Last week, Reason.tv followed Peter Schiff, prinicipal of the financial firm Euro Pacific Capital, around Occupy Wall Street protesters in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park as he attempted to debate the the difference between capitalism and cronyism, and how socialism (and communism) only serve to promote more cronyism.

(Reason.TV) “Touring the Occupy Wall Street scene in New York with a sign that read ‘I Am the 1%, Let’s Talk,’ Schiff spent more than three hours on the scene, explaining the difference between cronyism and capitalism, bailouts and balance sheets, and more.  ‘The regulation we want is the market,’ said Schiff. ‘That’s what works.’ Schiff describes himself as ‘sympathetic’ to the plight of the OWS protesters, but thinks their anger is misdirected at legitimate business interests and should be better at the White House, Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the crony capitalists they’ve bailed out.”

It’s sad and disheartening to watch people arguing with him, while blind to the fact that he’s on their side and generally agrees with most of their grievances, but not with their solutions.  Granted, there are also many Ron Paul, “Tea Party”, and sound money-types in the crowd as well, who do likely already better understand these points.  As such, these debates can only serve to bring them closer together against the true common enemies of the people.

Schiff debates a few people who correctly make the point that “Wall Street” TBTF (Too Big To Fail) firms must get their hands out of politics, and shouldn’t be allowed to control and manipulate the government. At the same time, they want to raise taxes and give even more money, power, and control to the government. Somehow they simply don’t make the connection that the same manipulative controlling “rich” people they despise most of all are the greatest benefactors of their rage and “wealth redistribution” agenda. These “elites” are laughing all the way back to the bank while directing the bought-and-paid-for police, judges, politicians, and prosecutors to do their bidding.  Who do OWS protesters think controls the policemen firing flash grenades at their heads (who then deny doing it despite the events being captured on video from a dozen different angles)?  And if the Almighty Obama himself couldn’t even bring the “Change” they were looking for, then who got all those $$trillions?  Must be the same people Obama blamed for “blocking progress”…  Maybe had he thrown all the bankers in jail where they belong, they’d have a harder time at it.

Schiff believes that capitalism is the only hope for young, frustrated people to have a vibrant and prosperous future.  So he went to Occupy Wall Street to engage and debate the protesters, and to help them better understand these key differences.

(Spiegel) “In the middle of this year, two rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, upgraded Estonia’s credit rating. The country had a budget surplus of €115 million in the first two quarters, and it is expected to virtually balance its budget for the entire year. Government debt is about 6.6 percent of the gross domestic product, as compared with 120 percent in Italy, 160 percent in Greece and 80 percent in Germany. In the first two quarters of 2011, the Estonian economy grew at an annualized rate of 8 percent.”

“The record for establishing a company, he adds, is only 18 minutes. In other words, the government doesn’t say: Hey, Peral, who do you think you are, starting a company, just like that? No, he says, the state actually encourages entrepreneurship, and says things like: So you have an idea, Peral! Go for it! And then he says that it takes him 20 minutes to prepare his semi-annual tax return, and that when it was time to slash the government budget, Estonia’s cabinet ministers started with their own salaries.”

“.. when we had finally escaped from Soviet socialism, we were sick and tired of government centralism. We wanted precisely the opposite in all respects: We wanted a transparent state. A country that isn’t constantly intervening, nationalizing businesses, placing a bureaucracy above everything and imposing rules on people in every respect.”

“Of course, he says, it’s important to help a society’s losers, the ones who are left behind. It would be wonderful, he adds, to have a fantastic healthcare system and offer social guarantees for every emergency. ‘But you have to have the money. We don’t have it. Our average monthly income is €800. So we have to reflect on what’s important for a society’s development. It’s the top performers, the successful ones. Ideas! Companies! Products! If all you do is administer, nothing comes of it. The state must clear the way for those who want to achieve something. That’s the function of the state.‘ ”

“Estonia finally joined the euro zone this January. The euro had always been the country’s declared goal. In the last few years, starting in 2008, the Estonians had fought their way through the worst economic crisis they had ever seen, triggered by the global financial crisis and the bursting of the local real estate bubble. The economy shrank by 14 percent in 2009.

Then three things happened. First, the government announced a harsh austerity program. The government bureaucracy was thinned out, healthcare and social services were cut back, and even the streetlights in Tallinn were switched off at 3:30 in the morning. Businesses reduced wages by up to 40 percent, with the promise they would be increased as soon as the economy improved. The government did not pump borrowed funds into the economic cycle. Instead, it did what economists call internal devaluation.

The second — and oddest — development here was that the Estonians stoically accepted these measures. There was no unrest and no protests.

The third thing that happened was the positive outcome of this blood, sweat and tears strategy. Last year, Estonia easily satisfied the Maastricht criteria. In fact, its government finances were sounder than anywhere else in the European Union.”

‘Europe Has Too Many Restrictions’ – “Skype”, Estonia’s Success Story…

“We had no money, so we had to come up with something. We built our concept on three pillars: communication in networks, the idea of limitlessness, and the future. We started small and built up from there. The more people participate, the more powerful the network becomes.”

“.. in many European countries we have too many restrictions, prohibitions, lobbyists and people protecting vested rights. Countries must act as simply as people think, using the same principles, ..”

Full Story: Estonia Lives the European Dream (Spiegel)

Isn’t it amazing how, no matter at what level, it always seems to boil down to a small group of “elites” trying to control all the money, all the power, all the “stuff”, and all the other people…

(NYMag) ” .. we’ve had issues with the drummers too. They drum incessantly all day, and really loud.’ Facilitators spearheaded a General Assembly proposal to limit the drumming to two hours a day. ‘The drumming is a major issue which has the potential to get us kicked out,’ said Lauren Digion, a leader on the sanitation working group.”

“But the drums were fun. They brought in publicity and money. Many non-facilitators were infuriated by the decision and claimed that it had been forced through the General Assembly.”

” ‘They’re imposing a structure on the natural flow of music,’ said Seth Harper, an 18-year-old from Georgia. ‘The GA decided to do it … they suppressed people’s opinions. I wanted to do introduce a different proposal, but a big black organizer chick with an Afro said I couldn’t.’ ”

” To Shane Engelerdt, a 19-year-old from Jersey City and self-described former ‘head drummer,’ this amounted to a Jacobinic betrayal. ‘They are becoming the government we’re trying to protest,’ he said. ‘They didn’t even give the drummers a say … Drumming is the heartbeat of this movement. Look around: This is dead, you need a pulse to keep something alive.’ ”

“The drummers claim that the finance working group even levied a percussion tax of sorts, taking up to half of the $150-300 a day that the drum circle was receiving in tips. ‘Now they have over $500,000 from all sorts of places,’ said Engelerdt. ‘We’re like, what’s going on here? They’re like the banks we’re protesting.‘ ”

“All belongings and money in the park are supposed to be held in common, but property rights reared their capitalistic head when facilitators went to clean up the park, .. ” (For those supporting Communism, it always seems like a great idea ’til someone tries to take your stuff)

“In response to dissatisfaction with the consensus General Assembly, many facilitators have adopted a new ‘spokescouncil’ model, which allows each working group to act independently without securing the will of the collective. ‘This streamlines it,’ argued Zonkers. ‘The GA is unwieldy, cumbersome, and redundant.’ ”

Full Story: The Organizers vs. the Organized in Zuccotti Park (NYMag)

Chinese government officials showed no love for Love Land. Investors are now at a loss from their "sexcapaid" venture.

If you were hoping to take a fun ride on the “tunnel of love” during your next quickie visit to Chongqing, China you’re plum out of luck. The newly erected sex theme park, Love Land, was demolished by Chinese government officials this past weekend after racy photos of the park were released.

The park’s screwed investor, Lu Xiaoqing, claimed that the sex park was meant to boost libidos and improve people’s sex lives.  The park featured “giant-sized” statues of male and female naughty bits and exhibitions about human sexuality from around the globe.  Rumor has it that the amusement displays gave government honchos major hard-ons, which is only permissible by officials’ concubines and long-term mistresses.

Presumably in China, it’s a problematic eyesore to gaze upon raunchy, phallic statuary.  Yet, the delightful delicacy to munch on bovine penis and donkey dong remains.  Watch this highly professional and informative HotRoast news video about Chinese gonad cuisine.

For those of you desperately seeking  a classy sex ed exhibit , check out the Museum of Sex located in New York City.