Nassim Taleb on the Economy
Fascinating… (and well worth the 20 min)
If you are not familiar with Nassim Taleb, definitely Google him.
Full Circle
Thought the following picture tells an interesting story. What do you think?
Here is the full article. The most interesting ideas, I thought, were:
- Challenges the idea that Republicans are the “rich person’s party”.
- Presents an interesting motivation for Bush’s tax cuts (hint: it isn’t that he believes in small gov’t or less taxes).
- “The first duty of a sovereign public is to defend its sovereignty, not to prop up its banking system.”
No Politics in the Goldman Sachs Enforcement Action?
I saw this on National Review Online and thought I’d pass it along. Dems say the SEC enforcement action against Goldman Sachs has nothing to do with politics, which makes this ad buy surprisingly coincidental.
Moral Relativity Reigns…except
The all-knowing Al Gore, creator of the internet extraordinaire, spoke here at Duke yesterday. The Goracle once again implored all to fight global warming because it is the greatest moral issue facing the world. A friend of mine made an interesting point. Liberals constantly claim that there is no moral absolute, that everything is relative, that we should not force anyone do something on grounds of morality. Moral relativity serves their purposes except when it comes to environmentalism in which case there is a moral absolute and all of us must fall in line or be nabbed by the green police.
The Dark Side :)
I like to get in the head of the “other side” - for example, when I was an auditor, I wanted to figure out what client management was thinking when they chose not to record a liability for an obvious loan, or when I took my cell phone back to Verizon within their “30-day No Risk” trial period, why did they feel they could charge me a $50 restocking fee. I’ve really tried to figure out why Democrats would want the health care bill to pass.
Another fascinating analysis is trying to figure out how the other side sees you. Do they see me as a sincere proponent of transparency and accuracy, or an annoyance? Am I really looking for a good cell phone or trying to work the system to get free stuff? Do Democrats really see everyone else as selfish capitalists with no regard for the welfare of those with less? And if so, what am I really working for when I say “no” to the healthcare plan, cap and trade, etc…
Our good friend Paul Krugman provided this insight, and I think he actually makes sense. Read his article here because its pretty insightful (I may never say that again). Here is the theme:
“Ever since Reagan, the G.O.P. has been run by people who want a much smaller government… But there has always been a political problem with this agenda. Voters may say that they oppose big government, but the programs that actually dominate federal spending — Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — are very popular. So how can the public be persuaded to accept large spending cuts?
The conservative answer, which evolved in the late 1970s, would be dubbed “starving the beast” during the Reagan years. The idea — propounded by many members of the conservative intelligentsia, from Alan Greenspan to Irving Kristol — was basically that sympathetic politicians should engage in a game of bait and switch. Rather than proposing unpopular spending cuts, Republicans would push through popular tax cuts, with the deliberate intention of worsening the government’s fiscal position. Spending cuts could then be sold as a necessity rather than a choice, the only way to eliminate an unsustainable budget deficit.
And the deficit came…”
Despite the criticism (and the fact that I don’t see myself as a Republican), he then very covers why I am so frustrated with all politicians:
“At this point, then, Republicans insist that the deficit must be eliminated, but they’re not willing either to raise taxes or to support cuts in any major government programs. And they’re not willing to participate in serious bipartisan discussions, either, because that might force them to explain their plan — and there isn’t any plan, except to regain power.”
What do you think? I think its as fair of an insight into the “other side’s” head as me truly believing that President Obama’s strategy is Step 1 - Create crisis, Step 2 - Enact government plan to fix crisis, Step 3 - Make sure Step 2 gets more people on government payroll or welfare so Step 2 will never have the support to be undone.
I lost and won my first election
Tonight I attended my local Republican caucus meeting for Utah. It was my first time ever attending any type of election rally where people were actually elected. Heck, it was the first time I’ve ever voted in person (I’ve done absentee ballots up to this point). This year they decided to have 44 precincts join together at our local high school and the turnout was much greater than they were expecting. There was standing room only in the school’s auditorium. To start the meeting, we all rose and recited The Pledge of Allegiance, and I must admit that it was somewhat emotional for me to hear thousands of people in unison pledge their allegiance to the great principles upon which our country were founded. In light of the passing of President Obama’s health care bill and some of the unconstitutional clauses it contains, it was comforting to realize that there are still many people in this country who believe in the freedoms and rights that our forefathers fought to uphold.
Mike Lee for Senate: http://mikelee2010.com
After the large meeting, we broke out into our precincts and elected precinct officers and state and county delegates. The state delegate goes to the state convention where they elect the Republican nominee for the US senate seat for Utah. Bob Bennett, who has long overstayed his welcome, is up for reelection and we need a change, badly. My wife and I wore our Mike Lee shirts, whom we’ve met and heard speak. He is a sharp individual who has a plan of action rather than a bag of clichés. I attended a debate where he and three other candidates were on the stand. The other three spouted cliché after cliché, trying to garner applause. Mike Lee gave step by step actions that we would take to push for a return to Constitutional government and state sovereignty. I was impressed. Unfortunately, I did not win the vote to be a state delegate, so I won’t be able to vote for him to beat out Bob Bennett. I feel that the guy who did become our state delegate will represent us well and not vote for Bennett.
Next we voted for county delegates. Our precinct had two seats. I was nominated and elected for the first delegate seat. I am excited to get more involved in the political process as I get to vote for things that happen right here in my county. I can affect change and influence things that happen to my family and neighbors.
If you have the ability to get involved in government at a local level, I encourage you to do so. Complacency is what allows our country to pass a bill like ObamaCare. If more people were informed and involved, our country would stay true to the Constitution and true to what great men and women have given their lives to protect.
Please, please, please. Get involved.
Reply To All
When using reply to all, before you hit the send button, think “does everyone I’m sending this to want to hear about the private conversation I am about to have with this person?” The answer is probably no. This applies to Facebook as well. If someone sends out a message to a bunch of people asking for their address, don’t reply to all.
In email, this can be avoided if the sender will put the list of recipients in the BCC box and then put his/her own email in the To box.
Hooray for HSAs
I have been a cheerleader for HSAs for a while now and this Op-Ed by Mitch Daniels, govenor of Indiana, is illustrative of the benefits of an HSA plan put in practice.
Here’s a snippet:
When I was elected governor of Indiana five years ago, I asked that a consumer-directed health insurance option, or Health Savings Account (HSA), be added to the conventional plans then available to state employees. I thought this additional choice might work well for at least a few of my co-workers, and in the first year some 4% of us signed up for it.
In Indiana’s HSA, the state deposits $2,750 per year into an account controlled by the employee, out of which he pays all his health bills. Indiana covers the premium for the plan. The intent is that participants will become more cost-conscious and careful about overpayment or overutilization.
Unused funds in the account—to date some $30 million or about $2,000 per employee and growing fast—are the worker’s permanent property. For the very small number of employees (about 6% last year) who use their entire account balance, the state shares further health costs up to an out-of-pocket maximum of $8,000, after which the employee is completely protected.
The HSA option has proven highly popular. This year, over 70% of our 30,000 Indiana state workers chose it, by far the highest in public-sector America. Due to the rejection of these plans by government unions, the average use of HSAs in the public sector across the country is just 2%.
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
Gloria Allred, feminist, representing a porn star who is the mistress of Tiger Woods who is upset that she wasn’t treated fairly by Tiger…. You’re the mistress. Dont you sorta know that going into an affair?
