Thursday, June 07, 2012

Raise The Minimum Wage

I know this is not going to happen anytime soon, but it should.

Lunch Thread

enjoy.

The Worst People In The World

One (of the many) problem with our current ideal of central bank independence is that the defensible idea that they should be immune from the day to day meddling by politicians has been extended to an impervious Do Not Criticize cloud. I'm not saying that nobody anywhere criticizes the Fed, but it's a bit taboo for politicians to do so and even Polite Gentlemen refrain from such things to some degree.*

The ECB central bankers, and to a lesser extent our own, are doing a horrible job. People need to say so more often. Especially people with microphones.


*As with most things this is asymmetrical. It's more acceptable to accuse them of causing massive inflation than it is to accuse them of causing the needless suffering of millions.

Netroots Nation At Home

Watch a panel with the title "The Heart of the Beast: How the Grassroots is Taking on Big Banking."



Thursday Is New Jobless Day

377K new lucky duckies.

Not so good.

It's Working!!!

Something is being achieved anyway.
The unemployment rate in March 2012 was 21.9 percent compared to 15.7 percent in March 2010 and 21.4 percent in February 2012, ELSTAT said. This means there were 1,075,081 unemployed Greeks in March.


And the austerity success story.


Bad economic data from Ireland - the unemployment rate has risen to 14.8%, its highest level since the crisis began.

That's much higher than the eurozone average of 11% (also a record high).

Midnight Thread

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Ladies

There are rich bachelors in Silicon Valley, and the New York Times is ONIT!!!

And, yes, I know I've just rewarded them with the link. It's long been the problem with the internet economy. Things you criticize get the hits.

Wednesday Night

enjoy

Really Awful Ideas

A casino at that spot - not that I'm a fan of the idea - would make sense as the Convention Center casino, as it's a 10-12 minute walk. It does not make sense as a casino-retail playground for suburbanites who can get such things elsewhere, as is obviously envisoned given the (oh sweet jeebus this is the big one) 2000 parking spaces. Rooftop retail? Oh Lord. Go ahead and build it, it'll go under in less than 5 years.

Verbose Version of Previous Post

Here.

Failed Experiment In Independent Central Banking

That the ECB feels free to exert power in areas it has no business exerting power is proof enough.

Our own Maestro did this, some, but even he had some awareness of the fact that he shouldn't be coloring too far outside the lines.

Krugmania

I suppose this is a polite way to say that the people who run Europe are determined to destroy it.

The Narrative

America is richer than it has ever been and can no longer afford the things that it used to.

Discuss.

Lunch Thread

enjoy.

Bank Shots

It's true that Cameron, the BOE, and the Fed* could do things to help the Eurozone and to some degree indirectly help themselves, though I have a hard time seeing just how the politics of helping Yurp indirectly while not helping yourselves directly make any sense, or how the reaction function of the ECB would be anything less than sociopathic.

*I exclude Obama because his hands are, at the moment, somewhat tied.

Why Does Justin Combs Attract Their Attention

Thinking...thinking...

They Don't Care

Movement anti-choice people don't care how the morning-after pill actually works, because they're opposed to it regardless. They're opposed to other people using contraception.

Well Okay Then

There's a need.
Prime Minister David Cameron and US president Barack Obama have agreed on the need for “an immediate plan” to resolve the eurozone crisis, Downing Street said today.

I've made a little Venn Diagram which might provide some guidance.



Parking "Insanity"

There are plenty of blocks around that area that don't require parking permits. Free parking all the time.

Now my daughter is with us for the summer and she can’t get a parking permit because she has New Jersey tags. Frankly, she doesn’t want to go through all the red tape that I did, especially since she’ll be going to Maryland for school in the fall. She can buy a temporary permit for a month — only a month. We would gladly pay for her to be able to park within a few blocks for the summer. She currently has her car in her Dad’s driveway in New Jersey. I was hoping that she could get to work via public transit but the site is in an iffy area where we don’t want her walking to and from transit. This is a huge pain in the ass. We will have to drive her to and from work except for one month of the summer. Something has gotta give. Even the parking lot near us, between 12th and Passyunk, is by permit only.

Why not a lot for lease?

Also, pro tip: the Acme supermarket lot is widely understand to be the "free municipal lot for people with Jersey plates." They never tow, no matter what the signs say.