Saturday, March 13, 2010

Two wrongs don't make a right...

...but don't tell that to Congress.

I've complained again and again* about how government involvement in student loans has been an absolute disaster to those it supposedly helps. Can you guess how I feel about the attempts to combine two of the worst ideas around into a special, hybrid blend of mega-disaster?

It's as if Dr. Evil decided sharks with lasers on their heads weren't destructive enough, so he lobbied Congress to merge a healthcare bill with a student loan bill.

And again. And again. And again.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Who writes these things?

"PATERSON, N.J. – A New Jersey man with apocalyptic visions is accused of years of terrorizing his family, raping his five daughters and impregnating three, beating his children with wooden boards and even moving at one point to avoid child welfare investigators." -AP via Yahoo!

Notice anything wrong with that sentence? How about this?

"My life in the dungeon was terrible. They branded me with red hot irons, drove spikes under my toenails, broke all of my fingers, and even refused to certify that my daily cup of gruel was organic."

Topeka Changes Name To Google For All Of March

Ah, Topeka. What a great idea. Unless, of course, Google gives them a trademark infringement suit instead of a free fiber optic network.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Watch your back, Bloomberg

First they came for the illicit drugs; and I did not speak out—because I did not use them;
Then they came for the alcohol, I did not speak out—because I did not drink;
Then they came for the cigarettes, and I did not speak out—because I did not smoke;
Then they came for my Chipotle—their bodies were never found.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

If you like Paul Krugman...

...explain this to me:

Claim 1:

"What Democrats believe is what textbook economics says: that when the economy is deeply depressed, extending unemployment benefits not only helps those in need, it also reduces unemployment. That’s because the economy’s problem right now is lack of sufficient demand, and cash-strapped unemployed workers are likely to spend their benefits. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office says that aid to the unemployed is one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus, as measured by jobs created per dollar of outlay."
-Paul Krugman, attacking the claim that extending unemployment benefits incentivizes unemployment in his blog.

Claim 2:

"Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job. Generous unemployment benefits in some European countries are widely believed to be one of the main causes of 'Eurosclerosis,' the persistent high unemployment that affects a number of European countries." -Paul Krugman, in his own economics textbook.

I know he replied, but it didn't really address the issues. Frankly, it didn't make sense:

"What’s limiting employment now is lack of demand for the things workers produce. Their incentives to seek work are, for now, irrelevant. That’s why comments by the likes of Sen. Kyl are so boneheaded — anyone who thinks that high unemployment in the first quarter of 2010 has anything to do with workers getting excessively generous benefits must not get out much." Krugman's reply

I know for a fact that there are people who could work, but won't due to the fact that they make more money sitting at home than with one of the available jobs. I have this knowledge for two reasons: 1) I have common sense; and 2) I personally know several people doing this right now.*

In a free market, there's essentially unlimited demand for just about anything, at some price. If you want more demand, make your product better or cheaper. If you can't make a profit at a price people are willing to pay, either become more efficient or give up. If there's no demand at any price, whatever you're selling is literally worthless by definition.

Keynesians (like Krugman) try to artificially increase demand with public spending and artificially low interest rates. In our case, both would be financed by greatly increasing the deficit. Paying back the money we already owe is essentially impossible, but they pretend it doesn't matter. As much as I hate Bernanke for his unprecedented money printing, Krugman seems just as unhappy with him for not inflating enough.

The artificially low interest rates punish those with the good sense to save their money. Your loans might be cheap, but savings accounts pay practically nothing. Artificially low interest rates force everyone to speculate on real estate or equities, just to keep up with inflation. This leads to things like the tech bubble, the housing bubble and the crashes which inevitably follow. This punishes practically everyone.

Don't tell me about Krugman's Nobel Prize in Economics - Henry Kissinger and Yasser Arafat won Nobel Peace Prizes. Although, to be fair, I have to admit that Krugman is just about as good at economics as they were at peace.

*Actually, this is a rational choice for people to make. I'd probably do myself, if in a similar situation. I'm not upset at people who do this. I'm upset at the people who allow it to happen.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Iraq is still under UN sanctions from the Kuwait invasion? Seriously?

Kuwait was invaded two decades ago by a dictator the current Iraqi government executed five years ago.

The UN is just getting around to considering lifting sanctions it imposed before:

-Bill Clinton announced his candidacy for president
-The Soviet Union collapsed
-Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested
-The unification of Germany
-Anyone had heard of Rodney King
-Tim Berners-Lee finalized his proposal for the World Wide Web
-Windows 2.0 was replaced

If nothing else, this is further evidence that sanctions do not work, and punish common people for the actions of the very governments by which they are oppressed.

Afghanistan bans coverage of Taliban attacks

"KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan on Monday announced a ban on news coverage showing Taliban attacks, saying such images embolden the Islamist militants, who have launched strikes around the country as NATO forces seize their southern strongholds." - Reuters, via Yahoo!

In other news, scientific studies reveal that the boogeyman can't get you if you stay under the covers.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

But this time, it'll be different.

"JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The United States should impose sanctions unilaterally against Iran in the same way it acted alone by clamping an embargo on Cuba 50 years ago, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday." - Reuters article, via Yahoo!

What a brilliant idea. If we do it, and it works as well as our Cuban embargo, Ahmadinejad will still be in power in 2060.