tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post1879745475952373746..comments2023-10-30T09:23:42.803-05:00Comments on Some Assembly Required: SAR #10216Charles Kingsley Michaelson, IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364694465614330540noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-47143805613958212652010-08-05T06:48:55.631-05:002010-08-05T06:48:55.631-05:00About those Advise and Assist troops - do they sti...About those Advise and Assist troops - do they still get combat pay?<br /><br />ckmCharles Kingsley Michaelson, IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04364694465614330540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-89755885444926818522010-08-05T05:25:47.127-05:002010-08-05T05:25:47.127-05:00Anonymous apparently doesn't understand the Pa...Anonymous apparently doesn't understand the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle" rel="nofollow">Pareto principle</a>. Also known as <i>the law of scarcity</i>. <br /><br />And, what's worse, is that in America today, the top 20% wealthiest people have 93% of all financial assets (read: money). This is far outside the expected Pareto distribution <i>and</i> deflation benefits them disproportionately.<br /><br />Inflation is what allows debtors (read: almost all of the rest of Americans) to pay back their debts with cheaper dollars. Those who are owed money want less of it as it destroys their margins (or wipes it out).<br /><br />The people who have the hardest time understanding this concept are Libertarian / Conservative ideologues or people whose salary is dependent on not understanding it. You know, people who usually like to comment Anonymously on blogs.OkieLawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-72081457407192432922010-08-04T23:28:11.250-05:002010-08-04T23:28:11.250-05:00Love your blog but have to disagree with you on De...Love your blog but have to disagree with you on Deflation- it is a good thing. Prices on goods and services lower.. means the overall standard of living improves for people with stagnant wages and Govt. can Not tax it. All Good things.. As for loss of job.. that's an tired one.. Businesses fire people in large numbers in good times and bad. When the economy is bad, its called 'downsizing'.. in good times, its called 'restructuring'. The point is that its done no matter what, so why not allow the little guy to have a chance to buy more with his $$ or have extra $$ to pay debt or save. It all comes down to this.. if you believe the investor is the most important entity in the world like 99.9% of economic minded people sheepishly believe, then yes, deflation is 'bad'. If you believe the most important entity is the individual, specifically yourself, then deflation is needed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-13803862278667044542010-08-04T18:13:46.558-05:002010-08-04T18:13:46.558-05:00OkieLawyer - Thanks, I appreciate you giving the c...OkieLawyer - Thanks, I appreciate you giving the class a leg up. i try to get them to do the homework but this is a non-credit course...<br /><br />ckmCharles Kingsley Michaelson, IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04364694465614330540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-60194944671602386972010-08-04T17:45:36.662-05:002010-08-04T17:45:36.662-05:00Re: Facile BS
The commentator on CNBC was talking...Re: Facile BS<br /><br />The commentator on CNBC was talking to the wealthy people who watch the program during the day and make money from passive income. Deflation helps those who have lots of disposable wealth to spend (or invest). I saw a comment from London Banker on <a href="http://suddendebt.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Sudden Debt</a> a few months back saying that inflation hurts the poor the most. By the time I saw the comment, it was effectively too late for me to respond. But this is actually a corollary to the argument (read: lie) that deflation helps the poor.<br /><br />If you follow the economic schools, you will notice that the Libertarian ones (Austrian, Chicago) both argue for asset deflation and against wage inflation. Look at it this way: <i>cui bono</i> (who benefits)? People who have lots of available cash (the wealthy) benefit the most from asset and wage deflation. One allows them to buy more assets (each dollar has more buying power) and the <i>rentiers</i> are also able to purchase more labor (or increase the profit from each unit of labor).<br /><br />I know you already know this, but just wanted to flush it out for some of your readers who may not have thought about it this way.OkieLawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-80846575292344063952010-08-04T13:43:22.380-05:002010-08-04T13:43:22.380-05:00On EV's: Ev's -can- use 50% less CO2/mi t...On EV's: Ev's -can- use 50% less CO2/mi than internal combustion engines. If the electricity is generated by coal, the CO2 production is roughly even, and coal generates about half of US electricity. Efficiency drops with length and condition of the power grid. Bottom line: On average there is -some- non-trivial CO2 savings with EV's, but it's not dramatic (http://goo.gl/t6GV).<br /><br />Now, if everyone gets a windmill and solar pannels...ibillnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12393569935967702940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-38247426228145970042010-08-04T09:26:17.225-05:002010-08-04T09:26:17.225-05:00@CKM:
What do you mean, powering a 3,500 pound veh...@CKM:<br />What do you mean, powering a 3,500 pound vehicle is not an efficient way to organize personal mobility? Who could have known?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-68279745831006694022010-08-04T08:52:25.794-05:002010-08-04T08:52:25.794-05:00Anony 8.19 - Yeah, so does First Reader (a Prius...Anony 8.19 - Yeah, so does First Reader (a Prius owner anxious to electrify). But "as wind and solar come on line..." Show me the money. Yes, at some future date we could get a tad more electricity from non fossil fuel sources: but that is "at some future date" and another 'could'. <br /><br />The problem is co2 emissions and the problem is now. What could happen in some future decade is of absolutely no relevance unless we sharply curtail emissions today. <br /><br />And we ain't gonna do that, not with $42,000 electric vehicles.<br /><br />The real difficulty is that we think the solution to cars is cars of a slightly different flavor. The big growth of cars is in China which gets about 99.9% of its electricity from very dirty coal-fired plants.<br /><br />So, yes, I think we're looking for love in all the wrong places.<br /><br />ckmCharles Kingsley Michaelson, IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04364694465614330540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-42622831216840280382010-08-04T08:19:51.005-05:002010-08-04T08:19:51.005-05:00Electric vehicles run on electrons. While you are...Electric vehicles run on electrons. While you are quite correct that burning coal is our principal source of electrons in the U.S. today, as wind and solar power come on line they can also be used to run electric vehicles. An electric vehicle (a car, a subway car, an electrically powered railroad car) that uses coal power today could use wind power at some time during its useful life cycle. So I think you are taking a bit too hard a line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com