Back in the pre-9/11 days in the 90s, when I lived in the greatest city in the greatest state, Pvovidence, Vo Dilun, the heart of the Big Little, there was a a brief mini-scandal. The airport security screeners were being paid minimum wage. Responses to this scandal were pretty predictable. Conservatives pointed out it was an easy job (true, in some sense) so why the fuck should we pay them any money. Liberals pointed out it was rather an important job, and even if it didn't require people to be super-skilled, it required them to maybe, just maybe, give a shit. Anyway, don't quite remember how it was finally resolved.
But this little story brings me to my real point: teachers. I don't have kids. Not likely to. But if I did have kids, and was a helicopter parent as is apparently the current style, I think I'd probably want the people who watched over my kids 6.5 hours per day, 5 days per week, to be paid gazillions at a minimum?
Thursday, May 31, 2012
It's Become A Horrible Mess
I can't imagine how any new users actually see any appeal in Facebook. Leaving aside all the privacy issues, I imagine any new user would just see it as a multidimensional spam projection machine.
Kinda Like Worrying About Social Security Solvency 75 Years From Now
But occasionally it's therapeutic to worry about fake problems instead of pressing ones.
Astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope to work out when precisely our Milky Way Galaxy will crash into its neighbour, Andromeda.
The pair are being pulled together by their mutual gravity and the scientists expect them to begin to merge in about four billion years' time.
Happy Hour Thread
Really didn't worry my mind with the Edwards legal case much, but from what I knew it sounded pretty dumb.
What This Paragraph Should Contain
On Earth-2 or wherever it is we aren't ruled by the worst people in the world.
What it actually contains:
MADRID — The European Union pressed Spain on Thursday to urgently clear up doubts over its mammoth rescue of its stricken labor market so as to calm citizens fearing prolonged unemployment.
What it actually contains:
MADRID — The European Union pressed Spain on Thursday to urgently clear up doubts over its mammoth rescue of stricken lender Bankia so as to calm investors fearing a financial breakdown.
Hope
It'll be probably be up to 10 billion tomorrow and the check will be written.
The Financial Regulator has told a German newspaper that Irish banks are going to need a further cash injection of €3bn to €4bn.
...
However Mr Elderfield, who is also deputy governor of the Central Bank, added that he hoped the banks would be able to raise the money themselves.
What Do You Expect Will Happen When People Have No Jobs And No Money
I knew we had a wee housing bubble because I knew that not enough people possibly had enough money to really afford that many houses at bubble prices. Similarly, I know the economy is going to continue to recover slowly, if it all, because people don't have jobs and money. I also know that if you deliberately enact policies with the obvious consequences of making large numbers of your population jobless, such as firing large numbers of public sector workers, then newly unemployed and broke people aren't going to spend any money because they don't have any.
The people who rule the world have jobs and money. They don't know what it's like to go from living paycheck to paycheck to living with no paycheck. They support the policies that they do because they cannot comprehend the obvious consequences of this.
Probably they're evil, too, but we'll never fully resolve that question...
The people who rule the world have jobs and money. They don't know what it's like to go from living paycheck to paycheck to living with no paycheck. They support the policies that they do because they cannot comprehend the obvious consequences of this.
Probably they're evil, too, but we'll never fully resolve that question...
Spanish Bank Jog
Translation's not exactly perfect, but people are shoveling money out of the country pretty fast.
Anyway, just my regular reminder... the problems are not difficult to solve. The people who rule us are choosing not to solve them.
Anyway, just my regular reminder... the problems are not difficult to solve. The people who rule us are choosing not to solve them.
It Doesn't Matter If It's Working
As the Greek economy continues to implode, much of the press echoes the sentiment of Fox on 15th, basically that if Greece elects those dirty hippies who want to do the right thing it would be the wrongest thing ever.
We are ruled by the worst people in the world.
We are ruled by the worst people in the world.
Dumb Ideas
I'm all for labeling, or even taxing, but banning stuff like this is just dumb.
New York City plans to enact a far-reaching ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts, in the most ambitious effort yet by the Bloomberg administration to combat rising obesity.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
383K new lucky duckies.
Not so good.
And first quarter GDP growth revised downwards to 1.9%.
Is it recovery summer yet?
Not so good.
And first quarter GDP growth revised downwards to 1.9%.
Is it recovery summer yet?
Jobs
Actual BLS report comes out tomorrow, ADP estimate of private sector job growth...+133K.
Just floating.
Just floating.
It Is A Complete Mystery How This Is Happening
The purifying effects of completely destroying an economy were supposed to save it. By making sure nobody had any money, everyone would have the confidence to spend!
You can't even really parody the thinking, because it's that fucking stupid.
Greek retail sales by volume fell 16.2 percent year-on-year in March, with the pace of the decline picking up after a revised 12.9 percent drop in February, data from statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday.
You can't even really parody the thinking, because it's that fucking stupid.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Deep Thought
What the world really needs right now is another high profile conference of the megarich where they can spend a weekend congratulating each other on just how awesome they are.
Grexit
My one time boss Chris Piss is probably correct that the rich in Greece can shield themselves from the negative effects of a Euro exit.
But it isn't clear that this is a worse path forward for the poor than the imposed austerity. Small savers don't have much wealth to lose.
While poorer Greeks are equally able to appreciate the difficulties facing their country, they’re not as able to shield their funds from an exit from the common currency, Pissarides said. They need to preserve quick access to their savings, which isn’t as easy to do if it’s held at a foreign bank, and such lenders may not always accept small deposits.
“It’s the wealthy who will benefit because that’s who’s able to move their money abroad,” he said. “Wealthy Greeks have already done it, whereas the small saver is not going to do it.”
But it isn't clear that this is a worse path forward for the poor than the imposed austerity. Small savers don't have much wealth to lose.
Infinite Resources
There are better and worse ways of fixing the problems, but Yurp is only resource constrained because they have constrained themselves.
Print free money, give it to the banks. Problem solved, move on.
Now I'd prefer the "giving free money to people" solution, but really the only reason this is hard is because they're choosing to make it hard. Precisely why that is I do not know, but that's the state of affairs. The resource is money. They can make as much as that as they want.
A European bailout of Spain, the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy, after Germany, France and Italy, is becoming a more distinct possibility. With each passing day, turmoil mounts over the government takeover of the giant Spanish mortgage lender Bankia, the flight of money to safer borders and a worsening recession.
A rescue, if it came, would strain the resources of Europe’s new €700 billion, or $867 billion, bailout fund that is to become available this summer. And it would leave little margin for any additional bailouts.
Print free money, give it to the banks. Problem solved, move on.
Now I'd prefer the "giving free money to people" solution, but really the only reason this is hard is because they're choosing to make it hard. Precisely why that is I do not know, but that's the state of affairs. The resource is money. They can make as much as that as they want.
I'm Not Actually Sure Why That's Notable
As in lede paragraph notable.
As relevant as "a husband and wife from Illinois" would be.
Seventeen people, including a husband and wife from Puerto Rico, have been arrested in connection with a drug ring that officials said was trafficking cocaine from New York City to Philadelphia.
As relevant as "a husband and wife from Illinois" would be.
Poor People Hate Trees
Not really, but in the urban hellhole some weird things end up getting mixed up in the general politics of gentrification. Through various programs the city is planting trees, and often some residents in poorer neighborhoods don't want them. I think they're seen as a leading indicator of gentrification, and people don't like the autumn leaves messing up the streets.
Skip Norway
I didn't think Sweden and Denmark were all that expensive when last I visited. Expensive, yes, but lodging actually wasn't too bad, and of course decent affordable mass transit (inter- and intra-city) means no rental car expense.
But Norway. Ouch. (Though even there lodging was oddly affordable). Just leave a pint of blood at the counter when you pay for anything. Beautiful, so go if you can afford it, but..ouch.
Pro-tip when traveling to Yurp: Iceland Air generally has competitive fares and allows free multi-day stopovers on the way.
But Norway. Ouch. (Though even there lodging was oddly affordable). Just leave a pint of blood at the counter when you pay for anything. Beautiful, so go if you can afford it, but..ouch.
Pro-tip when traveling to Yurp: Iceland Air generally has competitive fares and allows free multi-day stopovers on the way.
Out Of The Nerd Ghetto
When I was growing up, almost anything that was science fiction or fantasy related got a NERD label slapped on it. People were pretty allergic to it. Obviously Star Wars was a giant exception, but it didn't exactly spawn a million successful imitations. Supernatural horror, basically scary fantasy, did ok, but that's because the gore made it cool. I'd guess what really started to change that was the X-Files. Back then the idea that a NERD show like that could have a mainstream appeal was surprising, and people were, at first, a bit sheepish about admitting they watched it. I suppose Arnold helped make action SciFi cool with Terminator 2 (nobody went to see the first one when it came out).
I don't think things are in neat little boxes quite as much as they used to be, and that's a good thing.
I don't think things are in neat little boxes quite as much as they used to be, and that's a good thing.
Thoughts?
On one hand, cracking down on serial driving offenders is a good thing, but on the other hand, license revocation is pretty much a nuclear event for people in most of the country.
Who's Really Getting Bailed Out
It isn't Greece.
Tell the rest of Europe to cut the crap, bail out their own banks, and LEAVE GREECE ALOOOOOONE.
But almost none of the money is going to the Greek government to pay for vital public services. Instead, it is flowing directly back into the troika’s pockets.
The European bailout of 130 billion euros ($163.4 billion) that was supposed to buy time for Greece is mainly servicing only the interest on the country’s debt — while the Greek economy continues to struggle.
Tell the rest of Europe to cut the crap, bail out their own banks, and LEAVE GREECE ALOOOOOONE.
Our Man At Fox On 15th
Says something - not sure what! - that even Ignatius thinks maybe that was actually a problematic thing to do...
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Bad Cheeky Monkeys
The beatings will continue.
A Spanish plan to recapitalise Bankia, the troubled lender, by indirectly tapping the European Central Bank for cash, was bluntly rejected as unacceptable by the ECB, European officials said.
Tell Me How To Make You Rich
Aside from direct CD sales at shows or straight from website payment/downloads, what's the purchase method which maximizes how much money goes directly into the pockets of artists? iTunes? Amazon downloads? CD purchases? Are any of these things obviously better or worse in a way that matters?
Where Such Things Are Accepted
This is probably a completely unrelated fact, but Jackson, MS is 80% black.
Something Decent Enough To Watch
Looking for the odd recommendation for an "ok+" TV series. Something decent enough to watch, without being that good. Something which doesn't require 100% attention, for the late night or multitasking low attention span viewing. Something not great, but with redeeming features. Good crap, in other words.
Yes This Is The First Time I Have Seen Such A Question Being Asked
And I think the reasons why are rather obvious.
Bad Equilibria
"Middle of nowhere" state capitals are pretty common in the US, and what they have in a common is a reputation for being snoozevilles, places which close at 5pm and are effectively neutron bombed over the weekend. Though this is really less about the places and more about the people. If everyone would just commit to hanging out, they'd probably be quite fun. Nothing intrinsically wrong with Sacramento.
Whatever Isn't Nailed Down
I have zero interest in almost everything in this article about the NYT, but it does remind us that if the Times ever goes under, or goes in a fire sale, it'll be in large part because top people have spent much of their time shoveling all the cash out the back door and into their bank accounts.
In the era of Arthur Sulzberger Jr., when newspapers have flailed under new digital realities, the New York Times Company has shrunk dramatically. Once it was a wide-ranging media empire of newspapers and TV stations and websites, and even a baseball team, that was worth almost $7 billion; today it’s essentially two struggling newspapers and a much-reduced web company, all worth less than $1 billion (for comparison, consider that the Internet music company Pandora is valued at almost $2 billion). Despite the shrinkage, the company has retained essentially the same top-heavy management, which it has kept well compensated. Even though the paper froze executives’ pensions in 2009, as it is threatening to do with union employees, the company created two loopholes, called the Restoration Plan and the Supplemental Executive Savings Plan, which allowed certain high-earning executives to take money out anyway. As a result, Janet Robinson received an additional lump-sum payment of over half a million dollars upon exiting the Times.
No Jobs, No Money
The people in charge are determined to destroy the world.
Almost all discussion by the Very Serious People is about how to help the people who did this, and not their victims. The solution is simple. Give people jobs. Give them money. It really isn't complicated at all.
I have some Spanish acquaintances, and it really is the case that there are no jobs and no money. It isn't as acute in the larger more prosperous places, places with tourists and the right sort of people, but everywhere else there's just nothing.
Spanish retail sales tumbled 9.8% in April on an annual, calendar-adjusted basis, the national statistics office said Tuesday.
Almost all discussion by the Very Serious People is about how to help the people who did this, and not their victims. The solution is simple. Give people jobs. Give them money. It really isn't complicated at all.
I have some Spanish acquaintances, and it really is the case that there are no jobs and no money. It isn't as acute in the larger more prosperous places, places with tourists and the right sort of people, but everywhere else there's just nothing.
I Thought Fred Hiatt's Crayon Scribble Page Could No Longer Surprise Me
I was wrong.
Some people might be wrong, and other people might be right, but the worst thing to do would be to give in to the people who might be right, because they are the wrong sort of people. Better to prolong the suffering of millions to keep the hippies away from the cocktail party.
There as here.
Whether Germany’s insistence on austerity and restructuring is correct in principle or not — and there’s ample room for debate on that point — the worst thing to do would be to abandon it in the face of a populist revolt by Syriza or other extremists of the left and right. That would send the wrong signal to those who would create similar mischief across Southern Europe.
Some people might be wrong, and other people might be right, but the worst thing to do would be to give in to the people who might be right, because they are the wrong sort of people. Better to prolong the suffering of millions to keep the hippies away from the cocktail party.
There as here.
Monday, May 28, 2012
That's Settled Then
There's something missing here.
Oh yes, it's that the health of financial institutions isn't, you know, the only issue.
Except it is.
Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said the United States should comfortably weather the debt crisis because its financial institutions have already cut their European exposure. Moreover, he said on the Journal's Monday online edition that "a flood of liquidity" into the United States, as investors seek safer assets, is more likely "than the drying up of liquidity."
Oh yes, it's that the health of financial institutions isn't, you know, the only issue.
Except it is.
Recapitalization
Such a lovely word. Disguises its real meaning, which is "giving billions of dollars to rich assholes."
The Kids Today Are The Worst In Human History
For a long time I thought that the generation gap, and the general hating on the next generation by people roughly my age, would be a bit diminished. But I'm starting to think it's actually worse. There's a lot of hating on the 20somethings out there. Maybe it's because there really is a generation gap, similar to the 50s-60s era one, where The Kids Today really are growing up in a different world which confuses old fogies like me.
No the title is not serious.
No the title is not serious.
Lunch Thread
Apparently the blogger union forgot to inform me that this was a paid holiday.
Go grill something.
Go grill something.
You Were Lucky, Had Inside Information, And A Giant Stack Of The House's Chips
And don't forget a GIANT GOVERNMENT BAILOUT.
Some of Our Galtian Overlords have discovered they're not quite the geniuses they imagined.
Still I'm sure they got their couple points of management fees and won't be hurting. So maybe they are geniuses after all.
Maybe I should start a hedge fund...
Some of Our Galtian Overlords have discovered they're not quite the geniuses they imagined.
Some of the biggest traders to have swapped working at a bank for running their own hedge funds are finding it much tougher on their own, with returns since they launched lagging rivals and disappointing investors.
Dozens of top traders have fled banks in recent years, spurred into launching their own funds instead as U.S. regulators seek to ban banks from trading with their own money on so-called "proprietary" desks.
Still I'm sure they got their couple points of management fees and won't be hurting. So maybe they are geniuses after all.
Maybe I should start a hedge fund...
Not Enough Meddling Kids
Since we're now in the post-accountability era, and elites can be guaranteed to protect their own no matter what, it's worth the occasional reminder that the people tasked with running the world completely failed. None of them will experience any negative impacts of this. Geithner will become incredibly rich when he leaves his current job, as will Bernanke.
TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS
Not actually a parody.
Also, "Ministers believe more than 30,000 young people could benefit by 2014-15." Well, yes, if you multiply 30,000 pounds by 2,500 you get 75 million pounds.
The economy is saved!!!!!
Young entrepreneurs will be able to obtain government loans to help them launch a business under a new StartUp scheme to be launched by David Cameron on Monday.
Over the next three years, ministers will put £82m into the scheme, which will fund loans worth on average £2,500 to people aged 18 to 24 who can show that they have a robust business plan.
Also, "Ministers believe more than 30,000 young people could benefit by 2014-15." Well, yes, if you multiply 30,000 pounds by 2,500 you get 75 million pounds.
The economy is saved!!!!!
Discounts
So it turns out the Chinese government has been able to buy US government debt, as it were, wholesale. Marcy quotes Reuters:
You know, China. The China Jake Tapper and Leon Panetta talked about yesterday:
The documents viewed by Reuters show the U.S. Treasury Department has given the People’s Bank of China a direct computer link to its auction system, which the Chinese first used to buy two-year notes in late June 2011.
China can now participate in auctions without placing bids through primary dealers. If it wants to sell, however, it still has to go through the market.
The change was not announced publicly or in any message to primary dealers.
You know, China. The China Jake Tapper and Leon Panetta talked about yesterday:
TAPPER: Yes, exactly!
So, you are headed to Asia, and you will be meeting with your Chinese counterpart in Singapore. You've said that we face the possibility of a cyber attack. This is one of the things you talked about last time with me, about how this was a very big, serious issue of concern for you. And you said it could be the equivalent of Pearl Harbor.
The Pentagon has acknowledged recently China is the biggest source of cyber attacks against this country, including stealing our military secrets. Newt Gingrich spoke about this threat on the campaign trail often. He said cyber attacks, cyber spying, are quote, "acts of war." Do you agree? Are they acts of war, and how would the United States respond?
PANETTA: Well, there's no question that if a cyber attack, you know, crippled our power grid in this country, took down our financial systems, took down our government systems, that that would constitute an act of war.
But what we're involved with here is the effort to make sure that never happens. And in order to do that, we've got to engage. You know, I think it's important for us to engage China in this effort. That's one of the issues I raised when the minister of defense came here from China. How can we better engage on this issue, to share information and to ensure that those kinds of attacks never happen, because this is an area where the technology is developing quickly and where clearly it is becoming an adjunct in terms of any country that moves against another country militarily.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
How Did I Miss This 2011 Ig Nobel Winner?
Should be a Nobel as far as I'm concerned.
PEACE PRIZE: Arturas Zuokas, the mayor of Vilnius, LITHUANIA, for demonstrating that the problem of illegally parked luxury cars can be solved by running them over with an armored tank.
Real
I've looked at the list of top real box office grosses many times, but I'm still always a bit surprised by some of the top grossers...
Cheeky Monkeys
Not a fan of the "give the banks free money" thing, but sticking it to the ECB and Teh Markets is worth a clap.
This might be the closest thing to printing Euros that Spain can do, by basically forcing the ECB to print the money to finance the bailout.
Not so bad, Spain.
...adding, the point is that there's a relatively zero cost way to plug the financial holes. Free money! Central banks can do that. I'd prefer giving people free money instead of banks - you can even can do both simultaneously, by canceling debts with free money! - but this bit of sneaky at least is more in the "free money" direction.
The plan, viewed as highly unorthodox by analysts, involves Madrid issuing Spanish government guaranteed debt to Bankia in return for equity, with the bank then able to deposit the bonds with European Central Bank as collateral for cash.
...
But the admission by Madrid that borrowing in the capital markets is too expensive – and the use of the ECB to temporarily fund at least part of its bank rescue plan – surprised analysts.
“This is very cheeky – the ECB executives are going to be furious,” said one analyst.
This might be the closest thing to printing Euros that Spain can do, by basically forcing the ECB to print the money to finance the bailout.
Not so bad, Spain.
...adding, the point is that there's a relatively zero cost way to plug the financial holes. Free money! Central banks can do that. I'd prefer giving people free money instead of banks - you can even can do both simultaneously, by canceling debts with free money! - but this bit of sneaky at least is more in the "free money" direction.
Making Me Never Want To Be On The Road Again
This is all going to work so well.
Automakers say they are concerned too, but that hasn’t stopped them from connecting smartphones to in-dash systems and putting Internet-based information into so-called connected cars for 2013. While some Web-based apps offer features similar to those already available in traditional car stereo systems, like the streaming music service Pandora, newer offerings will let drivers order movie tickets, scroll through restaurant reviews and even check Facebook updates.
Saddam Hussein Was 69 When He Was Executed
My point is that if you can modify the security theater for the elderly, then you can modify it for everybody...
They Didn't Have One Before
Previously their risk committee was basically fake, so I suppose this might be a positive step.
But the real issue here is that this subject should not interest me at all. I should have no concerns about whether JP Morgan is winning money, losing money, or anything else. That this actually does concern you, me, and all of us, is a tremendous problem.
But the real issue here is that this subject should not interest me at all. I should have no concerns about whether JP Morgan is winning money, losing money, or anything else. That this actually does concern you, me, and all of us, is a tremendous problem.
Scandals and Scandals
One would think an explicit conspiracy by a sitting governor to remove lawful voters from the rolls in a rather obvious fashion would be a "scandal."
But that's not how things work.
But that's not how things work.
Good Banking Is Somewhat Hard Work
This is about Spain, but could really be about the US. Banks just aren't interested in making loans to small businesses. Local banks have been eaten by bigger banks, bankers with knowledge of the local area either aren't there anymore or have no authority to approve loans.
There's no reason to expect things to improve, as the people who run the world focus on the "financial crisis" instead of the real one. No jobs, money, Spain just threw another 20 billion euros into the gaping maws of the banksters.
There's no reason to expect things to improve, as the people who run the world focus on the "financial crisis" instead of the real one. No jobs, money, Spain just threw another 20 billion euros into the gaping maws of the banksters.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has Panetta.
Face the Nation has Lugar, Gillespie, and Gibbs.
Meet the Press has Newt!, O'Malley, and Villaraigosa.
Document the atrocities!
Face the Nation has Lugar, Gillespie, and Gibbs.
Meet the Press has Newt!, O'Malley, and Villaraigosa.
Document the atrocities!
Prosecution?
Just in case it's slipped your mind, there's quite a bit of evidence in the public record of systematic fraud in the Rocket Scientists' of Finance creation of the home equity bubble. Neither the President or the elected members of th eDemocratic Party leadership on the Hill seem particularly concerned.
Dean Baker:
Dean Baker:
In its first three years the Obama administration did almost nothing to investigate criminal practices that contributed to the bubble and the subsequent meltdown. The attorneys general settlement on robo-signing in January called for a task force to be headed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.Also, DDay.
Almost four months later there is little evidence that this task force is making much progress. For example, if someone wanted to contact the task force to report evidence of fraud, they would certainly have a difficult time surfing the web to find a phone number to call or an e-mail address.
With the statute of limitation for many possible offences being reached in the near future, if it has not already been reached, there should be a serious sense of urgency about this issue that is altogether lacking. If the Obama administration pursued Al Queda with the same vigor as it’s investigating financial fraud, Osama Bin Laden would be sunning himself on some beach in the Caribbean.
This is not just a question of holding the bad guys accountable as a matter of justice. The far more important point is to alter the incentives in the financial industry to change their future conduct. It should not be acceptable for people in the industry to commit fraud and there should be serious consequences for those who do. At the moment, fraud for profit looks like a bet that only has an upside.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
I'm Actually In Favor Of "longshot" Candidates Getting More Coverage
But it's always, uh, amusing to contemplate the reasons when they do in national newspapers.
The Hack List
Pareene forgot to make the important point that a little nepotism is what's needed to even the playing field given all that affirmative action...
No It Won't
It has nothing to do with science or skepticism and not even all that much to do with religion. In the US it's just another tribal marker.
NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Leakey predicts skepticism over evolution will soon be history.
Not that the avowed atheist has any doubts himself.
Regulators
We don't need no stinking regulators.
Senior JPMorgan executives assured the bank’s watchdogs after the financial crisis that the chief investment office, with hundreds of billions in investments, was not taking risks that would be a cause for concern, people briefed on the matter said. Just weeks before the trading losses became public, bank officials also dismissed the worry of a senior New York Fed examiner about the mounting size of the bets, according to current Fed officials.
The lapses have raised questions about who, if anyone, was policing the chief investment office and whether regulators were sufficiently independent. Instead of putting the JPMorgan unit under regular watch, the comptroller’s office and the Fed chose to examine it periodically.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Compare
Somebody with some time on their hands should compare US press coverage of Chernobyl with the coverage of Fukushima. The former had the "benefits" of "incompetent evil Soviets" storyline to hang the bad stuff on.
And The Bill Keeps Climbing
New free money requirements for Bankia are at 19 billion Euros more, up from 15 billion earlier...
I'm sure this will be the last of it.
haha. I like how google translates it as "ransom."
I'm sure this will be the last of it.
haha. I like how google translates it as "ransom."
Shocking
Enact policies which destroy your economy and your tax revenues don't magically soar.
I don't know how this could have happened. Nobody could have predicted it.
I don't know how this could have happened. Nobody could have predicted it.
Krgthulu
It's pretty funny how week after week, David Brooks poops in the litter box and Krugman has to come clean it up without actually saying who made the poop.
Do Some Work On The Other Side Of The Balance Sheet
Yeah know you're fine on social issues.* But how about, say, decrying any attempts to cut Social Security, or similar. I know it isn't really the domain of a medium-sized city mayor, but your constituents need Social Security too.
*get that drug decriminalization isn't just a social issue (nor are most social issues just social issues) but it roughly fits in that category.
*get that drug decriminalization isn't just a social issue (nor are most social issues just social issues) but it roughly fits in that category.
In The Age Of Austerity
There's always more free money for the people who keep trying to destroy the world.
As I've said a million times, it's one thing to bail out the institutions, yet another to bail out the shareholders, and still another to bail out the current management. We'll see what happens here.
The spiralling cost of bailing out Spain's fourth largest bank, Bankia, rose further on Thursday night after sources close to the bank said it would ask for more than €15bn (£12bn) from the government on Friday.
As I've said a million times, it's one thing to bail out the institutions, yet another to bail out the shareholders, and still another to bail out the current management. We'll see what happens here.
Bargain
I spent an hour last night talking to Alex Lawson of Strengthen Social Security.
Make no mistake. There is a Beltway consensus to cut Social Security benefits--that they're gonna raise the retirement age, and also reduce the COLA. They just have to find a way to do it that will leave nobody accountable.
As Alex said, SS is the most successful government program in American history, providing vital insurance for unpredictable catastrophe and for the predictable reduction of income in old age. SS uses an elegant self-sustaining funding mechanism that will go on forever if left alone.
Our oligarchical elite has no intention of leaving it alone. They've had the program in their sights for at least the last fifteen years. But they have to find an unaccountable, non-democratic way to gut the program. Last try was the President's B-S commission.
Next up, the lame duck session.
Make no mistake. There is a Beltway consensus to cut Social Security benefits--that they're gonna raise the retirement age, and also reduce the COLA. They just have to find a way to do it that will leave nobody accountable.
As Alex said, SS is the most successful government program in American history, providing vital insurance for unpredictable catastrophe and for the predictable reduction of income in old age. SS uses an elegant self-sustaining funding mechanism that will go on forever if left alone.
Our oligarchical elite has no intention of leaving it alone. They've had the program in their sights for at least the last fifteen years. But they have to find an unaccountable, non-democratic way to gut the program. Last try was the President's B-S commission.
Next up, the lame duck session.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Crass Commercialism
Sticking with Britcoms, if you like a good bollocking, and liked In The Loop, The Thick Of It is for you. Yes Minister for the New Labour era.
People Like Hanging Out Outside Eating And Drinking
Not much of a mystery. The real mystery is why there aren't more opportunities to do such things.
Mercenaries And Do Gooders
My dealings with people on the Hill wax and wane depending on my interest and theirs, but the challenge is always to differentiate the people who are there to elevate their careers and salaries and the people who are there because they, you know, give a shit.
Nothing wrong with getting rich! Would be happy to get there myself, but if you're in do gooder politics it helps to be a bit of a do gooder.
Nothing wrong with getting rich! Would be happy to get there myself, but if you're in do gooder politics it helps to be a bit of a do gooder.
Best Not To Gain Too Much Weight, But...
This sounds promising.
My understanding of these issues from discussions with a friend who does research in this area is:
1) Greater weight isn't associated with higher mortality, given modern medicine.
2) Weight is associated with life-impacting conditions such as diabetes, however...
3) There isn't really any evidence, even aside from the relative futility of weight loss attempts, that losing weight, once gained, is any help.
4) That doesn't mean that general diet, exercise and lifestyle issues are unimportant, just that the focus on weight and weight loss especially in isolation is misplaced.
My understanding of these issues from discussions with a friend who does research in this area is:
1) Greater weight isn't associated with higher mortality, given modern medicine.
2) Weight is associated with life-impacting conditions such as diabetes, however...
3) There isn't really any evidence, even aside from the relative futility of weight loss attempts, that losing weight, once gained, is any help.
4) That doesn't mean that general diet, exercise and lifestyle issues are unimportant, just that the focus on weight and weight loss especially in isolation is misplaced.
Blogofascism
It is always amusing when people first discover that people on the internets are mean. For some politicians, especially, it's probably the first time they've really come into contact with people not showing respect or deference. Of course these conversations have taken place in bars and living rooms, but now they can be "overheard."
I remember one member of Congress complaining about things that right wingers said on the internet. The complaint was made with good humor, mostly, but I could tell it stung. Just wasn't used to it.
I remember one member of Congress complaining about things that right wingers said on the internet. The complaint was made with good humor, mostly, but I could tell it stung. Just wasn't used to it.
It's Working!!!
Stay the course!
Britain's economy contracted by 0.3% in the first three months of the year, faster than previously thought, increasing the pressure on George Osborne to explain how the coalition plans to drag the country out of recession.
JOBS!
One "explanation" for how the Rocket Scientists of Finance managed to bring the OECD to the brink of catastrophe was that there was a lack of transparency in the construction of their asset......
Fuck that. They put together misleading at best, fraudulent at worst, derivative financial instruments that were not subject to regulatory control or oversight.
What did the Democratic leadership learn from this debacle?
To cut back on regulatory oversight on IPOs, of course.
And call the deregulatory initiative a JOBS plan.
Fuck that. They put together misleading at best, fraudulent at worst, derivative financial instruments that were not subject to regulatory control or oversight.
What did the Democratic leadership learn from this debacle?
To cut back on regulatory oversight on IPOs, of course.
And call the deregulatory initiative a JOBS plan.
Didn’t Congress just pass a law that removes multiple transparency rules for IPOs, in addition to gutting the firewall between investment bank analysts and research specialists related to IPOs? And wasn’t it called the “JOBS” Act?
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Carnage
I don't know anything about this case other than what's in the article, which is (possibly) a bit short on some key details, but whatever the laws are there's a bit of contrast of how an accident which occurred during the commission of another crime is treated (life in prison!) with the frequent way in which injuries and death are often treated in automobile accidents.
The actor Michael McKean (This Is Spinal Tap, Laverne & Shirley) was hit by a car on the Upper West Side yesterday, as were two other pedestrians, a trash can, and a mailbox, after two vehicles collided and lost control. McKean was bleeding from his head and taken to the hospital in critical condition. "That's a horrible corner, a very dangerous corner," a nearby doorman told DNAinfo, adding that cars run red lights all the time. "Believe me, this happens every week." Just as common: "No criminality was suspected in the smash-up, according to police," the Daily News reports, with photos of the street carnage. New York City has an ongoing problem with this sort of thing.
Crass Commercialism
A funny British romcom which is mostly sweet but also has just enough subversiveness to keep it interesting.
Choices
I have no clue what HP should be doing, but...
That's a lot of Simoleons. But it wasn't so long ago that...
Maybe they are pursuing the best course for shareholders. Most likely they're pursuing the only course they understand. Close to the same thing, but not quite.
Basically, they're Baining themselves.
HP to cut 27,000 jobs to save up to $3.5B annually
That's a lot of Simoleons. But it wasn't so long ago that...
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), the world’s largest computer maker, plans to buy back $10 billion of its stock, part of an effort to buoy its languishing shares.
The plan comes in addition to the an earlier buyback plan announced last year, Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard said today in a regulatory filing.
Maybe they are pursuing the best course for shareholders. Most likely they're pursuing the only course they understand. Close to the same thing, but not quite.
Basically, they're Baining themselves.
Land Title Reform
Good for Rio. It's one of those issues economists talk about sometimes, but it somehow often takes a backseat to the evils of tariffs or the minimum wage.
The Trouble With BRT
If transit planners could really sit down and say, well, we could spend $2 billion on a rail system or $2 billion on a really awesome BRT system, then I can imagine that in many cases the BRT system would be better. You can build a not-quite-good-as-a-train system which would have the added benefits of additionally flexibility. You could build a core system with its own right of way over large parts of it, yet retain the abilities for the buses to head off onto normal streets elsewhere. But what happens when really awesome BRT systems are proposed is that people start chipping away at the stuff that makes them better than typical bus systems and eventually you're just left with a bus. Buses are great - I take them all the time - but absent the additional money spent you don't get the potential additional benefits that rail systems can offer.
Missed Opportunities
If we were ruled by people who knew what they were doing, the ability to borrow at negative real interests rates would be seen as a tremendous opportunity.
Oh well.
Oh well.
Leadership
I get the basic argument that speechifying doesn't magically lead to the passage of legislation, but if communication and leadership are meaningless then there are a hell of a lot of campaign bucks being misspent and half the people in the political industrial complex should lose their jobs.
The basic lefty-liberal critique is that, for whatever reason, Dems are always playing in the Right's rhetorical playground, aiming their argument at David Brooks and Joe Scarborough. Sometimes you just do the right thing, and people might get on board with it.
As for the David and Joe issue specifically, I'm not a fan of either, but I think the latter is preferable to the former in the context of this particular game. Brooks is always playing for team conservative, even if he pretends otherwise, while I think Joe can genuinely be nudged by an argument occasionally. Not that I think it's worth the focus or effort, but...
The basic lefty-liberal critique is that, for whatever reason, Dems are always playing in the Right's rhetorical playground, aiming their argument at David Brooks and Joe Scarborough. Sometimes you just do the right thing, and people might get on board with it.
As for the David and Joe issue specifically, I'm not a fan of either, but I think the latter is preferable to the former in the context of this particular game. Brooks is always playing for team conservative, even if he pretends otherwise, while I think Joe can genuinely be nudged by an argument occasionally. Not that I think it's worth the focus or effort, but...
What It Probably Means
After mulling it over for a bit, it's probably something like this: The posh boys won't borrow any more money because that would like be so wrong, so instead what they'll do is offer loan guarantees so that the PRIVATE SECTOR can borrow the money, but it won't be the government borrowing so stop saying that, to do privatized infrastructure projects. The executives will fuck up the projects, and then Bain the companies, looting all possible value for themselves and/or shareholders, and stick the government with the bill for the whole thing while maintaining the rights to whatever revenue stream the project might potentially generate. But it's NOT GOVERNMENT BORROWING. So stop saying that.
I Think I'm Actually Supposed To Understand What This Means
But I have no idea.
It probably means "more free money for the banksters will solve all of our problems" but I really don't know.
Nick Clegg has signalled that the coalition has plans for a "massive" increase in state-backed infrastructure investment but denied that the fresh emphasis on growth represented a "plan B".
The deputy prime minister said instructions had been issued to the Treasury setting out the government's plan to use its balance sheet to inject credit into the economy, with a "massive" increase in housing and infrastructure and schemes to reduce youth unemployment in a new emphasis on growth.
It probably means "more free money for the banksters will solve all of our problems" but I really don't know.
Progress
Sometimes it happens.
Though I imagine that the intensity on the 'should be illegal' side is a bit higher.
Overall, 53 percent of Americans say gay marriage should be legal, hitting a high mark in support while showing a dramatic turnaround from just six years ago, when just 36 percent thought it should be legal. Thirty-nine percent, a new low, say gay marriage should be illegal.
Though I imagine that the intensity on the 'should be illegal' side is a bit higher.
The Math
Can some of the people who rule us sit down and do a few calculations. Look at typical student loan debt at graduation. Look at median first job salaries for college graduates. Typical 10 year earnings profiles of those graduates. Then ask yourselves, how exactly are they supposed to buy homes and save for retirement?
For a long time public universities were an affordable option. People could pay more for increasingly expensive private schools, but that was a choice. Now affordable public universities don't really exist anymore.
Obviously what we need to do is spend more time bitching about these kids today and how entitled they are, blahblahblah, as we remove all the opportunities their parents had.
For a long time public universities were an affordable option. People could pay more for increasingly expensive private schools, but that was a choice. Now affordable public universities don't really exist anymore.
Obviously what we need to do is spend more time bitching about these kids today and how entitled they are, blahblahblah, as we remove all the opportunities their parents had.
Villager Life
No this isn't the college experience for most people.
Students aren't all perfect. They're young and dumb and occasionally irresponsible the way that people that age often are, but most students I interacted with didn't have the luxury of treating college as a perpetual party. When I taught at a still somewhat affordable (no longer) UC school, it seemed (anecdote, not data) most students had jobs, and when I taught at a small liberal arts institution, most students were aware of just what it was costing them.
Ah, it all make sense.
Students aren't all perfect. They're young and dumb and occasionally irresponsible the way that people that age often are, but most students I interacted with didn't have the luxury of treating college as a perpetual party. When I taught at a still somewhat affordable (no longer) UC school, it seemed (anecdote, not data) most students had jobs, and when I taught at a small liberal arts institution, most students were aware of just what it was costing them.
Ah, it all make sense.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Random Thought
After the Berlin Wall came down and the reuinifcation of Germany there was a reasonable amount of discussion - sensible or not - about just why the hell we had so many troops in Yurp. Twenty years later we still have 50K+ in Germany. Good idea? Bad? I'm not even going to make a case here, just pointing out that there's no discussion anymore.
On Repeat
There are things which are very mysterious to our Galtian Overlords, such as why housing prices aren't rebounding when the (potential) high earner portion of our population starts their working life $50,000 in debt.
It's all so hard to understand. If only there was...confidence!
It's all so hard to understand. If only there was...confidence!
LEAVE RICH ASSHOLES ALOOOOOOONE
Someone please hand a copy of Atlas Shrugged to Our Galtian Overlords and try to explain to them that John Galt was Homo Superior in part because John Galt didn't give a shit what the lesser mortals thought of him as long as they compensated him appropriately for his genius. John Galt's feefees didn't get hurt when people said mean things about him. True Galtian Overlords don't care!
Talking To Pampered Posh Boys
They hear what they want to hear.
I took the latest from Lagarde as basically saying she knows how special and awesome the stupidest fucking guy on the face of the planet, George Osborne, really is, but, maybe, really, please, fix your economy.
It was the soundbite of the chancellor's dreams. The head of the IMF said that when she looked back at the UK's deficit in May 2010 and imagined there being no plan to reduce it "I shiver".
This came after Christine Lagarde had backed "the policy mix" ie the combination of government tax and spending policies and the Bank of England's interest rate and quantitative easing policies.
I took the latest from Lagarde as basically saying she knows how special and awesome the stupidest fucking guy on the face of the planet, George Osborne, really is, but, maybe, really, please, fix your economy.
It's Just A Badge Of Approval From The Confidence Fairy
The Tories treat their borrowing cost as some sort of sticker of appreciation, a badge of honor from The Markets. That low borrowing costs should encourage them to borrow and fix their economy does not occur.
The UK government should take advantage of its record low borrowing costs to stimulate the British economy, if growth continues to disappoint, IMF chief Christine Lagarde.
Atrocity II: The Pre-Emption
More Dancin' with Dave:
Did I mention we're doomed?
REP. RYAN: Well, no, David, I would say they've also raised taxes, they have--this is a cautionary tale of what happens when politicians who make a lot of empty promises end up running out of the ability to borrow money at cheap rates and now they're broken promises. It's a cautionary tale of what will happen to us if we stay on the path we are on. What we're saying is let's get on growth and prevent austerity. The whole premise of our budget is to pre-empt austerity by getting our borrowing under control, having tax reform for economic growth, and preventing Medicare and Social Security and Medicaid from going bankrupt. That pre-empts austerity. The president, his budget, the fact the Senate hasn't done a budget in three years, puts us on a path towards Europeanlike austerity. That's what we're trying to prevent from happening in the first place.Transcript
MR. GREGORY: So this is the problem, Senator, whether if the president's message to European leaders is your approach hasn't worked. He wants a pro-growth agenda. What does that mean? More taxes? More spending? More stimulus? Is that his answer for the U.S. economy as well?
SEN. DURBIN: No, Paul, David, I can tell you that Paul and I agree on the basic premise. We are facing serious deficit and debt challenge in this country. Our approaches are different. President Obama, and I agree with his position, thinks that we ought to make certain that we're strong coming out of this recession, that we are creating good jobs and growing businesses.
Did I mention we're doomed?
Monday, May 21, 2012
Do They Know Any Older People?
All this "make people work until they're 70" stuff is just weird to me. I think Ezekiel's "make higher income people retire later!!!" program is designed in part to address concerns that jobs that require any degree of manual labor get a bit harder once you get older. But some of those jobs are actually pretty lucrative, they are just impossible to do once the knees start to go. So you have a good run until you're 60 and then you're out of luck. But, well, hey, only 10 more years until the bennies kick in...
Even leaving the manual labor issue out of it, in my experience, lots of people, even ones with cushy desk jobs requiring little more than cranking out screeds about Burkean humility or bipartisanship twice a week, start to fade after a certain age. I don't mean they all become physical wrecks or exhibit severe dementia, but add together a bit of hearing loss, eyesight loss, joint problems, diminishing stamina, etc... and lots of people just aren't quite up to putting in a full day of work. Not without a good nap, anyway.
More than that, your odds of having a nontrivial - even if cured - extended illness which pulls you out of the workforce are reasonably high by that age. Jobs prospects for such people aren't exactly great even in a good economy.
67 - the age of retirement which is being phased in and will be operative once I get there - is already really old.* You have to be insane or a sociopath to want to raise it even higher.
*Adding, I mean here really old to be expected to work a full work week, though obviously plenty of individuals are perfectly capable.
Even leaving the manual labor issue out of it, in my experience, lots of people, even ones with cushy desk jobs requiring little more than cranking out screeds about Burkean humility or bipartisanship twice a week, start to fade after a certain age. I don't mean they all become physical wrecks or exhibit severe dementia, but add together a bit of hearing loss, eyesight loss, joint problems, diminishing stamina, etc... and lots of people just aren't quite up to putting in a full day of work. Not without a good nap, anyway.
More than that, your odds of having a nontrivial - even if cured - extended illness which pulls you out of the workforce are reasonably high by that age. Jobs prospects for such people aren't exactly great even in a good economy.
67 - the age of retirement which is being phased in and will be operative once I get there - is already really old.* You have to be insane or a sociopath to want to raise it even higher.
*Adding, I mean here really old to be expected to work a full work week, though obviously plenty of individuals are perfectly capable.
The Gods Need Their Sacrifice
I gather that going forward what is likely to happen is that the ECB will pull the trigger and destroy Greece, and leading up to the election make this threat clear unless their people vote how the Independent Central Bankers tell them to vote, then follow up by giving lots of free money to the banks in the rest of Europe. I'm not exactly clear on what exactly their authority is here, how such decisions can be made, but there's nothing more important than having Independent Central Bankers, people. Repeat it, it'll be on the test.
I can see no good reason for this of course, except a belief that the volcano Gods need to be pacified by the suffering of millions, and that the banksters can do no wrong.
I can see no good reason for this of course, except a belief that the volcano Gods need to be pacified by the suffering of millions, and that the banksters can do no wrong.
Economies
To Our Galtian Overlords, the real economy is the Great Casino, the rest of it is just inputs into the probability matrix machine. What matters are "markets," not whether people have jobs or anything to eat. And the rest of the media largely follows this. When the stock market goes up, you can sense the "economy is fine!!!" narrative taking shape. When the stock market drops, worried coverage reappears.
We Are Ruled By The Worst People In The World
Cameron on the important things.
Banks, markets, confidence fairies. Must sacrifice our children on their altars.
"What is required is decisiveness, strong actions by all governments – whether it's action to deal with deficits, to deal with the banks, to calm markets," he said.
Banks, markets, confidence fairies. Must sacrifice our children on their altars.
Atrocity
Durbin, yesterday, Dancin' with Dave:
Update: transcript Couldn't find the link earlier. Thanks to MTP producer Betsy Fischer for tweeting it.
If we really want to bring the deficit down, stick to the Simpson-Bowles commission approach. Put everything on the table.Our only hopes lie with Tea Party. (h/t Culture of Truth)
Update: transcript Couldn't find the link earlier. Thanks to MTP producer Betsy Fischer for tweeting it.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
I Meant I'm Working
Glancing through the comments here, the point about being chained to my netbook when I travel is that I'm, you know, coming up with bloggy goodness and don't have time to read books.
Think I've been disconnected from the grid for about 3 days in the past 10 years.
Think I've been disconnected from the grid for about 3 days in the past 10 years.
Crass Commercialism
So what does everybody think of their Kindles? So far I've stuck with "I'm an old man who likes his books" position. I suppose if I wasn't generally chained to my netbook when I travel I'd be more likely to get one.
One True Whatever
About every religious person you can write a story about good person whose religion keeps them on the path of the straight and true, or a story about a hypocritical inconsistent follower of what are, really, some "weird" (relative to other people's) beliefs anyway.
Just depends on the mood of the journalists and editor. Beat sweetener or bollocking? Either will do.
Just depends on the mood of the journalists and editor. Beat sweetener or bollocking? Either will do.
It's The Pre-Game Drinking That's The Problem
I think efforts to limit the time of booze sales at sports events is really counterproductive. People aren't getting plastered off of $8 Coors Lights, they're getting plastered from the shots they downed before they walked into the place. Limit sales at the games and you're going to encourage more of that.
In the same vein, this month, Brooklyn Speaks, an amalgamation of civic organizations and community groups concerned about the development at Atlantic Yards, drew up a petition calling on the State Liquor Authority to end alcohol sales at the Barclays Center arena no later than 10 p.m. The group worried that drinking at the stadium could linger on until 4 a.m., even though no amount of N.B.A. overtime — or encores at a Bon Jovi concert, for that matter — would ever likely last that long. (The group was seeking to end drinks sales at basketball games at half time; at Madison Square Garden, they are permitted until the beginning of the fourth quarter.)
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has Pelosi and Boehner.
Face the Nation has McConnell, Warner, and Graham.
Meet the Press has Durbin and Paul Ryan.
Document the atrocities!
Face the Nation has McConnell, Warner, and Graham.
Meet the Press has Durbin and Paul Ryan.
Document the atrocities!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Priorities
About a hundred billion spent in Afghanistan in fiscal 2011. Money well spent, obviously.
Still that California SUPERTRAIN is a horrible boondoggle, given that'd it cost that much over a period of many many many years.
Still that California SUPERTRAIN is a horrible boondoggle, given that'd it cost that much over a period of many many many years.
There Can Only Be One
Internet bubble the first seemed to be driven by the fact that anyone who could register a domain name and raise enough money to throw a good party must have a product worth gazillions. Internet bubble the second seems to be about who will Win The Internet Once And For All. It doesn't really work that way, not yet, though definitely everybody - facebook included - is doing their best to swallow the rest of the internet and it make it their own.
Swappable
I've never heard a convincing explanation (there could be one!) for why swappable batteries wasn't the obvious route for electric cars. If you can get the time to juice to 5 minutes or less through any means then smaller than ideal range becomes much less of an issue.
Elites Talking To Elites
The New York Times tells us that the guy who doesn't much like the policies that aren't working and are destroying the country "Puts Europe on Edge."
I imagine some Europeans have been on edge, and on the edge, for quite some time.
I imagine some Europeans have been on edge, and on the edge, for quite some time.
Friday, May 18, 2012
And Correct For The UK
Which, once Olympics related program activities fade, will be as screwed as much of Yurp.
I do love this game. You guys spend a bunch of money to prop up our aggregate demand!!!! Necessary for Spain, not so necessary for the UK. They can spend their own money.
I do love this game. You guys spend a bunch of money to prop up our aggregate demand!!!! Necessary for Spain, not so necessary for the UK. They can spend their own money.
Boo Iron Chef Garces
This is abhorrent, probably commonplace, and almost certainly illegal.
(ht wendy)
...post taken down. anyway, was ad for unpaid internship as a kitchen slave, which as described really did not meet legitimate legal requirements for unpaid internships.
...here it is
(ht wendy)
...post taken down. anyway, was ad for unpaid internship as a kitchen slave, which as described really did not meet legitimate legal requirements for unpaid internships.
...here it is
Not Your Urban Theme Park
I've come across this basic notion quite a bit:
That failure to provide cheap and plentiful parking is somehow deliberately exclusionary. Big surface parking lots destroy the urban fabric. If we really believe (I often don't, but this is debatable) that more parking is necessary, then put it underground. $50 billion worth of art and they can't build an underground lot?
For me, the presence of a surface lot at a cultural attraction in its dense downtown represents a full-on capitulation to the siren call of the automobile by one of America’s most walkable cities. I took the Barnes to task for it when I reviewedits otherwise spectacular new home May 6, and doubt there is an urbanist out there who would defend the lot.
Judging from my e-mail in-box, however, quite a few suburban readers feel differently. I might have gotten a milder reaction if I had endorsed a member of the Taliban for president. One writer accused me of having a secret agenda to keep suburbanites out of the city.
That failure to provide cheap and plentiful parking is somehow deliberately exclusionary. Big surface parking lots destroy the urban fabric. If we really believe (I often don't, but this is debatable) that more parking is necessary, then put it underground. $50 billion worth of art and they can't build an underground lot?
Synergy
And speaking of the benefits of casinos.
There's a Save-A-Lot located near where I live in the urban hellhole and, well, it's...basically a food stamp grocery store. Good that it's there for people who need food and have no money, but it really offers the lowest possible quality of everything.
No armed guards in the one near me, however.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Armed guards are stationed in the first supermarket to open in Atlantic City in six years.
Save-A-Lot opened Thursday.
There's a Save-A-Lot located near where I live in the urban hellhole and, well, it's...basically a food stamp grocery store. Good that it's there for people who need food and have no money, but it really offers the lowest possible quality of everything.
No armed guards in the one near me, however.
Underlings
This isn't about not putting your wealth on display, it's about not putting your wealth on display in a way which shows up the bosses. Only they are allowed.
Wacky China
Good thing nothing like this happens here.
Oh. Wait.
That a dealmaker like Mr. Jiang would be included in an undertaking like that of DreamWorks is almost a given in today’s China. Analysts say this is how the Communist Party shares the spoils, allowing the relatives of senior leaders to cash in on one of the biggest economic booms in history.
Oh. Wait.
Which is why another story in the Times is so interesting: Michael Luo and Julie Creswell explain how Romney's eldest son, Tagg, broke into the private equity business in February 2008, just after his dad quit running for president the first time. Tagg started Solamere Capitol with Spencer Zwick, the top fundraiser for Romney '08. The ties between Tagg's business and Romney's fundraising are extensive. There are the investors: John Miller (an early investor in the firm and national finance co-chair for Romney '08), Scott Frantz (Solamere investor who raised money for Romney '08 and Romney '12), Mark Chapin Johnson (Solamere investor who donated $73,000 to pro-Romney PACs in 2006), Meg Whitman (Solamere investor and national finance co-chair of Romney '08), Matt Blunt (Solamere senior adviser and a former Missouri governor who supported Romney '08). There are the employees: Zwick and Tagg Romney, plus Mason Fink (Zwick's deputy on the campaign who joined Solamre and then left for Romney's 2012 campaign), Laura Coleman (director of donations for Romney '08, then worked for Solamere), Kaitlin O'Reilly (coordinated finance events for a Romney PAC and researched investors for Solamere).
Gambling Our Way To Prosperity
Some days my local fishwrap is inexplicably a PR arm of Atlantic City gambling interests.
Of course AC is pretty much a cautionary tale for the joys of gambling. Decades of people throwing their money into the fire pit there and it's still a pretty horrible place. And it could be quite a nice place, even with the casinos, as it has a pretty decent by Jersey standards beach and boardwalk. But they're doing it wrong.
Of course AC is pretty much a cautionary tale for the joys of gambling. Decades of people throwing their money into the fire pit there and it's still a pretty horrible place. And it could be quite a nice place, even with the casinos, as it has a pretty decent by Jersey standards beach and boardwalk. But they're doing it wrong.
Jamie's Crying
But we'll still be holding the bag.
Those trading positions have produced losses that could total as much as $5 billion, tarnishing the record of an executive who had thrived through the global financial crisis and who has long been known for paying close attention to the bank's trading activity, its risk profile and the activities of its senior employees.
...
In recent years, some of the group's trading morphed into what essentially amounted to big directional bets, and its profits and clout grew. Last year, Mr. Macris dropped risk-control caps that had required traders to exit positions when their losses exceeded $20 million. Ms. Drew and Mr. Macris declined to comment.
Mr. Dimon was unaware of the risk-control change, according to colleagues. Indeed, he had appeared to have started paying less attention to details of the group's trading activities amid the hefty profits, colleagues say.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Ask For Your Money Back
I'm never quite sure who are the grifters and who are the griftees in these situations, but somebody in Sumerians Neglect did it wrong.
Americans Reject
Via email Americans Elect informs me that their quest to elect Tom Friedman president, or whatever, has come to an end.
At least I think that's what it said.
At least I think that's what it said.
Cranky Old Man Opinions
Happy to be wrong, but really don't think self-driving cars will ever really work as they would be required to absent massive reconfiguring of our infrastructure.
Stupid Transit Tricks
They spent a bunch of money building a tunnel to the stadiums, then didn't think that maybe they should stack trains for the inevitable post-game demand.
Not sure how anyone can be that stupid. My local transit authority is hilariously inept, but even they know to have a bunch of subway trains waiting when there are events at the stadium complex.
Not sure how anyone can be that stupid. My local transit authority is hilariously inept, but even they know to have a bunch of subway trains waiting when there are events at the stadium complex.
Has It Been 3 Years Already
It's been 3 years since the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25, with no inflation indexing. If it had been indexed to the CPI it'd be up to $7.78 now. Annually, working 40 hrs./week and 50 weeks per year, that's the difference between $14,500 and $15,560.
Counterparties
DDay interviews Elizabeth Warren:
Warren: I think that many people just weren’t aware that Jamie Dimon was advising the New York Federal Reserve. So part of this conversation is just having a lot of people say, “What?” More broadly, Jamie Dimon should resign, but it’s also time to look at the structure of the New York Fed.It's a little easier to be the Best Big Banker in America when you're regulating yourself.
FDL News: Of all the regional Fed banks, no?
Warren: All of them, certainly, but let’s remember. The New York Fed decided to bail out AIG, and they set the terms for that bailout. When I was at the COP, we did a massive investigation to understand the process that the New York Fed went through. How they decided not just to bail out AIG, but to pay the counter-parties 100%. I’m sure you remember my questioning of a certain Secretary of the Treasury on that matter. The point is remembering the origin of that as coming from the New York Fed. The basic decisions and execution were shaped by NYFed. So Jamie Dimon should not sit in a position of responsibility, advising that bank, when there’s so much at stake.
What Happens When People Don't Have Any Money
The complete failure of Our Galtian Overlords to run the world properly, even, to some degree, to run it properly for their benefit (not a complete failure here, obviously), is in part due to their inability to comprehend what it's like to not have any money. Or, frankly, to not understand what it's like to exist on "only" $50,000 per year.
I didn't know what would happen with the housing bubble, and I didn't know about all the securitization games, but I did know we had a tremendous housing bubble simply because I knew there was no way so many people could afford $800,000 homes in Riverside and elsewhere.
They want people to be poor and broke and suffering and still paying off their loans and buying their crap. I do not know how this is supposed to work.
I didn't know what would happen with the housing bubble, and I didn't know about all the securitization games, but I did know we had a tremendous housing bubble simply because I knew there was no way so many people could afford $800,000 homes in Riverside and elsewhere.
They want people to be poor and broke and suffering and still paying off their loans and buying their crap. I do not know how this is supposed to work.
There Is Already A Crisis
I keep reading about the potential magnitude of the 'crisis' if Greece leaves the Euro.
There is already a crisis. 20%+ unemployment.
There is already a crisis. 20%+ unemployment.
Nobody Could Have Predicted
I assumed that the only reason they announced it was because it might be much worse...
Better give them some more free money. Who knows, maybe we already have.
The trading losses suffered by JPMorgan Chase have surged in recent days, surpassing the bank’s initial $2 billion estimate by at least $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the losses.
Better give them some more free money. Who knows, maybe we already have.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Once It's Gone...
Greece might want to... have to... institute capital controls before it's too late.
Money has been fleeing Greece ever since the country’s debt crisis began more than two and a half years ago. But the outflow has picked up velocity since last week’s election, when the elevation of anti-austerity leftist parties in Parliament raised the specter in international financial markets of a Greek default. At a time when Greek’s banking system needs all the help it can get from the rest of Europe, its own depositors are making the banks weaker by the day.
An average of 4 billion euros, or $5.1 billion, has flowed out of Greece every month since 2009, when the European debt crisis first broke open.
Everybody's Fault But Mine
One of the joys of the world economy is that Our Galtian Overlords get to blame everybody else for things going wrong.
By his own estimates the recovery really isn't even absent a total crisis.
Still he's right about this:
The question all along has been who gets to suck on it? The rich assholes who did it or the rest of us. Mostly the answer has been the rest of us.
Sir Mervyn King is warning now that the eurozone crisis is the single biggest threat to Britain's recovery from recession.
Indeed, a disorderly break-up of the eurozone would be so catastrophic that the Bank of England continues to exclude it from its forecasts. But even without it, the Bank now believes that the UK will only grow by around 0.8% this year (down from 1.2% previously).
By his own estimates the recovery really isn't even absent a total crisis.
Still he's right about this:
Governor King said that the most depressing thing about the crisis is that politicians keep treating the crisis as a liquidity problem, when the real crisis is about solvency.
The question all along has been who gets to suck on it? The rich assholes who did it or the rest of us. Mostly the answer has been the rest of us.
Car Sharing
It probably won't do much to reduce driving - and might even increase it a bit - but it's certainly a cost saver for people who can use it (flip the decision between owning and not owning a car for those who don't need one for their commute) and definitely reduce the amount of required parking in areas where it is popular.
Personally, if convenient affordable car sharing didn't exist, I'm not sure if I would own a car now. But with it I have zero desire to have one.
Personally, if convenient affordable car sharing didn't exist, I'm not sure if I would own a car now. But with it I have zero desire to have one.
They'll Never Stop
One of the weirder beliefs out there is once we get a "deal" which puts the middle estimate of Social Security solvency projected out 75 years or infinity+1 or whenever, the entitlement-killers will declare victory, go home, and we'll never talk about this stuff again.
They'll never stop. They don't care about the health of entitlement programs, they care about their death.
They'll never stop. They don't care about the health of entitlement programs, they care about their death.
Bi?
Greg Sargent asks why it is that the book and accompanying WaPo editorial by Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann has not resulted in appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows. Greg writes that the book makes
the extremely controversial argument that both parties aren’t equally to blame for what ails Washington. They argued that the GOP — by allowing extremists to roam free and by wielding the filibuster to achieve government dysfunction as a political end in itself — were demonstrably more culpable for creating what is approaching a crisis of governance.
It turns out neither man has been invited on to the Sunday shows even once to discuss this thesis.
As Bob Somerby and Kevin Drum note, these are among the most quoted people in Washington — yet suddenly this latest topic is too hot for the talkers, or not deemed relevant at all.
I ran this thesis by Ornstein himself, and he confirmed that the book’s publicity people had tried to get the authors booked on the Sunday shows, with no success.
“Not a single one of the Sunday shows has indicated an interest, and I do find it curious,” Ornstein told me, adding that the Op ed had well over 200,000 Facebook recommends and has been viral for weeks. “This is a level of attention for a book that we haven’t received before. You would think it would attract some attention from the Sunday shows.’
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Putting My Ads In Yer Internets
No idea about the truth of any of this, but I've long been mystified by the poor quality of internet ads and, more importantly, their landing pages. Whatever one expects from click-thrus, they aren't going to actually result in any revenue if what people click through to is craptacular. Craptacular landing pages is often my experience.
I, of course, exempt from this critique all of the fine Eschaton advertisers, past and future.
I, of course, exempt from this critique all of the fine Eschaton advertisers, past and future.
Gee Our Old LaSalle Ran Great
One of the folk myths I - and I assume many of you - grew up with was the one about Henry Ford deciding to pay his workers a decent wage so that they could actually afford to buy one of his cars. I don't call it a myth to suggest it's untrue, I actually have no idea the degree of truth or truthiness of that particular tale, just that it was part of the Story Of Us that we learned about in school.
The point of that story was that the creation and rise of a large middle class was part of what made America great, even if it was the entrepreneurial genius of Ford that made it happen, not Big Guvmint.
It really isn't the story we're telling anymore.
The point of that story was that the creation and rise of a large middle class was part of what made America great, even if it was the entrepreneurial genius of Ford that made it happen, not Big Guvmint.
It really isn't the story we're telling anymore.
What Are The Lemonade Stand Regulations In Your Area?
Not the point Jindal is making, and this is more of an Yglesias post, but I'd bet they're basically illegal everywhere, or at the very least virtually all lemonade stand proprietors fail to obtain necessary licenses and pay all required taxes.
And When Will That Be?
As if that ever actually happens.
Once upon a time there was the token Labor Day union respresentative. Your guests the day before Labor Day last year?
The next time a union leader appears on Meet the Press, will he be getting a fair shake?
Once upon a time there was the token Labor Day union respresentative. Your guests the day before Labor Day last year?
GUESTS:
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Columnist, The New York Times
Paul Gigot | Bio
Editorial Page Editor, The Wall Street Journal
Rep. Maxine Waters | Bio
(D-CA)
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Mark McKinnon | Bio
Co-Founder, No Labels
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Veteran
The Dog That Isn't Barking
What's truly strange is the fact that whatever happened at MF Global hasn't caused a giant shitstorm. Somebody stole customer money and handed it off to someone else.
This, apparently, can happen anywhere. It's a total mystery why anyone might be a little hesitant to hand their money off to the gamblers.
This, apparently, can happen anywhere. It's a total mystery why anyone might be a little hesitant to hand their money off to the gamblers.
I'm An Excellent Gambler
Sure some might actually be able to move markets with big positions or exploit insider information, but basically everybody playing in the Great Casino is just gambling. It's not a new original point, but with enough people gambling some will have extended winning runs, convincing themselves in the process that they are truly excellent gamblers. Helps a bit if the ATM next to the roulette table regularly spits out free money from the Fed, Treasury, or the deposits and investment accounts of your clients to let you keep on doubling down.
Until you lose of course.
Until you lose of course.
Doomed
Sometimes good news is really bad news, and positive economic news for Germany is, at the moment, bad news.
All is well. Stay the course!
All is well. Stay the course!
Uhh...
Best keep the democracy out of the democracy.
"Technocrats." Right.
(Reuters) - Greece's president will ask politicians on Tuesday to stand aside and let a government of technocrats steer the nation away from bankruptcy, but leftists have already rejected the proposal and look set to force a new election they reckon they can win.
"Technocrats." Right.
Highly Unlikely
If they blow up the world again, they'll just be bailed out again. Because they run the world.
Happily, the recent behavior of JPMorgan’s London traders could well cause regulators to put in place a Volcker Rule so tough that it would make banking boring again. One can only hope.
The Buck Stops Somewhere Down There
Accountability is for the little people.
And we're not even 4 fucking years past the time they all tried to destroy the planet.
Probably some more free money will help. Also, too, tax cuts.
In the years leading up to JPMorgan Chase’s $2 billion trading loss, risk managers and some senior investment bankers raised concerns that the bank was making increasingly large investments involving complex trades that were hard to understand. But even as the size of the bets climbed steadily, these former employees say, their concerns about the dangers were ignored or dismissed.
An increased appetite for such trades had the approval of the upper echelons of the bank, including Jamie Dimon, the chief executive, current and former employees said.
And we're not even 4 fucking years past the time they all tried to destroy the planet.
Probably some more free money will help. Also, too, tax cuts.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Why Would The ECB Stop Funding Greek Banks In The Event Of A Sovereign Default?
I suspect they might, but is there any actual reason they would other than they'd be assholes? There could be one, but I haven't seen an explanation. Greece defaults on debts and...ECB says fuck Greek banks? Why exactly?
Grumpy Old Man Pet Peeves
People who stop and congregate just before/just after escalators, doorways, transit turnstiles...
Assholes Working For Assholes
Following up on this post, the sad thing is the only chance for Our Galtian Overlords to roughly do the right thing is if it happens to coincide with the perceived financial interests of Our Galtian Overlords. Pereceived is even a higher hurdle, as they all seem to believe that impoverishing most people is the way to turn the economy around. It'll only be when a few of them figure out that this might not actually be correct that things will change.
Assholes
I know all the Very Serious People accepted the narrative the Jamie Dimon was a good one, that JP Morgan was fine no really fine yes just fine of course all fine. But, you know, they weren't. They took TARP money. They went to the Fed discount window and put their mouths to the free money funnel. More than that, numerous counterparties were bailed out.
The top executives at every big bank should have been sacked at a minimum. They aren't wizards, even the "good ones" like Dimon. They're gamblers who almost destroyed the world and will likely do it again soon.
At which point they will be bailed out. Again.
The top executives at every big bank should have been sacked at a minimum. They aren't wizards, even the "good ones" like Dimon. They're gamblers who almost destroyed the world and will likely do it again soon.
At which point they will be bailed out. Again.
Gullyvornia
California was long a high tax high service state. You paid your taxes, you had nice state parks, your kids could get a cheap college education. There are other reasons people like California, but the attraction of a high tax low service state will be limited. It's a bit easier to migrate out of California than it is to migrate out of Greece for most of their respective residents.
I'm not saying California is just like Greece, just that adequate public services roughly commensurate with the bill you're paying are, you know, desirable and necessary.
I'm not saying California is just like Greece, just that adequate public services roughly commensurate with the bill you're paying are, you know, desirable and necessary.
Grexit
Suddenly Greece exiting the Euro has gone from unthinkable to inevitable in the CW. I don't think it ever should have been unthinkable, and nor do I think it has to be inevitable, though it might be given the people in charge.
The weird thing is that everybody is equating massive default with leaving the Euro. I'm not sure why. Just default. Or, as I keep saying, credibly threaten to...
The weird thing is that everybody is equating massive default with leaving the Euro. I'm not sure why. Just default. Or, as I keep saying, credibly threaten to...
Revolt
The business guys like sticking it to poor people, but then eventually no one can buy their crap and they haz a sad.
Probably some free money for big business will make everybody happy.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond accused company bosses over the weekend of “whingeing” while Foreign Secretary William Hague said they should stop complaining on get on with the business of wealth creation.
The angry spat erupted after business groups criticised the Government's failure to include any measures to stimulate the stagnant economy in last week's speech.
Probably some free money for big business will make everybody happy.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Did Tom Friedman Lead Me Astray?
If I were Tom Friedman's editor I'd ask him to revisit his column on Americans Elect, right after I yanked the infinite expense account he doesn't need and could perhaps be spent on actual useful things.
Or at the very least sentence him to a month of eating nothing but Issue Loops and Hot Soup.
Or at the very least sentence him to a month of eating nothing but Issue Loops and Hot Soup.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Oops. Messed up the time stamp. Here's your missing bobblehead thread!
Meet the Press has Prince Reibus, Martin O'Malley, and Jamie Dimon who got to have a do-over because, you know, journalism.
Face the Nation has some random Republican from Michigan, Deval Patrick, the president of Freedom to Marry, Ted Olson, Mark McKinnon, and, oh, I don't know, Clay Aiken.
This Week has Barney Frank, Marsha Blackburn, Saint Ralph Reed, and thank Jeebus she's out there speaking for me, Hilary Rosen.
Document the atrocities!
Meet the Press has Prince Reibus, Martin O'Malley, and Jamie Dimon who got to have a do-over because, you know, journalism.
Face the Nation has some random Republican from Michigan, Deval Patrick, the president of Freedom to Marry, Ted Olson, Mark McKinnon, and, oh, I don't know, Clay Aiken.
This Week has Barney Frank, Marsha Blackburn, Saint Ralph Reed, and thank Jeebus she's out there speaking for me, Hilary Rosen.
Document the atrocities!
Training
Whatever the merits of such ideas, does anyone have any clue why they cost so much?
BAGHDAD — In the face of spiraling costs and Iraqi officials who say they never wanted it in the first place, the State Department has slashed — and may jettison entirely by the end of the year — a multibillion-dollar police training program that was to have been the centerpiece of a hugely expanded civilian mission here.
