Category Archives: Economy

Why Government Spending Your Money is Bad

The main objection by folks who want the government to remain small is that money in the hands of individual people gets spent faster and better than money taken from those people to be spent at government discretion.   Every single dollar the government spends is a dollar that has been taken from someone and handed to some government agency.  For every $20 an hour job created by government there is one less $20 job in the private sector.  It can’t be any other way.  The government produces nothing.

But the argument is that when folks get scared and hoard their money, the government has to intervene, take their money and forcefully interject that money into the economy.

And fast.

But does it work that way?

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New Government Policy


Quick, no googlly-ogglly-Google.

What nation said this:

X-Nation announced on Monday it would lay off “at least” half a million state workers over the next six months and simultaneously allow more jobs to be created in the private sector as the socialist economy struggles to get back on its feet.

“Our state cannot and should not continue maintaining companies, productive entities and services with inflated payrolls and losses that damage our economy and result counterproductive, create bad habits and distort workers’ conduct,”

…the government “agreed to broaden the exercise of self employment and its use as another alternative for the employment of those excess workers.”

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Value: Creation and Destruction

There are three things that you can do with money:

  1. Make more of it
  2. Trade it for something you value
  3. Piss it away

Mostly I want smaller government because I’m afraid that the government is worse at 1 and 2 than I am.  More often than not, they’re Pissing it Away.  Either for votes, or, if they really ARE trying to make things better, they just don’t know how.  [‘Cause serious, if they knew how, they’d be out doin’ it and not subjecting themselves to government].

I know there are things we need a government to do; I know that.

But there are other things that a government SHOULDN’T do; and THEY should know that as well.

And marketing cars is one of those things.

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Iraq: Looking Back

The war is over, the Dragon is slain.

And what do we have to show for it?

Just shootin’ from the hip and not really digging into numbers?  I’d say, “Not much”.

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Knee Jerk Reaction Coming in 5-4-3….

A wedding, time for happiness and excitement.  Right?  Depends I guess, on who you do business with.

So, turns out that we have an incompetent or unethical businesswoman here in Raleigh:

Raleigh, N.C. — The owner of a north Raleigh bridal store says dozens of brides might never see the wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses for which they have already paid.

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More Random Thoughts on Unemployment

Monday I saw that my local McDonald’s was still trying to get someone to fill their manager position. They have had their help wanted sign up for 26+ days. Yesterday I stopped to get lunch for the wifey and saw this:

At some point we have to call this what it really is.  Something besides “I can’t find a job”.

The simple fact is that when the government is willing to pay you virtually the same amount of money to stay home rather than work, the reasonable person is going to stay home rather than work.

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Random Thoughts on Unemployment

So, grabbin lunch yesterday.  Stopped into the local McDonald’s for a quick [and icky] lunch.

They have a really cool series of Happy Meal toys for boys right now; Marvel Super Heros.  So, I picked one up for Tyler:

Cool huh?  Guess what else I saw?

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August 11, 2010: Chance of Recession in the Next 12 Months — 00.313%

We are now running at 23 months* of consecutive sub 1% Chance of Recession as predicted by the New York Fed.

And, like last month, I have kept up my new expanded metrics.  For 35 consecutive months, my four leading indicators of Recession risk have been zero.  Not one of ’em has signaled a recession.  For the first time in just under 3 years, I have hit a signal; 2 out of 4 running months with a rising chance of recession.

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Unemployment: I’m Surprised at the Surprise

Someone has to say it.  It desperately needs to be said.

Does ANYONE know the meaning of “unexpectedly?”

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Minimum Wage Characteristics

Interesting Characteristics of the Minimum Wage earner:  2009

  • 19% of teens who work and are paid by the hour make the minimum wage or less.
  • The % of the population over 25 and paid by the hour making minimum wage or less?  3.  3% of wage earners over 25 make minimum wage.
  • School Pays:
    • No High School Diploma:  10% of wage earners make the minimum wage
    • High School Diploma:  4% make the minimum wage
    • College Degree:  3% make the minimum wage
  • Married?  3% of people who are or have been married make the minimum wage
  • 13% of the population making the minimum wage works in the service industry.

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