 By Jeff Deist This is astonishing, even by 2020 standards. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, operating under the US Department of Health and Human Services, has asserted jurisdiction over private residential leases nationwide. It intends to curtail evictions until at least the end of the year, and in fact its new directive threatens federal criminal penalties against landlords who ignore tenant "declarations" made using CDC forms. It is unclear, to put it mildly, exactly how this jurisdiction over private contracts and state/local courts flows even to Congress, much less an administrative agency acting on its own. One federal official justifies the bizarre and legally dubious action based on the CDC's broad charter to stop the spread of communicable diseases—a charter at which they've failed miserably with covid: Congress has delegated broad authority to HHS, the Surgeon General and CDC, to take reasonable efforts to combat the spread of communicable diseases, and frankly I think it makes sense for those authorities abroad because we don't know for any given situation or scenario what steps will be needed to stop the spread. I think, in this particular order, the CDC has made a very compelling case that it is quite problematic at this particular time. It's focused on this particular pandemic, which is obviously the uniquely powerful grasp in the nation's entire history in terms of the effect it's had that for a bunch of reasons in particular, that the home has been sort of the focal point of people social distancing and building, sort of a safe space themselves over the past few months, and also the fact that if people get kicked out, they may end up in overcrowded congregated living facilities or homeless shelters, and that is a potential recipe for a big spread of COVID-19. Thanks to the oft-criticized but in fact essential Zero Hedge for the nice bit of early and original reporting here—a full day before NPR, Bloomberg, et al.—and for details from a phone conference with CDC officials. Again, this was announced without congressional input or approval and purely by administrative decree. At least the eviction and mortgage moratoriums in the CARES Act, passed by Congress in March, were enacted by politicians who face voters this fall. And while those earlier moratoriums may well be constitutionally suspect too, at least in times of sanity, they were limited to federally backed rentals and mortgages. The CDC's new action is much broader, applying conceivably to all private residential leases across the country. The fallout from suspending rental contracts will be deep and long lasting. Many landlords will find their situations untenable and stop making mortgage and property tax payments. New rental housing stock will be depressed, as owners worry about the next suspension of rent payments now that the precedent has been set. After all, why wouldn't moratoriums happen again when the next pandemic or financial crisis hits? Rental housing units will drop in price as more landlords abandon the business—setting the stage for commercial and private equity buyers to grab units on the cheap from individuals and small owners. Ultimately, foreclosures, evictions, and tax sales will happen no matter what the federal government does. The likely outcome is bigger players owning more and more of the rental housing stock, consolidating the permanent renter class and adding to the rootlessness many Americans feel. Even the most modest home ownership creates skin in the game and encourages better neighborhoods, while areas dominated by rentals lack the same incentives for improvement. And the new owners of rental units will pass all the uncertainty, risks, and potential losses on to millions of Americans in the form of higher rents. Even during the most turbulent periods in American history, including the Great Depression, World War II, and an 1880s tuberculosis outbreak which killed one in seven people, virtually no one expected the federal government to suspend rent. This action by the CDC, in response to a very manageable and retreating cold virus, is the kind of quietly unprecedented development we've come to expect this year. This is a watershed moment for the US: when you destroy trust in contract enforcement you create terrible ripple effects throughout society. Something this radical should not be rushed into place with such little forethought, especially when it amounts to buying votes in a national election. But of course in a managerial state we should expect just this type of shortsighted political consideration to prevail over good sense and justice. The CDC wants to effectively vitiate contracts: when you tell one party that it need not perform and the other that it cannot sue for nonperformance, you radically alter the bargaining power of those parties. The contract they signed becomes nothing more than an aspirational document, a legislative (or administrative!) tool to be rewritten at the will of politicians. The effects of this moratorium undoubtedly will spill over in unforeseen ways as Americans get used to the idea that their financial obligations can be erased by state edict. The tremendous costs will be borne by all of us, because when contracts are not enforceable every transaction must account for much higher risks. This article was originally published at The Mises Institute.   By Chris Rossini Today, Liberty is an idea that is alive and well, however it is not "mainstream." In America, once the "land of the free," dependency on government dominates the minds of most people. Waiting for orders from bureaucrats has replaced the 'rugged individualism' of our antecedents. The Covid overreaction embarrassment is the latest glaring example. Never have Americans been subject to such authoritarian acts by the political class. And yet, Americans shamefully cowered and were pacified by a few measly checks from the government. Well, what better place to launch into a new and better direction than from a bottom? Of course, as long as we're breathing, new bottoms can always be made. The downward spiral of government power can always continue deeper into the chasm. If there's one thing Americans should grasp at this point it's that authoritarianism isn't just something that you read about in history books. It's not something that only happens "out there, somewhere." America is made up of human beings just like every other nation. Bad ideas (like Socialism, Fascism, Communism, Crony Capitalism, etc.) that destroyed other nations can and will destroy us too, if allowed. Of course, bad ideas will always go under new and different name (authoritarians aren't stupid) but the principle is always the same. Your life, and the decisions you make, are placed into other people's hands. It all happens one fear, and one crisis, at a time. The walls close in a little further during each episode, and are never pushed back. If you choose to be afraid from the propaganda that is blasted in your face from every direction, then you're toast. You'll wake up when the hysteria subsides with much less freedom. And the freedom that you lost, you're not going to get back. It won't matter afterwards that the propaganda was nonsense. It won't matter that you were lied to repeatedly. It won't matter when the truth comes out. By that time, a new fear and crisis will be blasted in your face. 'Don't bother with the past. Let bygones be bygones. There's a new emergency!' The key is, you're not getting your freedom back no matter what the truth about the past is. There are no shortcuts out of this vice. There aren't any back doors to escape through. Liberty is it. It's the only way out. And the walls will continue to close, until enough people have a burning desire to be free. Do a majority of people have to have this desire? No, not at all. The majority always follows. The majority never leads. Then how many people? No one knows. The only answer is "enough," whatever that happens to be. An important key is for each of us to do the only thing that matters --- SPEAK. Now, anyone can speak when the ideas of liberty dominate in society. That's easy. There's little push back. Anyone can be what Thomas Paine called a 'Sunshine Patriot.' But in our time, that's not the case. Authoritarianism dominates today. You're in the minority opinion. Being in the minority, it means that when you speak, you'll immediately get push back. Expect it. You're speaking to multitudes that have been conditioned to be dependent on government. Change is always resisted. So speaking the ideas of liberty today guarantees immediate resistance. Our job is not to literally "change" anyone, like the authoritarians try to do. Our job is to focus intensely on causes, not effects. Speaking the ideas of liberty is the cause. The goal is to do it to the best of our ability each day. Plant the seed. The effect, that is, people believing you and embracing the ideas of liberty, is irrelevant. Who cares if they believe you? Did you speak? Did you plant? That's what matters. Other people are free to believe and embrace whatever ideas they want. That's strictly up to them, not you. Authoritarians try to force everyone to think like robots...not us. We're not looking to impose anything on anyone. We don't try to shove every human being into the same mold. The philosophy of liberty means that everyone should be the one-of-a-kind unique individual that they are. Just don't use aggressive force to get the things that you want. Get the things that you want voluntarily. Exchange, trade, and serve others. Don't rob, cheat and steal from them. Don't try to get a bureaucrat to do the robbing, cheating and stealing on your behalf. Just because you close your eyes while the bureaucrat does the dirty work for you doesn't get you off the hook! We're very fortunate that despite Liberty being the only way out, it is so easy to understand. Even a child can understand non-aggression. Even a child can grasp that 'what's yours if yours, and what's theirs is theirs.' The ideas of liberty simply need is enough people to SPEAK them. There will be push back. There will always be push back. That can't be an excuse to shut you up. Focus on the cause. Only focus on the cause. Did you speak today? Did you plant today? If the answer is "yes," then you're good. The rest will take care of itself. 
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was busted yesterday, sneaking in to a beauty salon in San Francisco for a shampoo. Salons in California had been closed for months to "fight Covid" but the Speaker obviously believes that some people are more equal than others. Also today, Australia descends into a dark and frightful dictatorship, as citizens are arrested for merely posting on Facebook that they oppose the lockdowns.
From Chicago to Portland to Kenosha, US cities are in flames. Looting and wanton destruction continues without interruption. Police are given orders to stand back and allow thugs to beat, loot, murder, and burn with impunity. And, as we saw with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, those in charge of these burning cities all cry out together, "it's all Trump's fault!" Is it? Also in today's episode, WHO's communist leader screams that we need more Covid lockdowns even as the truth about the inflated numbers comes out. Dr. Scott Atlas making waves discussing the benefits of hydroxychloroquine. And the New York Times (!) reports that Covid tests are worse than useless.
 By Ron Paul Earlier this month, while meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister, President Trump reaffirmed his intent to remove all US troops from Iraq. “We were there and now we’re getting out. We’ll be leaving shortly,” the president told reporters at the time. Although President Obama should never have sent US troops back into Iraq in 2016, it is definitely well past time to remove them as quickly as possible. Over the weekend, the Administration announced it would be drawing down troops currently in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,500. That’s a good start. One big roadblock to finally leaving Iraq alone is President Trump’s de facto Secretary of War, Mike Pompeo. Although he’s supposed to be the top US diplomat, Pompeo is a bull in a china shop. He seems determined to start a war with Iran, China, Russia, Venezuela, and probably a few more countries. Unfortunately there is a pattern in this Administration where President Trump announces the withdrawal of troops from one of the seemingly endless conflicts we are involved in and an Administration official – often Pompeo – “clarifies” the president’s statement to mean the opposite of what the president has just said. When the president was questioned over the weekend about a timetable for the US withdrawal from Iraq, he turned to Pompeo for an answer. Pompeo’s response did not inspire much hope. “As soon as we can complete the mission,” said Pompeo. What is the mission? Does anyone know? Aside from “regime change” for Iran, that is. At his speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for re-election last week, Trump declared, “unlike previous administrations, I have kept America OUT of new wars -- and our troops are coming home.” That sounds good, but how can he achieve that goal if the people he hires to carry out that policy not only disagree with him but seem to be working against him? The US invasion of Iraq 17 years ago was correctly described at the time by the late NSA Director Bill Odom as “the greatest strategic disaster in American history.” After a relentless barrage of lies about former US ally Saddam Hussein having “weapons of mass destruction,” the US attack and destruction of Iraq did not bring the peace and prosperity promised by the neocon war promoters. Instead, the US “liberation” of Iraq killed a million Iraqis, most of whom were civilians. It destroyed Iraq’s relatively prosperous economy. It did not result in a more peaceful or stable Middle East. The US had no idea how to remake Iraqi society and in picking and choosing who could participate in post-invasion Iraq the US helped facilitate the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS. A secular Iraq had been turned into a sectarian incubator for terrorists and extremists. And the biggest winner in the war was Iran, who the US has demonized as an enemy for over four decades. Yes, General Odom was right. It was a strategic disaster. Turning the US into a global military empire is also a strategic disaster. Trump’s promise to bring troops home from overseas wars sounds very good. But it’s time to see some real action. That might mean some people who disagree with the president need to be fired. |
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