Saturday, May 08, 2010
Bye Bob
For the sin of co-sponsoring a very Republican health care bill with Ron Wyden, Bob Bennett is tossed out.
Sestak Rally
Decent tournout, a lot of media. My old friend Ad Nags from the NYT was there, I'm sure he'll do an awesome story.
In Defense Of Rent Control
Certainly a very hard inflexible rent control does contribute to local housing shortages, and can also cause housing stock quality to decline more quickly, but more moderate rent control regimes, where annual rent increases are capped at a reasonable level, can insulate renters from short term sharp rent upswings and abusive landlord practices without really having a big impact on the housing stock.
There are a couple of issues here. The first is that housing supply is short run highly inelastic. You can't build new units overnight. The second is that while rent control can cause housing shortages in the technical sense - that at rent control rates, more people want those units than there are units available - what causes housing shortages in a more colloquial sense is zoning laws which restrict new housing construction and drive up prices/rents in highly in demand areas. You know, nobody wants to live in San Francisco because it's too expensive.
Anyway, the point is that people who think rent control, which while potentially flawed does provide benefits to renters, is the devil tend not to think the same of density restrictions and limits on residential construction.
density restrictions + rent control = lower rents, more people want to live there at those prices.
density restrictions without rent control = higher rents, people would like to live there if only they could afford to.
Neither regime leads to more houses being built, but one leads to it being more affordable.
There are a couple of issues here. The first is that housing supply is short run highly inelastic. You can't build new units overnight. The second is that while rent control can cause housing shortages in the technical sense - that at rent control rates, more people want those units than there are units available - what causes housing shortages in a more colloquial sense is zoning laws which restrict new housing construction and drive up prices/rents in highly in demand areas. You know, nobody wants to live in San Francisco because it's too expensive.
Anyway, the point is that people who think rent control, which while potentially flawed does provide benefits to renters, is the devil tend not to think the same of density restrictions and limits on residential construction.
density restrictions + rent control = lower rents, more people want to live there at those prices.
density restrictions without rent control = higher rents, people would like to live there if only they could afford to.
Neither regime leads to more houses being built, but one leads to it being more affordable.
Local Notes
Philly area people can come to a Sestak (w/ Jim Dean) rally conveniently located in my neighborhood at Bardascino Park at 10th & Carpenter at 2:30. Hopefully someone convinces him to play a game of bocce.
Oil
As I've written a few times, no matter how devastating this is it won't be "real" until we have significant landfall.
The latest projection from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls for oil to make landfall along Mississippi's barrier islands as early as today. The 72-hour projection calls for no oil landfall along the Alabama coastline before Monday.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Streetcar Safety
I really don't understand the overwrought concerns. Unlike cars or buses, their paths are 100% predictable and they're much less likely to accelerate quickly. They exist all over the world in places with lots of pedestrian traffic.
#7, otherwise known as "Death Tram," in Göteborg.
#7, otherwise known as "Death Tram," in Göteborg.
Friday Things You Should Know
If you eat sea urchin, such as uni when eating sushi, you're eating their gonads.
Cleggmania
When I run for Supreme Dictator of the Known Universe, I certainly hope that Mark Penn is working for my opponent.
The Madness Of Central Bankers
While they never put it in this way, it of course makes sense for elites to be concerned about tiny upticks in the inflation rate rather then the human suffering of millions of people out of work. A bit of unexpected inflation might erode their fortunes a bit, and if the rest of us have to live in vans down by the river so be it.
Coolest Of The Cool
I doubt there will be any admission of guilt, as that might hurt Fab Fab's Fee Fees.
The Language Of The Street
I'm always struck by how the press talks about the Masters Of The Universe as if they're fragile toddlers.
(Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission held urgent discussions on Friday to calm investors' raw nerves a day after a plunge of nearly 1,000 points in the Dow Jones industrial average, during which some stocks lost more than 60 percent of their value.
U6
U3 is the "standard" measure of unemployment, but they have other measures. U6 is the broadest one, and it's up to 17.1%.
The Great Recession
Hopefully the employment uptick continues, but I still think elites have never accepted just how bad it has been.
Algo
The Dow used to have program trading curbs, which would kick in if the market dropped too much, preventing cascading slides from computer trading. They got rid of them in 2007, though I have no idea why.
Excessive Media Coverage
Every new conservative/Republican initiative gets "excessive media coverage".
So, It Was a Glitch?
Maybe so, but I bet the market tanks again today. NB: I am not an expert so may be entirely wrong. Still, my gut tells me we are heading in a downward direction.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Beautiful Rainbows In Chocolate Milk
Such beauty.
Jellyfish are creepy anyway.
ON THE GULF OF MEXICO -- Streaks of putrid, orange and rust-colored oil snaked well west of the mouth of the Mississippi River in an area that has received less attention.
An Associated Press reporter saw hundreds of dead jellyfish in the area Thursday. The oil is in streaks ranging from a few feet wide to much larger swaths.
Jellyfish are creepy anyway.
Austerity
I don't know what to do about Greece, but I do know that austerity in a recession is not wise.
People Who Buy In Low Density Neighborhoods Like Low Density Neighborhoods
That's not true of all them, of course. Some might not have any other affordable options and some might buy into a neighborhood because of a specific amenity that neighborhood offers (like school districts). But a lot of people live in those places because that's where they want to live so it shouldn't be especially surprising that residents of such places are happy with the status quo and don't want things to change. In desirable areas, restricting density keeps home/land prices up as well for an added bonus. But as regions grow in population, that means the only way to develop is by pushing farther out, and when you have a scarce resource like a major transit system stop, limiting development around the station means the transit system will get less use than it otherwise would, increasing congestion on roadways.
My Train System Is Old
Decaying infrastructure on my regional rail system is a serious issue, and there's no money to do anything about it.
There are also bridge issues.
There isn't really any realistic option for increasing highway capacity into the city, even if it was desirable. If the train system goes, we have big problems.
Rendell, Nutter, and Rob Wonderling, president of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, were at SEPTA's Wayne Junction substation to urge state legislators to provide more money for highways, bridges, and mass transit.
The aging substation, which supplies power to trains on six SEPTA rail lines, was built in 1931 and would cost $50 million to $75 million to replace. SEPTA has 19 power substations, and 15 are as old as Wayne Junction or older.
There are also bridge issues.
There isn't really any realistic option for increasing highway capacity into the city, even if it was desirable. If the train system goes, we have big problems.
Illegitimate
No, people choking on oil and having their livelihoods destroyed will have no real cause to sue.
I think the more interesting thing is the Halliburton finger-pointing. My guess is that this is ultimately how this will play out, with responsibility dispersed so that no one is truly responsible.
I think the more interesting thing is the Halliburton finger-pointing. My guess is that this is ultimately how this will play out, with responsibility dispersed so that no one is truly responsible.
Dumb, Swamp-dwelling, Gumbo-eating hicks
This has long been one of the weirder kinds of criticisms one gets as a blogger, the "you don't have deep knowledge of my particular spot of rock so don't you dare opine about it." The premise is faulty, but, you know, like Digby I've lived in plenty of places and readers shouldn't assume that my perspective is limited to this urban hellhole.
"AIYEEE, IRON BIRD!!!"
The Second Amendment, the GOP's most sacred right:
Well, unless Jefferson brought some of his special snuff to Philly with him.
Yes, if you are on the terrorist watch list, the authorities can keep you from getting on a plane but not from purchasing an AK-47. This makes sense to Congress because, as Graham accurately pointed out, “when the founders sat down and wrote the Constitution, they didn’t consider flying.”
Well, unless Jefferson brought some of his special snuff to Philly with him.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Fab Fab Fanboys
Newsweek:
The 15 Wall Street employees—20- and 30-something bankers, traders, and former Goldman employees—whom NEWSWEEK interviewed for this piece say they admire the way Tourre foresaw the collapse in the housing market and structured a lucrative deal for his client, hedge-fund impresario John Paulson. Goldman Sachs refused to comment or to pass along Tourre's contact information. "Everyone thinks he has a bit of swagger," says former investment banker and Columbia Business School professor David Beim. "Everyone is cheering for him."
Net Neutrality
This appears to be good news. There are some net neutrality-related issues that reasonable people can disagree about, but when I did a couple of panels on the subject I was struck by the transparent dishonesty of the lobbyists on the subject. Specifically they'd make claims that net neutrality regulation would be the "first time" the government regulated the internet, instead of mostly just a return to the regulatory regime that was in place before the FCC changed it.
And Ireland
I guess it's comforting that we're not the only country that fucked up.
There are 621 ghost estates across the Irish Republic now, a legacy of those hopeful years. One in five Irish homes is unoccupied.
Teen Driving
I don't have strong opinions about restrictions on teen driving, but will just make a predictable (from me) point that we've created a world where the only way to get around is in a pretty risky form of transportation, in large part in the name of creating safe places for kids to grow up.
Here in my urban hellhole, teens get to travel to their flash mobs using their discounted transit passes. Much safer that way.
Here in my urban hellhole, teens get to travel to their flash mobs using their discounted transit passes. Much safer that way.
Some Days I Don't Know Why We Bother
As Lieberman dreams of a totalitarian state, Dems hop on board...
Oil
As I said, until we have pictures of oily beaches this disaster won't be real, even thought it of course already is.
Car Sharing Will Save The World
Not quite, but it does help reduce the amount of cars...and, as policymakers slowly figure it out, hopefully will help reduce the amount of mandated parking for projects. I believe there has been at least some of that happening in Philadelphia, with developers putting in car sharing spots.
Some people need their cars, and plenty of other people just like them, but for lots of city dwellers a car is really only an occasional need, and car sharing programs provide for that.
Some people need their cars, and plenty of other people just like them, but for lots of city dwellers a car is really only an occasional need, and car sharing programs provide for that.
I Blame The Bloggers
While it's an old joke now, the "blogger ethics panel" joke was about how for years mainstream media types would try to hold bloggers to arbitrary standards which didn't exist anywhere else in the known universe. You'd hope they'd at least try to live up to the ones they claim for themselves.
Disaster
While the oil spill is of course already an immense ecological disaster, I guess it won't be "real" until it hits land.
Weird.
Weird.
Jobs
Actual number comes out Friday, private firm prediction of that number is +28K jobs.
While positive, that would still be a bad number.
While positive, that would still be a bad number.
Good One From Diane, at Cab Drollery
It's from yesterday, but just as timely as today.
Kind of fun watching all these opponents of taxes and big government insisting that they need and want help from the big, evil federal government. Still, we'll give it to them, cause ya know, it's the right thing to do.
Kind of fun watching all these opponents of taxes and big government insisting that they need and want help from the big, evil federal government. Still, we'll give it to them, cause ya know, it's the right thing to do.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Suburban Animals!
Funny.
Not the tasering, the other part, of course.
Mayoral spokesman Doug Oliver said Nutter "fully supports" Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who defended the police officer who used a Taser gun to stun and subdue 17-year-old Steve Consalvi of Boyertown, in Berks County. "He strongly discourages fans from running on the field during the game, or without permission," said Oliver. Nutter is at a meeting in Washington, D.C., and could not be reached immediately for comment.
Kenney defended not just the police but also city sports fans, and complained that suburbanites were giving the city a bad rap.
"It seems to me that people from the suburbs think, when they come into the city, they can act like idiots," said Kenney, who is meeting with police and team officials next week about security policies at the stadiums. "A lot of them come in and disrespect Philadelphia, then complain how bad Philadelphia is."
Not the tasering, the other part, of course.
Urban Hellhole Blogging
I consider myself to be very fortunate that life circumstances have made it possible for me to live carfree in a walkable urban hellhole. Not everyone wants to live that way, of course, but more importantly it isn't a realistic option for most people. Given the relative shortage of decent transit/pedestrian friendly neighborhoods, we have a situation in which no one wants to live in these places because they're too expensive and crowded.
But being carfree isn't some grand environmental statement. I just don't like driving and don't like spending all that money on a car. I'd have a lot less disposable income if I had to have one car per adult household member. And while these too crowded and expensive urban hellholes can indeed be expensive, I suspect that most people underestimate the cost savings of shedding one or more cars.
But being carfree isn't some grand environmental statement. I just don't like driving and don't like spending all that money on a car. I'd have a lot less disposable income if I had to have one car per adult household member. And while these too crowded and expensive urban hellholes can indeed be expensive, I suspect that most people underestimate the cost savings of shedding one or more cars.
Urban Hellhole Blogging
It's fun watching Mexican immigrants, Vietnamese immigrants, Italian-Americans, hipsters, and the stroller crowd battle for dominance in Rocky Balboa's South Philly.
Printing Money
It's a little weird that reporters are hesitant to clearly spell out what happened. Basically the Fed printed a huge amount of money. Some of that money they used to do what TARP was originally supposed to do, buy up Big Shitpile at inflated prices. Some of that money they lent to banks at basically 0 interest. Of course there were plenty of other things they could have done with 2 trillion bucks, if preserving the executive compensation at megabanks wasn't thought to be crucial for the survival of the economy. They could have dropped it from helicopters. They could have paid off mortgages directly. They could have given it to state governments. They could have bought me a SUPERTRAIN. But, no, they decided that propping up an obviously failed system of financial intermediaries was the important thing, so that's what they did.
Urban Hellhole Blogging
My neighborhood has an abundance of supermarkets (within 10 mins. walk to Whole Foods, Superfresh, Acme, large Vietnamese supermarket, plus all the Italian Market shops), but there are places in the city which lack them so I'm always happy to see more being built. This project also seems to have decent urban design, at street level instead of recessed behind a parking lot, so that's a bonus.
A decent market really makes the difference between a neighborhood which is walkable/livable and one that isn't.
A decent market really makes the difference between a neighborhood which is walkable/livable and one that isn't.
Freedom
I long ago figured out that those who babble the loudest about freedom are most likely to be authoritarians at heart, but I have not yet figured out what the anti-Miranda fetish is about.
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
ZOMG I can't stop laughing!!!!!!!!!!!@@@!!!!!
According to a source who attended the meetings, Kyl told the assembled crowd a political version of the classic three-people-in-a-boat joke: "So [President Barack] Obama, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] and [Majority Leader] [Harry] Reid [D-Nev.] are in a row boat, and it springs a leak and starts to sink. Who gets saved?"
Answer: "The American people."
Monday, May 03, 2010
Suddenly The Hippies Seem To Be Pretty Smart
Suddenly a modest chance of coating your shore in sweet sweet crude doesn't really seem like a worthwhile gamble.
He's Back
Traficant and his hair have returned.
Whenever he comes up I'm reminded of the bizarre short lived CNN late night show with Bill Press and Tucker Carlson. It seemed like they had Traficant on every night.
Whenever he comes up I'm reminded of the bizarre short lived CNN late night show with Bill Press and Tucker Carlson. It seemed like they had Traficant on every night.
Kudos To Ebert
It's rare for mainstream media types to point out the obvious that while yes it's a little sad that people are losing their jobs in areas like print film criticism and a shame that the number of people who can make a career of doing criticism is probably diminishing, this does not mean there will be any kind of shortage of quality reviews and criticism.
Heckuva Job
It's all about failing upwards in this country. I need to make some completely horrible and stupid decision so I can be given an important and lucrative job somewhere.
Hating On Parks
My tendency to be somewhat anti-urban park is because there is such a strong impulse in the US for urban parks to be zones of nothing like Boston 's Rose Kennedy Greenway apparently is. In theory they're for people to enjoy, but they're designed in such a way as to exclude them. They aren't really designed for people.
I haven't seen it, but I remember the process when the Big Dig was happening and thought that the 75% open space requirement was going to be a big mistake. Apparently it was.
I haven't seen it, but I remember the process when the Big Dig was happening and thought that the 75% open space requirement was going to be a big mistake. Apparently it was.
Pennies
I don't doubt that people will rage and scream if there's a small uptick in the state gas tax, but the truth is if no one told them about it they wouldn't even notice. An 8 cent increase is well within normal weekly fluctuations or price variations between stations.
Yes it's easy to advocate for raising taxes that largely don't impact me as I don't own a car, but I supported increasing gas taxes when I lived in car dependent Orange County too.
It is a regressive tax to some degree, but the regressivity is offset somewhat by the fact that lots of poor people don't actually drive. Improving my local public transit system would be a great help to poor people.
Yes it's easy to advocate for raising taxes that largely don't impact me as I don't own a car, but I supported increasing gas taxes when I lived in car dependent Orange County too.
It is a regressive tax to some degree, but the regressivity is offset somewhat by the fact that lots of poor people don't actually drive. Improving my local public transit system would be a great help to poor people.
Whose Team Is He Playing For?
I've come to really detest the game that gets played every time there's some sort of act of terrorism, however small or unsuccessful, where people try to decide what team the nut is playing for. It isn't that the actual answer is meaningless, it's just that the degree to which people think the answer is going to validate some belief they have is a bit creepy.
Perhaps A Giant Crazy Straw?
The booms are breaking down, so perhaps a big straw might help suck all that chocolate milk away.
Chocolate Milk
It certainly would be nice if he's right, but at the moment I think safe money's on he's a friggin idiot.
GULFPORT — U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor on Saturday said people shouldn’t be so scared about the massive oil spill in the Gulf; he said after flying over it, “it’s not as bad as I thought.”
Taylor said the oil could break up before reaching Mississippi shores.
...
He described the spill as a light, rainbow sheen with patches that look like chocolate milk.
Morning and Shit
I keep hearing calls for a moratorium on off-shore drilling till we find out happened in the Gulf and figure out how not to let it happen again. I think that kind of misses the point. Something will always happen. I'm betting that after hearings and investigations it will be decided that BP fucked up by not spending the extra $500,000 for an emergency shut off valve and they will promise to include the valve in all new oil rigs. Problem solved, until the next one comes along. And there will be a next.
Hell, even Britt Hume is saying maybe the environmentalists have a point. Gee, ya think?
Hell, even Britt Hume is saying maybe the environmentalists have a point. Gee, ya think?
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Late Night
Rock on with some gypsy shit, because a purple little little lady will be perfect for a dirty old and useless clown.
They Had Some Contingency Plans
That didn't take long. Bastards.
May 02, 2010, 6:16PM
Attorney General Troy King has asked BP to cease circulating settlement agreements among south Alabamians.Alabama Attorney General Troy King said tonight that he has told representatives of BP Plc. that they should stop circulating settlement agreements among coastal Alabamians.
The agreements, King said, essentially require that people give up the right to sue in exchange for payment of up to $5,000.
King said BP's efforts were particularly strong in Bayou La Batre.
Effed
Congrats to all the senators who helped destroy their states. I'm sure history will remember you fondly.
Gulf Fishing Stopped
In affected waters.
Sadly, like everything else these days, this will end up being one of those things that no one could have predicted. Look forwards people!
Sadly, like everything else these days, this will end up being one of those things that no one could have predicted. Look forwards people!
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has Melancon, Bill the Nelson, JD Hayworth, and Luis Gutierrez.
This Week has Napolitano, Salazar, and some guy from BP America.
Meet the Press has like 12 million guests. Too lazy to type them all.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has Napolitano, Salazar, and some guy from BP America.
Meet the Press has like 12 million guests. Too lazy to type them all.
Document the atrocities!
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