Thursday, June 25, 2009

Greenback movement revisited?

California will issue IOUs instead of checks. Will they circulate? At what discount? Don't you just adore new and exotic forms of money?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 12:56 PM

Culture of Anglosphere rules again?

I know this is totally off-the-wall and insensitive to all the specifics of Iranian politics and society, but do current behind-the-scenes events amount to early stages of a bicameral system modeled on England (with a powerful but still-appointed and yet-advisory upper House of Lords)? Just a thought. Anyway, here's the article: According to unconfirmed reports Rafsanjani is currently lobbying and meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts to gain support for the removal of Khamenei and for replacing the position of Supreme Leader with a form of collective leadership. Those last words are where I skidded to a stop. "A form of collective leadership"? Yes, just like the House of Lords!

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:26 AM

Anglosphere in early stages of recovery?

Australia rescuing itself from global warming cultism? Perhaps: [T]here are a large number of punters [Australian for "customers" or "gamblers"—in this case, skeptical customers who may or may not buy what the government's selling] who object to being treated dismissively as stupid, who do not like being told what to think, who value independence, who resile from personal attacks and have life experiences very different from the urban environmental atheists attempting to impose a new fundamentalist religion. Green politics have taken the place of failed socialism and Western Christianity and impose fear, guilt, penance, and indulgences onto a society with little scientific literacy.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:14 AM

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Fairmodel, all others on hold...

Whenever any numbers (e.g. money supply) move outside reasonable historical limits the equations making up large models must be judged unreliable predictors. The models can be used, but the results can't be trusted. More and more it appears we're outside the realm of reliable modeling, at least during the forseeable future. This amazing story underlines the point vividly. UPDATE: They're fake. Whew! UPDATE II: Via Instapundit, the story continues...

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:41 AM

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Less necessary? Less?

Medicare disproportionate share payments compensate certain hospitals for higher operating costs incured in treating their larger share of low-income, uninsured patients. The administration has only now discovered they can save about $106B in health care costs under their new plan because, as Peter Orzag says, "(a)s the ranks of uninsured decline under health reform, those payments become less necessary..." Well, duh, glad you finally noticed! And by the way, what's with this "less" necessary? How about "un"?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:26 AM

Friday, June 12, 2009

Robert Reich Reveals Reality...

You decide how to read this: Whatever it's called -- public option or chopped liver -- it has to be able to squeeze Pharma, Insurance, and the rest of the medical-industrial complex. And the more likely it is to squeeze them, the more they'll fight it. And the greater the opposition from Republicans, and from Dems who either believe any bill has to have some Republican support or who have sold themselves out to the medical biggies. To me, the operative word is "squeeze." In the ideal Reich universe (as in Canada) medical care becomes a zero sum game for all: your treatment means doctors or drug companies earn less, or, alterately, other patients wait longer. That's it. That's the secret of the single payer solution.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 10:04 AM

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Whoops. There went the cola!

Cola has many uses. Here on YouTube we show cola to be the answer to a question that has not been asked. Go to Superior Table Pad for more info.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 2:13 PM

Friday, May 29, 2009

Usually, magicians don't drop stuff on purpose...

Here's a proverbial offer you can't refuse from Superior Table Pad.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 12:20 PM

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Hunter or Farmer? Who knows?

As I link to this story I feel the need to remind readers that I -- yes, this very own EconoPundit himself, former proud resident of Newfoundland for nearly twenty years -- has eaten delectable seal flipper pie. Several times, in fact. UPDATE: For those who are interested, here's a reasonably reliable recipe. (Precisely where one buys the flippers themselves is, of course, something which naturally varies from region-to-region.)

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:33 AM

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Those weren't the days, my friends...

History, as written by the victors, can be simple comic book fiction. Take the current fad for blaming modern American economic inequality on "deregulation." The real history of deregulation is richer and far more ethically complicated than most imagine. Trust me -- those who remember don't want to go back.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 6:15 PM

Ms. Rand -- are you listening? Somewhere?

Politics continues to overtake rational economics.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 6:28 AM

Thursday, February 05, 2009

What the President said, and what EconoPundit thinks...

Never thought I'd get a chance to Fisk the President of the United States. Here goes -- Obama's words below are in boldface, my responses are in plain font: By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring. ----- Mister President, we've been hearing from Democrats that this is the "worst economy since the Great Depression" for eight years. Now that we actually are experiencing a recession, it is time to say something new. -------- What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis. Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse. -------- Now that's helpful and interesting. This works like global warming, with some sort of "tipping point" beyond which economic slowdown proceeds ever onward down towards zero itself? No jobs at all? No factories? No workers? Where does it all go? -------- That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by businesses and consumers alike, and take steps to strengthen our country for years to come. ------- Sounds like your old campaign speeches. We've heard it all before. Yawn. ------- This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education. And it's a strategy that will be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability, so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent. ------- Econ 101 says what's needed is lots of neutral short-term spending. All that "strategy" and "long-term" stuff -- like for example the Community Reinvestment Act -- is what's got ordinary people worried. Don't you understand what's troubling ordinary folks at this point? ------- In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive. ------- Cut my workers' payroll taxes and my employers' contribution and we all have, immediately, a combined 12% raise to spend immediately! What's wrong with that? Doesn't the money get into the economy right away -- "shovel ready", so to speak? -------- I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail. ------- You're starting to sound sorta self-pitying and negative, like Jimmy Carter. Watch it! -------- Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now. ----- So give us a payroll tax holiday! Today! A real jump start! ------ Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process. Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years. Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans. And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway. These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide. ------ We have to act immediately because there's an emergency and everything may soon cycle down to zero so we have to do stuff what will change us into the Jetsons' Economy over many years? Of pain and suffering? What? You're kind of off-message here! What are you saying? ------- So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time. ------ Yawn. Aren't you special.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:12 AM

Thursday, January 22, 2009

When did Robert Reich work construction anyway?

How far from real economic life do you have to get to say things like this: People can be trained relatively quickly for...many infrastructure jobs [such as] installing new pipes for water and sewage systems, repairing and upgrading equipment, basic construction... I'd suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus funds require contractors to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-term unemployed and to people with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. And at least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such training. In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades apprenticeships --- wich (sic) must be fully available to women and minorities. People can be trained quickly for water and sewage system installation? They can be trained easily for "basic construction" (what is that anyway)? And yes, let's think about writing the all the application forms needed to assure government bureaucrats that 20% of your jobs are truly going to "long-term" unemployed persons (whatever that means) and to people with incomes at or below, uh, what was it, 200% of the federal poverty level?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:05 AM

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Who would have thought...

Those pesky, evil banks! Instead of using all that bailout money for lots of money-losing loans, they're strengthening balance sheets and rebuilding themselves into profitable (rather than money-losing) businesses. Imagine the nerve.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:30 PM

Thursday, January 15, 2009

One never knows, do one...

News like this means nothing without aggregate figures. However: one plausible scenario is an upcoming genuine crash -- not an orderly price decline, but a panic-laden rush to the absolute bottom stopping only at price equalling production+transportation costs and nothing more. We shall see. Yes, we shall see...

Link posted by Steve Antler : 6:34 AM

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Just a detail, perhaps, but...

Many of these tax fraud cases -- some large, some indeed almost as small as Geitner's -- involve not simply "forgetting" (or whatever) to pay FICA and other payroll taxes, but rather withholding these from others and pocketing the money rather than remitting the taxes. Here's a little tidbit I've just learned from the Wall Street Journal: The IMF and World Bank reimburse employees, including U.S. citizens, for their U.S. taxes, which individuals are expected to pay on their own. That implies Mr. Geithner retained payments from the IMF that were supposed to be used for taxes. And I continue to be amazed at how only a few commentators see this (and the Rangel story) as argument favoring major, radical tax simplification.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 12:16 PM

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Florida Orange Growers: Be Forewarned!

Link posted by Steve Antler : 10:18 AM

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Did you hear the one about FDR prolonging the Great Depression? Haha!

I suppose if you're new to the idea this is as good a place to start as any. David Sirota seems to have never heard anything like this, but, for the record, I remember a host of left-oriented professors at the center of University of Wisconsin's Department of History, circa 1963-1967, saying the same things David Sirota's never heard and laughs at.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 10:13 AM

I must have said this before...

Want to predict an Obama Stagflation without all that pain associated with New Business Cycle Theory and callibration-rather-than-estimation? Try this -- it's the happening theory: Age Wage Analysis!

Link posted by Steve Antler : 9:39 AM

Friday, January 09, 2009

New Deal II

It's already started. Proposed tax hikes to soak the rich. Big Finance gangs up with Big Government and Big Labor to the advantage of Big Trial Law and the disadvantage of small finance. Big Energy gangs up with Big Government, Big Labor, and Big Trial Law against small business. It all adds up. NIRA II. UPDATE: Add continued regulatory infirmity of purpose . UPDATE II: Not so simple as regulatory infirmity of purpose, it now appears. Perhaps it is just simple old-fashioned conflict of interest or, to use the more colorful term, corruption.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:50 AM

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Forget the rockets...It's all about the oil? Natural gas?

Perhaps it is sheer fantasy, but restoration of the Palestinian Authority on the basis of joint PA/Israeli economic interest seems a possibility.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 11:16 AM

Where have all the good jobs gone? Long time passing...

George Will understands everything but the economics; the grand jobs question is answered here as a simple application of the Coase theorem. Perhaps the most basic of transactions costs is the cost of hiring/getting hired. Who pays this cost, the employee or employer? What raises this cost? What lowers it?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 9:39 AM

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

One of those small details that can make a big difference...

Typical of analysis found today in the leftosphere, one "Carl" at the liberal blog the reaction lectures about those pesky hedge funds, their evil habit of short-selling, and how the Madoff scandal is but the proverbial tip of a proverbial iceberg. What Carl doesn't seem to understand, however, is Madoff never actually owned the financial instruments in his fund's portfolio.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 12:09 PM

If I'm so smart, why am I not rich?

Great analysis of the lumpenprofessoriat: [T]he modern university intellectual's pose of social hostility...does not arise from a rational analysis of the American order, but as a distortion of...personal circumstances. I should make better money; I should get the social recognition of a doctor or lawyer (my education is equal to or greater than theirs). To conceal the neurosis of this resentment from myself, I generalize it, transforming it into a social ideal. Why should a businessman make more than a teacher? (If a plumber thinks he can earn $250,000, however, he's a joke.) Thus personal resentment and feelings of superiority are translated into an idealized image of social concern and responsibility. The humanities or social science professor, hating society, sees himself as the better man. And only wishes to associate with those who share his ideals-that is, those with equally idealized images of themselves.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:18 AM

Remember -- the buy-in was one million dollars!

Here's the start of a potential bail out of Madoff investors! Your tax dollars at work, protecting Steven Speilberg and other poor victims: "We lost our life savings," said investor Joan Sinkin. Brooklyn transplants to Florida, Sinkin and her husband Arnold said they lost 85-percent of a nearly $1 million investment. Doesn't John Slattery realize that, unlike Joan Sinkin and her husband, the average American enjoys a nest egg of way, way under $150,000?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:06 AM

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I must have said this before because I say it now...

As we have heard many times before in other contexts, Joseph E. Stiglitz insists (with some anger) everything would have been okay if only he had been in charge of it all. But what does he think is the core of the problem? The answer is -- culture: When repeal of Glass-Steagall brought investment and commercial banks together, the investment-bank culture came out on top. There was a demand for the kind of high returns that could be obtained only through high leverage and big risktaking. I suppose I have only one problem with this: Stiglitz is an economist, not an anthropologist, so what does he really know about culture anyway?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:57 AM

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Reliable sources tell us...

In the European International Herald Tribune Dan Bilefsky evaluates Vaclav Klaus; this may be the first major news story based on twenty year old information from the communist secret police.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:07 AM

Friday, November 21, 2008

Einstein Revisited

The great equation has now finally been proved but, since the necessary calculations involve "envisioning space and time as part of a four-dimensional crystal lattice, with discrete points spaced along columns and rows", can we take the results to mean time/space is genuinely discrete rather than continuous? This question has bothered me for about a decade and a half.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 10:08 AM

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Regarding this upcoming Secretary of Commerce, former customer of Superior Bank comments on Penny Pritzker's role in the Obama campaign: "They still owe me $113,000," said Fran Sweet, 63, of Downers Grove, who deposited her $480,000 retirement account at Superior a month before it collapsed. "To the Pritzkers, this is nothing. They probably think, 'Why pay her back?' That's nothing. But we're all upset that someone who made these decisions could be in that position." UPDATE: Oopsies, I guess EconoPundit has lots more influence than we thought!

Link posted by Steve Antler : 12:22 PM

Monday, November 17, 2008

Just as we thought...

In San Francisco (where else?) Kathleen Pender tells you how to keep your fancy new car while paying for your mortgage with other peoples' money: Your mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or held by one of the participating loan companies. If you meet these requirements and can document your income, your servicer will reduce your monthly mortgage payment - including property taxes, insurance and association dues - to 38 percent of your gross income. The reduction can be accomplished in one or more ways: -- Reducing the interest rate, but not below 3 percent. (The new rate, if below market, goes back to a market rate after five years.) -- Extending the term of the loan up to 40 years. -- Reducing the principal on which monthly payments are calculated. Unpaid principal is added to the loan balance and due when the homeowner sells or refinances. The reduced interest payments never have to be repaid. If you owe more than the home is worth, the plan will only reduce principal down to 100 percent of market value, according to an official for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If all three of these maneuvers can't reduce your payments to 38 percent of income, you won't get a fast-track modification but could still request a customized deal, says the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The streamlined process looks only at income, not assets. If you refinanced your home to buy a Mercedes or own another home, you won't be expected to sell them to pay your mortgage. UPDATE: More here.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 6:57 AM

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

We must help them...

In California and Nevada struggling "underwater" homeowners are forestalling HDTVs until the post-Christmas sales, cutting back on DVD purchases (was 50 per month, now only one), and playing board games (but not monopoly).

Link posted by Steve Antler : 5:34 AM

Okay (you may well ask): what's the right message?

What will most readers take away from Michael Lewis' schadenfreude-laden critical essay on Wall Street entitled (wonder why?) "The End"? My answer is: probably the wrong message. When billions of dollars are wasted by young highly educated financial experts who don't actually know how to allocate capital you should be applauding just how much real value the genuine (nonfinancial) economy generated in the first place. That young financial wizards built leveraged pyramids on this base of genuine wealth is neither new nor surprising. Capitalism continually opens opportunities to rent seekers. And -- sooner or later -- the market corrects inefficiencies created by exploiters of rent seeking opportunities. That's what's happening now. That's what Lewis is describing. UPDATE: Another right message we might take away: this is the way New York ends...

Link posted by Steve Antler : 4:38 AM

Saturday, November 08, 2008

More New-Utilitarian Redistribution?

You may want to compare the average auto industry salary with your own before deciding whether bailouts are justified. Shifting resources from any taxpayer earning an average American salary to an auto worker earning an average salary amounts to shifting money from lower- to higher-income people.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 3:46 AM

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Well, nothing tangible at least...

Hasn't John Kotkin noticed the main difference between the new Starbucks-sippping "creative class" and those smelly old-fashioned "military contractors, manufacturers, agribusiness[es], pharmaceutical [companies], suburban real estate developers, energy companies, old-line remnants on Wall Street and other traditional backers of the GOP" is that the new creative class people don't actually, well, you know, produce anything?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:30 AM

Remember that James Burnham guy?

John Hinderacker forgets that old important distinction between ownership and control: Barack Obama is a rather mysterious figure: despite the fact that every policy he advocates will hurt the economy and the stock market, he has been the darling of Wall Street. Employees of securities firms have been among the biggest contributors to his campaign. I'm not sure how to explain that, and I don't really think that today's steep drop represents a case of buyer's remorse. That will come, I think, but not for a while. Sort of like being suprised at high CEO bailout salaries just as their firms go under, no?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:15 AM

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Yes, but can he get it for them wholesale?

My good friend and Roosevelt University colleague Steve Balkin -- with whom I have substantial but always-friendly political disagreements -- has suggested I post this modest proposal. Comments are welcome. Sell Michigan to China: Financing a US Economic Recovery ----By Steve Balkin, Professor of Economics, Roosevelt University, October 17, 2008 Sell Michigan to China – that is what I'm proposing as a way to finance the economic recovery for the US. Think of it. Both countries could benefit. Michigan is now a failed state. Of all the 50 states, it has the highest unemployment rate of 9% in August 2008. Its largest city, Detroit, has the highest crime rate of any US City. Real estate values have been dropping precipitously, and the state and local governments are experiencing hemorrhaging budget deficits. There is an abundance of empty land, empty factories, and abandoned buildings. These people are leaving the state to move where they can more likely find work. China has its economic and social problems too. A major problem in China, as the Chinese themselves express it, is "it has too many people", 1.3 billion, over four times the population size of the USA. Managing its environment, creating a safety net, and continuing its high rate of economic growth to create jobs in the cities for its vast underemployed rural population are daunting tasks that China fails at as much as it succeeds. China expects it can eventually capture a major share of the global auto industry and hopes that more of its population will learn English to fit into the advanced global economy. A lot of our debt is held by China, the country we trade with the most after Canada. China holds about a half a trillion in U.S. Treasury securities and has foreign exchange reserves totaling about $1.5 trillion. When an individual is in debt, there are basically five options: save to redirect consumption to pay down debts, work more to generate extra income, reschedule debts, find a friend or relative to pay your debts for you, sell assets, or default. I am suggesting the US sell some assets. So, I did a thought experiment to consider this option, sell Michigan to China. This will settle up with them -- cancel our debt with them -- as well as bring their economic might, thrifty people, and manufacturing prowess to North America -- in addition to a lot more Chinese restaurants. Michigan would become a hybrid state similar to Hong Kong, now a Special Administrative Region of China. English and Mandarin would be the official languages. If this idea is too shocking, then we could instead just lease Michigan to the China for 99 years. Michigan was originally Native American, heavily Chippewa and Iroquois, whose ancient ancestral roots are in Asia. Later Michigan became French; then British; then part of the USA; and with this financing strategy, will become Asian again. There is American precedent for this strategy. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte was fiscally in trouble due to his adventurous foreign wars. So he had to sell the French North American territory of Louisiana which now contains all or part of 15 US states in the center of North America. The price was about 20 million dollars, half in cash and half in debt cancellation. As part of the deal to create a Special Administrative Chinese Region of Michigan in North America, China would have to agree to abide with the international North American regulations set up by the USA and Canada such as those of the Great Lakes Commission and NAFTA. People in Michigan, could stay and retain their property rights or sell to the Chinese and move elsewhere. Of course, people in Michigan would have to approve their transfer to China. If approved, China would be sending millions of its people (perhaps 10 to 50 million) to live in its new North American region buying up residential and commercial property, starting new factories, recovering old jobs and creating new ones, and re-populating Detroit. It would be expected that joint partnerships and ventures would be formed between Chinese automobile corporations and the Big Three, injecting capital, manufacturing know-how, and access to the soon to be largest green auto market in the world – China. Math scores at Michigan schools would shoot to world standards. My family moved to Michigan in the 1950s because of the economic boom there. Michigander families of today would likely want to stay and welcome the economic and social renaissance of their state. I think Chinese people would personally enjoy moving to and vacationing in Michigan. I think they would enjoy its natural beauty, the clean air and water (up north), the Blues and Jazz heritage, the culturally rich ethnic enclaves of African-Americans, Mexicans, Polish, and Arabs; the prowess of its sports teams, its museums, universities, and casinos; and its indigenous foods such as Coney Island hot dogs, Detroit style pan pizza, grilled onion laden sliders, and Yooper meat pasties. A side benefit of this is a demonstration that borders of nation states can be fluid. The USA and China are already bound together in a marriage of economics. It would be advantageous for China to have a region in North America (in the Midwest right between Canada and the USA) and it would be advantageous for the USA to be relieved of much of its foreign debt so it can pay for the finance industry bailout as well as better education, universal access to health care, and an improved infrastructure. Selling Michigan to China would show the world that it is economic and cultural exchanges that define a place and not its borders. It would demonstrate that expending resources to fight over sovereign borders is wasteful and that in its place, cooperation and exchange, for goods and services and also debt removal for land, is not only peace-promoting but also economically smart. Both China and the USA have their faults. People in the USA can learn a lot from China and the Chinese can learn a lot from the USA. Bringing part of China into the heartland of North America is a way to foster and accelerate that process of bilateral learning and get America moving ahead.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 12:03 PM

Friday, October 17, 2008

How many plumbers do you know who make a quarter of a million?

Well, maybe not too many, but here are some numbers: If you are a self employed experienced licensed plumber you can charge between $35-$150 per hour, depending on which part of the United States you live. In larger cities the rates are at the highest end of the spectrum. I believe Boston plumbers charge over $125 per hour. Mid Coast Maine is between $45 & $75 per hour. So, at varying hourly rates here's what someone working a 40 hour week for fifty weeks per year would gross: HOURLY/GROSS $75 / $150,000 $100 / $200,000 $125 / $250,000 $150 / $300,000 $175 / $350,000 $200 / $400,000 I'd have to do some checking on it, but I think any small manufacturer (like myself) would confirm there are many skilled tradespeople in Chicago who bill out their work at $125 per hour. Those who claim to speak for "the people" sometimes don't actually know a lot about the daily lives of workers and the businesses employing them.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:10 AM

Joe the Plumber and his False Class Consciousness...

His taxes won't go up but he doesn't know it. Why do I suspect that's really not the point?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 6:31 AM

Monday, October 13, 2008

Roosevelt lite...

Here's the Obama Economic Plan -- a kind of New Deal II that shares its ancestor's dangerous economic incoherence in a major way. Attacks of major social engineering from all angles shout down rational thought and reasonable private sector planning.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 1:09 PM

Take from the poor, give to the poorer...

This is a wide-ranging critique of the Obama tax proposals, but the most disturbing feature is shown in this graph: In terms of marginal tax rates the "95% tax cut" represents a massive tax increase on the working poor, and massive redistribution from poor people who work to poor people who do not.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 9:14 AM

Take the money and run...

To me this looks like discounting of a likely Obama/Democrat victory. US withdrawal means defeat and loss of current power holders' ownership/control of natural resources. Therefore, it would be wise for them to get whatever money they can raise out of the country ASAP. What am I missing?

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:57 AM

Victims with more money than you...

Tribune reports on Highland Park homes (average value, say, $3M?) being "short sold" owing to the housing price crash. This is a good test of your ability to feel others' pain. Try real hard to imagine how bad folks feel when their $3M house is worth only $2.6M. Actually, you'll soon get a chance to really feel the pain. The banks wind up eating the loss, and you'll soon own a major chunk of those banks. Feel it. Feel the pain.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:28 AM

Democracy at risk...

People actually voting to tax themselves less.

Link posted by Steve Antler : 8:07 AM

Recession interruptus?

Paul the EconoMaven sends a link to this new gloomy prediction of doom fueled by Brad DeLong's analysis. Falling oil prices may reverse the cycle. An extra $30/week in each driver's pocket (do the arithmetic yourself) might turn things around. The "expectations factor" is the wild card in this situation. The MSM has been generating economic pessimism for years -- even in the middle of one of the strongest economic booms in American history. Now we actually, finally, genuinely face a downturn in the cycle. And MSM economic reportage may now have lost its brand and much of its influence. If the boy who cried "wolf!" was finally eaten with everyone in the town watching wouldn't his posthumous credibility have actually gone lower than in the story as we know it? Peoples' daily experience, rather than what they read in the newspaper, may now do more to fuel their economic expectations. Can an extra $30/week fuel a major recovery? In a world with diminished influence of MSM pessimism, the answer may well be "yes." UPDATE: O, my prophetic soul!

Link posted by Steve Antler : 7:41 AM

Scroll down for blogroll...

Please scroll to bottom to find the blogroll. (I've made the usual beginner's mistake of fooling around with my template without a backup. Will try to restore things later today.)

Link posted by Steve Antler : 6:29 AM

 
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EconoWriters
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Brown
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