How gullible are we anyway? Do we really believe...
-that our house can appreciate 20 or 30 or 100% a year?
-that a company with negative earnings and no hope for achieving earnings, and whose stock is $100 or $200 or more per share is a good investment?
-that a fund run secretly can achieve returns of 20% a year every year when no one else can?
-that a bank would loan us money to buy a house when we don't have a net worth and only marginal income?
-that our doctor is really up to date and knows all the best practices to attend to our health?
-that Big Pharma, and their ads, are for our best interest?
-that the government is really good at looking out for our middle class best interests?
-that the FDA looks out for us and doesn't have major conflicts of interest with Big Pharma?
-that futures traders are necessary to achieve a true "price discovery"?
-that short sellers of equities help achieve a true "price discovery"?
-that the free market is...FREE?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Where do personal property rights end?
A local issue...
A bit of background. Tommy Davis of Brownwood, Texas, runs gravel pits, aka rock crushers. He wanted to open one in the above mentioned area in a highly visible location. It was met with stiff resistance from all surrounding neighbors of the property and indeed, an entire community. Reasons for resistance ranged from NIMBY to the threatening of two federally protected species of birds - the black capped vireo and golden cheek warbler.
The TCEQ is the state organization that the permitting request runs through. The community responded by requesting public hearings with the TCEQ on the matter and hundreds of citizens showed for the meeting in support and to voice their concerns. Business owners voiced their concerns about the effects of this operation on the local economy and the tourism industry.
Basically, the TCEQ proved itself a toothless organization...a pretty name, but only a store front with nothing of substance beyond the shallow facade. They contend they can only regulate air quality in this matter and could speak nothing to the raping of the land and the citizens of the area by Tommy Davis and Larry Parham.
The US Fish & Wildlife Service was also contacted in this matter since the two endangered species of birds are documented as present in this area. While there still may be something in the works with the federal agency it appears that they too will turn a deaf ear to the citizens and the endangered species...(if not on this when DO YOU take a stand?)
Personal property rights are sacred, but affecting the lives of those around you also has a bearing in the matter. In this case the toothless, gutless Texas state agency should have found reason to deny Tommy Slick Davis this permit...after all, we all understand the Myth of the Rule of Law.
...begs the question, when do personal property rights end and the rights of a community's begin?TCEQ approves air quality permit
BREAKING NEWS
By WHITNEY WHITE-ASHLEY
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) notified concerned residents in Somervell County this week that the executive director completed the technical review of an air quality permit application from Slick Machines.
Staff Writer
news@theglenrosereporter.com
Tommy Davis, who owns Slick Machines, applied for the permit on July 25 in order to open a rock crushing facility on a piece of property owned by Larry Parham, which sits on the Somervell-Erath County line and contains part of Chalk Mountain.
A bit of background. Tommy Davis of Brownwood, Texas, runs gravel pits, aka rock crushers. He wanted to open one in the above mentioned area in a highly visible location. It was met with stiff resistance from all surrounding neighbors of the property and indeed, an entire community. Reasons for resistance ranged from NIMBY to the threatening of two federally protected species of birds - the black capped vireo and golden cheek warbler.
The TCEQ is the state organization that the permitting request runs through. The community responded by requesting public hearings with the TCEQ on the matter and hundreds of citizens showed for the meeting in support and to voice their concerns. Business owners voiced their concerns about the effects of this operation on the local economy and the tourism industry.
Basically, the TCEQ proved itself a toothless organization...a pretty name, but only a store front with nothing of substance beyond the shallow facade. They contend they can only regulate air quality in this matter and could speak nothing to the raping of the land and the citizens of the area by Tommy Davis and Larry Parham.
The US Fish & Wildlife Service was also contacted in this matter since the two endangered species of birds are documented as present in this area. While there still may be something in the works with the federal agency it appears that they too will turn a deaf ear to the citizens and the endangered species...(if not on this when DO YOU take a stand?)
Personal property rights are sacred, but affecting the lives of those around you also has a bearing in the matter. In this case the toothless, gutless Texas state agency should have found reason to deny Tommy Slick Davis this permit...after all, we all understand the Myth of the Rule of Law.
What About Obama's New Deal II?
December 6th, 2008, President-elect Obama gave a partial look into his plans to get the US economy running full throttle again. His plan is basic Keynesian Economic Theory and FDR rehashed, New Deal II, with extensive public works projects proposed. From a NYT's piece on the plan:
Mr. Obama’s remarks showcased his ambition to expand the definition of traditional work programs for the middle class, like infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, to include new-era jobs in technology and so-called green jobs that reduce energy use and global warming emissions.On the surface this seems like a good idea, getting the unemployed back to work, but will there be an exit strategy from this taxpayer funded program. Our national deficit is already monumental, add to that continuing war costs, financial sector bailouts and other bailouts to come, and Obama's other campaign promise programs and...where does the debt stop?
This past summer I went to Longhorn Caverns in the Texas Hill Country. A lot of the work and some of the buildings and stairs into the cavern itself were projects of the CCC from the 1930's. These stand as testament to another time of economic trouble and to the men and women that wanted work. Their labor and craftsmanship are evident in the details of one of the buildings there (shown in above photo), as well as the walkways and cavern entrance. I have also stayed in cabins in Oklahoma that were built by the CCC, they were nice, well constructed structures that stand the test of time as well. There is goodness that comes from these programs.
Wall Street has given a nod of approval to the proposal, though I am not quite sure why. The sacred halls of capitalism voting for more government intervention in the economy and more government spending...it just doesn't add up to my expectations for Wall Street mentality. Apparently Wall Streeters are greedy enough they can talk out whichever side of their mouths that they see fit to, as long as profits are to be had.
Another clip from the NYT's piece:
Mr. Obama’s plan, if enacted, would be in part a government-directed industrial policy, with lawmakers and administration officials picking winners and losers among private projects and raining large amounts of taxpayer money on them.I guess that is what troubles me the most..."lawmakers and administration officials picking"...sounds like a recipe for cronyism, corruption and consumption of tax dollars...the new CCC's.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Regarding Bailouts of the Auto Makers
I am not sure whether it is a good idea, or a bad one, to bail out the Big Three. It is a complex decision full of uncertainties and unintended consequences whichever decision be made. But my own industry - the one you love to hate - the oil and gas industry has certainly been through its own tough times and our pleadings for mercy fell on mostly deaf ears.
I graduated college in 1982, about the beginning of the end of that boom cycle. Oil price was around $40 per barrel when I entered grad school and was being projected by some to be on its way to $100. I was fortunate getting out when I did, as crude oil prices began sliding along with analysts projection of pricing, and received multiple job offers and didn't have companies renege their offerings. The price of crude oil fell for a few more years until the big layoffs began on the mid 1980's.
Question is, who was crying for the Big Oil's to get bailed out? No one cared, the price of a gallon of gasoline was good for all...all but the oil and gas producers anyway.
In Houston, Texas alone during the 1980's 212,000 jobs ere lost, of which 113,000 were directly tied to the oil and gas extraction business. I have seen numbers as high as 450,000 for total oil jobs lost during the 1980's...not to mention the fall outs in the communities where these jobs existed, the property values, the tax roll numbers, banking...
How did all of this work out in the end? Well, companies did layoff workforce. But the survivors adapted and got stronger. Companies consolidated, innovated and made better business decisions. Out of this downturn came a better industry, one with better technologies to use the budgets they had, and to get more productivity from smaller staffing through technological innovations. And, from support staff up through management and on out into rig hands the industry still compensates its employees well.
So, I don't know if letting the Big Three automakers fail is a good thing or a bad thing ultimately, but they could potentially come out better and more modernized by allowing nature to take its course. And in the end have a competitive industry with highly compensated employees making products that are best in the world.
I graduated college in 1982, about the beginning of the end of that boom cycle. Oil price was around $40 per barrel when I entered grad school and was being projected by some to be on its way to $100. I was fortunate getting out when I did, as crude oil prices began sliding along with analysts projection of pricing, and received multiple job offers and didn't have companies renege their offerings. The price of crude oil fell for a few more years until the big layoffs began on the mid 1980's.
Question is, who was crying for the Big Oil's to get bailed out? No one cared, the price of a gallon of gasoline was good for all...all but the oil and gas producers anyway.
In Houston, Texas alone during the 1980's 212,000 jobs ere lost, of which 113,000 were directly tied to the oil and gas extraction business. I have seen numbers as high as 450,000 for total oil jobs lost during the 1980's...not to mention the fall outs in the communities where these jobs existed, the property values, the tax roll numbers, banking...
How did all of this work out in the end? Well, companies did layoff workforce. But the survivors adapted and got stronger. Companies consolidated, innovated and made better business decisions. Out of this downturn came a better industry, one with better technologies to use the budgets they had, and to get more productivity from smaller staffing through technological innovations. And, from support staff up through management and on out into rig hands the industry still compensates its employees well.
So, I don't know if letting the Big Three automakers fail is a good thing or a bad thing ultimately, but they could potentially come out better and more modernized by allowing nature to take its course. And in the end have a competitive industry with highly compensated employees making products that are best in the world.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Disease Mongering
Perhaps you have heard the term Disease Mongering? It is defined as the, "practice of widening the diagnostic boundaries of illnesses, and promoting public awareness of such, in order to expand the markets for those who sell and deliver treatments, which may include pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and other professional or consumer organizations".
What this means is that we, the general public, are being made the targets of the medical establishment and in particular, Big Pharma. We have a big bull's eye on us saying "we need more medical treatment". It is up to the medical establishment to concoct a few terms for our everyday "conditions", and to expand upon the ones we already have so that they can profit from us and our insurers. Those various aches and pains, tics and quirks, etc, that we used to live with are now "diseases" and we need treatment with artificial pharmaceutical medications under a professionally trained eye...
A 2006 issue of Public Library of Science was dedicated to disease mongering. By my count it contained ten articles covering disease mongering including topics such as the expansion of ADHD, restless legs and erectile dysfunction. No doubt, they are legitimate causes, but the problem lies with the expanding diagnosis of these issues.
An example of expansion of a non-disease as a disease is found in cholesterol levels. Our measured levels of cholesterol, as defined by circulating levels of certain lipoproteins, has changed with time in regards to what is considered normal and high. Medical treatments, usually via a statin drug (HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitor) is the usual course of treatment by the medical establishment and one of the huge profit centers for Big Pharma. Therefore, declaring a certain level of a particular lipoprotein as "good", HDL, or "bad", LDL, and having a medicine (with substantial risk for side effects) that can alter those levels offers incentive and moral hazard to Big Pharma and the medical establishment to amend its recommendation as to what levels of lipoproteins we should all be sporting - despite reams of research to the contrary. Through time, what is considered as healthy levels of HDL and LDL have been changed, and of course, their medications will "fix" us to the current appropriate levels.
A new example of coming expansion in the treatment of psychological disorders was out this week. Here is a clip from one report:
A clip from another report:
What this means is that we, the general public, are being made the targets of the medical establishment and in particular, Big Pharma. We have a big bull's eye on us saying "we need more medical treatment". It is up to the medical establishment to concoct a few terms for our everyday "conditions", and to expand upon the ones we already have so that they can profit from us and our insurers. Those various aches and pains, tics and quirks, etc, that we used to live with are now "diseases" and we need treatment with artificial pharmaceutical medications under a professionally trained eye...
A 2006 issue of Public Library of Science was dedicated to disease mongering. By my count it contained ten articles covering disease mongering including topics such as the expansion of ADHD, restless legs and erectile dysfunction. No doubt, they are legitimate causes, but the problem lies with the expanding diagnosis of these issues.
An example of expansion of a non-disease as a disease is found in cholesterol levels. Our measured levels of cholesterol, as defined by circulating levels of certain lipoproteins, has changed with time in regards to what is considered normal and high. Medical treatments, usually via a statin drug (HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitor) is the usual course of treatment by the medical establishment and one of the huge profit centers for Big Pharma. Therefore, declaring a certain level of a particular lipoprotein as "good", HDL, or "bad", LDL, and having a medicine (with substantial risk for side effects) that can alter those levels offers incentive and moral hazard to Big Pharma and the medical establishment to amend its recommendation as to what levels of lipoproteins we should all be sporting - despite reams of research to the contrary. Through time, what is considered as healthy levels of HDL and LDL have been changed, and of course, their medications will "fix" us to the current appropriate levels.
A new example of coming expansion in the treatment of psychological disorders was out this week. Here is a clip from one report:
A new survey suggests that young adults in the United States have stunningly high rates of psychiatric disorders, such as substance abuse, nicotine addiction, personality disorders or other mental-health conditions.Mental illness is certainly a legitimate illness and one not to be taken lightly, but 50% of college aged people? Having lived through those years I realize that they are a time of change, perhaps moving from one place to another, figuring out who you are out from under your parents wings, increased responsibilities...in other words facing stresses we all must face. So here they seem to be medicalizing and diagnosing mental-health conditions for what we, in the old days, would call Growing Up.
The high rates were found in people ages 18 to 24, whether or not they were college students.
The study, published Monday in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found that one-half of the individuals surveyed met the criteria for a psychiatric disorder but only one-fourth of those had sought treatment.
A clip from another report:
Study co-author Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute called the widespread lack of treatment particularly worrisome. He said it should alert not only "students and parents, but also deans and people who run college mental health services about the need to extend access to treatment.""Widespread lack of treatment" makes the researcher worried. That should be a definite tip-off to disease mongering in those few words. Some of the issues that these researchers are dealing with probably do need some treatment, but some of the issues are part of college life and always have been...for example, partying - aka "substance abuse". Personality disorders are also worrisome to these guys, and not to belittle those with some legitimate manifestation of this disease, but we all have our weird personality traits and nuances, and some of us are not social butterflies loaded with charisma - but we are not all set to erupt into violence if we aren't loaded with pharmaceutical agents to calm us down either. Medical buyer beware, disease mongering is reality, think for yourselves and do not assume the guy with the MD after his name is a god.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Bailouts, Stimulus Package(s) and Me
I am trying to figure out where I fit in in this economic turbulence. If I believe the prevailing wisdom as to the root causes of this mess, I don't have a part in the blame.
I do not have a mortgage and haven't had one for some years, and even when I did have one I had a substantial equity in my house. It was real equity, not some housing bubble induced froth equity like some people at least thought they had. My equity came from a large down payment out of personal savings and from equity obtained in previous homes I owned for years and years and managed to squeeze, sometimes, small appreciations in value. So, I was not a subprime mortgage holder with no real stake in my homes.
I am not a banker and don't really have a depth of understanding of that business, but I understand debt versus income. If you loan money to people that are living on a thread, and they are buying properties that are appreciating at rates that surpass reality, than you are juggling a time bomb. Banking's answer was to package the mortgages and sell them. Pass the time bomb. Greed and moral hazard packaged pretty for the next guy to handle.
The time bomb exploded and the bailouts began. First, billions to banker and other financial establishment. Much with no strings attached, just money to keep them from failing immediately and keep hope alive. Next, more billions to anyone that can convince the government that they are a bank, but at least this round they were told to "please" lend the money and keep the system alive. We'll see.
And now comes the inevitable stimulus package, and this is where I want to know how I fit in. Numbers for a stimulus package that are being tossed around are HUGE. Five hundred billion to well over One Trillion US Dollars. Stimulus in the form of public works, tax cuts, extended unemployment benefits and such. Where do I fit in Mr. President? The exploded time bomb cost me. My investment accounts are down, substantially down. My cash is earning next to nothing in interest, and my self employment income has taken a nose dive. My property is worth less than it was, even though I have plans to move, it has mental repercussions to me, An American Consumer.
I don't see applying for a public works job. I am self employed, so no extended unemployment. I have faithfully paid my "fair share" in taxes, so I suppose a tax cut could be seen as something for me...but that doesn't have the mental effect of "giving" me anything...that is letting me keep a little more of what was already mine. A tax break isn't going to make me run out and consume.
So, unless you are offering me some cold hard cash like the corporations are getting, I assume I will get left out of this cash grab, and others, probably not of the middle class I reside within, will benefit while I lick my financial wounds having been a victim of friendly fire.
I do not have a mortgage and haven't had one for some years, and even when I did have one I had a substantial equity in my house. It was real equity, not some housing bubble induced froth equity like some people at least thought they had. My equity came from a large down payment out of personal savings and from equity obtained in previous homes I owned for years and years and managed to squeeze, sometimes, small appreciations in value. So, I was not a subprime mortgage holder with no real stake in my homes.
I am not a banker and don't really have a depth of understanding of that business, but I understand debt versus income. If you loan money to people that are living on a thread, and they are buying properties that are appreciating at rates that surpass reality, than you are juggling a time bomb. Banking's answer was to package the mortgages and sell them. Pass the time bomb. Greed and moral hazard packaged pretty for the next guy to handle.
The time bomb exploded and the bailouts began. First, billions to banker and other financial establishment. Much with no strings attached, just money to keep them from failing immediately and keep hope alive. Next, more billions to anyone that can convince the government that they are a bank, but at least this round they were told to "please" lend the money and keep the system alive. We'll see.
And now comes the inevitable stimulus package, and this is where I want to know how I fit in. Numbers for a stimulus package that are being tossed around are HUGE. Five hundred billion to well over One Trillion US Dollars. Stimulus in the form of public works, tax cuts, extended unemployment benefits and such. Where do I fit in Mr. President? The exploded time bomb cost me. My investment accounts are down, substantially down. My cash is earning next to nothing in interest, and my self employment income has taken a nose dive. My property is worth less than it was, even though I have plans to move, it has mental repercussions to me, An American Consumer.
I don't see applying for a public works job. I am self employed, so no extended unemployment. I have faithfully paid my "fair share" in taxes, so I suppose a tax cut could be seen as something for me...but that doesn't have the mental effect of "giving" me anything...that is letting me keep a little more of what was already mine. A tax break isn't going to make me run out and consume.
So, unless you are offering me some cold hard cash like the corporations are getting, I assume I will get left out of this cash grab, and others, probably not of the middle class I reside within, will benefit while I lick my financial wounds having been a victim of friendly fire.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Top Ten Lists
Enough with top ten lists. Does anyone really care someone elses opinion about the top ten (insert your own subject here). Apparently they do, so here is my top ten list.
Top Ten List of the Worst Top Ten Lists:
Top Ten List of the Worst Top Ten Lists:
- Best Dressed Actor/Actress- who cares what overpriced clothing a bunch of prima donna's are wearing?
- Worst Dressed Actor/Actress- even less important than number one.
- Best Places to Live - oh come on, who wants to live in some of those places. And, have they ever even considered where I live. I wouldn't trade it for their best places anytime.
- Best Places to Retire - same as above, just hotter and more water. Do all old fogies need to live in the same spot?
- Most Romantic Places to Visit - *yawn*
- Best Fried Foods - heart attack heavens.
- Most Eligible Bachelor/Bachelorette - like we have a shot at them.
- Richest in the World - we love to hate them?
- Highest Paid Athletes - we do love them, but that much worth?
- Hillary Top Ten - OK, I DO LOVE THIS ONE!!!!
They Gave us TARP & TALF
The government force fed the citizens of the US TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Plan) and then TALF (Term-Asset Backed Loan Facility) even though up to 80% of us protested the concept initially.
Who wanted to give money, in the tens of billions of dollars, to corporations that had obviously been managed in such a way as to bring their imminent demise upon themselves. Who wanted to give money to companies or GSE's that had overpaid their top executives for years and years while this web was weaved.
No, they gave us TARP's and TALF's, so far, when really I'd say we got a Taxpayers Unheard in a Representative Democracy...figure it out.
Who wanted to give money, in the tens of billions of dollars, to corporations that had obviously been managed in such a way as to bring their imminent demise upon themselves. Who wanted to give money to companies or GSE's that had overpaid their top executives for years and years while this web was weaved.
No, they gave us TARP's and TALF's, so far, when really I'd say we got a Taxpayers Unheard in a Representative Democracy...figure it out.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Hillary as Secretary of State - Poison for Obama
President Elect Obama sir, I am certainly willing to give you the benefit of the doubt in many matters and be willing to listen and accept ideas that may be counter to my libertarian thinking, but Hillary As Secretary of State? What were you thinking? You just made a deal with the devil.
Have you forgotten who she is and what luggage she has with her? If ethics mean anything to an Obama presidency, and I would think they should based on your campaign rhetoric and based on most peoples assessment of the soon to be gone Bush administration, then why Hillary? Do her qualifications as a backstabber and machinator extraordinaire make her the obvious pick to deal with North Korea and Iran when you attempt to open dialog with them? And what about Bill? He will do you no favors by serving your best interests ahead of his own.
With all due respect, you have made some good choices for other posts, but missed the mark here by a longshot.
Good reading.
Have you forgotten who she is and what luggage she has with her? If ethics mean anything to an Obama presidency, and I would think they should based on your campaign rhetoric and based on most peoples assessment of the soon to be gone Bush administration, then why Hillary? Do her qualifications as a backstabber and machinator extraordinaire make her the obvious pick to deal with North Korea and Iran when you attempt to open dialog with them? And what about Bill? He will do you no favors by serving your best interests ahead of his own.
With all due respect, you have made some good choices for other posts, but missed the mark here by a longshot.
Good reading.
Transcendent moments
Thoreau wrote, in "Walden":
I believe that Thoreau is referring to transcending the normal hum-drum Sheeple thinking that we Americans tend to fall into, and thinking lofty outside-the-box thoughts. But have you every noticed the brief moments that occur upon waking, or upon falling asleep, the Genius that resides within? Those that study such subjects call this the theta state of brain activity. That brief interlude between sleep and wakefulness.
Even without having a proper name for this phenomenon I first became aware and began utilizing these moments during college. After studying long hours for tests, cramming my head full of facts and figures all becoming more muddled with each newly introduced bit, I found if I could capture this moment on waking and spend it with a brief review of my studies it became almost a photographic memory. I could see and picture notes, books and whatever other study materials I had poured through.
Runners, gardeners and those given to meditation also can capture the theta state. Being relaxed and taking part in monotonous and repetitive activities can free the mind from background clutter and let the creativity of the theta state come to the forefront. During these moments one is prone to spontaneous idea generation and pulling together concepts that may be more difficult from the scattered state of thinking we may normally find ourselves in.
Thoreau also writes in "Walden":
...The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night. Little is to be expected of that day, if it can be called a day, to which we are not awakened by our Genius, but by the mechanical nudgings of some servitor, are not awakened by our own newly acquired force and aspirations from within,...
I believe that Thoreau is referring to transcending the normal hum-drum Sheeple thinking that we Americans tend to fall into, and thinking lofty outside-the-box thoughts. But have you every noticed the brief moments that occur upon waking, or upon falling asleep, the Genius that resides within? Those that study such subjects call this the theta state of brain activity. That brief interlude between sleep and wakefulness.
Even without having a proper name for this phenomenon I first became aware and began utilizing these moments during college. After studying long hours for tests, cramming my head full of facts and figures all becoming more muddled with each newly introduced bit, I found if I could capture this moment on waking and spend it with a brief review of my studies it became almost a photographic memory. I could see and picture notes, books and whatever other study materials I had poured through.
Runners, gardeners and those given to meditation also can capture the theta state. Being relaxed and taking part in monotonous and repetitive activities can free the mind from background clutter and let the creativity of the theta state come to the forefront. During these moments one is prone to spontaneous idea generation and pulling together concepts that may be more difficult from the scattered state of thinking we may normally find ourselves in.
Thoreau also writes in "Walden":
The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life. To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake. How could I have looked him in the face?Again, I think Thoreau's meaning of awake is more of a transcendent wakefulness, one that says, "be special, think fresh and lofty things, reach for the skies", and not one of capturing the brief theta moments. But these moments whether from at the edge of sleep or from meditation or other activities can be a great launching pad to catch the notions to be Thoreau's awake.
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