Occasionally things do, in
fact, get better. But only occasionally.
Half A Loaf: The Obama/EPA Clean Power Plan is an improvement over the totally ignored and unenforceable 1992 Kyoto agreement. Barely. It is 12% more stringent at a time when the IPPC says we must stop burning fossil fuels all together and begin to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Given the US political system and the US courts, Miami will be under 6 feet of water before any reduction in fossil fuel profits is achieved. Emissions reductions “by 2030” are inadequate when what is need is zero emissions worldwide now because “a large fraction of anthropogenic climate change resulting from carbon dioxide emissions is irreversible on a multi-century to millennial time scale, except in the case of a large net removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over a sustained period."
Quoted: “The decision not to use fiscal policy to bring economies to full employment is due to superstitions, not actual limits imposed by globalization.”
BOGO: Leaving auto sales aside, year over year retail sales increased but 1.3%, which is hardly indicative of a boisterous economic recovery. And auto sales are now most often six or seven year commitments made by sub-prime borrowers, with all the confidence that engenders. Even with many installment loans and credit cards offering interest free consumption for 18 months to two years, sales are stagnant. Macy's sales fell 2.6% y/y, Kohl's gained a whopping 0.6% in the quarter after poor second quarter results. Sears PR suggests same store sales will be down over 10% from last year, and Target and Wally-World are not picking up the slack.
Mysterious Ways: Mike 6% Huckabee insists that a 10-year-old rape victim should be forced to carry the rapist’s baby.”
Reeducation: The UK's ruling Conservatives intend to take housing subsidies away from 18 to 21 year-olds and force them into work boot-camps where the “workshy” young people will be prepared to enter the workforce. , Cabinent Minister Matt Hancock explained that this was not “a form of punishment... because nobody who does the right thing and plays by the rules will lose their benefits.” It will result in a great leap forward.
PPPPPP: The Pentagon anticipates a 50% increase in drone usage, with
Early Warning: Vietnam “hopes” that Thailand will abandon its plan to divert much of the Mekong's water to fill Thai dams that have reached worrisome levels due to drought. Vietnam's Mekong Delta is a vital agricultural resource which depends entirely on the Mekong for water. If the water levels drop significantly seawater will encroach and ruin many crops and fisheries. That, in turn, will lead to something more forceful than “hopes”.
Another Shoe: The Empire Fed Manufacturing Survey, not a top-tier market indicator but possibly indicative of this or that, fell from a positive 3.86 reading to a negative 14.9. New orders were down, inventories were down, both the length of the workweek and the number of employees was down. This is the poorest showing of this index since 2009.
Petty: Florida’s attorney general, the righteous Republican Pam Bondi fought against same-sex marriage and lost, then appealed and appealed and appealed – losing every appeal until the Supreme Court finally told her to go away. Now she claims that the attorneys who represented the prevailing same-sex couples “are not entitled to appellate attorney’s fees.” She was wrong then and she is wrong now. The state will eventually have to pay those fees and the new fees run up getting the state to pay what is legally due them.
Porn O'Graph: Most things considered.
3 comments:
This is the response which I posted to Dean Baker's article on his blog which you have references.
"Also, governments with their own currency (e.g. the United States, the U.K., and the euro zone collectively) need not be restricted by their tax take in terms of spending, as long as they are below full employment. The decision not to use fiscal policy to bring economies to full employment is due to superstitions, not actual limits imposed by globalization."
Are you saying that governments with a sovereign currency may simply print money while they are below full employment so as not to trigger inflation?
You skirt the broader question, the real question about globalization, that if other nations do not enforce healthcare and living wage laws, or even allow slave labor, they may impinge on the ability of other nations to hold to higher standards because of the arbitrage capability offered through moving production offshore. This is the whole 'competitiveness' argument that threatens to take the world's labor down to the lowest common denominator.
Is this what you are saying Dean?
There is no 'free trade.' It is a free ride to multinationals who can move their cash to tax havens, extort advantages from smaller countries, and take advantage of inhuman working standards in countries where labor has no voice.
This is the response which I posted to Dean Baker's article on his blog which you have references.
"Also, governments with their own currency (e.g. the United States, the U.K., and the euro zone collectively) need not be restricted by their tax take in terms of spending, as long as they are below full employment. The decision not to use fiscal policy to bring economies to full employment is due to superstitions, not actual limits imposed by globalization."
Are you saying that governments with a sovereign currency may simply print money while they are below full employment so as not to trigger inflation?
You skirt the broader question, the real question about globalization, that if other nations do not enforce healthcare and living wage laws, or even allow slave labor, they may impinge on the ability of other nations to hold to higher standards because of the arbitrage capability offered through moving production offshore. This is the whole 'competitiveness' argument that threatens to take the world's labor down to the lowest common denominator.
Is this what you are saying Dean?
There is no 'free trade.' It is a free ride to multinationals who can move their cash to tax havens, extort advantages from smaller countries, and take advantage of inhuman working standards in countries where labor has no voice.
Reeducation - Next on the agenda, debtor's prison. I'm sure Minister Hancock would argue that it "clearly" worked back in Charles Dickens' day.
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