Monthly Archives: May 2014

The SEC’s Nanny State

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The excuse here is the existence of so-called dark pools, or off-exchange stock trading in private venues like “banks or other firms.” It’s certainly true that the information exchange concerning companies whose stocks trade in the dark pools is less—often quite a bit less—than that available for exchange-traded stocks.

What the SEC wants to do, though, is push the dark pool trading onto the SEC-preferred stock market exchanges. In applying this pressure—it’s hard, even for this administration, simply to mandate the move—the SEC is proposing a rule that would, in a “pilot program,” force the dark pool to offer a better price for any stock (that the SEC chooses to have) included in the pilot program than is available on the exchange. Because participants in the dark pool mustn’t be allowed to exercise their own judgment outside of government oversight; participants in the dark pool mustn’t be allowed to arrive at their own agreements on suitable exchanges of value. They’re just not as smart as government bureaucrats. Or the participants in the government-preferred stock exchanges.

In March, 37% of all trading occurred away from stock exchanges, up from 33% two years ago, according to Tabb Group.

There’s a reason for this, and it has to do with excessive government regulation of those preferred exchanges. Oh, and the fees not paid in the dark pool on those completed trades. Here is a list of the fees charged by the NYSE, many of which are imposed by the government. On a per-share basis, they don’t look like much, but over the volume of trading that goes on, the fees add up to a handsome sum. The exchanges and the government want “their” money.

The real problem, though, is that the pressure against the dark pool is largely illegitimate.

Don’t understand the trade? Don’t have enough information? Don’t do the trade. Don’t know enough to know whether you have enough information to assess the risk? Don’t do the trade. It’s not that complicated.

Caveat emptor. Personal responsibility. Apparently the SEC thinks Americans are just too dumb to live under those precepts. Instead, they want caveat imperium [sic: most of you get my point. For the scholars who see the grammatically correct meaning, I suggest that’s on my point, also). Government responsibility.

It’s For Your Own Good

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…if you know what I mean.

Thailand’s General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the man in charge of his military’s overthrow of the Thai government,

has ordered dozens of outspoken activists, academics, and journalists to surrender themselves to military authorities….

The military, which is already holding most of the Cabinet ousted in a coup Thursday in secret locations, said it would keep former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and others in custody for up to a week to give them “time to think….”

In other words, to give time for Prayuth’s reeducation rehabilitation to take effect (Shinawatra was released from “custody” Monday).

One of Prayuth’s spokesmen, Colonel Weerachon Sukondhapatipak, added that

all those held have had their cellphones confiscated because “we don’t want them communicating with other people. We want them to be themselves and think on their own…,” adding that they need to “calm down and have time to think.”

Can’t have distractions interfering with their reeducation, after all.

Another of Prayuth’s spokesmen, Colonel Winthai Suvaree, is saying that Prayuth

urged every group of citizens to avoid joining the anti-coup protests because at the moment, the democratic principles cannot be executed normally.

Because the people screwed up and didn’t democratically govern themselves in accordance with the military’s approved principles or outcomes.

Later in the week, Prayuth finally spoke for himself:

I’m not here to argue with anyone. I want to bring everything out in the open and fix it.

Everyone must help me. Do not criticize, do not create new problems. It’s no use.

Indeed. He’s just had Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang arrested—in mid-news conference, yet—for the heinous crime of criticizing Prayuth’s takeover and pushing instead for a return of Thailand to civilian rule.

Because shut up. Because reeducation. Because your Betters…Know Better.

Progressive Racism, Part…Another

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Senator Jay Rockefeller (D, WV) had this to say, while in a carefully nearly empty Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee hearing and with (equally carefully) only a single Republican present:

I think it’s very important to take a long view at what’s going on here. I’ll be able to dig up some e-mails that make part of the Affordable Care Act that doesn’t look good, especially from people who’ve made up their mind that they don’t want it to work, because they don’t like the president—maybe he’s the wrong color, something of that sort.

I’ve seen a lot of that, and I know a lot of that to be true….

Of course, Rockefeller, with equal care, has chosen not to produce any of those emails, and he has chosen, again with equal care, to produce none of what he claims to have seen.

In the end, only a racist will manufacture a racist complaint where there is no racism involved. Especially when he knows there is no racism is involved, but merely is desperate to change the subject away from the myriad Progressive failures in the Senate.

Disband the VA

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In A Conservative’s Treatise on American Government, I wrote about the Veterans Administration’s active and deliberate assault on religious freedom, using our veterans as pawns in that effort. In summary form, here’s what I wrote about the VA’s misbehavior in that arena.

At funeral ceremonies in our National Cemeteries, VA management attempted to dictate the permissible content of prayer, presuming to censor a Pastor’s prayer. Following this—on the heels of a Federal judge’s ruling that the government may not and can not determine the content of prayer—a widow was barred altogether from burying her husband in a national cemetery because the honors and ceremonies associated included prayers and actual references to God.

These scandals have been forgotten by an NLMSM that’s also afflicted with AADD.

My recommendation at the time was to remove the National Cemetary System from the VA and place it directly within the DoD for administration by military personnel.

After the revelations of the inexcusably…shoddy…treatment of our veterans by the VA, including (but not at all limited to) 40 or more of our veterans dying while being held on VA waiting lists to get medical treatment, those waiting lists being cynically manipulated so as to make the VA bureaucrats look good (at the direct expense of those veterans they’re charged with supporting), whistle blowers being suppressed and/or reassigned for being too pushy with their concerns; all of that coupled with President Barack Obama’s decision to do nothing about any of that beyond his formulaic chit-chat about being upset over it, this is no longer enough.

The VA must be disbanded altogether, and all of its personnel returned to the private economy.

The VA has a budget including some $61 billion dedicated to “supporting” veterans and their families, $12.6 billion for education benefits, and a total budget of some $140 billion in FY13 for things like VA payroll, building new medical facilities, R&D for veteran-needed prosthetics development, and the like. There are some 21.5 million veterans in the US, currently.

Those $61 billion should be continued as budget items, and paid to our veterans as vouchers. Our veterans and their families are fully capable of determining for themselves what doctors they should see and at what medical facility they should see them. Their treatment régimes are matters to be determined by the veteran and his doctor; the VA has forfeited its…authority…to have input into this. The $12.6 billion should be continued as budget items, and paid to our veterans as vouchers, also. This is, largely, what happens today; it should be continued.

The remainder of the $140 billion should be continued as budget items, and used to plus up the vouchers paid to our injured veterans.

The VA’s current 170 medical centers and 350 clinics should be returned to the private sector, where competent management will improve these facilities’ ability to serve our veterans—and which increase in the supply of such medical facilities also will have the salutary effect of holding down the cost growth rates of services provided to all Americans by the increased number of medical centers and clinics, if not actually reducing those costs.

Memorial Day Celebrations

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I first posted this in 2012. It bears repeating.

Enjoy this holiday. Take the time to kick back, relax from the hard work you’ve been doing, and just goof off for a bit.

While you’re doing that, though, do something else, also. Invite that veteran in your neighborhood, who came back from his service wounded or maimed, and his or her family, to your celebration. Invite the family in your neighborhood whose veteran was killed in his or her service to your celebration. They need the break and the relaxation and the support, also. And they’ve earned your respect and remembrance.MtSoledadMemorialImage_big

MojaveCrossTo which I add this, excerpted from Alex Horton’s remarks on the significance of the day to him and his:

I hope civilians find more solace in Memorial Day than I do. Many seem to forget why it exists in the first place, and spend the time looking for good sales or drinking beers on the back porch. It’s a long weekend, not a period of personal reflection. At the same time, many incorrectly thank Vets or active duty folks for their service. While appreciated, it’s misdirected. That’s what Veterans Day is for. Instead, they should take some time and remember the spirit of the country and the dedication of those men and women who chose to pick up arms. They never came home to be thanked, and only their memory remains.

 

h/t Spirit of Enterprise