Stacy Summary:   The Banana Republicanization of the entire Western world.  Government employees and the graft they are able to extract corrupts the entire economy.  It would be one thing if a resources tax (and Michael Hudson has some interesting ideas on this) were being used to abandon all income taxes and not being used just to line the pocket of the political class (some reports also say the revenue will be used to cut some taxes on  property); but, to me, it looks like the only thing being abandoned is the illusion of free markets.  Political classes are just openly and blatantly plundering our Submerging Economies, as they have apparently given up all hope of competing with Emerging Economies.

• Australian Mining Shares Tumble on 40% Tax

Stacy Summary:  Here is my cousin Billy playing guitar in his farmhouse in Upstate New York. He’s three weeks older than I am and so most of my baby pictures up until about the age of 5 have him in it. But the most important thing to know about him is that when he and I were four and I had just been given a new all in one red pajama set, Billy convinced me that my pajamas could make me fly, and so, with his encouragement, I leapt from the top of his parent’s stairs in a very big, old house. Needless to say, I actually couldn’t fly and my head needed some bandaging up! My mom has the picture somewhere. But anyway, he has just started vlogging, mostly about his dogs, one of which, Swirly, used to be the pet of my niece and nephew.