Wednesday, December 18, 2013

It Ain't Pretty But It Is A Tapir


12 comments:

Cinco-X said...

DJIA lookin' like a double slumdog day...d'fuq? Does lower profits at Ford mean a delay tot he taper?

Rob Dawg said...

Ignore it all. $10b less is noise.

Cinco-X said...

Never mind...obliviously related to the FOMC statement...

Cinco-X said...

Dow Jones Industrial Average
16,119.61 Up 244.35(1.54%)

Cinco-X said...

QE: The greatest subsidy to the rich ever? The largesse of the Federal Reserve over the past five years has amounted to one of the largest ever subsidies to the American wealthy—fueling record fortunes, record numbers of new millionaires and billionaires, and an unprecedented shopping spree for everything from Ferraris to Francis Bacon paintings. The prices of the assets owned by the wealthy, and the things they buy, have gone parabolic, bearing little relationship to the weak, broader economy.

Cinco-X said...

Wal-Mart Is No Different Than Other Stores, But Turning It Into A Hobgoblin Is A Political NecessityRick Ungar’s recent column not only attacks Wal-Mart, but contends that those of us who favor laissez-faire are in some kind of philosophical bind when we defend Wal-Mart.

Ungar writes, “After all, they (referring to “conservatives” but I take him to mean classical liberals, libertarians and others who advocate free markets and the rule of law) would tell you, if people are willing to work for wages that keep them ensconced in poverty, why should Walmart not take advantage of this and do the job management was, apparently intended by The Almighty to do – pass the profits of inadequate wages along to the company’s shareholders?”

Those rather vehement words certainly throw down the gauntlet.

The truth of the matter is that Wal-Mart is no different than other retailers, businesses in general, or even non-profit organizations. It enters into contracts with people to do the work needed in its operations – cashiers, shelf-stockers, customer assistants, and so on. Wal-Mart must offer sufficient compensation to workers so they will accept its offers, rather than going to work for others who also want their services. Wal-Mart employees earn somewhat more than do similar employees at other retailers and somewhat less than at others.

Putting aside the rather awkward construction of that last sentence, Leef makes a very good point...

Cinco-X said...

Obama Is Trying to Fix Inequality by Hiring the Same Hacks Who Caused ItAs chief of staff to Bill Clinton, Podesta helped lead the charge to deregulate Wall Street, which resulted in the banking bubble that wiped out the savings of tens of millions of Americans.

But instead of chastising Podesta for the errors of his ways, Obama in 2008 appointed him to oversee his presidential transition team. That led to the appointment of Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner, two former Clinton officials responsible for the banking meltdown, to repair it. Just this past week, it was announced that John Podesta would be reappointed as a senior adviser to the Obama White House.

John Podesta should not be confused with his brother Tony, although both were founding partners of the Podesta Group, a lobbying firm that has represented Walmart, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America and BP along with dozens of other multinational corporations.

Tony still heads the lobbying firm, but John left when he joined the Clinton administration and subsequently founded the Center for American Progress, a think tank that attracts major funding from defense, energy and pharmaceutical companies. Sometimes the Podesta brothers work on opposite sides of the policy street, but both are big contributors to the Democratic Party, and it doesn’t hurt for lobbyist Tony to have the same last name as brother John, an Obama insider.

Cinco-X said...

Social Science Rejects Politically Incorrect Data

Son of Brock Landers said...

Taper means the rate of currency debasement is a tad slower but the direction stays the same.

Cinco-X said...

Son of Brock Landers said... Taper means the rate of currency debasement is a tad slower but the direction stays the same.

Monetary growth doesn't necessarily mean currency debasement. If the underlying basis of the economy grows, the money supply can grow without what we classically think of as debasement. OTOH, if the underlying means of the economy is shrinking, even a constant money supply can result in debasement. That's a big problem with capacity under-utilization; you often either have to use capacity or you lose it, and when you lose it, the basis from which the dollar derives (yes...the dollar is a derivative instrument) it's value shrinks, and that's not good.

Unknown said...

That picture gave me a shock.
Then I noticed that the hair was shorter and the ears larger than my ex's.

Rob Dawg said...

That picture gave me a shock.
Then I noticed that the hair was shorter and the ears larger than my ex's.


A good stylist and laser tattoo removal and...?