Monday, November 30, 2009
Politicians have incentives too
Do you really believe that politicians are being altruistic when legislating for global warming legislation?
Saturday, November 28, 2009
More Climategate!
Hmmm. It seems that this whole Climategate has indeed gone global:
An agency of the New Zealand government has been cooking the books to create a warming trend where none exists, according to a joint research project by global warming skeptics at the Climate Conversation Group and the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. The chief cook? Dr. Jim Salinger, considered one of the country's top scientists, who began the graph in the 1980s when he was at the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the UK.
The plot thickens.
An agency of the New Zealand government has been cooking the books to create a warming trend where none exists, according to a joint research project by global warming skeptics at the Climate Conversation Group and the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. The chief cook? Dr. Jim Salinger, considered one of the country's top scientists, who began the graph in the 1980s when he was at the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the UK.
The plot thickens.
Climategate!
The mainstream media is working hard to downplay the Climategate scandal. I have noticed that one of my large local newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle, has ramped up Global Warming articles too.
Patrick J. Michaels of the Cato Institute was a guest on the Laura Ingraham Show and his comments on Climategate are quite revealing. In turns out that he had been physically threatened by one of the scientists involved in the scandal.
Patrick J. Michaels of the Cato Institute was a guest on the Laura Ingraham Show and his comments on Climategate are quite revealing. In turns out that he had been physically threatened by one of the scientists involved in the scandal.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Obama loves land mines, too!
Bush was excoriated for not signing an international ban on land mines by the Left; But Obama has decided to sign a ban on them too. It seems that reality is truly difficult to rid once your fellow is in the hot seat.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Jobs "saved or created" map
The Washington Examiner has an updated bogus jobs "created or saved" map. Let's face it, folks. The stimulus has been a big fat failure.
The Global Warming Mafia Strong-arms Against Dissent
What many who are skeptical of Al Gore's "Global Warming" hysteria have been complaining about turns out to have some teeth: The scientific consensus that climate change advocates tout has been achieved unethically by silencing dissent.
How Expensive Will It Be?
The creation of a new entitlement program will create another powerful interest group that will aggressively oppose deficit-reduction measures. Expect our federal deficit to remain high for decades to come.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
An Interview with Jerry Taylor
Igor Sadovyi of Stockyard has an excellent interview with one of my favorite Cato scholar's--Jerry Taylor. Taylor is as informative and knowledgeable as ever.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Is the economy heading for another dip?
After reading depressing articles this morning like the following, I fear that it may be possible: Housing and manufacturing slow down.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I hope this does not come to pass
Twelve depressing reasons the unemployment rate will rise to at least 12% according to economist David Rosenberg.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Chrysler Nixes Electric Car Program
Sooo, after Chrysler lured taxpayer funds from the hands of our elected representatives, they have since decided to axe the "Green" cars that they marketed as payment for government aid. Of course, Barack Obama was quick on the draw to give aid to Chrysler partly based on its newly found "Green" conversion. That didn't last long. Once again, the taxpayer ends up being a sucker.
The Tax Credit Pay Back
According to the L.A. Times:
For more than 15.4 million people, the Making Work Pay tax credit enacted as part of the $787-billion economic stimulus package could turn out to be a Making You Pay Back tax credit.
The problem: In order to maximize the credit's stimulative effect on the economy, withholding changes for taxpayers kicked in within days of Obama signing the legislation and taxpayers started seeing the changes in their paychecks in April. In essence, the credit was "advanced to taxpayers through their wages by a decrease in federal income tax withholding" for the 2009 and 2010 tax years, according to the report by the Treasury Department's Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The government giveth, the government taketh. There is no such thing as a free lunch, folks.
For more than 15.4 million people, the Making Work Pay tax credit enacted as part of the $787-billion economic stimulus package could turn out to be a Making You Pay Back tax credit.
The problem: In order to maximize the credit's stimulative effect on the economy, withholding changes for taxpayers kicked in within days of Obama signing the legislation and taxpayers started seeing the changes in their paychecks in April. In essence, the credit was "advanced to taxpayers through their wages by a decrease in federal income tax withholding" for the 2009 and 2010 tax years, according to the report by the Treasury Department's Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The government giveth, the government taketh. There is no such thing as a free lunch, folks.
NPR vs. Cash for Clunkers
I've been listening to NPR's Planet Money podcasts lately in an attempt to seek out different points of view on economics and the economy . While I find that this podcast tends to deliver the usual left of center interpretation of economic news found just about everywhere you look these days. I will say that occasionally the podcast does ask some very good fundamental questions about the economy and economics.
The latest podcast is a good one. It tackles the issue of the viability of the Cash for Clunkers program with Jeremy Anwyl of Edmunds.com. Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com, explains his company's recent report stating that the Clunkers program was a big ole failure. This, of course, has rankled the White House to no end. A rather terse interview with White House Keynesian hack, Austan Goolsbee, illustrates concretely how much this administration despises any questioning or criticism regarding their economic programs---even from left leaning journalists from NPR no less. But most importantly, how this administration goes to such great lengths to spin data that doesn't support their view with the usual "glass half full to your glass half empty" argumentation.
The latest podcast is a good one. It tackles the issue of the viability of the Cash for Clunkers program with Jeremy Anwyl of Edmunds.com. Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com, explains his company's recent report stating that the Clunkers program was a big ole failure. This, of course, has rankled the White House to no end. A rather terse interview with White House Keynesian hack, Austan Goolsbee, illustrates concretely how much this administration despises any questioning or criticism regarding their economic programs---even from left leaning journalists from NPR no less. But most importantly, how this administration goes to such great lengths to spin data that doesn't support their view with the usual "glass half full to your glass half empty" argumentation.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Blue Staters running to Red States...and fast!
From Forbes:
For the past decade a large coterie of pundits, prognosticators and their media camp followers have insisted that growth in America would be concentrated in places hip and cool, largely the bluish regions of the country...This narrative, which has not changed much over the past decade, is misleading and largely misstated. Net migration, both before and after the Great Recession, according to analysis by the Praxis Strategy Group, has continued to be strongest to the predominately red states of the South and Intermountain West.
This seems true even for those seeking high-end jobs. Between 2006 and 2008, the metropolitan areas that enjoyed the fastest percentage shift toward educated and professional workers and industries included nominally "unhip" places like Indianapolis, Charlotte, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, Fla., Tampa, Fla., and Kansas City, Mo.
The overall migration numbers are even more revealing. As was the case for much of the past decade, the biggest gainers continue to include cities such as San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Rather than being oases for migrants, some oft-cited magnets such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago have all suffered considerable loss of population to other regions over the past year.
It seems that the "smart and hip" like low taxes, jobs, and livable surroundings just like the hicks that they constantly vilify. One last point from the article:
Virtually all the top 10 economies that have withstood the recession come from outside the "youth-magnet" field: San Antonio; Oklahoma City; Little Rock, Ark.; Dallas, Baton Rouge, La.; Tulsa, Okla., Omaha, Neb.; Houston and El Paso, Texas.
I may be needing a change of scenery if employment doesn't improve around here.
For the past decade a large coterie of pundits, prognosticators and their media camp followers have insisted that growth in America would be concentrated in places hip and cool, largely the bluish regions of the country...This narrative, which has not changed much over the past decade, is misleading and largely misstated. Net migration, both before and after the Great Recession, according to analysis by the Praxis Strategy Group, has continued to be strongest to the predominately red states of the South and Intermountain West.
This seems true even for those seeking high-end jobs. Between 2006 and 2008, the metropolitan areas that enjoyed the fastest percentage shift toward educated and professional workers and industries included nominally "unhip" places like Indianapolis, Charlotte, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, Fla., Tampa, Fla., and Kansas City, Mo.
The overall migration numbers are even more revealing. As was the case for much of the past decade, the biggest gainers continue to include cities such as San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Rather than being oases for migrants, some oft-cited magnets such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago have all suffered considerable loss of population to other regions over the past year.
It seems that the "smart and hip" like low taxes, jobs, and livable surroundings just like the hicks that they constantly vilify. One last point from the article:
Virtually all the top 10 economies that have withstood the recession come from outside the "youth-magnet" field: San Antonio; Oklahoma City; Little Rock, Ark.; Dallas, Baton Rouge, La.; Tulsa, Okla., Omaha, Neb.; Houston and El Paso, Texas.
I may be needing a change of scenery if employment doesn't improve around here.
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Pain Goes On
The national unemployment rate is now at 10.2%--highest since 1983. If the Obama regime believes that it is going to reflate the economy out of this recession without any consequences, they are going to have a rude awakening.
In other news, the state of California has started, on November 1st, withholding 10% more in taxes from workers to shore up the state's deficit. No debate amongst the public and little news about this in local papers. Another perfect example of how government looks out for itself and how it will always try to expand its power at all costs. So much for representative government.
In other news, the state of California has started, on November 1st, withholding 10% more in taxes from workers to shore up the state's deficit. No debate amongst the public and little news about this in local papers. Another perfect example of how government looks out for itself and how it will always try to expand its power at all costs. So much for representative government.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
You can kiss $2.3 Billion bye-bye!
I’m surprised that this didn't get more coverage. Tax dollars just wasted away. Sigh.
Ron Paul on Larry King
I'm back! And my first post is about Ron Paul. I saw him on Larry King commenting on health care, corporatism, and capitalism. He was as sharp as always. Before Dr. Paul came on, King had liberal economist Michael Moore vomit more of his worn out welfare-statist ideas. I guess his movie isn't doing all that well.
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