Caving with a link dump

I usually hate when blogs do "link dumps" (lists of links to other pages) because it's not real blogging--it's just being a content aggregator like Google Reader, and that's not the point of writing a blog. Anyone can do that. But for some reason, today I seem to be sitting on way more interesting stories than usual, and I can't write full posts on all of them.

So rather than let many of them fall by the wayside, I figured on a compromise--4 or 5 mini-posts all in one. I'll post the links, along with a short commentary teeing up what I see as the main issues or takeaways. You won't have to actually click the link and read the article in order to get the basic point, unless you choose to. I don't intend to do this often, but when there's enough good stories out there, I think it's warranted. Enjoy.

Ron Paul Claims Chairmanship of Monetary Policy Subcommittee, Prepared to Subpoena Fed
Mike Shedlock; Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish writes that Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) will almost certainly take over the role of Chairman on the Monetary Policy Subcommittee. You already know that I've been a very outspoken critic of Fed policy, and Congressman Paul has been one of the only politicians to similarly take aim at Ben Bernanke and his seemingly unchecked power.

The Fed has grown into a behemoth, and it has unquestionably become a stealth fourth branch of our federal government, despite being an "independent" organization. Its powers with respect to our currency effectively represent an acquired ability to tax and spend citizens' money (a devalued dollar is nothing if not a tax on citizens in different clothes), with little oversight. Since the Fed derives all of its power from a Congressional mandate, the Monetary Policy Subcommittee is of vital importance from an oversight perspective. It is my sincere hope that Ron Paul will be able to lend some sanity to the debate, so that we can at least begin to recognize the Fed for what it has become--that is, an all-too-powerful organization that does not answer to voters or taxpayers.

Hackers Give Web Companies a Test of Free Speech
Ashlee Vance & Miguel Helft; New York Times

This is a very interesting development and probably deserves its own post, but I'm in link dump mode right now--so be it. As a response to Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal's decision to cut off avenues of funding to Wikileaks (a response to significant political pressure), an anonymous army of hackers has essentially declared cyberwar on the offending parties. Articles are everywhere about this, and the story seems to be gaining amazing traction--the Wikileaks issue appears to have sparked a powder keg, and the implications for government policy (and the way that citizens and government interact with each other) could be far-reaching.

This bears watching, as it's a very interesting method for (a certain group of) people to fight back against corporations and institutions that they feel have wronged them. Corporations and individuals alike have become dependent on technology and the internet, despite limited knowledge of the infrastructure that makes these vehicles work. The people who do know the infrastructure are in possession of more power than we might like to admit, and they could have incredible political clout if they are willing to harness it.

This incident (and the fallout from it) could be either transformative or dangerous or both for the American people, but I don't think its importance can be understated. For a populace that has increasingly felt that its voice is not being heard, this is certainly one way to get your voice heard. Very interesting.

Food Stamps by State, Not a Pretty Picture
Tim Iacono; The Mess That Greenspan Made

Tim links to this report from the Wall Street Journal, which shows food stamp usage by state. It's ugly. The national percentage of people on food stamps (sorry, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: SNAP, isn't that catchy?) continues to soar to record highs, now standing at 14% nationwide. The Journal shows that two states (and Washington D.C.) now have usage rates exceeding 20%, which is terrifying.

You can't spend your way out of a problem like this, not with labor force participation rates continuing to plummet. Eventually, there won't be enough people working to subsidize those who are not. Dollar debasement strategies only add to this problem, as I've noted before that inflation (and especially inflation in food costs that this strategy has created) hits poor people the hardest. Current policies are making the food stamp dynamic worse, not better. This is what our Fed policy has wrought.

An international report card: Shanghai's school students out-perform all others
The Economist's Daily Chart

The chart is worth looking at, so I included a quick thumbnail of it. Many of the nations who are outperforming us in terms of primary education are unsurprising (China, Singapore, South Korea), but some of them are definitely a bit of a shock (Canada, Poland). Of course, I definitely don't support relying on catch-all metrics of "academic achievement", so I take these charts with a larger than usual grain of salt. But one way or another, our education system needs help. Even by standard metrics, we're falling behind, and I've argued here before that what we really need are new metrics and a new approach entirely.

Teens Becoming Pregnant to Get on "Teen Mom"?
Rob Shuter; Popeater.com (h/t Shuckstaposition blog)

Ugh. Just...ugh. This is one of those things that just makes me want to shake my head, shrug my shoulders, and say "America is dying". There's just no positive way to spin this.

It used to be that reality TV just exposed (and glorified) bad behavior and bad people. That was bad enough. Now, because of the cult of celebrity that our society has created, reality TV is actually adding to the problem, as indicated by the revelation that teenagers are actively trying to get pregnant so that they can be on reality TV shows. Maybe this was inevitable. I don't know. But it's not good.