Monday, November 1, 2010

SAR #10305

They think we’re idiots.

Brief Intermission:  The government, in a sudden reversal, has decided that your genes might just belong to you. At any rate, they now argue that genes – human and others – are part of nature and not patentable nor subject to copyright. The Roberts Court is certain not to be amused.

Relativity:  The CBO again says the problem is not Social Security.  Social Security's bite of the American GDP is now 5% and will grow by only grow by 1% over the next quarter century. Medicare & Medicaid, however, are set to double from 5% to 10% of GDP in the same period. So let's continue to spend all our effort on killing social security. We can think about a not-for-profit health care system another day.

Growth Spurt: Only 0.6% of the announced GDP growth was actually growth – turns out the economy had slipped on a pair of heels from the 'inventory buildup' shop to account for the rest of the growth.  We'll be returning those next quarter.

Cheer Up:  Things could be worse.  And will be..

No Place To Hide:  With great prospects for scooping up seats tomorrow, the GOP might want to begin considering how – 2 years from now – they'll manage to dodge the blame for what is, most assuredly, heading this way.  We may occasionally vote against our best interests, but depending on our continued stupidity may not be a good strategy.

Porn O'Graph:  The past is prescient.

Short posting today – too many attack ads have put me off my meds.

10 comments:

rjs said...

on GDP: most people wont notice that dean baker sneaks in the words "annual rate"; hence, the real growth for the quarter was only 1/4 of the .6% he noted…

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

rjs - Well, I rather agree and disagree. Yes,actual growth during the reporting period may have been one quarter of Baker's 0.6%, but GDP is always (as far as I can tell) reported as an annualized rate, so it is less mind-wrenching to continue to silently insert "at an annualized rate of" when reading GDP things.

Either way, it is not good news - and that's before the downward revision late this month.

rjs said...

yeah, im nitpicking...but since most other countries report GDP differently, YoY or by period, sometimes comparisons get skewered...

SPECTRE of Deflation said...

Gee I'm tickled to learn that SS is in great shape. Give them a call to let them know not to be concerned about the shortfalls happening right now and not in the near future. Here's a clue. The BS data you mention is worthless and has no basis in reality just like the recently passed Obama Care if you need another example of complete bullshit figures.

The money has all been spent. The Treasury Dept. got the surplus cash for the General Budget by giving the SS Administration worthless bonds which will pay nothing in the future. It's called a Ponzi Scheme and works great while the demographics are in your favor, but once the demographics turn against you as they are now you are screwed. Basic mathematics says this can't go on forever, but feel free to listen to the elites as they sling bread and circus to keep you amused, busy or both.

SPECTRE of Deflation said...

You are so right. What will we do when Speaker Pelosi, the budget hawk, who said in 2006 that there would be no deficits henceforth is gone? Of course that was when our Public Debt was at $9 Trillion as opposed to the $13.7 Trillion of today. Thank you a thousand times for all of your hard work Nancy and enjoy your retirement as you are fired from your Madame Speaker role.

How caring of you to be concerned about the Republicans in two years. You really are such a dear. If you really want to help though you might think about all those socialists who will be out of work after the election. Send them to ACORN Human Resources where they can get the help they really need to start a business. Like helping minors come to America where they can follow their dreams while earning money the ACORN WAY.


No Place To Hide: With great prospects for scooping up seats tomorrow, the GOP might want to begin considering how – 2 years from now – they'll manage to dodge the blame for what is, most assuredly, heading this way. We may occasionally vote against our best interests, but depending on our continued stupidity may not be a good strategy.

lineside said...

ck:

first off, i hope the fact that you're blogging again means good news as far as your health is concerned.

second, re: no place to hide, was this some kind of IQ test (which, judging from the comments attached to the source article, most folks failed)?

Let me see if i get this right: because a subset of a population of a state or county taps into the various forms of public assistance at a greater-than-average rate, it means that anyone in that same state or county who is critical of runaway government spending is a hypocrite?

anybody think they could run this nonsense past a fifth grader?

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

lineside - It's the old 6 of one problem: almost all political discussion is done in short hand, with everyone assuming that their assumptions are the only valid ones. I think the author would have done better simply to observe that the Tea Party and rank and file GOP folks pretty much are responding emotionally, rather than logically.

Logically, if you can get a free lunch and pass the cost on to someone else, you are a fool not to. That motto is hung in every office at Goldman Sachs. But somehow it is wrong if voters do that, because in the end they'll end up paying. Yep.

And if you couch your argument in fifth grade terms, you are shooting way, way over the heads of most of the public.

Anyway, the point I'd like to make, on the eve of the debacle, is that there will be an awful lot of folks with buyer's remorse in a few months...

ckm

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

And another thing... Thanks for the inquiry about my health. All I can report is that, having offended the gods in some way, I was visited with four curses more or less simultaneously. Three minor and distinctly non-entertaining 'procedures' later - and having escaped the temptation to become addicted to pain killers - I am mostly mending as quickly a reasonable.

During the recovery, SAR has given me something to do while suffering mandatory immobility - my little netbook has been a joy.

Late this week the experts are going to see what's behind door number 4 - over which I hope I'm obsessing far too much.

Thanks for asking - ckm

lineside said...

ck , the sad fact is that neither party knows how to fix this mess we're in. and the sadder fact is that neither would do what it would take if they did.

positive thoughts from here re door #4 (may it be empty, or just a can of budweiser).

Anonymous said...

Thanks, again CK. For the blog. And the insight.

John (CA)