What if you knew that applying more effort would only make things worse? How would you proceed? Would you heed the warning? Would you stop? Or would you continue applying effort blind to the deteriorating results? I achieved burn out by expecting outsized results from an ever heroic effort. At the time, I didn’t know …
Category Archives: Economics
US Leading World in CO2 Cuts
“Here is the biggest shocker of all: the average American’s CO2 emissions are down to levels not seen since 1964 — over half a century ago.” – Barry Saxifrage
Be Your Own Business Cycle
“…to the extent that Etsy, Kickstarter, and other platforms can disintermediate the labor economy, we should be very grateful. Not only are these platforms beneficial technologies of resistance as Reihan emphasizes, they might be generators of macroeconomic robustness.” – Eli Dourado I encourage you to read the whole thing. I especially found the employment = …
Pegging Us Afloat
One of the reasons I love economics is it’s complexity. Sure, in theory the principles are simple – their application across a global scale are awe-inspiring, and frame-shattering. Take this passage from former Obama economics advisor Christina Romer on the terribly selfish reason China owns so many Treasury bonds: “For years, China has deliberately accumulated …
Measuring with an Earthworm
A couple years ago – Pete suggested I look closer at the relationship between the stock market levels, oil prices, and the value of the dollar. My preferred metric of measuring the strength of the US Dollar is it’s value relative to the Euro. As I write this – 1 USD = .70 Euro. While …
“…it’s risk-taking that fuels growth”
“Government spending can’t fuel growth, because the decision makers who direct the spending are not taking risks in the hopes of generating profit.” – Scott Grannis
Paulson Real Estate Recovery Fund
Brilliant strategy. Just brilliant. “One of the fund’s main strategies is to buy undeveloped tracts of land that already have environmental and building permits. Roads, sewers and electricity may also be in place, but not homes, according to one of the people familiar with the fund. If the real-estate market recovers enough for developers to …
Lifeline
Scott Grannis’ Calafia Beach Pundit has become daily reading for me [1] – primarily because I’m a sucker for the charts he shares. Take a minute to look at this one. (no worries, I’ll still be here when you get back). Good stuff. It’s rare to see a single chart summarize our own confidence over …
Trade Perspectives
“Total U.S. trade with the rest of the world (sales of U.S. products to consumers and firms in other countries PLUS purchases of foreign production by American consumers and businesses) reached a 22-month high of $354.1 billion in August, the highest level since October 2008, and 44% above the April 2009 cyclical low of $246 …
Take California
If there’s a state in the union synonymous with the modern American Dream – it’s California 1. For the past twenty years, every vocation or avocation I’ve been interested in has had a significant pull from California. There’s now some evidence California is becoming less attractive to do business in. “The top states gaining our …