Not A Mystery
News
Thank Goodness, Perfect Is Not Always The Enemy Of The Good
You probably thought this was going to be a post about our dysfunctional political system. You can relax, it’s not. Voltaire’s quote has got a lot of mileage lately, mostly by proponents of Health Care Reform. The original quote in French is “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.”, from Voltaire’s Dictionnaire Philosophique (1764) Literally translated … Continue reading
All Aboard A Train Ride Worthy Of Our Politicians
In a week when natural disasters have taken over the headlines you’d think we could contain the man-made ones, at least temporarily. But no, that’s not happening. In a staggering display of dysfunction the Senate allowed a single (Republican) lawmaker to … block[ed] a $10 billion bill that would have extended unemployment benefits and other … Continue reading
Rupert’s Wall Street Journal Now Channeling Zap Comix
We always get a kick out of subliminal editorializing in news articles thru the use of photos. And in this case Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal really has set a new (low) standard in their coverage of the recent Governors Conference. It appears to me that the WSJ editorial staff selected this picture of California Gov. … Continue reading
Health Care Debate Is Not A Pretty Picture, Yet
One problem with our continuing health care debate is a lack of pretty graphs to explain complicated issues. Where is Ross Perot when you need him? Say what you want about the European model of heath care, but you have to concede that they are way ahead of us when it comes to pretty pictures. Take this … Continue reading
Onion Video: Politically Incorrect But Environmentally Sensitive
It’s now been a week since Valentine’s Day, which is a reasonable ‘cooling off’ period. So I shouldn’t get in trouble with the Valentine Police over this item. This breaking news story from The Onion News Network is hysterical. Make sure to listen to the words, since the images are a tad distracting. The subject is … Continue reading
There Should Be A Term For Corporate Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is a kind of personal term. It’s what you feel when someone like Eliot Spitzer stumbles. But how do I feel when an entire industry gets what it deserves? Today the UK Guardian reported that, Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao has warned mobile phone executives about Google’s growing power in the online advertising and search market, … Continue reading
My Financial Valentines
Of course Leslie is my Real Valentine. But in the world of Runner-Ups, I have to nominate my favorites. Even though it’s Don’t Ask and Don’t Tell, I can’t hold back, my Guys are Ben and Hank. After reading “On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System” by … Continue reading
A Great Tax Idea Whose Time Hasn’t Come, Yet
A few years ago when talking with a Brit friend I learned that the UK’s equivalent of our IRS, known as the Inland Revenue, filled out his tax returns automatically without even asking his permission. Wow, I thought, this is socialism to the extreme! But when you think about it for a second, perhaps it’s … Continue reading
Strategic Defaults And Altruism Can Only Take You So Far
Normally what would make an interesting blog post is the connection of two seemingly unrelated events. But that’s not happening today. Instead we have two non-intuitive findings that remain just that … non-intuitive. Our first discovery is a conundrum. Why don’t more people who are ‘underwater’ on their mortgages, and can’t get their lender to negotiate … Continue reading
It’s Always Nice To Be At The Top Of The Charts
It’s alway nice to be Number 1. For example, I’m terrifically proud that I purchased my current home at the absolute peak of the real estate bubble. And I feel equally puffed up over this chart from the Economist showing that we in the US are supporting Big Pharma in their quest for profits. Shame on those Health … Continue reading
Is Big Mac 2010 Still The Gold Standard?
Time flies. It’s the Economist Big Mac Index for 2010. That’s pronounced “Twenty-Ten” F2u Rio Linda. Just to review, The Economist has been publishing their (not so tongue-in-cheek) Big Mac Index since 1986. It’s a reality check on world-wide currency exchange rates, based on the concept of Purchasing-Power Parity. Purchasing-Power Parity (PPP) says that exchange rates are … Continue reading
