Monthly Archives: June 2010

Spoons and Buckets

There is an old story about Milton Friedman.

It goes roughly like this:

Milton Friedman was being escorted past a large construction project by a government finance minister. Friedman observed that all the workers were using shovels and he asked the finance minister why there were no bulldozers or excavators. The minister said “Because, Mr. Friedman, our goal is JOBS.” to which Friedman responded, “If your goal is jobs, give them spoons.”

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Finally Some Main Stream Common Sense on Social Security

We are broke.  The country.  The state.  All of us.

And it’s time we face the music and take the required steps to address that fact.

And for the first time that I can remember* Social Security has been brought up.

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More on Boosting

Earlier I mentioned that I found it funny that somehow having the government take money from some people and give it to other people is seen as a good thing.

Step away for a second about where the money comes from, from whom it comes and other such details, I am interested in the science that states, in essence,

“Money in the hands of someone unemployed is spent better than that same money in the hands of someone NOT unemployed.”

Can you answer that question?

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A Funny Version of “Boosting”

In this morning’s News and Observer, Opinion writer Alexandra Forter Sirota from the N.C. Budget & Tax Center had this to say:

Late last week the U.S. Senate failed to move a bill that would extend essential fiscal relief to states, as well as fund temporary unemployment insurance provisions passed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

As a result, the Employment Security Commission estimates that 20,000 North Carolinians will lose unemployment benefits that they would spend quickly and close to home, boosting the local economy and helping local businesses avoid layoffs.

In addition, North Carolina won’t receive more than $340 million in federal assistance, forcing even deeper spending cuts than we’ve already endured in the face of an unprecedented drop in revenues brought on by the recession.

Basically what she’s saying is that it’s good economic policy to continue to remove money from the hands of people with jobs and continue to shovel into the hands of people who’ve been out of work for more than 99 weeks.  Now, I’m not saying that these aren’t good folks.  That they don’t deserve the money or wouldn’t appreciate the help.  All I’m saying is that Ms. Forter Sirota thinks it continues to make sense to shift money from “A” to “B”.

Further, she mentions in the 3rd paragraph, that she feels it’s wise to continue to tax people in States other than North Carolina to help the state of North Carolina pay our bills.  I, for one, resent having my tax money sent to California for them to continue to spend foolishly.  I imagine that somewhere, someone feels the same about their money and our State.

If we don’t have the money, then we need to cut our spending.

Period.

When, Ms. Forter Sirota, will enough spending be enough for you?

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Senate Race 2010: VI

Almost every state has completed it’s primary.  The contestants are well understood.  Some folks are calling for a switch in both chambers.  While I’m not following the House elections, I just don’t see it in the Senate.

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I Wonder If They Could Define It

I resonate with getting and keeping things safe; I do.

But I wonder if everyone does.

RALEIGH — About 85 people held hands on a footbridge over Lake Johnson on Saturday afternoon to lament the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and to urge the transition to cleaner forms of energy.

What does that even mean?  This “transition to cleaner forms of energy.”

Who decides what “cleaner” means, and how do you measure it?

And then, who measures the damage done by transitioning OFF of oil?  Who’s gonna be in charge of that?

The spill in the gulf is a catastrophe; it’s horrible.

But it doesn’t mean oil is over.

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More Upside to Being a Liberal

You don’t have to take responsibility.

See, when life gets too hard and you are faced with doing the awkward, protracted and uncertain things in life, you can just turn to the government and have them do it for ya.

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Competition Saves Americans $462,000,000

And that’s just in the next year. It could even be more.

As more and more corporations are catching onto the fact that American’s wanna spend money on portable book readers, they are working as fast as they can to add features and portability all the while slashing prices.

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Save Marriage

I’m so very tired of the Left restricting Liberty wherever she shows her face.  I’m further dismayed when the Right does it as well:

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The Upside to Being a Liberal

I have been so wrong for so long. It turns out that embracing Liberalism has its perks:

There will be no valedictory speech at Jericho High School’s graduation on Sunday.

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