Category: Bidness • Economics
Well, I suppose the snarky response is that your household doesn't have direct control over multiple battle carrier groups. Joking aside, the fixation on reducing budgets is essentially the economic equivalent of flat-earthism. James Galbraith, in a must read piece, spells out why public deficits are necessary:
To put things crudely, there are two ways to get the increase in total spending that we call "economic growth." One way is for government to spend. The other is for banks to lend. Leaving aside short-term adjustments like increased net exports or financial innovation, that's basically all there is. Governments and banks are the two entities with the power to create something from nothing. If total spending power is to grow, one or the other of these two great financial motors--public deficits or private loans--has to be in action.
So why not have banks--private loans--be the primary stimulus? Well, unless you're a bank, it's not a particularly good thing (italics mine):
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Posted by Mike at 10:55 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Big Shitpile • Economics
One of the infuriating things about the collapse of Big Shitpile is that there hasn't seemed to be much you or I can do about it (and that wanker Bernanke is useless). Until now. Move Your Money has developed a nice online tool to find local banks and credit unions.
Recently, after using their tool, I moved much of my money to a local bank, Wainwright Bank. When I told them that I wanted to open a savings account, they started to tell me about ten dollar minimum deposits, as part of Wainwright's mission is to serve who often don't have access to banking services. Maybe it just was the amount I deposited, which was, well, more than ten dollars, but I received a very nice personal letter from the person who opened the account for me:
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Posted by Mike at 10:02 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Economics • Military
If those who are upset about runaway government spending were serious, they would look at defense spending, which has increased in nominal terms by 75% percent. Consider what even a small level of war department waste would buy for us:
With a price tag now approaching $330 million per plane and a total program cost of well over $65 billion, the C-17, produced by weapons-maker Boeing, has miraculously evaded every attempt to squash it. In fact, Congress even included $2.5 billion in the 2010 budget for ten C-17s that the Pentagon hadn't requested.
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Posted by Mike at 9:56 AM • 16 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Conservatives
By way of Brad DeLong, I came across this post by Adam Samwick that expresses puzzlement over why Republican healthcare obstructionism hasn't hurt Republicans (or so it would seem; italics mine):
You don't succeed as a political party by denying other political parties the opportunity to craft policy that serves their constituents. You succeed as a political party when you craft policy that serves your constituents.
Actually, for the Palinist Right, which has taken over the Republican Party, that's not true at all. For the Palinists, politics is never about policy, but a politics of exclusivist tribal identity:
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Posted by Mike at 10:00 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Bloggity Blog • Condolences • Humor
We are saddened to report, by way of Blue Gal and Tom Watson, that faux conservative blogger and brilliant satirist Jon Swift passed away. I corresponded with him a few times, and I always found him to be a complete delight (not to mention a riot).
My favorite Jon Swift: Jon Swift's Complete Amazon Reviews
He will be missed.
Posted by Mike at 4:15 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: IQ
ScienceBlogling Razib has an excellent post, "Why it matters if liberals are much smarter", about the recent work regarding IQ, political orientation, and religious beliefs. Razib's point about the tails of the distribution is key: to the extent that the extemes of high (and low) IQ matter, a slight difference will mean that the skilled positions will be disproportionately held by one group. But what I haven't been able to find out is how those differences arise.
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Posted by Mike at 10:02 AM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Conservatives • Creationism
It would appear that the Coalition of the Sane is beginning to reassert itself--if only by a one percent margin (italics mine):
The surprising result of the night came from the State Board of Education District 9 Republican primary, as Thomas Ratliff defeated incumbent and former SBOE Chairman Don McLeroy. This particular campaign actually received national attention, as McLeroy received notoriety criticizing evolution and comprehensive sex education. During the campaign Ratliff presented himself as a moderate alternative, and McLeroy actually used that term as why the constituents of District 9 should not vote for his challenger. There was also a grassroots effort to turnout moderate Republicans to vote for Ratliff and for Democrats to vote in the Republican primary to vote against McLeroy.
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Posted by Mike at 8:02 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Mad rantings about politics, evolution, and microbiology. Comment policy: say what you want, but back it up with an email address. I don't like anonymous trolls.
