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.
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’.
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…
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…
New charter city in the works
(TED) Back in 2009, Paul Romer unveiled the idea for a “charter city” — a new kind of city with rules that favor democracy and trade. This year, at TED2011,…
Planned economy or planned destruction?
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This cartoon was published in the Chicago Tribune in 1934.
New rules, new system?
In Bill Maher’s New Rules segment, the comedian/political maven shuffles through several new rules he has come up with that he suggests would solve some of our problems. Examples range…
Economist soundtracks–Marx
In this, the fourth installment of economist soundtracks, we look at the fascinating life and work of Karl Marx, who obviously faced no shortage of facial hair. Karl Heinrich Marx…
Do-It-Yourself Democracy
The DIY Democracy iPhone app is the most powerful tool available for citizens in the 21st century. The only app that connects you at the federal, state, and local level,…
Not too far from the current situation
Important Things with Demetri Martin 2 (Part 2) – The Forgotten Civil War www.comedycentral.com Tosh.0 Funny Jokes The Comedy Awards This classic spoof documents just how far a divided country…
Adding to the Problem In Order to Solve It
(Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Tuesday ordered a government-wide review of regulations with the goal of eliminating those that hurt job creation and make the economy less competitive. http://www.cnbc.com/id/41131176/Obama_Wants_to_Shed_Rules_That_Hurt_Job_Growth…
I Could Be Arguing In My Spare Time
Monty Python Argument Clinic – Some of the best comedy ever broadcast, and very revealing as to how social interaction works these days. Basically, it doesn’t matter what people are…