Debt Delusion

The recent budget fight is simply a precursor of what must be done.  Both sides are still playing small ball, messing with discretionary spending, when the huge entitlement bomb is going to cause our demise.  While Democratis cry about “cruel” budgets, our debt will go up more this week (about $50B) than the $38B or [...]

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Official Corruption

If it isn’t obvious from open borders and lunatic wars in Libya, it should be obvious that our leaders do not work for us but instead work for a vaguely defined transnational ideology insofar as the Federal Reserve apparently loaned billions–and risked the wealth of Americans–in using its “discount window” to lend cash to cash-strapped [...]

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The Perils of Bipartisanship

The Republicans appear likely to indulge in their worst instincts by agreeing (a) to extend unemployment benefits while (b) signing on to various tax cuts.  While perhaps tax cuts would be valuable, the real driver of our economic troubles is a widespread fiscal disaster among individuals, states and localities, and the federal government.  At all [...]

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Whither the Middle Class?

This rather dystopic picture of the future by Douglas Copeland made an interesting point about the reality of widespread, structural unemployment.  (And this is particularly apparent in Florida, which was heavily over-invested in all manner of real estate related gigs, and is now filled with formerly successful real estate agents, mortgage brokers, construction managers, etc.): [...]

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Bipartisan Treachery

When you look at the various policies that have contributed to America’s current crisis, it’s evident that a series of bipartisan, popular-with-elites, and thoroughly short-sighted policies have done much to bring us to where we are.   These policies are largely sacrosanct, particularly among elites, in spite of where we find ourselves as a country.  [...]

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Shadow Stats Sees the Apocalypse

The economic journalist and consultant behind Shadow Stats has an absolutely off the wall interview in a mainstream business publication that begins reasonably enough, but ends sounding like a cross between Ludwig von Mises and the Road Warrior. It’s worrisome when guys in pinstripes who went to Ivy League schools begin to make the kooks [...]

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Spreading the Wealth

Obama may be looking at a big giveaway on the eve of this fall’s elections:  mass reduction of outstanding principal debt on upside down homes. While I am averse by nature to big government interventions, this one has more to recommend than the earlier bank bailouts.  After all, homeowners are probably, on the whole, net [...]

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The Funniest Guy in America

I was a little bereft of blog inspiration this morning when I saw this op-ed by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner:   “Welcome to the Recovery.” Hahahaha! I seriously do not think I’ve seen anyone nearly so incompetent, overpromoted, and out of touch with reality until, well, until the last time I took a serious look at [...]

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Wall Street Bill

I obviously haven’t read the new bill, nor do I know all its details, but I do know that the new financial reform does relatively little to prevent the use of leverage or get rid of the prop desk or do much else that would be needed to take away banks’ (particularly investment banks’) incentives [...]

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Brief Update

I’ve been in process of moving cities.  I haven’t forgotten you dear readers.  This weekend the home internet is getting hooked up, and I’ll be back to regale you with the usual stuff.  My brief recap of the week: Iraq is still a hell hole, and if this is “success” we should pull up the [...]

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