tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post2170519017525369522..comments2023-10-30T09:23:42.803-05:00Comments on Some Assembly Required: SAR #10072/WeekenderCharles Kingsley Michaelson, IIIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364694465614330540noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-1484902470728933382010-03-21T13:37:34.080-05:002010-03-21T13:37:34.080-05:00I am amused by the notion that businesses will lay...I am amused by the notion that businesses will lay off workers because the price of unemployment insurance rose from $100 per worker to $237 per worker. This presumes that employment is price-bound. It's not. It's demand-bound. Businesses are not charities. They have the least number of workers necessary to meet demand, that's how they maximize their profits, which is the whole point of the matter, remember? If insurance rates rise they'll shrug and raise their prices to match. Which could, of course, reduce demand -- but if *everybody* is having to raise their prices at the same time, then instead what we get is price inflation across the board, which has little effect upon aggregate demand, something we learned from the stagflation of the 1970's to the dismay of Keynesians who predicted that inflation would cause increased demand. <br /><br />In short, the only thing that will cause businesses to lay off workers is if the demand for their products goes down so they don't need as many workers (or if they improve their efficiency so they don't need as many workers, something which has been happening for decades now). There is a marginal case where the cost of a worker is currently lower than the cost of an efficiency improvement but a slightly higher tax will make the cost of the efficiency improvement less than the cost of a worker, but $137 doesn't buy a whole lot of efficiency improvement. So I don't expect the hike in the unemployment tax to affect employment in any significant way, its primary effect will be price inflation. GIven current deflationary pressures in our economy, it's hard to be too upset about that.BadTuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-27413975566791641112010-03-13T15:24:34.044-06:002010-03-13T15:24:34.044-06:00If Germany (or EU at large) bails out Greece, will...If Germany (or EU at large) bails out Greece, will they also lend Spain a hand? My reading suggests they can't afford to. Which would tend to preclude them helping Greece. Hello square one...TomOfTheNorthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06480131003518342065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-61234820685777347142010-03-13T13:56:04.964-06:002010-03-13T13:56:04.964-06:00Yessiree Bob:
And what about Water Destruction?
...Yessiree Bob:<br /><br />And what about Water Destruction?<br /><br />Here's a good quote:<br /><br />"REPORTER: For over a decade, gas companies have been intensively tapping unconventional plays in western states like Colorado. Drill rigs have brought a lot of wealth, but at the same time they’ve dredged up a host of environmental problems – contaminating water supplies and drying up aquifers.<br /><br />The culprit is a practice called hydraulic fracturing. It’s never been done much in New York. But it’s the only way to get gas out of the Marcellus Shale. Basically the driller blasts the bottom of the well shaft with water, sand, and chemicals, under very high pressure in order to free up the gas. Hydrofracking demands a huge amount of water of water – up to six million gallons per well."<br /><br />http://local.theoildrum.com/node/4338<br /><br />The story above also mentions "regulatory complexities". Should be no problem as we already have immense experience with "regulatory complexities" in Finance. <br /><br />What happens if aquifers and rivers disappear down the Gas Rabbit Hole?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-1129460982927640312010-03-13T13:39:44.336-06:002010-03-13T13:39:44.336-06:00Peter, Meet Paul: States have had to borrow billio...Peter, Meet Paul: States have had to borrow billions from the federal government in order to make payments to the millions of unemployed citizens....<br /><br />OR will the States sell off or cede Rights to the Feds for their Bailout? One big issue is a VAT Tax (sales tax) which most Western nations have but the US does not. They need the States on board to get a VAT Tax. Roberts Corporate Personhood steal now has resulted in lawsuits by the corporate suits to roll back laws which restrict their State Influence. Also on the table may be an Internet Tax for which the States will also be needed. <br /><br />So, States, you want some Honey, you will have to hand over, bend over. By the way, how did that Putin Grab in Russia work wherein he was going to appoint the Governors of the various parts of Russia?<br /><br />It truly is remarkable that with this massive Crime Wave not one of the Fifty States has reacted proportionately to the amount of the ripoff. Shows the power of the Criminals to Spitzer folks who get in the way. <br /><br />(Maybe all the above explains the need for a Crash: to reorganize the US politically. It has been done before under other regimes.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806136543904112143.post-8482867890853421522010-03-13T10:25:21.625-06:002010-03-13T10:25:21.625-06:00RE: Forget It
A swedish commenter asked if this w...RE: Forget It<br /><br />A swedish commenter asked if this was only a problem in the US and if so why. Just because the US Government owns Toyota's biggest competitor surely has nothing to do with it.<br /><br />RBMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com