Who’s gambling with our markets now? In contrast to my own somewhat more gloomy views of our financial future, we have a different framing of the financial credit problem and the banking situation. A new report by Stratfor’s George Friedman called ”China and the Arabian Peninsula as Market Stabilizers” takes a different slant on global […]
We are currently experiencing our first snow, possibly to 10 inches. Usually this is taken in stride, but because it started about 1:00 PM and was to include ice conditions and to peak during rush hour, schools let out early, which is very unusual. For some reason the ‘Storm Watch Emergency’ people suggested to businesses […]
Bush replaces neo-con shill Karen Hughes with Jim “Dow 36,000” Glassman at State Department.”Dear Mr. President, Nice hand parrot you’ve named there in Mr. Glassman! Maybe he’ll do better as chief salesman for the State Department in the Middle East. Better than the hard bitten thug in a skirt-Karen Hughes, to whom nobody listened. Having […]
The NYT has an opinion on the current energy bill. The centerpiece of the bill is the first meaningful increase in fuel efficiency standards in three decades — from today’s fleetwide average of 25 miles per gallon to 35 m.p.g. by 2020. To win necessary Republican votes, the Senate leadership agreed to drop one valuable […]
The Georgia Public Policy Foundation suggests tiered pricing as a long term solution to their water problems. Worse, water restrictions can harm conservation efforts by considerably reducing revenue to utilities and local governments, forcing rate hikes or shrinking funding opportunities for growth, maintenance and improvement of aging systems. Repairs and maintenance are a serious concern: […]
OMB Watch has some strong views on current trends in federal agency regulation. Federal regulators commonly use cost-benefit analysis as a means for assessing one or moreregulatory policy options. However, cost-benefit analysis is an unreliable and often inappropriate tool.The results of cost-benefit analysis obscure uncertainty and mask the value of those benefits thatagencies cannot translate […]
The GAO has published an interesting analysis of Free Trade Agreements made since 2002(WTO GATTS style). Congress granted the President Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in 2002 through the Trade Act of 20021 to negotiate agreements, including free trade agreements (FTA), which aim to reduce trade barriers and expand trade with selected trade partners. The legislation […]
The other end of the the water problem continues as well. A group of environmental advocates is suing Virginia over a decision it says allows a sewage plant to continue polluting waters that flow into the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay. The discharge from the North Fork Modular Reclamation and Reuse Facility was considered so harmful […]
We know who’s smart and who’s not. It isn’t Secretary Paulson, who’s been speaking platitudes about a “strong dollar policy” for his entire term. Now China, main beneficiary of its basket-peg to the Dollar, makes pious noises that echo Paulson. Two birds are singing the same song, and neither is very sincere. Strong Dollar Policy“China […]
This is written by KenMelvin Black Holes: Just for the sake of discussion, let’s say that there were five hundred billionaires in the US yesterday, and that, on average, each was worth $10 billion, i.e., their total net worth was $5 trillion. Further, let’s assume that, being both smart and powerful; their average return on […]