Archive for the 'Austrian Economics' Category
I would love to study the safety culture of this plant – if it is even half as safe as the manager claims it is, we could learn a tremendous amount about what it takes to run a truly safe operation;
New York Manhole Covers, Forged Barefoot in India – New York Times;
“We can’t maintain the luxury of Europe and the United States, with all the boots and all that,” said Sunil Modi, director of Shakti Industries. He said, however, that the foundry never had accidents. He was concerned about the attention, afraid that contracts would be pulled and jobs lost…
India’s 1948 Factory Safety Act addresses cleanliness, ventilation, waste treatment, overtime pay and fresh drinking water, but the only protective gear it specifies is safety goggles.
Mr. Modi said that his factory followed basic safety regulations and that workers should not be barefoot. “It must have been a very hot day” when the photos were taken, he said…
…At the Shakti Industries foundry, “there are no accidents, never ever. Period,” Mr. Modi said. “By God’s will, it’s all fine.”
via New York Manhole Covers, Forged Barefoot in India – New York Times.
U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time.
Effing SCARY.
I happened to catch a bit of this on XM the other morning, and I was SHOCKED by the, er, ENTHUSIASM Gupta and his co-host showed toward the idea that getting to work on war-pulverized bodies was a good thing;
“…by claiming that the dollars exchange rate has no effect on domestic prices, Mr. Bernanke demonstrates that he probably lacks the competence to be a bank teller, let alone Chairman of the Federal Reserve. A weaker dollar means Americans have to pay more for imported goods. But it also means domestic producers have to pay more for raw materials and imported components, which raises domestic production costs as well. It also means that more domestically produced goods are exported, reducing the supply and raising the price of what is left for Americans to consume. This is Econ 101.”
Actual Photo of Coal-To-Gas-To-Electricity Technology
“Gov. Pat Quinn will sign controversial “clean coal” legislation Wednesday that paves the way for a new plant in Chicago that converts coal to natural gas, the Tribune has learned”
When is the approval coming for the plant that produces electricity by burning piles of thousand-dollar-bills? OH WAIT – ITS THE SAME PLANT
It would be hilarious, except that real people need the tax money more.
(PHOTO: NASA Global Warming Propaganda Pages)
“I most emphatically do not hate America. I was not born in some foreign despotism, but in a domestic one known as Oklahoma, which I understand to be the very heart and soul of this country so far as culture and refinement are concerned. Moreover, for what it is worth, some of my ancestors had been living in North America for centuries before a handful of ragged, starving white men washed ashore on this continent, planted their flag, and claimed all the land they could see and a great deal they could not see on behalf of some sorry-ass European monarch. What chutzpah! I yield to no one in my affection for the Statue of Liberty, the Rocky Mountains, and the amber waves of grain, not to mention the celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County. So when I am invited to get out of the country, I feel like someone living in a town taken over by the James Gang who has been told that if he doesn’t like being robbed and bullied by uninvited thugs, he should move to another town. To me, it seems much more fitting that the criminals get out.”
Standing Around While Rome Burns
Last October I spent a week in Rome. The tax police (Guardia di Finanza) were EVERYWHERE, and NO ONE was paying any tax…and the Communists were decrying government “austerity” measures;
Italy Is Not Greece
If it does turn out that Italy needs a bailout, it is going to change the entire game in Europe.
What is going on in Italy right now is potentially far more serious than what has been going on in Greece. Italy is the fourth largest economy in the European Union. If Italy requires a bailout, the rest of Europe might not be able to handle it.
An anonymous European Central Bank source told one German newspaper the following on Sunday….
“The existing rescue fund in Europe is not sufficient to provide a credible defensive wall for Italy”
The source also added that the current bailout fund “was never designed for that”.
Whenever I hear a proposal to “tax the rich”, they are talking about a couple making over $250,000 in EARNED (salary) income (or ‘S’ corporation business). I point out that in a high-cost area like New York City or Los Angeles, this would include a hypothetical couple consisting of a cop and a nurse, making a good bit of overtime, which is already drained away by high living expenses and local taxation. Peter Schiff explains why these “rich” are already being taxed at historically high levels;
“Today a married couple with a combined income of $250,000 (assuming each spouse earns 125,000) will pay about 40% of their combined incomes in Social Security, Medicare, and federal taxes, if they take the standard deduction. (I have included as part of their incomes and taxes the Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on their behalf by their employers – which in reality are borne by the employee anyway. I then added that figure to their incomes, and divided the total tax paid by that higher income. I did not factor in this year’s one time 2% payroll tax holiday.)
Compare that to a household in 1950 that earned $25,000 per year (the approximate equivalent to $250,000 today). Assuming all the income was earned by the husband, which was the norm at the time, the total tax take using the standard deduction and including both the employee and employer social security taxes, would have been just below 22%. In other words, despite claims that taxes are at their lowest levels in 50 years, today’s high earning couple pays over 80% more in federal taxes than their 1950 counterpart!”
via Don’t be Fooled by Political Posturing | Euro Pacific Capital.
When I Was Seven…
…I would have traded my left eye for a bike this cool;
LOOK at the friggin’ MAG WHEELS, for one thing. HOLY SH!T!
But if you go by the idiots that post reviews of stuff online, it’s a cheap piece of crap;
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090806100208AAUILrE
Is a 20″ Mongoose Rebel Freestyle Bike a good bmx bike?
“I was just wondering is this was a good bike because i have this bike and I want to start bmx. So yeah. And what are good brakes for this bike?
Please answer. Thanks “
Member since:
July 09, 2009
Total points:
856 (Level 2)
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
“noo not good they suck if its from walmart or any other dept store so no it sucks its to heavy. a goodBMX bike costs like 900 and up get a haro only buy the bike at bike shops no where else”
Apparently, according to these geniuses, you have to spend $300 – $800 (and definitely NOT $130 at Wal*Mart) to get an acceptable bike for a SEVEN YEAR OLD.
SIGH.