Economics...Not for the Faint of Heart

A few posts back I complimented the President on a speech he made in Tuscon, unfortunately I can’t say the same for a speech he made a few days ago to Congress. The national debt has increased to a level that trying to explain it with economics 101 is impossible yet he, and his wing of the party, seems to think that the solution to all problems is to throw money at it. But adding to an already bloated national debt does not make a lot of sense.

We have to back away from the daily policy fights in Congress and think how the economy can grow. One way is to get people to work harder or longer to create “things” and to build a need for more jobs. One of the ways to do that is for the federal government to contribute with policies that reward work and investment by lowering the general and specific taxes we all complain about.

A second step would be to encourage and protect innovation such as new inventions or processes that increase productivity. Seed money from the government would always be welcome, but private investment, luck and human ingenuity are the primary ingredients to innovation. The present fiscal policy of the government inhibits innovation and rewards the status quoi.

There is a third point I wish to make in that our national fiscal policy needs to be changed. We must evaluate all government programs and redirect our monies towards those that produce and innovate rather than divert and consume. I’m starting to believe that the Federal Reserve policy for interest rates and the programs they supported need to be evaluated and restructured. I don’t necessarily agree with those who say the Federal Reserve should be abolished, but I do believe its role in fiscal policy needs to be reevaluated and restricted.

Fiscal policy today says that it is better to use federal money to build condo’s in Las Vegas and housing developments in the suburbs than to redirect the funds towards building infrastructure and plants in areas that can then become more productive, In my mind the answer to this problem is easy, but then again the politicians and money managers who make these types of decisions don’t think as I do.

And that’s a pity, because I believe more people think as I do than do the politicians.

Darwin needs to reevaluate his thinking

Bellevue Washington is an upscale city just across Lake Washington from Seattle. But every once in a while an event occurs that proves that people really aren’t that far advanced in thinking and behavior as we would like to think we are. Imagine if you would, a recalcitrant van that is low on fuel and wants to stall out. Add three occupants who want to get to their destination no matter what and have no concept of cause and effect.

The driver doesn’t have a gas can so when she goes to the station she fills a bucket with two gallons of gas and puts it in the van. Note that I said in the van and not in the gas tank. Her two male companions take the engine cowling off, allowing access to the engine from inside the van and proceed to remove the carburetor air cleaner. Using a water bottle to transfer gasoline from the pail to the carburetor they start their journey into the police reporting system.

The van filled with gas fumes from the open pail of fuel and spillage from the water bottle and I don’t think I need to draw a picture of the sequence of events when the van once again stalled and an attempt was made to restart it.

All parties are reported to be recovering at a local hospital and I’m still laughing at the thought process (or lack thereof) of some people.

Time to lighten up

I tend to be a bit trenchant at times, but even when I’m on my soapbox I keep looking for the lighter things in life. Something that can bring a smile to your face.

This link should do just that

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=inwi10s22a3q81f

Whose Constitution is it?

The first day of the current session of Congress the initial order of business was a reading of the Constitution and all its amendments. While some people question the value of reading the Constitution and derided the agenda item as political theater it was my feeling that those who are elected to public office need an occasional reminder of the power and scope of the document that justifies their job. Just a few days later an event occurred in Massachusetts, the state that takes pride in calling itself “The Cradle of Liberty” , that shines a light on the need to understand  the liberties the Constitution provides.

In Arlington Massachusetts a fellow by the name of Travis Corcoran is the owner of Heavy Ink Comics. He identifies himself as an anarcho-capatalist and has a philosophical bent that I normally view with distaste. An example of his thinking was a comment in his blog that he didn’t feel like shedding any tears over the shooting event in Tucson AZ. His article was titled “1 down, 534 to go”. I personally think his writing style is appalling and the thinking behind the article juvenile. But that’s my opinion and everyone is entitled to have a different viewpoint. Because the Constitution says we can!

As a result of stating his thoughts publicly Mr. Corcoran was visited by the Arlington MA police department who proceeded to confiscate whatever guns he had plus all his ammunition, and seized his firearms license. They also suggested he shut down his blog site. All because by stating his opinion he had become in their minds a potential danger to the public.

Was his commentary in bad taste and even tacky? Of course it was! But what he wrote was just speech. Political speech perhaps but speech protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and for exercising that  right the Commonwealth of Massachusetts took away both his 1^st and 2^nd Amendment rights.

We need to remember the Constitution and perhaps read it more often.

Paper, not plastic please

Waiting in line at the Post Office I noticed the lady behind me was reading an electronic book while she waited for the single clerk on duty to slowly work through the line of not so patient customers. The tablet she was holding was compact, capable of holding several books and, to me, as dull as dishwater. It looked too big to tuck in my pocket, had no apparent way I could flip pages back and forth to compare passages and the tiny black letters on a dull silver screen didn’t impress. I admit that there is a certain ease of use that can be handy, but my preference is for the printed word for most of my reading.

Our home has bookcases in every room and I’ve lost count of the total number of books we have bought and enjoyed over the years Every time we moved there has been a moving charge for between 8 and 10 thousand pounds of books so I guess it’s safe to say we enjoy our reading. Electronic books and Internet content are more like an ongoing conversation, with snippets if information that are ephemeral and soon forgotten, and recollecting where you found it is an impossible task.

That’s one of the things I like about our bookcase data file. I can vaguely remember an issue, a factoid or a passage of prose and walk to the library and spot the book within a few minutes I’ve got the answer that eluded me. Books will be part of our lives, just as close as old friends are a part of our lives. Books and their physical presence are things to be appreciated and kept close, and accumulated as often as possible.

Content is Important

The airwaves are full of commentary concerning the shooting of 19 people in Tucson last week. I won’t add my thoughts about the event but I do want to comment on the Presidents remarks at the memorial service.

At a moment in time when the country needed a calming and statesman like talk I was hoping that Mr. Obama would strike the right tone and say the right words. I was both pleased and disappointed when I listened to his words. His delivery was unengaged and almost pedantic while the words he said were right on target. Although he is an intelligent man, listening to him made me think of an individual plodding through his talk reading each word without emotion and just hoping to get to the end as soon as possible. The applause and laughter also seemed to be scripted and overall my impression was it was no Gettysburg Address.

After his remarks I went to the While House website and printed out his talk and to my surprise I found that whoever wrote the speech (and it may well be that Mr. Obama had a large hand in crafting the talk) did a good job. The rhythm and cadence of the written words and the emotional content of understanding will make this a talk that will be considered influential at a moment of discourse.

Well done sir.

Climate Change

Climate Change Revisited

After spending time this morning shoveling a light snow from the walks and deck I A blog comment by Theo Sparks pointed me towards this newspaper article

The Arctic ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in
some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a
report to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulafft, at
Bergen, Norway. Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers
all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto
unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone. Exploration expeditions
report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees
29 minutes. Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf
stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by
moraines of earth and stones, the report continued, while at many
points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared.

Very few seals and no white fish are found in the Eastern Arctic,
while vast shoals of herring and smelts which have never before
ventured so far North, are being encountered in the old seal fishing
grounds. Within a few years it is predicted that due to the ice melt
the sea will rise and make most coastal cities uninhabitable.

This report was from November 2, 1922, as
reported by the Associated Press and published in the Washington Post
- 88 years ago!

While I firmly believe that global climate is never static I also believe that climate alarmists never change.

Stealing Childhood

Politicians who tell you that they are serving because they feel it is their duty always have a surprise for their constituents. One of the surprises they have in store for you and me is the Energy Act that will become effective next year. If you’re interested you can find it here:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/pdfs/eisa_2007.pdf

One of the many things this law does is to ban incandescent light bulbs and mandate their replacement with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL’s), all in an effort to “control the excessive consumption of electricity”. While CFL’s cost a lot more than regular bulbs they really do consume less power and are claimed to last a lot longer.

In my own experience, and tracking comments on home and industrial maintenance web sites it looks like the manufacturers have a quality control issue in that about 25% of the cheaper bulbs fail either on start up or within a month of installation. If experience in England is any indicator once the use of CFL’s is mandated the price of the bulbs will triple. And the cost safing to the user the becomes questionable.

But what really irks me is when I was a younger parent we brought the girl children a Kiddies’ Kitchen Set that included an oven the kids could actually cook in. It required a 100 watt light bulb to produce the heat necessary to cook what I fondly remember as terrible cookies. No longer, once the ban on light bulbs becomes law will parents have to suffer while pleasing their children. The Grinch has once again stolen childhood!

Faith and Trust

My Lady, who is known to those who read her blog as Le Conteau writes about the animals in her life and how they influence our lives. With no questions asked, she will reach out to others and do her best to make them part of our lives. Over the years we have shared our lives with many animals and I have learned the lesson that pets can bring excitement, happiness, sorrow and most of all contentment. She is working at a job in the Northwest and for the nonce I’m living a bachelor’s life, albeit with four small ladies who have taken on the chore of keeping me honest, alert and always ready to open a can of pet food for them.

The Cop and The Mouth are cats who constantly remind me that they have sharp claws and that sooner or later I have to fall asleep. Their wants are simple…prompt response when they want to go outside, or come in and instant access to cat food on demand. In turn they occasionally inform me that I can scratch their ears and during these cold winter nights serve as a heat source to keep them comfortable.

In contrast Denim Doll and Missy are descendants of a long line of Spanish court dogs who firmly believe that I couldn’t operate if they aren’t around to supervise my every action. No matter what I am doing I know that if I look around I will find at least one of the dogs observing and evaluating and making sure that I’m performing to their impeccable standards. After all they were raised to royal court standards and they certainly don’t want their human acting anything other than courtly.

While it might sound like I’m complaining about all this supervision I’m really somewhat enchanted when I realize that the four footed ladies in my life are there because they want to be included in our lives. You can always discuss symbiotic relationships and food dependency between humans and their pets but all that is secondary to what I believe is the primal drive in our relationship. They like me, as I like them because we both grow from the relationship. They have the grace to accept me as I am and to offer me companionship and love without question and with no restriction and in trying to live to their standards I’m a better person for it.