Endowment effect - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect
In psychology and behavioral economics, the endowment effect, also known as divestiture aversion, is the finding that people are more likely to retain an object they own than acquire that same object when they do not own it.[1][2][3][4] The endowment theory can be defined as "an application of prospect theory positing that loss aversion associated with ownership explains observed exchange asymmetries."[5]
Durable Consumables - Travers Nisbet
https://travers.fyi/durables?ref=sidebar
The frontier keeps moving. Progress keeps accelerating. The rational response is shorter time horizons, faster replacement cycles, less investment in permanence. I understand the logic. I just wonder what we lose when fewer objects around us are built with the assumption that they'll still be here, still working, still ours, decades from now.
AI isn't replacing jobs. AI spending is - Fast Company
https://www.fastcompany.com/91435192/chatgpt-llm-openai-jobs-amazon
We have been following the slow growth in revenues for generative AI over the last few years, and the revenues are neither big enough to support the number of layoffs attributed to AI, nor to justify the capital expenditures on AI cloud infrastructure. Those expenditures may be approaching $1 trillion for 2025, while AI revenue—which would be used to pay for the use of AI infrastructure to run the software—will not exceed $30 billion this year. Are we to believe that such a small amount of revenue is driving economy-wide layoffs?
Everyone's wondering if, and when, the AI bubble will pop. Here's what went down 25 years ago that ultimately burst the dot-com boom | Fortune
https://fortune.com/2025/09/28/ai-dot-com-bubble-parallels-history-explained-companies-revenue-infrastructure/
The question facing investors today isn’t whether AI will transform the economy—most experts agree it will. The question is whether current valuations and infrastructure investments can be justified by near-term returns, or whether, like the fiber-optic cables of the 1990s, much of today’s AI infrastructure will sit unused while the market awaits demand to catch up with supply. As history shows, even transformative technologies can’t escape the gravitational pull of economics—so while the internet did change the world, it didn’t happen as quickly as some of its early champions promised, and several of those people who got ahead of themselves were humbled in the process.
Elizabeth Warren: "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own" - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elizabeth-warren-there-is-nobody-in-this-country-who-got-rich-on-his-own/
Warren rejects the concept that it is possible for Americans to become wealthy in isolation.
"You built a factory out there? Good for you," she says. "But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did."
She continues: "Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along."
Dead Labor, Dead Speech - by Nicholas Carr
https://www.newcartographies.com/p/dead-labor-dead-speech
If, as Marx argued, capital is dead labor, then the products of large language models might best be understood as dead speech. Just as factory workers produce, with their “living labor,” machines and other forms of physical capital that are then used, as “dead labor,” to produce more physical commodities, so human expressions of thought and creativity—“living speech” in the forms of writing, art, photography, and music—become raw materials used to produce “dead speech” in those same forms. LLMs, to continue with Marx’s horror-story metaphor, feed “vampire-like” on human culture. Without our words and pictures and songs, they would cease to function. They would become as silent as a corpse in a casket.
Before You Can Have Smalltalk, You Must First Defeat Capitalism. — Matthew Gaudet
https://www.mgaudet.ca/blog/2024/10/28/before-you-can-have-smalltalk-you-must-first-defeat-capitalism
The title of this blog post is at least a little sarcastic, but I think is an honest to goodness truth: If you want to build a future that involves beautiful systems like Smalltalk, you must first rebuild the economic environment wherein it could be built. Wherein it could succeed! These systems idealized in lamentations at SPLASH all seem to me to be products of economic surplus combined with the right people. We need an economy that has surpluses around for people to do explorations.
How the internet is making us poor – Quartz
http://qz.com/67323/how-the-internet-made-us-poor/
Barring a civilization-ending event, technology is not going to move backward. More and more of our world will be controlled by software. It’s already become so ubiquitous that, argues one of my colleagues, it’s now ridiculous to call some firms as “tech” companies when all companies depend on it so much.
How the internet is making us poor – Quartz
http://qz.com/67323/how-the-internet-made-us-poor
Barring a civilization-ending event, technology is not going to move backward. More and more of our world will be controlled by software. It’s already become so ubiquitous that, argues one of my colleagues, it’s now ridiculous to call some firms as “tech” companies when all companies depend on it so much.
Daily Kos: Elizabeth Warren: 'Why aren’t we rebuilding America?'
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/28/1114390/-Elizabeth-Warren-Why-aren-t-we-rebuilding-America
It really is that simple. The nation's roads, bridges, electrical grid, water systems, national parks—the whole infrastructure—is crumbling. At the same time unemployment remains persistently high. Put people to work fixing the stuff that's broken. It's not rocket science.
It would be that simple, except for a Republican Party that won't do what's best for the country, won't attempt to fix these things because fixing these things might help reelect President Obama and Democrats in Congress. Furthermore, making the country work proves that government works, and Republicans want none of that.
Unemployment Rate Without Government Cuts: 7.1% - Real Time Economics - WSJ
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/08/unemployment-rate-without-government-cuts-7-1/
One reason the unemployment rate may have remained persistently high: The sharp cuts in state and local government spending in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and the layoffs those cuts wrought.
Unemployment Rate Without Government Cuts: 7.1% - Real Time Economics - WSJ
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/08/unemployment-rate-without-government-cuts-7-1
One reason the unemployment rate may have remained persistently high: The sharp cuts in state and local government spending in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and the layoffs those cuts wrought.
Nobody Understands Debt - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/opinion/krugman-nobody-understands-debt.html?_r=2
So yes, debt matters. But right now, other things matter more. We need more, not less, government spending to get us out of our unemployment trap. And the wrongheaded, ill-informed obsession with debt is standing in the way.
Daily Kos: John McCain is worried House Republicans are making the entire Republican Party look bad
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/21/1047366/-John-McCain-is-worried-House-Republicans-are-making-the-entire-Republican-Party-look-bad?via=blog_1
But whether John McCain or House Republicans have done or are doing more damage to the Republican Party isn't something that most people care about. What they care about is making sure that Congress doesn't raise their taxes while the economy is still in recovery. And if Republicans cared more about that, we wouldn't be facing this stalemate now. The American public would be better off, and so would the GOP.
Walmart Heirs Worth Same Amount As Bottom 30 Percent Of Americans In 2007: Analysis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/08/walmart-heirs_n_1137492.html?comm_ref=false&ref=fb&src=sp#sb=2466791,b=facebook
The six children of Walmart's founders, Sam and James "Bud" Walton, had the same net worth in 2007 as the entire bottom 30 percent of American earners, according to an analysis from Sylvia Allegretto, a labor economist at University of California-Berkeley's Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics.
Occupy George
http://www.occupygeorge.com
Money talks, but not loud enough for the 99%. By circulating dollar bills stamped with fact-based infographics, Occupy George informs the public of America's daunting economic disparity one bill at a time. Because money knowledge is power.
The Death of the Fringe Suburb - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/opinion/the-death-of-the-fringe-suburb.html?_r=2&ref=opinion#h[FtlIit]
For too long, we over-invested in the wrong places. Those retail centers and subdivisions will never be worth what they cost to build. We have to stop throwing good money after bad. It is time to instead build what the market wants: mixed-income, walkable cities and suburbs that will support the knowledge economy, promote environmental sustainability and create jobs.
Occupy language: the struggle over meaning | Dan Gillmor | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/22/occupy-language-struggle-over-meaning
If we know anything about the recent income and accumulated assets of the now notorious 1%, it is that much of this wealth, by any rational standard, is undeserved. This applies especially to the Wall Street bankers who looted the global economy with sleazy tactics and, sadly, also with impunity.
That is why, if I was the editor in charge of any news organisation, I would flatly ban the use of the word "earned", when "profited" or "made" (as in money) would be much more accurate, or at least neutral. I would not try to say who "deserved" profits; only that profits were made.
Daily Kos: Super Congress failed because of Republican allegiance to Grover Norquist
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/22/1039050/-Super-Congress-failed-because-of-Republican-allegiance-to-GroverNorquist
No, both sides aren't to blame for failure. That goes entirely to the Republicans. Maybe we should actually be giving credit to them for their refusal to accept the gutted sacred cows Democrats offered up on a silver platter. At this point you almost have to be grateful to Grover Norquist for keeping the Republicans in line and saving entitlement programs, this round.
How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America - Magazine - The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/how-a-new-jobless-era-will-transform-america/7919?single_page=true
The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar men. It could cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a despair not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years to come.
Homeless-Mocking Foreclosure Firm Shutting Down -- Daily Intel
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/11/homeless-mocking-foreclosure-firm-shutting-down.html
The New York law firm Steven J. Baum P.C., which specialized in mortgage foreclosures, announced that it would close today, less than a month after the New York Times published photos of its employees dressed as homeless people for Halloween, in a twist too absurd for 30 Rock. "Disrupting the livelihoods of so many dedicated and hardworking people is extremely painful, but the loss of so much business left us no choice but to file these notices," said Baum in a statement. Last week, following Times columnist Joe Nocera's publication of the offensive pictures from the company's Halloween party last year, Nocera received an angry e-mail from Baum: "Mr. Nocera — You have destroyed everything and everyone related to Steven J. Baum PC. It took 40 years to build this firm and three weeks to tear down." Our sympathy receptors must be broken today.
Detroit to Lay Off 9 Percent of Public Work Force - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/us/detroit-to-lay-off-9-percent-of-public-work-force.html?_r=1
The jobs of 1,000 city employees in Detroit, or about 9 percent of that city’s public work force, will be eliminated early next year, Mayor Dave Bing announced on Friday, adding new, painful details to his plan to save the city from running out of money.
The Silver Bear Cafe
http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.11/gaoaudit.html
$16,000,000,000,000.00 had been secretly given out to US banks and corporations and foreign banks everywhere from France to Scotland. From the period between December 2007 and June 2010, the Federal Reserve had secretly bailed out many of the world’s banks, corporations, and governments. The Federal Reserve likes to refer to these secret bailouts as an all-inclusive loan program, but virtually none of the money has been returned and it was loaned out at 0% interest. Why the Federal Reserve had never been public about this or even informed the United States Congress about the $16 trillion dollar bailout is obvious - the American public would have been outraged to find out that the Federal Reserve bailed out foreign banks while Americans were struggling to find jobs.
The End of Cheap Coffee: Why the Diner Staple Is About to Become a Luxury - Lifestyle - GOOD
http://www.good.is/post/the-end-of-cheap-coffee
Mother Nature might be on the side of Giuliano and his cohorts. At the exact moment that rare beans are becoming all the rage, all beans are becoming rarer. The price of a cup of coffee—whether it be a $6 pour-over, a $2.50 dark roast at Starbucks, or a $1.50 mug of diner swill—is being driven up by a complex combination of weather events, pest and fungus outbreaks, speculation on commodities exchanges, an unstable labor market in the developing world, and an unprecedented thirst for good coffee among a growing global middle class. The problem, in simple economic terms, is that supply has gone down and demand has gone up.
Is Layaway Ever a Good Idea?
http://lifehacker.com/5860490/is-layaway-ever-a-good-idea
Imagine a mother going to Wal-Mart on Oct. 17 and buying $100 worth of Christmas toys. She makes a down payment of $10 and pays a $5 service fee. Over the next two months she pays off the rest. In effect, she is paying $5 in interest for a $90 loan for two months: the equivalent of a credit card with a 44 percent annual percentage rate, a level most of us would consider predatory.
Political Animal - House readies vote on Balanced Budget Amend.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_11/house_readies_vote_on_balanced033574.php
House Republicans don’t have time to address the jobs crisis, but they do have time for proposed constitutional amendments that would make the jobs crisis worse.
Daily Kos: House readies vote on Balanced Budget Amendment, another bill that's not about jobs
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/18/1037788/-House-readies-vote-on-Balanced-Budget-Amendment,-another-bill-thats-notaboutjobs
This afternoon the House will vote on another pointless, partisan, finger-pointing bill, but at least this one doesn't directly attack women, so there's that. Today it's the Balanced Budget Amendment, just about the worst idea for the economy as a whole they could come up with. Really.
Finally, a Judge Stands up to Wall Street | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/finally-a-judge-stands-up-to-wall-street-20111110
Imagine a car thief who, when caught driving a stolen Lexus, tells the police he simply stepped into the wrong car and drove off by mistake. Now imagine he tells the same story when, two years later, he’s caught screaming over the GW bridge in a stolen Mercedes.
End Bonuses for Bankers - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/opinion/end-bonuses-for-bankers.html?_r=1
What would banking look like if bonuses were eliminated? It would not be too different from what it was like when I was a bank intern in the 1980s, before the wave of deregulation that culminated in the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era law that had separated investment and commercial banking. Before then, bankers and lenders were boring “lifers.” Banking was bland and predictable; the chairman’s income was less than that of today’s junior trader. Investment banks, which paid bonuses and weren’t allowed to lend, were partnerships with skin in the game, not gamblers playing with other people’s money.
Let's Rewrite Securities Law for Facebook
http://gawker.com/5857730/lets-rewrite-securities-law-for-facebook
Daily Kos: Mitch McConnell: Obama jobs bill was designed to make Republicans look bad for rejecting it
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/08/1034347/-Mitch-McConnell:-Obama-jobs-bill-was-designed-to-make-Republicans-look-bad-for-rejecting-it
You know what, Mitch? If you don't want to look "intransigent" ... then don't be intransigent! If you don't want to look like you're sabotaging the economy ... then don't sabotage the economy! And if you think rejecting the jobs bill makes you look bad ... then don't reject it!
GOP Rep. Joe Walsh Melts Down, Screams At Constituents: 'Dont Blame Banks!...I Am Tired Of Hearing That Crap!' | ThinkProgress
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/08/364180/joe-walsh-melts-down-bank-lobby
Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) is known for his anti-Obama rhetoric on cable television and his inability to pay his child support payments. But during a recent meeting with constituents in his Chicago-area suburban district, Walsh lost his cool when several attendees asked about why banks have so much power in government. At one point, Walsh even threatened to eject a man who asked Walsh about the revolving door of bank lobbyists infiltrating Congress and financial regulatory agencies.
Daily Kos: Republican filibuster of infrastructure bill is one more piece of economic sabotage
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/07/1034078/-Republican-filibuster-of-infrastructure-bill-is-one-more-piece-of-economicsabotage
What we're seeing here is another piece of evidence that Republicans are more committed—much more committed—to opposing Barack Obama than to doing even the most basic, routine things to keep the economy going and keep bridges from collapsing under us. Filibusters like this are exactly why 50 percent of people believe Republicans are intentionally sabotaging the economy. (And, of course, Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson are joining them.)
The Politics of Austerity - NYTimes.com
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/the-politics-of-austerity
In many respects, austerity feeds on itself. If the country needs to invest in education and rebuilding infrastructure to regain competitiveness, as many economists of varying ideological stripes argue, those initiatives are in large part precluded in a political environment that places top priority on deficit and debt reduction. Retrenchment, in effect, becomes a noose, choking off prospects for growth.
Rich Class fighting 99%, winning big-time - Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rich-class-beating-99-to-a-pulp-2011-11-01?Link=obinsite
They’re fighting you, winning big-time, and you’re the loser. It’s just one generation since conservatives put Reagan in office: In those three short decades the income and wealth of the top 1% has tripled while the income of the bottom 99% of all Americans has stagnated or dropped.
...
Yes, folks, America really is under attack daily. We are fighting on the defense in an historic class warfare. Yes, the Rich Class really did start this war. And yes, they really are winning, big-time. And yes, they are addicted to winning at all costs, to get richer and richer just for the sake of getting richer and richer.
GOP leader dons flak jacket after friendly fire on spending bills - TheHill.com
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/192003-senate-gop-leader-dons-flak-jacket-after-friendly-fire-on-spending
The debate over spending among Republicans in Congress has become so intense that one Senate Republican leader has started wearing a flak jacket to meetings.
memeorandum: Michigan City Removes Streetlights In Desperate Budget Cut (ThinkProgress)
http://www.memeorandum.com/111104/p98#a111104p98
ThinkProgress:Michigan City Removes Streetlights In Desperate Budget Cut — States and cities around the country have desperately slashed spending in the face of record budget deficits, including unpaving roads, shrinking schools, closing libraries, and even a failed attempt to decriminalize ...
memeorandum: Senate blocks $60 billion infrastructure plan, another part of Obama jobs bill (Rosalind S. Helderman/Washington Post)
http://www.memeorandum.com/111104/p62#a111104p62
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:Senate blocks $60 billion infrastructure plan, another part of Obama jobs bill — The Senate shot down another piece of President Obama's $447 billion jobs bill Thursday, as a stalemated Congress goes through the motions of attempting legislation to spur...
Daily Kos: Two thirds of Iowa Republicans are really, really stupid
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/04/1033262/-Two-thirds-of-Iowa-Republicans-are-really,-really-stupid
Two-thirds of likely Iowa Republican caucus goers earning less than $50,000 a year believe they personally would be better off or in the same situation under Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan, The Des Moines Register’s new Iowa Poll shows.
Research-group reviews of the plan have found that most families making $100,000 or less would pay thousands of dollars more each year.
Google mulls divorcing Chamber of Commerce - Jennifer Martinez - POLITICO.com
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67603.html
Many in the tech industry believe the Chamber is doing the bidding of Hollywood and other deep-pocketed members of the content industry. The Chamber believes the IP bills are needed to stop rogue sites from profiting off the content its members spend millions making.
memeorandum: Boehner: Debt deal will include new tax revenues (Nancy Cordes/CBS News)
http://www.memeorandum.com/111103/p134#a111103p134
Nancy Cordes / CBS News:Boehner: Debt deal will include new tax revenues — House Speaker John Boehner addressed one of the biggest sticking points for the 12 member Congressional “supercommittee” today, acknowledging that any bipartisan agreement will need to include some new tax revenue.
Daily Kos: John Boehner: 'Nobody' wants to pay for infrastructure
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/02/1032554/-John-Boehner:-Nobody-wants-to-pay-forinfrastructure
"Everybody believes we have infrastructure deficiencies and more needs to be spent to repair, replace and in some cases build new infrastructure," Boehner said in a speech. "The problem is nobody wants to pay for it."
Daily Kos: Senate Republicans united in obstructing job creation, infrastructure repair
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/02/1032490/-Senate-Republicans-united-in-obstructing-job-creation,-infrastructurerepair
Today, the Senate is talking about whether they should vote to debate a jobs bill. Another Republican filibuster looms, in which the Republican Senate won't even vote to allow the Senate to debate and vote on doing a little something to try to save this economy. In this madness, Democratic leadership hopes to at the very least shame Republicans and possibly get a few of them to peel off from the Republican agenda of wrecking everything in sight and stealing all the rest.
Democrats vow to block spending riders - Seung Min Kim - POLITICO.com
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67350.html
In a letter to Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and 182 other House Democrats signaled that including controversial policy provisions known as riders could again risk a government shutdown, and the lawmakers demanded that those measures be removed.
Mayor Bloomberg: 'It Was Not The Banks That Created The Mortgage Crisis' | ThinkProgress
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/01/358482/bloomberg-mortgage-crisis
A favorite conservative pastime since the financial crisis of 2008 struck is to try and deflect blame away from Wall Street and its excesses and onto Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and government housing policy. No matter how many times the theory that the government mortgage giants caused the crisis gets debunked, it keeps on coming back to life.
Bank Of America CEO To Activists: The Pressure Is Working » Rainforest Action Network Blog
http://understory.ran.org/2011/10/31/bank-of-america-ceo-to-activists-the-pressure-is-working
Via Crooks & Liars we learn that Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is “incensed” about all the pressure being brought to bear on his bank and its shady practices. In other words, what Moynihan is saying is: “The pressure is working. Keep it up.”
What the Costumes Reveal - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/opinion/what-the-costumes-reveal.html?_r=4
Top US foreclosure law firm threw Halloween party where staff dressed as homeless, foreclosed-upon Americans - Boing Boing
http://boingboing.net/2011/10/29/top-us-foreclosure-law-firm-threw-halloween-party-where-staff-dressed-as-homeless-foreclosed-upon-americans.html
jr conlin's ink stained banana » Calling Bullshit on the Bullshit Calling
http://blog.unitedheroes.net/archives/p/4324
Emptyage — Generation X Doesn't Want to Hear It
http://www.emptyage.com/post/11591863916/generation-x-doesnt-want-to-hear-it
CNN poll: Americans overwhelmingly support policies in Obama jobs bill
http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/bVTebh8UC7k/-CNN-poll:-Americans-overwhelmingly-support-policies-in-Obama-jobs-bill
Bitcoins Are Virtually Worthless [The Internet]
http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gawker/full/~3/JTEmuNooAO0/bitcoins-are-virtually-worthless
Students storm Goldman Sachs building in Milan (Michel Rose/Reuters)
http://www.memeorandum.com/111014/p61#a111014p61
Nobody could've predicted that slashing budgets crashes economies
http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/t0Dpssv4O9w/-Nobody-couldve-predicted-that-slashing-budgets-crashes-economies
They kept spraying water on the wood, but they just couldn't get the fireplace started
Lowden Plan Medical Chicken Calculator
http://lowdenplan.com
"Senate hopeful Sue Lowden’s plan for Healthcare reform is to barter chickens for medical procedures. But you may be unsure how many chickens are required for your medical care. This handy calculator converts many common procedures into chickens so you won’t look like an idiot at your next Doctor’s Appointment. "
Jeff Schweitzer: Dow Hovers Near 11,000: This is Obama's Market
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-schweitzer/dow-hovers-near-11000-thi_b_545800.html
"With jaw-dropping, surreal, outrageous, unbelievable hypocrisy probably never before matched in scope and breadth, by the first week of March 2009, just over one month into the Obama presidency, Republicans were blaming Obama for the dire economic news. For eight years under Bush any bad news was Clinton's fault; just one month into Obama's presidency, Bush was innocent of all blame. We do not have a vocabulary that can capture the deep absurdity of this assault on reason."
New College Graduates To Be Cryogenically Frozen Until Job Market Improves | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-college-graduates-to-be-cryogenically-frozen-u,17034
"The bill, expected to swiftly pass in both houses, would facilitate the subzero preservation of any graduate of a two- or four-year educational institution. Sponsors of the initiative said that with the national unemployment rate at just under 10 percent, it only made sense for young job-seekers to temporarily enter a state of supercooled stasis. "
Judging Stimulus by Job Data Reveals Success — Officially Lucky ❡ a blog by Clint Ecker
http://blog.clintecker.com/post/395053473/judging-stimulus-by-job-data-reveals-success
"Imagine if, one year ago, Congress had passed a stimulus bill that really worked. ... Well, it would look almost exactly as it does now. Because those nice descriptions of the stimulus that I just gave aren’t hypothetical. They are descriptions of the actual bill."
The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: I'm really thinking maybe I shouldn't have yelled at that Chinese guy so much
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2009/07/im-really-thinking-maybe-i-shouldnt.html
"We all know that there's no fucking way in the world we should have microwave ovens and refrigerators and TV sets and everything else at the prices we're paying for them. There's no way we get all this stuff and everything is done fair and square and everyone gets treated right. ... everything you own, it's all done on the backs of millions of poor people whose lives are so awful you can't even begin to imagine them, people who will do anything to get a life that is a tiny bit better than the shitty one they were born into, people who get exploited and treated like shit and, in the worst of all cases, pay with their lives."
It’s The Internet Stupid › A Comment on Notice of Inquiry, FCC GN Docket No. 09-51
http://itstheinternetstupid.com
"There’s risk in confusing broadband and Internet. If the National Broadband Plan starts from the premise that the U.S. needs the innovation, increased productivity, new ideas and freedoms of expression that the Internet affords, then the Plan will be shaped around the Internet. If, instead, the Plan is premised on a need for broadband, it fails to address the ARRA’s mandated objectives directly. More importantly, the premise that broadband is the primary goal entertains the remaking of the Internet in ways that could put its benefits at risk. The primary goal of the Plan should be broadband connections to the Internet."
MichaelMoore.com : Goodbye, GM ...by Michael Moore
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2009-06-01
"100 years ago this year, the founders of General Motors convinced the world to give up their horses and saddles and buggy whips to try a new form of transportation. Now it is time for us to say goodbye to the internal combustion engine. It seemed to serve us well for so long. We enjoyed the car hops at the A&W. We made out in the front -- and the back -- seat. We watched movies on large outdoor screens, went to the races at NASCAR tracks across the country, and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time through the window down Hwy. 1. And now it's over. It's a new day and a new century. The President -- and the UAW -- must seize this moment and create a big batch of lemonade from this very sour and sad lemon. "
Ann Arbor and Warren: A Tale of Two Economies - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329299105252505.html
The Center for Michigan » Young Leaders tell Lansing what it takes to make them stay
http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/blog/young-leaders-tell-lansing-what-it-takes-to-make-them-stay
Model D - 3 Cheers for Detroit's Local Currency
http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/detroitcheers18809.aspx
About Detroit Community Scrip
http://www.detroitscrip.org/About%20Detroit%20Cheers.htm
"There are two levels to the variety of retail participants. One, are those who simply accept Cheers as currency on a one to one with the US Dollar. The 3 Cheers note is worth 3 dollars; and change will be issued in us currency for purchases made with cheers when the cost of the item is less. The second are those who issue the currency and are identified on the tail side of the bill. The commitment of those who issue is that they will always keep in cash reserve the amount of their issue. Confidence in the notes are equal to the trust you have in the people behind them. The notes are expensive to produce and are as real as money, please do not treat them as paper, do not take them if you are not going to spend them. "
Study finds pirates 10 times more likely to buy music | Music | guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/21/study-finds-pirates-buy-more-music
Tax Tea Party Time, Part Two - Forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/16/tax-tea-party-opinions-columnists-protest.html
"People should remember that while they have the right to their opinion, they are not entitled to be taken seriously. That only comes from having credibility gained by the correct presentation of facts and analysis and a willingness to be even-handed--criticizing one's own side when it is wrong and not only speaking up when the other party does the same thing."
Commentary: Is Obama skidding or crashing? - CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/01/jillette.skid/index.html
Rands In Repose: The Makers of Things
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/03/23/the_makers_of_things.html
"Someone, sometime soon is going to start describing the climb out of this impressive hole we’ve dug for ourselves, and they’re going to call it “America 2.0”. Clever, yes. We need a new version of ourselves and that’s going to involve bright, unexpected ideas from those we least expect them from, and they’re going to strike you as impossible. All you need to do to understand these terrifyingly ambitious ideas is to look back at what we’ve already done to understand what we can do."
Nuclear power? Yes please! - Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/03/nuclear-power-yes-please.ars
"Nuclear power will have to form part of a comprehensive post-carbon energy infrastructure, and its downsides are greatly overstated, according to a group of experts."
Op-Ed Contributor - For Sale - The $100 House - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/opinion/08barlow.html?_r=3
"But the city offers a much greater attraction for artists than $100 houses. Detroit right now is just this vast, enormous canvas where anything imaginable can be accomplished. From Tyree Guyton’s Heidelberg Project (think of a neighborhood covered in shoes and stuffed animals and you’re close) to Matthew Barney’s “Ancient Evenings” project (think Egyptian gods reincarnated as Ford Mustangs and you’re kind of close), local and international artists are already leveraging Detroit’s complex textures and landscapes to their own surreal ends. "
LET IT DIE: Rushkoff on the economy | ARTHUR MAGAZINE - WE FOUND THE OTHERS
http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/03/16/let-it-die-rushkoff-on-the-economy
"The current financial crisis is the best opportunity we have had in a very long time for a bloodless revolution against the faceless fascism under which we have been living, unaware, for much too long. Let us seize the day."
GOP Fighting For Money From Stimulus They Opposed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/gop-fighting-for-money-fr_n_167914.html
"House Republicans, as a group, may take great pride in the goose egg they offered President Obama's stimulus package. But now the unanimous opposition is struggling to bring that money home. "
Commentary: If you oppose stimulus, don't take the money - CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/16/begala.carolina/index.html
At Dem retreat, a partisan love fest - Glenn Thrush and Patrick O'Connor - Politico.com
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18482.html
"A fired-up Barack Obama ditched his TelePrompter to rally House Democrats and rip Republican opponents of his recovery package Thursday night – at one point openly mocking the GOP for failing to follow through on promises of bipartisanship. "
the man strikes again, youtube wars » amanda fucking palmer » blog
http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/66586355/the-man-strikes-again-youtube-wars
"did i mention that being on a major label is starting to seem like…..not such a grand idea?"
Op-Ed Columnist - Time to Reboot America - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/opinion/24friedman.html
kewlchops: Not quite what I had in mind.
http://george08.blogspot.com/2008/12/not-quite-what-i-had-in-mind.html
""I'll just get straight to the point. You've been affected by the layoffs." ... I watched as my access to various parts of the guts of Flickr fell away. I noticed how naturally I searched for any and all bits I could think of, just in the hope that it still existed. But no. I was shut out entirely within about 14 hours of the phone call. ... I was beginning to feel humiliated, particularly given what I was up to. You know, being in Taiwan at an international conference to talk about my work."
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Atlas Shrugged Updated for the Current Financial Crisis.
http://mcsweeneys.net/2008/11/20tucker.html
McCormick: Where is the fury at Detroit's treatment? | The Detroit News | detnews.com
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081209/OPINION03/812090399/1001
Want Real Stimulus? Try Universal Health Care - BusinessWeek
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/dec2008/pi2008125_772719.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story
"Health-care reform would put one of the most productive sectors in the U.S. to work to shore up the nation's economy, says BW contributing editor Chris Farrell"
Levin Calls For Bolstering U.S. Auto Industry : NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97673835
Bob Sutton: The Auto Industry Bailout: Thoughts About Why GM Executives Are Clueless And Their Destructive “No We Can’t” Mindset
http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/the-auto-industry-bailout-thoughts-about-why-gm-executives-are-clueless-and-their-no-we-cant-mindset.html
"In short, my view is that if GM can’t figure out ways to get their managers and executives to understand the experience of owning a car for the average person, if they can’t get rid of those jets, and if they can’t reduce the number of brands, and if they can’t make a host of other changes required to make them competitive, than my answer is “no, you can’t have our money.” "
Heather Ion, David Brin, Harold M. Koenig talk about resiliency in a time of financial turmoil | Tom Munnecke's Eclectica
http://munnecke.com/blog?p=299
"this can be an opportunity, in disguise – a chance to emphasize community and neighborhood connections that used to fortify earlier Americans, in hard times. Activities that don’t require much money or new-bought goods, but fill our emotional and practical needs. In that spirit, here is a short list of ways that neighborhoods might rebuild that old village feeling, increasing local self-reliance while enjoying greater connection and meaning."
What If US Collapses? Soviet Collapse Lessons Every American Needs To Know | MadConomist.com
http://madconomist.com/what-if-us-collapses-soviet-collapse-lessons-every-american-needs-to-know
"The point that I do want to stress is that when this economy collapses, it is bound to be much worse. Another point I would like to stress is that collapse here is likely to be permanent. The factors that allowed Russia and the other former Soviet republics to recover are not present here."
Stephen Herrington: McCain Will Raise Your Taxes, Obama Will Raise Your Income
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-herrington/mccain-will-raise-your-ta_b_131935.html
Paul Kedrosky: Short-Selling is Haram
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2008/10/09/shortselling_is.html
Let Risk-Taking Financial Institutions Fail - TIME
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1845209,00.html?cnn=yes
Bad News For The Bailout - Forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/09/23/bailout-paulson-congress-biz-beltway-cx_jz_bw_0923bailout.html
Obama: "This is exactly the time" for a debate - War Room - Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/09/24/obama_conference/index.html?source=rss
"With respect to the debates, it's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess. And I think that it is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once"
It's Judgment Day for McCain - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122221440058969313.html?mod=djemEditorialPage
The CNN Wire: Latest updates on top stories Blog Archive - Obama: Friday debate should go on « - Blogs from CNN.com
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/24/obama-friday-debate-should-go-on
Daily Kos: McCain Advisor Thinks You're a Bunch of Exaggerators
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/15/93252/0601
"I remember a time when the nation was at peace, its economy driven by technical innovation and stable markets allowing the accumulation of investment capital. Interest rates and unemployment were near historical lows, wages and productivity rose almost as steeply the stock market. Talk of investment banks going broke or market meltdowns was rare to non existent. And no one had to write columns begging people not to compare the economy to the Great Depression. It sounds like a conservative wet dream, but it was actually called the Clinton Years."
Palin Makes Her First Gaffe
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/08/palin-makes-her-first-gaf_n_124792.html
"You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country's mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn't speak well for her, I'd say."
The Subprime Mess and Phil Gramm: An Experiment in Deregulation | InjuryBoard Los Angeles
http://losangeles.injuryboard.com/miscellaneous/the-subprime-mess-and-phil-gramm-an-experiment-in-deregulation.aspx?googleid=242468
"In 1999, former Senator Phil Gramm (who is, incidentally, Senator John McCain's economic adviser and cochairs his presidential campaign) set out to completely gut the Glass-Steagall Act, and did so successfully,"
Jack Lessenberry Essays and Interviews: Essay: Michigan's Marketplace - 11/15/07
http://jackshow.blogs.com/jack/2007/11/essay-michigans.html
"I think Michigan has done a fairly poor job of telling its story and selling itself to the nation and the world. Nor has the squabbling of the state’s dysfunctional politicians helped."
Real Estate Blog - The Death of Retail
http://activerain.com/blogsview/77512/The-Death-of-Retail
"Wizzywig, a downtown Ann Arbor store specializing in Japanese pop-culture collectables is moving. They are relocating their store front to the industrial park by the Ann Arbor Airport where there warehouse is."
90% Crud: Detroit Roundup
http://george.hotelling.net/90percent/local/detroit_roundup.php
"....JC Penney just announced that they'd be the anchor tenant in an $80m shopping center on Woodward, and builders in the region are reporting that Detroit's the best place to find work in the region these days."
Houses cheaper than cars in Detroit - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070319/ts_nm/usa_subprime_detroit_dc
"With bidding stalled on some of the least desirable residences in Detroit's collapsing housing market, even the fast-talking auctioneer was feeling the stress."
Thousands Lose Jobs As Michigan Unemployment Offices Close | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/58307
"In another devastating blow to the state's already fragile economy, the Unemployment Insurance Agency of the state of Michigan permanently shuttered its nine branch offices Monday, leaving more than 8,500 unemployment employees unemployed."
BobGeiger.com: Kennedy to Republicans: "What is it about working men and women that you find so offensive?"
http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/01/kennedy-to-republicans-what-is-it-about.html
"But Massachusetts' Senior Senator -- who has seen his efforts to increase the minimum wage shot down in the Senate three times in the last two years -- really unloaded on his Republican colleagues for their utter contempt for working people in this count
Universal Health Care Run by Psychotics - MyDD :: Direct Democracy for People-Powered Politics
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/1/1/131055/9172
"So anyway, to recap, we already have universal health care, it's just run by psychos."
Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-military25sep25,0,5555967.story
"It's kind of like the old rancher saying: 'I'm going to size the herd to the amount of hay that I have"
Reward for the Hereditary Elite . . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/04/AR2006060400782.html
"Repealing the estate tax is like erecting protectionist barriers around the hereditary elite. It is anti-meritocratic and unfair -- and antithetical to this nation's best traditions."
Senate Passes $2.8 Trillion 2007 Budget
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060317/D8GD1CKG6.html
'"When it comes to deficits, this president owns all the records," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "The three largest deficits in our nation's history have all occurred under this administration's watch."'
Are you experienced? - Times 2 - Times Online
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-2043534,00.html
"Since we already know that a fat bank balance or a Porsche is not the key to happiness, we are searching elsewhere for fulfilment"
Orion Orion Magazine November | December 2005 Bill McKibben Post-Peak Oil
http://www.oriononline.org/pages/om/05-6om/McKibben.html
"It's hard to underestimate the degree of rage that might accompany the end of the cheap-fuel culture in a country as entitled as ours."
Oil Execs to Be Asked to Justify Profits - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051102/ap_on_go_co/congress_oil_profits
"There is growing distress among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress about the huge profits reported by oil companies last week."
TOM WALSH: State needs to face its reality
http://www.freep.com/money/business/walsh11e_20051011.htm
"Michigan is far more at risk than many other states because its manufacturing-dominated culture is addicted to an entitlement mentality that has long since disappeared in other regions and industrial sectors"
Whatever: Being Poor
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/003704.html
"Being poor is knowing exactly how much everything costs."
Attytood: When the levee breaks
http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002331.html
"The president told us that we needed to fight in Iraq to save lives here at home, and yet -- after moving billions of domestic dollars to the Persian Gulf -- there are bodies floating through the streets of Louisiana. What does George W. Bush have to say
Here's why you can't buy the News Journal at Wal-Mart
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050724/OPINION/507240314/1020
"At any rate, Mr. Hart said he wanted the newspaper to get its racks off his lots. But he also said that if I fired Mark, we could talk about continuing to sell the newspaper at his stores."
Blogcritics.org: George W. Bush and the Ascension of the Hyper-Rich
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/08/194834.php
"In fact, by analyzing income and tax data, it appears that the higher up the income ladder you climb, the less subject you are to paying taxes in the United States."
Government Technology's Public CIO Magazine - American Cities in The Global Knowledge Economy: the Role of Broadband
http://www.public-cio.com/newsStory.php?id=2005.05.22-94066
'What happened to the urgent call for" broadband" -- the new information infrastructure that is vital to success and survival in the global knowledge economy -- President Bush promised he would push in his second term?'
The Detroit Project - by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars
http://www.americansforfuelefficientcars.org
'Welcome to "The Detroit Project," our grassroots campaign to prod Detroit automakers to build cars that will get Americans to work in the morning without sending us to war in the afternoon -- cars that will end our dependence on foreign oil.'
[IP] Bush's Budget Means Cutting Only Peanut Butter
http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200502/msg00106.html
"This budget isn't about finding numbers that lead to deficit reduction, it's about using the pretext of deficits to limit government's role to help those most in need."
The New York Times Opinion Op-Ed Columnist: Borrow, Speculate and Hope
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/10/opinion/10krugman.html?ei=5090&en=cadeb1f7e2a210fc&ex=1260421200&partner=rssuserland
"If Mr. Bush were to say in plain English that his plan to solve our fiscal problems is to borrow trillions, put the money into stocks and hope for the best, everyone would denounce that plan as the height of irresponsibility."
Ripples: We live in unstable times...
http://ripples.typepad.com/ripples/2004/12/we_live_in_unst.html
"Congratulations on finally reaching that corner office! Enjoy it while you can. Next year, you may be operating a business out of your garage."
Best Buy hopes to exorcize devil patrons
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041108-4382.html
Hmm. Guess my own trend toward ordering everything online for the lowest price against my urges for immediate gratification from a local store will continue.
The New Yorker: The Risk Society
http://newyorker.com/printable?talk/041115ta_talk_surowiecki=
"By advocating greater freedom and independence, while failing to explain or account for the greater risk, Bush is setting Americans up for an unpleasant surprise."
VDARE.com: 08/04/04 - A Colossus With Weak Knees
http://vdare.com/roberts/colossus.htm
"No happy ending is possible for the US."
helmintholog: Where the money went
http://www.thewormbook.com/helmintholog/archives/001242.html#001242
"Using the figure for March this year, the average worker would have to work for two months without spending any money at all on anything, or paying any taxes either, before they had paid off the average credit card debt."
Ripples: Micro-Business 101 - basic facts of life and business
http://ripples.typepad.com/ripples/2004/06/microbusiness_1.html
"Exchange is the key. It is the fundamental activity of any business, especially a micro-business where you are self-employed. Many people have it backward."
Ripples: The lure of a Micro-Business
http://ripples.typepad.com/ripples/2004/06/the_lure_of_a_m.html
"I can easily see the day coming when a new graduate chooses a career as a salaried employee only because he or she hasn't got the necessary confidence and skill to start their own business."