As a new month starts…
…ponder the state we’re in, and what’s likely to hit the fan over the remaining seven months of 2010. Then start working on your emergency preparedness. ..bruce w..
Category: Economics
Mid-week mandatory reading
Eric S. Raymond, author of “The Cathedral and the Bazaar“, has a thoughtful post on his blog this morning on how the current recession is impacting his circle of friends, two in particular. Here are the key paragraphs: When I look at these guys, though, I can’t buy the explanation most people would jump for, […]
How’s that trillion-dollar stimulus working out?
Not so well, as it turns out (details over at Big Government). In the meantime, the Obama Administration continues to play games on “jobs created or saved”. ..bruce w..
The problem with mass transit
One fundamental economic problem with mass transit is that it rarely, if ever, is financially self-sufficient. This is usually explained away with something like, “Well, if we get enough people riding it, the benefit to the environment will be worth it.” Besides the fact that this generally isn’t true, there’s the additional problem that when […]
If those corporate “we’re going green” ads were honest…
…they’d probably look something like the one above. Hat tip to Steven Hayward over at NRO. ..bruce w..
Capitalism red in tooth and claw
Companies are born, live, thrive, dwindle, and then often die or are absorbed by other firms. Being 56 years old, I’ve seen a lot of that first-hand and have worked for several firms that no longer exist. Over at 24/7 Wall Street, Jon Ogg and Douglas McIntyre have picked ten brands that they think will […]
The silence of the (liberal) sheep
(Hat tip to Blue Crab Boulevard.) I certainly remember Democrats and the mainstream media (the same thing, really) ranting about the millions of jobs lost under Bush, not to mention the climbing deficits. Funny how quiet they are now. I’m not sure we will see unemployment under Obama get back down to the highest point […]
So, how’s that trillion-dollar stimulus working out?
You know, the massive stimulus that was absolutely necessary to keep unemployment from rising above 8.0%? Kind of missed the target, didn’t it? Anyone want to guess what unemployment will be in November 2010? November 2012? I’m willing to bet $1000 that it won’t be down to 7.0% and 5.5%, respectively, as the Obama economic […]
No wonder Ford showed a profit
From USA Today: The Obama administration’s $3 billion “cash for clunkers” program should be renamed “cash for gas-guzzling pickup trucks,” according to an Associated Press analysis of the data. AP reports that for 8,200 deals — the most common — buyers traded in their old Ford 150 pickups for new Ford 150 pickups. Fuel economy […]
Samuelson: “Could America go broke?”
When Robert Samuelson starts asking that question, it’s time to worry: The idea that the government of a major advanced country would default on its debt — that is, tell lenders that it won’t repay them all they’re owed — was, until recently, a preposterous proposition. Argentina and Russia have stiffed their creditors, but surely […]
