Anything That Lets Us Lay People Off

It isn't possible for me to know, but I've long been puzzled by the widespread adoption of self-service checkouts in supermarkets and other places. It didn't seem to me that the additional capital costs would really be offset by labor cost reductions. They still require at least one hovering employee to deal with problems and card people for alcohol purchases. In addition, people aren't very fast at using the machines so you need a higher number of machines/user to speed people through the line. We may not see "supermarket cashier" as a super high skilled position, but the fact remains that doing it well, as with most things, does in fact require skill. A good cashier is fast and accurate, checking people out more quickly and more efficiently.

So I'm not totally surprised that they're pulling back a bit, though I'm sure the next scheme promising a reduction in personnel will be embraced as soon as it comes along...

Repeat Over And Over And Over

Dean Baker:

We know how to get out of this mess, we have known how for 70 years. We just need the government to generate demand. That means spending money. Ideally it would spend money on useful things like education, health care, and infrastructure, but even if it spent money in wasteful ways it would still create jobs and put people to work.

In the 30s we got much of the way back to full employment with the Works Progress Administration and other programs. Much of what was done was useful -- look around, you won't have to go far to find infrastructure built by depression era programs. However, it took the massive spending associated with World War II to get the economy back to full employment. There is no magic associated with war that makes military spending more effective in creating jobs. The only difference was the that the threat to the nation from the Axis powers removed the political obstacles to the necessary spending.

The same situation applies today. We just need to spend money. That applies to both the United States and the euro zone countries. The problem is that we have more people in political leadership positions who want to be morality cops and lecture about balancing budgets rather than focus on policies that will restore economic growth. This includes the top officials at the European Central Bank, many of the voting members of the Federal Reserve Board's Open Market Committee and much of the political leadership in the euro zone countries, the United Kingdom and of course here.

Can't Get To Work

There's a wee flaw in designing an economy which requires people to spend a huge amount of money to purchase and maintain a giant metal box in order to be able to drive to minimum wage jobs.

"Injecting Capital"

It's a lovely euphemism for "giving free money to the assholes who keep trying to destroy the world."

But What About The Children??

Pope Douthat's article was so poorly written it was difficult to know what his point was, but I think Scott gets it just right. It's the same thing that anyone trying to push for any kind of greater justice always gets. I'm reminded of when Nick Kristof chastized American feminist groups for not devoting their scarce resources to helping women in other countries who really have problems, unlike US women who should just STFU and accept that they have it pretty good. There's always a more important problem, the focus of your work is distracting attention from those other problems, and the NYT pays me a lot to pontificate about such things so you should obey me.

Wanker of the Day

Michael Bloomberg.

"The Black Dialect"

Somebody get that man his own CNN show!

Sunday Evening

enjoy

No Experience With Urban Hellhole Living

I get that this is hyperbole, but it's still largely how a lot of people view "cities," as collections of skyscrapers.

t might not work for Matt, but for a lot of people, a lifestyle outside of a 3,000 unit apartment high rise is a better choice for some. What, pray tell, is wrong with this?

Live where you want, yadda yadda, if you like small towns or rural areas enjoy! But single family housing, especially but definitely not necessarily attached single family housing, is perfectly compatible with population densities that can sustain quality walkable urban living. I'm reasonable sure most people see West Philadelphia/University City as "urban," and its housing stock is largely made up of very large Victorian duplexes. Some of these have been converted into apartments over time, of course, but plenty are just attached single family homes with decent yards, etc...

Say Goodbye

Euro elites are oddly committed to the project that they're desperately trying to destroy.

Heckuva Job

The Galtian Overlords who run the local orchestra are blowing all of their money on bankruptcy proceedings.

According to filings submitted for court approval, the case has so far cost the association more than $4.4 million: $3.2 million in legal and professional fees, and $1.25 million in a severance agreement with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops.

Just the annual salary of 20 or so musicians.

Sunday Monster Blogging

Pope Douthat says we can't abolish the death penalty because then the great unwashed masses might get the idea that our justice system isn't always just.

Really.

No linky, find it yourself...

Sunday Bobbleheads

This Week has Plouffe.

Face the Nation has Debbie Wasserman Schultz and to discuss some exceptions to the 'i before e' rule, Reince Priebus.

Meet the Press has Bibi, Bloomberg, Shalala, and Bill Bennett.

Just stay in bed instead.

Headshot Journalism

Perhaps I'm biased in that I think very little of Anand Giridharadas to start with, but what the fuck is up with New York Times op-ed writers setting up vanity sites with carefully posed male model headshots?

Douche.

MAS. There really is no evidence that this sprout knows shit from Shinola. Why is he bothering us?

Margin

Digby: the NYT explains that increases in the top marginal rate doesn't really matter that much. Buffy can still go to summer camp.

Saturday Afternoon

enjoy

Spigot

Hey, more free money for rich banksters. This is a truly shocking development that nobody could have anticipated.

European officials are working on a grand plan to restore confidence in the single currency area that would involve a massive bank recapitalisation, giving the bail-out fund several trillion euros of firepower, and a possible Greek default.

If only anybody was interested in bailing out the labor sector.