Archive for the 'economics' Category

AIG bonuses

Friday, March 20th, 2009

My take in a nutshell: when we (or, more accurately, our elected representatives) decided to purchase a majority stake in AIG, we were taking on all of the contracts that AIG signed. Which includes all of the employment contracts which paid out bonuses to AIG staff. On top of this, our elected [...]

Economy koans

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

A man was climbing a hill on his bicycle when he veered too close to the edge of the path and tumbled several hundred feet down the side of the hill. Dazed, he was just starting to assess the damage when President Obama walked past with a tandem bicycle. “Hop on, and we’ll get back up that hill in no time,” said the president. “You pedal, and I’ll steer and shift.”

The most important paragraph I’ve read all week

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Exit of College Lenders Sets Off Scramble To Fill Breach
Most lenders rely on the securitization of debt to generate enough cash to issue student loans. This process turns ordinary loans into securities, just like stocks, so they can be bought and traded on the debt markets. But lenders have been unable to securitize any loan [...]

Interesting economic statistics

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

You know, sometimes I start out to write a post for the weblog, and I take a couple links from here, and a couple from there, glue them together with some funny anecdotes (usually told at my expense), post it, and then I obsessively reload the page until someone comments on it. In other [...]

Fair Price Energy?

Monday, September 11th, 2006

When I first saw the Fair Price Energy site, my first thought was fair trade coffee. I like fair trade coffee: I think it’s great that people who have strong concerns about social justice are also willing to put their money where their mouth is and pay more for coffee. And the [...]

Og like blogs!

Monday, August 21st, 2006

Today had r. hand mole removed; typing w/one hand.
Pictures? Of course! See image 1 image 2. Note trail of specks on image two wall and ceiling: hot pixels. My poor coolpix. I got the extended warranty; I think I’ll send it in.
Got more fun pics, inc. pic of [...]

Ow, my head

Thursday, May 4th, 2006

So on Tuesday I went to the dentist. Dentist says “Ah, yes, good work on brushing your teeth and flossing, your gums are healthy, but it looks like you’ve got two cracked fillings we’ll have to fill, and one new cavity as well.” Oh, joy.
Today I went and got my cavities re-drilled and [...]

Econ 101

Wednesday, November 30th, 2005

Econ 101: What happens to the supply of guns when you increase demand? I’m not saying this is a bad idea, I’m just not convinced it will work.

Grow your own health insurance

Tuesday, August 30th, 2005

Well, it makes sense in Africa at least:
The bigger push is coming from everyday Africans who are tired of waiting for politicians to address their needs and have begun spinning their own safety nets.
Plans in which neighbors come together and create their own makeshift health coverage are the rage in Africa, particularly in the [...]

How much would you pay…

Wednesday, August 10th, 2005

…for a bottle of the best beer in the world? It’s made by monks, and whatever you’re willing to pay, it won’t affect the supply:
… Mark Bode, co-ordinator of the claustrum, has agreed to speak to The Independent and leads the way to a spartan office where he explains the principle behind the brewery. [...]