Economist soundtracks–Mises
One of the most notable economists and social philosophers of the twentieth century, Ludwig von Mises, in the course of a long and highly productive life, developed an integrated, deductive…
The United States of America loses its AAA credit rating from S&P
(Reuters) The United States lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s on Friday in an unprecedented reversal of fortune for the world’s largest economy. Read the S&P…
The plight of the middle class
Robert Reich connects the dots on the economy, in less than 2 minutes and 15 seconds. A number of questions arise, not the least important of which has to do…
Solving the problem by adding to it and making it worse
(The New York Times) There is something you should know about the deal to cut federal spending that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday: It does not actually reduce federal…
Life and times in the rentership society
(Bloomberg) The U.S. homeownership rate has fallen below 60 percent when delinquent borrowers are excluded, a sign of the country’s move toward a “rentership society,” Morgan Stanley said in a…
The math behind economies of scale
(TED) Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities — that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can…
It’s every person in the world, connected to every other person in the world, and no one fully understands how to make best use of this new reality because no one has seen anything like it before.
Designer and entrepreneur Ben Pieratt on the Internet.
The debt debate goes back long before Nov. 2010
(Reuters) – White House and congressional negotiators are racing against the clock to forge a deficit reduction deal that would clear the way for Congress to raise the $14.3 trillion…
The debt ceiling as a perpetual soufflé
As Veronique de Rugy explains, the debt ceiling was initiated in the U.S. in 1917 as a way to ensure responsibility in congress. Since then, government has raised it nearly…
This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this.
President Barack Obama on the negotiations for short term extension of the debt ceiling. (Dow Jones)- President Barack Obama threatened to veto any short- term extension of the debt ceiling,…
Why stop at the 51st state?
An interesting, albeit daunting, prospect has recently received some momentum in Southern California–one that would make several of its counties its own state. (Christian Science Monitor) Thirteen mostly conservative California…
In our age there is no such thing as “keeping out of politics.” All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.
George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language’.
Most popular passages from Juggernaut
One of the great aspects of electronic literature is the statistical information provided by linked users. Before e-book readers like the Kindle and Nook, there was no practical way to…
Fourth of July Playlist
Our ode to the best holiday ever featuring some of the best music ever. You’ll be surprised at how many great songs are about or feature allusions to the 4th…
An ethical case for ‘Loser Pays’
In a recent article, Gozmodo reports of an independent artist that was charged with copyright infringement, and was forced to settle for tens of thousands of dollars, even though he…
Summer reading list (for the economically and politically inclined)
Other than Juggernaut, there are plenty of good, substantive books out there for the economically and politically minded to delve into this summer–on the plane, at the beach, or just…
What is the difference between the Austrian and Chicago Schools of Economics?
Two of the most influential and comprehensive schools of economic thought, the Austrian and Chicago Schools have much in common, especially in their opposition to Keynesianism. But, as Robert P….
The virtues of self-sufficiency
One of the central concepts of Juggernaut rests in the virtues of self-sufficiency. A summary can be found in the first part of the book: It can be assumed that…