two of the most tranquil people I had seen the entire holiday season. The mother was resting her left hand lightly on the shoulder of a little brown-haired girl. When her mom announced, “And here comes Santa Claus,” a gentle smile bloomed across that six-year-old’s face.

I encouraged the daughter to touch the fake Santa beard. Unlike some kids, she did not attempt to yank it off as if she was capturing the enemy’s flag. I have forgotten what she requested for Christmas but it wasn’t a pony or an Au Pair or anything else that would send her parents to bankruptcy court.

Speaking softly, I described some of the Christmas decorations in the restaurant. She beamed so I rattled on about the meaning of Christmas. I had seen a lot of warmth between parents and children that season, but the bond between this mother and daughter was more precious than any other. There was such a radiance from her mother’s love, I knew that girl would have a wonderful Christmas.

Visiting with those two rejuvenated my holiday spirit in a way that a bowl of spiked egg nog never could. Many years down the road, when the Christmas season sometimes seems bleak, thinking back on that mother and daughter puts a sparkle back in my eyes. And I count my blessings that I no longer have to don a garish suit and false whiskers to pocket $3.50 an hour frightening children with my laugh.

James Bovard is the author of “Attention Deficit Democracy,” “The Bush Betrayal,” “Terrorism and Tyranny,” and other books. Bovard is on the USA Today Board of Contributors. He is on Twitter at @jimbovard. His website is at www.jimbovard.com

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.

This article is republished with permission from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Image: twofridas

The post Fear And Loathing In A Mall Santa Uniform appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

Older adults in the U.S. are more likely than those around the world to age alone: More than a quarter of Americans ages 60 and older live alone (27%), compared with a global average of 16%. There are only 14 countries with higher shares of older adults living alone, and all are in Europe. …

The most common arrangement for older U.S. adults, however, is to live as a couple without children or relatives. Almost half of U.S. adults ages 60 and older live in such households (46%), compared with a global average of 31%. Conversely, older U.S. adults are much less likely to live with a wider circle of relatives. Just 6% of older U.S. adults live in extended-family households, compared with 38% of adults ages 60 and older globally.

For the last five months, I have lived alone in a mostly empty five-bedroom house, my daughter and her family having moved to Scranton, where her husband found his dream job. As a result, I spend most of my days in silence worthy of a monastery. I find myself talking to myself more than ever before in my life.

I do go to town once a day, usually to the coffee shop, where the baristas and some of the customers know my name. If I feel the need to talk, I call my children and friends. Sometimes life in this house gets lonely, but my writing requires large swatches of solitude, and I am blessed with a mental constitution that handles solitude reasonably well.

The same is not true of all people my age.

Various studies have shown that many seniors who live alone suffer higher rates of depression, obesity, anxiety, cognitive decline, and other disorders compared to those with closer ties to friends and family. Some research indicates that loneliness also increases the risk of an early death.

So what can we do to help those who live alone – our mother in an assisted-living facility, our grandfather in the next town, that neighbor we pass in the hallway of our apartment building?

Here are five easy actions to help the elderly feel more engaged with the world around them.

1. Pick up the phone.

A brother-in-law of mine calls his 90-year-old father every Sunday afternoon and speaks with him at length. His father becomes confused sometimes, and often repeats himself, but Tom doesn’t mind. It’s not the reason for his calls. He’s there for his dad.

2. “Reach out and touch someone.”

That’s an AT&T jingle from 40 years ago, but it contains an important message about touch. Touching someone is a powerful form of communication. The waitress who touches a customer’s shoulder receives a larger tip than one who does not. Coaches know that a pat on the back builds confidence in players.

The magic of touch holds true for all of us, and acts as powerful medicine for old people. Holding our mother’s hand if she is bedridden, hugging her, even brushing her hair, all of these are antidotes to solitude.

3. Listen.

Old people are living libraries, repositories of experience. Encourage that elderly aunt to reminisce about her childhood. Ask the gentlemanly fellow in your apartment building, the one with the Eastern European accent, about his history. Not only are we helping alleviate the loneliness of these people, we may also learn things we never knew.

4. Write notes and letters.

I walk to the mailbox around four every afternoon, and nearly every afternoon walk back to the house with two or three advertisements that go into the trash unopened. A person who feels lonely must surely suffer when day after day he goes to the mailbox, hoping against hope for some personal letter, only to find credit card offers and grocery store ads. Write a letter of appreciation to your dad, or slip a Christmas card beneath a neighbor’s door.

5. Surprise them with gifts.

In the film “Finding Forrester,” an elderly writer gives this piece of advice to his young protégé: “The key to a woman’s heart is an unexpected gift at an unexpected time.” This is a key to my heart as well. Just this morning, I was at the bank when the teller went into a nearby room and returned with a tin filled with sugared pecans and topped by a Christmas card. It was a gift of customer appreciation, but that little surprise brightened the morning’s gloomy winter.

When my pre-teen granddaughters were still living in this house, every once in a while they baked cookies and took some to an elderly widow a block away. It made her day. While I’m sure the woman enjoyed the treats, I’m also sure she enjoyed having visitors more.

Presents are good.

But presence is all.

—

This post Fighting Loneliness During the Holidays was originally published on Intellectual Takeout by Jeff Minick.

The post Fighting Loneliness During the Holidays appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

Listen up kid, you could have starred in your own feel-good Original Hallmark Movie about saving your parents’ marriage on Christmas. Instead you wrote this ridiculous song. You could have tipped your father off without making a complete fool of him on the radio. I’m sure you’re sitting there wondering what’s taking him so long to get back home with that pack of cigarettes he went out for. Merry Christmas, you little shit.

Your neighbor Scott said Santa alerted the entire neighborhood about your mom by flying away from your house, laughing Ho Ho Ho. I wouldn’t be surprised if your mom ruins some of their marriages too while she’s at it. At this point, you really should tell her to start browsing Sugar Daddy. 

Last Christmas

You whiny emo douchebag. If you waited until Christmas to give her your heart, it’s really no surprise that the very next day she gave it away. This year won’t save you from tears, because it sounds like you’re about to repeat the exact same mistake. You’re not all that bright, are you. Maybe that’s why this song plays every goddamn year. You just never learn!

Did it ever occur to you that there is more than one day a year? It’s rather insulting to not pay attention to someone the other 364 days and then act like you’re the 2nd Coming of Jesus on Christmas. But the very next day it was back to playing video games and watching sports ALL THE TIME. Who could blame her for junking that? Get over yourself, and quit making her out to be the problem. This has been happening to you every year since 1984. Maybe that’s a hint?

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

Look, I love getting together with extended family as much as anyone else. But at some point, I want them to leave. Having them be snowed in with me is not my idea of a Merry Christmas. To make matters worse, snow covered branches are falling onto power lines and it’s only a matter of time before your circuit goes down too. Fun!

Snow needs to stay the hell out of the lowlands, and Christmas is no exception. A good Christmas song needs to be universally applicable. Southern states don’t even get snow. The concept of dreaming of a White Christmas doesn’t even make sense to people in the South. 

[Correction: We have been informed by David Duke that dreaming of a White Christmas makes perfect sense to people in the South]

Christmas Shoes

Look, I know that we’re trying to be as inclusive as possible here… but the whole Mommy got cancer for Christmas is seriously jumping the shark. 

According to the website Song Facts:

“The song’s storyline was inspired by a Christmas story that St. Louis-based radio personality DC Chymes found on the Internet. A NewSong fan, Chymes asked Eddie Carswell to write a song based on the narrative.”

Did it ever occur to you that what you found on the internet was an edgy Helen Keller Joke? What did the blind deaf mute get for Christmas? Cancer!”

STFU and sing, happy shit.

Mr Grinch

Did you all ever think that maybe The Grinch is the way he is because every five minutes someone is singing a song about what a piece of shit he is?

Look, there’s only so much that someone can take. Maybe he didn’t hate Christmas. Maybe he hated The Whos and their stupid moobs that stick out past their bellies and their dumb songs and Mitt Romney look-a-like mayors.

I’d be pretty pissed off too.

Like, this is bullshit. I could have been taking a nap with the Lorax but instead I’m stuck in a snowy cave having to hear all the Noise Noise NOISE? Go hop on pop and then kiss my ass.

The post The Five Worst Christmas Songs (And Scathing Rebuttals) appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

You know the story. Second cousin Jimbo or a neighbor two streets over presents a fruit cake or poinsettia or some such item for some reason. (Maybe you helped them, or maybe they want to expand membership in their Potlatch Gang, of which more below.) Suddenly, you and/or your significant other feel obliged to send something of similar value their way. (Perhaps you can regift a la Seinfeld.)

Don’t be ashamed by that impulse. As Adam Smith argued centuries ago, human beings are innate exchangers, the only species that regularly trades with unrelated conspecifics. Or as Smith put it: “The propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another … is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of animals.” We are not quite Homo oeconomicus, but we are certainly Homo negotiatione.

In fact, many an anthropologist has confused unilateral transfers — i.e., true gifts — with various inefficient forms of exchange. Some even speak of obvious oxymorons like gift-exchange economies, including the infamous potlatch system of the Northwest Coast Indian tribes, that upon closer inspection turn out to be credit and capital markets skewed in favor of politically powerful chiefs.

In potlatch systems, X receives Z from Y today but must “give” Z+ to Y in the future, or lose face or reputation. If X and Y are Indians and Z is smoked salmon, the anthropologists present it as a pre-market utopia characterized by “mutual reciprocity” or some such jargon. If X and Y are corporations and Z is cash or financial securities, the same transaction suddenly becomes evil capitalism.

In any event, as Art Carden recently reminded us, don’t feel compelled to reciprocate out of some vague notion that you will thereby “help the economy.” Christmas consumption does not a vibrant economy make. What matters to our prosperity is productivity, the efficient creation of goods — stuff or services with positive value, as opposed to bads. So, if you want, invest your money in stocks, or cryptocurrency, or simply stuff it under your mattress rather than join the Potlatch Gang. “The economy” will adjust to your desires (to the extent the government allows it to).

In fact, economists have long since shown that Christmas actually hurts the economy by creating what they call deadweight losses — costs imposed by Christmas potlatching that are not somebody else’s gain. If X gives Y some Z that Y doesn’t really want, Z is a bad that goes to waste, or Y’s time is wasted returning Z. The deadweight loss is of course further compounded if Y gives X something that X considers a bad.

Gift cards reduce deadweight losses by expanding Y’s consumption possibilities from a specific Z to the range of goods the card can command, Z₁ to Z_N, but the gift card rarely purchases exactly what its holder wants, burdening Y with a less desirable model or brand and/or an unused balance or shortfall she/he must pay out of pocket.

Real money is the obvious solution, but I’m told it is considered tacky to give people cash for Christmas. I suspect that is due in part to the fact that cash exposes the silliness of contrived exchanges. We are born and conditioned to reciprocate with goods of approximately equal value, as in standard market trading. So if X transfers to Y a piece of greenish paper bearing Benjamin Franklin’s likeness, Y wants to transfer to X five $20 bills in return, thus reducing the potlatch to merely making change.

Moreover, what seems to keep Christmas and other reciprocal gift-exchange systems going is a form of arbitrage whereby X gives Y something that appears to be worth $100 in the hope that Y will reciprocate with something actually worth a Benjamin.

My dear wife is a master at this, obtaining goods on auction sites for pennies on the dollar, then gifting them to friends and family who expressed an interest in those specific goods. She manages to signal via social media what she would like in return, not quite as efficiently as a wedding gift registry but effective enough for her purposes, matched to the full retail value of the gifted goods she obtained much more cheaply. Best of all, the profit from receiving a $100 gift in exchange for one that cost only $20 isn’t taxable! (Not yet, anyway.)

Complicating matters is the time component, which leads to strategies like tit for tat. Over the years, I have overheard several parents explaining to a child in some big box store that they cannot give little Johnnie that cool toy everybody wants because last year little Johnnie only coughed up some trinket and he has to pay for his (parents’) scrooginess.

I could delve into more of the intricacies of the gift-exchange systems in modern America but shan’t because I don’t want to leave the impression that giving is bad. In fact, true unilateral transfers appear noble because they are as close to altruistic behavior as we can expect. My beef is not with true giving; it is with inefficient trading disguised as giving.

I therefore recommend turning to a true gift system: If you receive a gift, do not think “How much is this worth? And what can I get for the giver worth about the same? And why oh why did this person burden me in this busy season?”

Instead, thank the giver via phone, text, email, or card as appropriate and inform him or her that you will not diminish the joy they get from giving by reciprocating. Refrain from making snarky remarks like “I will put this fruitcake into my bug-out bag and when The End comes and it is the last piece of semi-edible ‘food’ left on the planet, will think of you kindly,” and the giver might even appreciate your action. Or they will hate you and never give you anything ever again. Either way, problem solved.

If giving brings you joy, then by all means give, especially to those you know have specific needs, and make clear in a card that you do not expect, or want, anything in return, that the unilateral nature of the transfer is your only reward. We do this with our own children, of course, by tricking them into believing that some magical fat dude gave them all that great stuff under the tree. Santa Claus is an efficient fib because after kids learn the truth, they often just add to the deadweight loss of Christmas by taking money from one parent to buy often-unwanted gifts for the other!

Perhaps the easiest way to make unilateral transfers is to give cash to charities, which are always out in force this time of year and forbidden by the IRS from reciprocating. If you believe in freedom and liberty, consider giving to Historians Against Slavery, the modern antislavery NGO of which I am treasurer, or the AIER, the governance system of which, unlike that of most universities, guarantees that your gift will never support the forces of statism or anti-market, anti-liberty research.

Merry Christmas, and so forth!

Robert E. Wright

Robert E. Wright is the Nef Family Chair of Political Economy at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He is the author of 18 books, including a new book on financial exclusion published by AIER.

This article is republished with permission from the American Institute for Economic Research.

The post How to Avoid the Dead-Weight Loss of Christmas appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

Mary Margaret Olohan 

Singer John Legend will release a rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” this Christmas featuring the line, “It’s your body, and your choice.”

The musician spoke out about his upcoming Christmas releases in an interview with Vanity Fair, explaining that he has changed the lyrics in collaboration with actress and writer Natasha Rothwell and singer Kelly Clarkson. The publication reported that Legend’s new lyrics give the song a “newfound sensitivity” that “feels genuine, not performative.”

The song has come under fire for what Vanity Fair calls its “date rapey” aspects, with proponents of the #METOO movement saying that the song is sexist and manipulative and has no place in modern society. Some radio stations banned the song during the Christmas 2018 season.

Legend’s adapted lyrics seek to replace the criticized aspects of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with a new message.

“What will my friends think…” Clarkson will sing, to which Legend will interject. “I think they should rejoice.” Clarkson will ask “…if I have one more drink?”

“It’s your body, and your choice,” Legend will respond.

Deana Martin, the daughter of the singer who performed one of the most famous renditions of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” Dean Martin, bashed critics in Christmas 2018, saying she will continue to perform the song regardless of criticism.

“There’s nothing bad about that song. And it just breaks my heart and I know my dad would be going insane right now … He would say, what’s the matter with you? You know, get over it. It’s just a fun song,” Deana Martin said.

“I was absolutely flabbergasted,” she added, regarding backlash over the song. “It’s just insane. When I heard it and I said, this can’t possibly be. You know, it’s a sweet, flirty, fun, holiday song that, well, it’s been around for 50 years.”

The post John Legend’s ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ Cover Features The Line ‘It’s Your Body, And Your Choice’ appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

The Libertarian Republic has received some leaks from the families and staff of some officials, representatives, and senators, including immediate reactions and comments.

Rumor has it Lindsey Graham claimed, “This is a direct attack on America. I believe the President should start preparing troops to land in the Arctic.” He is hoping after the President’s most recent announcement to withdraw from Syria, that we can refocus our forces to the North Pole. When asked if the Senate would approve such an action, Graham donned a dark black hood and declared, “I am the Senate!”

We heard from a source within the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office that she is, “Having all three chambers of government focus on this threat.” She believes, “This is a cat call from Santa Claus and I will not have it.” Ocasio was also asked about the 0% unemployment at the North Pole, and claims, “It is low because of elves making toys for more than one child.”

Bernie Sanders has publicly announced that he did not receive coal, but instead Economics in One Lesson. He declared, “I don’t need such a book” and then asked his butler to throw it in the fireplace at his third house. His staff says he is now drafting a bill to “establish a federal minimum gift amount” because “every child deserves a livable gift amount,” and will introduce it in 2019.

Senator-Elect Joshua Hawley from the state of Missouri says he actually woke up while Santa was at his house. In a press release, he stated, “When up the roof there arose such a clatter, I ran to the garage to grab my political ladder. I told my constituents I wouldn’t be another crony, but an endorsement from Donald Trump and Santa will surely make them look past that I’m an establishment phony. Nothing was up there for my eyes to see, except a gym membership for one ‘GOP Golden Boy,’ at which I exclaimed, ‘Hey! That’s me!’” It was later discovered that the address listed for the gym was actually a nearby coal mine.

When asking Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh if he knows why he received coal, he replied,“I don’t remember.” When asked why he doesn’t remember, he emotionally proclaimed, “I drank eggnog with my friends. Sometimes I had too much eggnog. I liked eggnog. I still like eggnog.”

Former Vice President Al Gore said, “This is Santa saying he supports global warming! I urge congress to focus on eco friendly regulations for all toy factories and flying sleighs in this coming session.” He then hopped into a private plane and headed to his town car in LA, where he will be speaking on carbon emissions.

When we asked the Clintons if they received coal, all they said in reply was, “What difference, at this point, does it make?!” As the interview concluded Hillary said “We are very sorry for any mysterious suicides, or accidents that may happen to Mr. Claus in the near future”

Since this news broke, the price of coal has dropped roughly fifty percent. It is suggested to hold on to what you currently have, and purchase more, so you have a heat source while we are in this continued chaotic state of government shutdown.

  To all my fellow Liberty lovers,                                                                          Have a Merry Christmas and a Liberty filled New Year!

The post The Swamp’s Christmas Surprise appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

Molly Prince on December 22, 2018

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will continue its more than 60-year-old tradition of tracking Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole to deliver presents across the world.

The twitter account for NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command announced Friday that Santa will be tracked on Christmas Eve regardless of whether or not a government shutdown has gone into effect.

WATCH:

“In the event of a government shutdown, NORAD will continue with its 63-year tradition of NORAD Tracks Santa on Dec. 24,” NORAD and USNORTHCOM said. “Military personnel who conduct NORAD Tracks Santa are supported by approximately 1,500 volunteers who make the program possible each and every year.”

Accordingly, Congress failed to pass a spending measure before government funding expired Friday at midnight, triggering a government shutdown.

The House passed a stopgap funding bill Thursday that included $5.7 billion for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. However, Senate Republicans were not able to get the necessary 60 votes needed to send the bill to the president’s desk. Prior to the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed that any legislation with additional funding for a border wall would be dead on arrival.

Regardless, NORAD is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, which is not included in the stopgap funding bill and has already been funded for the 2019 calendar year, The Hill reported. President Donald Trump signed the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act into law in 2018, which included a budget of $717 billion for the department.

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