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Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Reduce, Reduce, Reduce, Reuse, Reuse, Recycle
The phrase is usually "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" but I think that makes each part equally important. Reducing is the most important and recycling is the least important. But, of those three, recycling seems to get the most focus. Why isn't reducing given the most focus? If I reduce the usage of something, it is much better for conservation than to recycle it. Why isn't there a push to create and use items that last longer? Why can't I buy an appliance with a 10 year warranty (and expect it to last 25 years)? Just think of how much waste would be reduced if we used products that lasted longer! Why aren't there rebates for reusing and buying products with a longer warranty? Why is reusing discouraged by charging sales tax on used goods?
Obama's Protectionist Policies Hurting Low-Income Americans | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary
Obama's Protectionist Policies Hurting Low-Income Americans | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary: "America's highest remaining trade barriers are aimed at products mostly grown and made by poor people abroad and disproportionately consumed by poor people at home. While industrial goods and luxury products typically enter under low or zero tariffs, the U.S. government imposes duties of 30 percent or more on food and lower-end clothing and shoes - staple goods that loom large in the budgets of poor families."
"The tariff the president imposed on Chinese tires earlier this month was heavily biased against low-income American families. The affected tires typically cost $50 to $60 each, as compared with the unaffected tires that sell for $200 each. The result of the tariff will be an increase in lower-end tire prices of 20 percent to 30 percent. Low-income families struggling to keep their cars on the road will be forced to postpone replacing old and worn tires, putting their families at greater risk."
"The future president ignored the fact that every poor family must buy those shirts to keep themselves clothed, yet only one-third of 1 percent of American workers make clothing or textiles of any kind. A wealthy politician or TV commentator need not care about the price of a T-shirt or other everyday consumer items, but millions of poor and middle-class American families do care."
"In his 2007 book Freedom From Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy, he calculated that a single mother earning $15,000 a year as a maid in a hotel will forfeit about a week's worth of her annual pay to the U.S. tariff system, while the hotel's $100,000-a-year manager will give up only two or three hours of pay."
"The tariff the president imposed on Chinese tires earlier this month was heavily biased against low-income American families. The affected tires typically cost $50 to $60 each, as compared with the unaffected tires that sell for $200 each. The result of the tariff will be an increase in lower-end tire prices of 20 percent to 30 percent. Low-income families struggling to keep their cars on the road will be forced to postpone replacing old and worn tires, putting their families at greater risk."
"The future president ignored the fact that every poor family must buy those shirts to keep themselves clothed, yet only one-third of 1 percent of American workers make clothing or textiles of any kind. A wealthy politician or TV commentator need not care about the price of a T-shirt or other everyday consumer items, but millions of poor and middle-class American families do care."
"In his 2007 book Freedom From Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy, he calculated that a single mother earning $15,000 a year as a maid in a hotel will forfeit about a week's worth of her annual pay to the U.S. tariff system, while the hotel's $100,000-a-year manager will give up only two or three hours of pay."
Get Serious about Decriminalizing Drugs; Others Are | Tim Lynch and Juan Carlos Hidalgo | Cato Institute: Commentary
Get Serious about Decriminalizing Drugs; Others Are | Tim Lynch and Juan Carlos Hidalgo | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Not only has the predicted spike in drug use and a public health crisis failed to materialize, Portugal's drug usage rates compare more favorably than many other European states that have kept up a strict 'lock 'em up' approach."
We Call Upon the Hedge Funds - Dan O'Connor - Mises Institute
We Call Upon the Hedge Funds - Dan O'Connor - Mises Institute: "What also separates the hedge funds from most of our financial system is that none of the hedge funds had their hands out in search of bailouts during the turmoil of 2008. In fact, a myriad of hedge funds went bust in this period. Some of them, worth billions of dollars, not only collapsed but did so in a very smooth fashion. Their collapse represents the natural process of liquidation, on which Mises and Hayek placed such a great emphasis in their analyses of the boom and bust periods historically caused by the expansion of money and credit.
Many of the more prescient hedge funds recognized the fact that 2006–2007 was an over-inflated boom period, specifically in the mortgage industry. Those who acknowledged this boom for what it was were able to shift their capital away from the mortgage industry or bet against it. Those companies that remained highly invested in the mortgage industry (e.g., AIG and Lehman Brothers) failed."
"The US government is deeply afraid of failure, which is in fact an integral part of a pure capitalist model. Many economists and politicians define America's economy as "capitalist" but one of the most essential aspects of capitalism, failure, is being blocked by government. Those who continue to criticize America's "capitalist" system need to realize how far the country has strayed from it.
Short selling actually adds efficiency to the market, because it identifies weaker companies and filters them out of the market more quickly. This increases competition and encourages companies to perform as best as they can. For example, if hedge funds short sell Britannica and buy Wikipedia long, this sort of market action only promotes a speedier way to filter out the obsolete player. If Britannica fears its stock being sold short, it is more likely to urgently shift up its business strategy in order to meet the changing needs and habits of consumers.
In 2003, The Economist noted that 'constraints on short selling allowed stocks to become more overvalued during the most recent bull run.… More short selling then might have made the bear market less painful now.' Suppressing short selling with tighter regulation of hedge funds also stifled the market's ability to police itself."
Many of the more prescient hedge funds recognized the fact that 2006–2007 was an over-inflated boom period, specifically in the mortgage industry. Those who acknowledged this boom for what it was were able to shift their capital away from the mortgage industry or bet against it. Those companies that remained highly invested in the mortgage industry (e.g., AIG and Lehman Brothers) failed."
"The US government is deeply afraid of failure, which is in fact an integral part of a pure capitalist model. Many economists and politicians define America's economy as "capitalist" but one of the most essential aspects of capitalism, failure, is being blocked by government. Those who continue to criticize America's "capitalist" system need to realize how far the country has strayed from it.
Short selling actually adds efficiency to the market, because it identifies weaker companies and filters them out of the market more quickly. This increases competition and encourages companies to perform as best as they can. For example, if hedge funds short sell Britannica and buy Wikipedia long, this sort of market action only promotes a speedier way to filter out the obsolete player. If Britannica fears its stock being sold short, it is more likely to urgently shift up its business strategy in order to meet the changing needs and habits of consumers.
In 2003, The Economist noted that 'constraints on short selling allowed stocks to become more overvalued during the most recent bull run.… More short selling then might have made the bear market less painful now.' Suppressing short selling with tighter regulation of hedge funds also stifled the market's ability to police itself."
Obama Administration to Order Steep Pay Cuts for Bailed-Out Companies - FOXNews.com
Obama Administration to Order Steep Pay Cuts for Bailed-Out Companies - FOXNews.com: "The Obama administration plans to order companies that received the most money from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to slash pay to top executives, a government source told Fox Business Network.�
Under the plan, the seven companies that received the most government aid will have to cut annual salaries by about 90 percent from last year for the 25 highest-paid executives."
Surprise! Surprise! The government attached more strings after the fact -- even when they made some companies participate that didn't want to participate.
Under the plan, the seven companies that received the most government aid will have to cut annual salaries by about 90 percent from last year for the 25 highest-paid executives."
Surprise! Surprise! The government attached more strings after the fact -- even when they made some companies participate that didn't want to participate.
Italian Court Convicts 23 Americans in CIA Extraordinary Rendition Case - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FO
Italian Court Convicts 23 Americans in CIA Extraordinary Rendition Case - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com: "In addition, Italy's highest court ruled some key evidence inadmissible because it is considered classified — including dossiers seized from the Rome apartment of an Italian intelligence agent and the testimony of a carabinieri officer allegedly at the scene of the kidnapping.
That does make the outcome suspect.
Magi ruled that the trial could go forward despite the ruling."
That does make the outcome suspect.
Magi ruled that the trial could go forward despite the ruling."
Can Government Fight Epidemics? - Eric M. Staib - Mises Institute
Can Government Fight Epidemics? - Eric M. Staib - Mises Institute: "The vast magnitude of this undersupply reveals not simple dysfunction in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) but rather the necessary failure of central planning.
The problem began simply enough: the DHHS granted itself a monopoly on the production, pricing, and distribution of H1N1 flu vaccines."
"By awarding the total revenue of the project in advance, the DHHS set a rigid cost ceiling for Novartis. It is plausible that Novartis soon figured out that producing 150 million flu shots annually for eight years would take more resources than they could afford to purchase with their maximum possible revenue of $486 million."
The problem began simply enough: the DHHS granted itself a monopoly on the production, pricing, and distribution of H1N1 flu vaccines."
"By awarding the total revenue of the project in advance, the DHHS set a rigid cost ceiling for Novartis. It is plausible that Novartis soon figured out that producing 150 million flu shots annually for eight years would take more resources than they could afford to purchase with their maximum possible revenue of $486 million."
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