Russell Korobkin at The Volokh Conspiracy has an interesting post as to who should get paid first should the government run out of cash. There is only one problem with it. The first rule of business is always to pay the guys with the guns first. Most of our servicemen are based in the United States and are not wealthy enough to just have their income turned off. They have bills to pay and families to support as well. You pay them first because if you don't, those guys might decide to go and get their paychecks. Even if they didn't, Korobkin's wrong about soldiers not being able to walk off the job. It's called going AWOL. History teaches us that nation's rarely get away with gambling the loyalty of their soldiers.
Other than that, it's an interesting article. We'll be finding out very soon how this will actually go down. Less than 72 hours to go!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Daily Snark 7/29
GDP growth last quarter: 1.3%
Revised numbers from 1st quarter: .4%
Pathetic. This economy is crap and has been long before the debt ceiling debate began. No doubt some idiot will try to blame these past events on current problems, completely reversing chronological order and the law of cause and effect.
Sadly, this 2nd quarter's numbers may be overrated and revised down three months from now. If nothing else, this Administration should give up all claims to knowing what the hell they are doing in terms of the economy.
Revised numbers from 1st quarter: .4%
Pathetic. This economy is crap and has been long before the debt ceiling debate began. No doubt some idiot will try to blame these past events on current problems, completely reversing chronological order and the law of cause and effect.
Sadly, this 2nd quarter's numbers may be overrated and revised down three months from now. If nothing else, this Administration should give up all claims to knowing what the hell they are doing in terms of the economy.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Daily Snark 7/28
This dawned on me last night. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out the Democrats are stalling to try to get a clean debt ceiling hike. Perhaps I made the mistake of thinking the Democrats were negotiating in good faith?
I won't do that again. If this is their plan, screw it, let the August 2nd deadline pass. Force the Obama Administration to decide where the 44% of cuts will come from.
It is incredibly irresponsible not to deal with this debt problem. And the problem isn't the ceiling. It's the $14.3 trillion in debt we have, that is the problem. A clean debt ceiling increase does not address this problem.
I won't do that again. If this is their plan, screw it, let the August 2nd deadline pass. Force the Obama Administration to decide where the 44% of cuts will come from.
It is incredibly irresponsible not to deal with this debt problem. And the problem isn't the ceiling. It's the $14.3 trillion in debt we have, that is the problem. A clean debt ceiling increase does not address this problem.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
I Don't Like "Centrists"
One thing I'm tired of hearing about is how "childish" everyone in Washington is behaving. From the way people talk about it, you would think there was an actual middle ground that would be reasonable for Congressmen and Obama to meet at and that they are just being babies by demanding no compromises.
This is centrist bullcrap. Both sides have principles. I disagree completely with those on the Left, but that doesn't mean they are unprincipled in this case. To ask somebody to give up on some of their principles is to ask them to do something they see as morally wrong. This is different from haggling over a price at a yard sale, where morality is not an issue.
Of course, if you ask that centrist where, exactly, those babyish politicians should meet, the most likely response will be as partisan as anyone in Washington. The second most likely response is to have no clue. Centrists usually tend to be partisans in disguise. Actual centrists are the people who shouldn't be voting; they have no principles at all and tend to vote based on very superficial inputs. If you think I'm wrong, ask some questions about that Centrist's principles. You'll find a lot of wishy washy crap about "how we all ought to get along" or how "we all should do what's best for the country." Apparently, those who are not Centrists are not doing that? Again, I disagree vehemently with the Left about what is best for the nation, but I don't generally doubt their sincerity in their beliefs.
Anyway, screw centrists. Man up and fly your colors. If you don't know what your colors even are, stay home and don't hurt yourself.
This is centrist bullcrap. Both sides have principles. I disagree completely with those on the Left, but that doesn't mean they are unprincipled in this case. To ask somebody to give up on some of their principles is to ask them to do something they see as morally wrong. This is different from haggling over a price at a yard sale, where morality is not an issue.
Of course, if you ask that centrist where, exactly, those babyish politicians should meet, the most likely response will be as partisan as anyone in Washington. The second most likely response is to have no clue. Centrists usually tend to be partisans in disguise. Actual centrists are the people who shouldn't be voting; they have no principles at all and tend to vote based on very superficial inputs. If you think I'm wrong, ask some questions about that Centrist's principles. You'll find a lot of wishy washy crap about "how we all ought to get along" or how "we all should do what's best for the country." Apparently, those who are not Centrists are not doing that? Again, I disagree vehemently with the Left about what is best for the nation, but I don't generally doubt their sincerity in their beliefs.
Anyway, screw centrists. Man up and fly your colors. If you don't know what your colors even are, stay home and don't hurt yourself.
The Daily Snark 7/27
Tom Friedman scares me. Well, his nearly unqualified support for Chinese dictatorship style government scares me. And his ideas that the government can make things right, that it is the solution rather than the problem, that scares me.
Today's no different. I like how, because Jefferson supported creating the University of Virginia (for the brightest, not for everyone, a point not mentioned by Friedman), it somehow means Tea Partiers should support a federal government spending over $3,700,000,000,000.00 annually. Also, its ok to compare political opponents to terrorists now? What about Gabby Giffords? Have we forgotten Gabby Giffords and the lessons about violent political rhetoric (that, incidentally, had nothing to do with the shooting but were still blamed on Republicans like Sarah Palin)?
I would like to see Tom's idea as to how to shrink entitlement programs. People who receive money from them tend to believe they are...oh, yeah, entitled to that money. Progressives have been saying for years that recipients are entitled to other people's money. Good luck backtracking on that one.
The Tea Party is the only sane group in the bunch. They are the only one's pointing out that $3.7 trillion in federal spending is too much and that just because you use the mechanism of government doesn't make theft acceptable. Taxes are morally wrong, always. It is the use of force to take property away from those who it rightfully belongs to.
But I think the most telling error Friedman makes can be found right at the get go. His answer to our problems would be, of all things, a government commission to try to figure out what kind of world we live in. Any libertarian can tell you that the government will never have enough information to figure out how best to run the world. There are no philosopher kings, nor philosopher commissioners. The best way to create progress would be to let each person seek that out for himself.
Leave us alone, Tom. Leave us alone, statists. You don't know what's best, so stop using force to impose your wildly ignorant ideas on the rest of us. Give freedom a chance.
Today's no different. I like how, because Jefferson supported creating the University of Virginia (for the brightest, not for everyone, a point not mentioned by Friedman), it somehow means Tea Partiers should support a federal government spending over $3,700,000,000,000.00 annually. Also, its ok to compare political opponents to terrorists now? What about Gabby Giffords? Have we forgotten Gabby Giffords and the lessons about violent political rhetoric (that, incidentally, had nothing to do with the shooting but were still blamed on Republicans like Sarah Palin)?
I would like to see Tom's idea as to how to shrink entitlement programs. People who receive money from them tend to believe they are...oh, yeah, entitled to that money. Progressives have been saying for years that recipients are entitled to other people's money. Good luck backtracking on that one.
The Tea Party is the only sane group in the bunch. They are the only one's pointing out that $3.7 trillion in federal spending is too much and that just because you use the mechanism of government doesn't make theft acceptable. Taxes are morally wrong, always. It is the use of force to take property away from those who it rightfully belongs to.
But I think the most telling error Friedman makes can be found right at the get go. His answer to our problems would be, of all things, a government commission to try to figure out what kind of world we live in. Any libertarian can tell you that the government will never have enough information to figure out how best to run the world. There are no philosopher kings, nor philosopher commissioners. The best way to create progress would be to let each person seek that out for himself.
Leave us alone, Tom. Leave us alone, statists. You don't know what's best, so stop using force to impose your wildly ignorant ideas on the rest of us. Give freedom a chance.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Daily Snark 7/26
There are 6.3 million Americans who have been out of work for over 6 months. As this news article points out, a lot of employers will not even consider hiring them because they have been unemployed for so long. Basically, these people are screwed. No, the answer is not more government regulation. What we need are jobs, which involves less government, not more.
I'm going to say that the odds of another major economic meltdown are at 50%, while the odds of civil unrest are at a not trivial 20% over the next two years. There is plenty of cause, the only thing missing is a good spark.
I'm going to say that the odds of another major economic meltdown are at 50%, while the odds of civil unrest are at a not trivial 20% over the next two years. There is plenty of cause, the only thing missing is a good spark.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Daily Snark 7/25
Obama's poll numbers are now worse than they were immediately before the death of Osama bin Laden. I called it, but it is kind of like calling that the Sun will rise in the east tomorrow morning. According to that chart, Obama has received two large bumps in his favor, the other being when Republicans took Congress in January. As it stands right now, though, his approval rating is less than it was on Election Day 2010.
I think it is safe to say this debt ceiling crisis is not working out to favor the President. Despite the predictions otherwise, nobody should really be surprised by this. The man is the Head Honcho; if things start hitting the fan, people don't go blaming the 535 legislators, they blame the one Executive. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans cannot find stable work. All of the excuses or ridiculous explanations as to why the Stimulus "worked" are not going to fool these people.
Anyway, if those numbers plummet into the lower 40 range, the Republicans could nominate a cigar chomping monkey and still win in 2012. I'm not enthusiastic about anyone in the Republican field, but I will vote for any of them before I vote to reelect the fool in office right now.
I think it is safe to say this debt ceiling crisis is not working out to favor the President. Despite the predictions otherwise, nobody should really be surprised by this. The man is the Head Honcho; if things start hitting the fan, people don't go blaming the 535 legislators, they blame the one Executive. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans cannot find stable work. All of the excuses or ridiculous explanations as to why the Stimulus "worked" are not going to fool these people.
Anyway, if those numbers plummet into the lower 40 range, the Republicans could nominate a cigar chomping monkey and still win in 2012. I'm not enthusiastic about anyone in the Republican field, but I will vote for any of them before I vote to reelect the fool in office right now.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The Daily Snark 7/23
I don't have a lot to say about that Norway shooting spree, mostly because it is the act of a lone nutcase. There's not a great deal anyone can do about him and since he acted alone, the matter is at an end. That said, we can look at how someone managed to go on a 90 minute shooting spree.
You couldn't do that in my hometown. Somebody would shoot back. In fact, a lot of people would shoot back. Most shooting sprees tend to happen at schools, a place shooters know their targets are not allowed to have guns. I don't get involved with gun rights issues a lot, not being a gun owner myself, but I think this proves the saying true that if you ban guns, only the outlaws will have them. Not surprisingly, there are very few shooting sprees at NRA conventions, a lot more so at schools.
And 90 minutes because a socialist government couldn't find a helicopter? 82 people died in the meantime. I would rather have a gun at my side than wait for the police.
You couldn't do that in my hometown. Somebody would shoot back. In fact, a lot of people would shoot back. Most shooting sprees tend to happen at schools, a place shooters know their targets are not allowed to have guns. I don't get involved with gun rights issues a lot, not being a gun owner myself, but I think this proves the saying true that if you ban guns, only the outlaws will have them. Not surprisingly, there are very few shooting sprees at NRA conventions, a lot more so at schools.
And 90 minutes because a socialist government couldn't find a helicopter? 82 people died in the meantime. I would rather have a gun at my side than wait for the police.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Daily Snark 7/21
Yeah, I don't see this working either. The fundamental problem isn't changed: Greece, and all welfare states, are spending too much money. Any promise of "this will be the only time investors lose, we swear" is going to drive people away from investing in these nations. Greece wasn't saved with the last bailout; they won't be saved with this bailout; and any future bailouts will be equally as useless. All of that money in the pot is basically gone. Throwing in more cash on your 2/7 off suit isn't helping the situation.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Daily Snark 7/19
Here is something I don't understand (again, finance is not my forte): if Greek debt is at the 36% interest mark on two year debt, who in their right mind is lending money to Greece? Who looks at this situation as says, I bet Greece will honor this in two years. Yes, a 36% profit sounds amazing, but the odds of losing on this gamble are so high that there is no way it comes out positively in a cost-benefit analysis. It makes me wonder who is actually purchasing this debt.
UPDATE: How do I know Greece is screwed? Because I have to make an update on the same day as the original post to say Greece's two year debt is actually at 39% now. This may all come to a head before September. Be prepared.
UPDATE: How do I know Greece is screwed? Because I have to make an update on the same day as the original post to say Greece's two year debt is actually at 39% now. This may all come to a head before September. Be prepared.
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