Friday, September 16, 2011

SAR #11257

Questions are necessarily easier than answers.

Shooting Gallery: Obama's boys are going to keep floating trial balloons until they find an acceptable way for the President to announce big cuts in Medicare (which will harm seniors) and Medicaid (which will harm the poor ) as part of his plan to tie the hands of future administrations cut $1.5 trillion from future budget deficits while using 'chained CPI' cut Social Security, food stamps and veteran's benefits.

Out Of Control: Once again a 'rogue trader' has cost an investment bank billions. Just what is it that the senior managers do to justify their bonuses? Apparently they neither run nor oversee the operations...

Box Scores: The CPI increased 0.4% in August, an annualized 4.8%. The median CPI rose at a 3.6% rate. Unemployment claims climbed to 428,000 from last week's 412,000. The NY Fed reported manufacturing conditions worsened for the fourth consecutive week. But the Philly Fed's outlook was only half as negative this month as last.

Short Story: Banks are discovering that investing in various governments was a poor decision and that they stand to lose tens of billions of dollars. The banks, of course, want someone – the same governments? - to bail them out. Lots of luck with that one.

On the Up & Up: Initial default notices on US mortgages were up 33% nationwide, 55% in California. Filings by BofA increased 200%. This is the biggest increase in four years, and was caused by banks claiming they had cured their fraudulent filling ways and were playing catch-up. So the pace of foreclosures will build up, too. As will homelessness, urban blight...

Softly: “The traditional path of urbanizing and industrializing nations is incompatible with the reduction of carbon emissions,” so says Nate Hagens. What he means is that if we keep this up we're doomed.

Film at Six! Wisconsin state troopers dragged protesters out of the statehouse for filming the legislature – an act specifically permitted by Wisconsin law.

Apples and Oranges: Generally the private sector pays less than the government does for similar jobs – accountant, secretary, surveyor, whatever. This has led many to advocate privatizing as many government jobs as possible. But the comparison is not valid; what the government pays to out-source a job is nearly always much higher than what it pays a civil servant to do the same job. Which means government is less expensive at governing than private contractors are.

Politically Correct: When applying for an Australian passport, Aussies now have three choices for gender: Male, Female, and Other Indeterminate. But to get through door number three a Doctor's certificate is required.

Tax Fraud: Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has introduced a bill that would lower the US corporate tax rate to zero. This would be scandalous, except most big US corporations already pay no corporate taxes. However, it would let them fire a lot of lawyers and accountants...

Wrong in So Many Ways: “All I know is if you look at history and if you compare good medical care and you compare famine, the countries that are more socialistic have more famines,. If you look at Africa, they don’t have any free market systems and property rights and they have famines and no medical care. So the freer the system, the better the health care.” Ron Wannabe Paul.

Porn O'Graph:Blame it on Ronnie.

2 comments:

I'm Not POTUS said...

When the Oranges publish bids to hire an outsourced Apple, a funny thing happens.

An Orange underling puts out a bid for an Apple to replace the other Orange underling. The specifications call out for an Apple, Red in color. The circumferences of top half or the Apple must exceed the bottom half by at least a ratio of 1.6 to 1. The base opposite the stem, must be separated by no less than 4 distinct voids or arches for proper "ventilation of the base", or equal.

When a Fuji Apple asks why the Apple has to be red, the Orange underling replies; that is what the board of Orange Supervisors approved.

That poor Fuji, Green or Organic Apple doesn't stand a chance at bidding less than the cost of a Macintosh much less the Orange, because they are deemed to be unqualified for the work. They could spend a lot of money to make themselves look like a Macintosh Apple or they could form an alliance of Green Apples and out donate the Macintosh Coalition to "win" the favor of the Elected Board of Orange Supervisors.

Us, non-red Apples call the ones who "Supervise" the Oranges the Bananas, in deference to the dumb apes who put them in charge.

kwark said...

"Wrong in so Many Ways" What alternate Universe does Mr Paul refer to in this bit of insanity: “Nobody can compete with me about compassion because I know and understand how free markets and sound money and a sensible foreign policy is the most compassionate system ever known to mankind. So if you care about people you have to look to the freedom philosophy and limited government.” And just what "Free Market" does he refer to? If he calls the current economic system "The Free Market" then he truly is insane. I'd like a little elaboration on his so-called "Freedom philosophy" too . . . near as I can tell it distills to "people will do the right thing as long as you keep government out of the picture". Never mind that we have several thousand years of written history that argues otherwise.