Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two

"Fight of the Century" is the new economics hip-hop music video by John Papola and Russ Roberts at http://EconStories.tv.. It is really really good... it depicts the core differences between the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek (known for the book The Road to Serfdom).



And here's a Q&A with Russ Roberts from Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie.

An Epiphany

Today is the Christian holiday of Epiphany, which commemorates the visitation by the wise men from the East (and by extension the revelation of Christ's coming to gentiles) as described in Matthew 2.

(The Christmas carol The Twelves Days of Christmas covers the days between Christmas and Epiphany, i.e., the twelve days of Christmas.)

Generally, the churches I've attend throughout my life have been Christian churches that didn't really observe the liturgical calendar... nearly all Baptist, and one Wesleyan. When I was young, I was pretty oblivious to the existence of such Christian holidays. I heard about Lent ("something about giving up chocolate for a week") and how Catholics typically (at least back in the day) had fish on Fridays. I'm not sure why some denominations stopped observing those holidays... probably having to do with concerns about legalism or a perception of form becoming too important. I think though that the result is that many Christians have lost a connection to the historical richness of their religion.

This morning some members of Congress read aloud the text of the Constitution from the floor of the House to kick off the beginning of the 112th Congress. I'm glad they did, and I think they should continue doing this at the opening of each subsequent congress. They all already swear an oath to uphold it... it's good for them to have a regular reminder of what it actually says.

Charles Krauthammer, a political commentator I greatly admire, remarked yesterday about the transfer of power from the 111th to the 112th Congress:

I’m always struck — I’m a sucker for this — the quiet majesty of the transfer of power. We are a country that’s been doing it for almost a quarter of a millennium, and to see it, even though it’s not at the presidential level but at the House level, is still impressive. [link to source at NRO]

I couldn't agree more.

Remember the massive snow storm that struck the east coast at the end of December, 2010? They received so much snow, it was like Hoth there, requiring the use of All Terrain Armored Transport vehicles in NYC. for moving around the city. More here at Gothamist.

What the Federal Budget Freeze Looks Like (video)

Hat tip to Jonah Goldberg at National Review Online.

2009 - The Year in Review

Happy New Year!  Welcome 2010!

(By the way, will you pronounce that "two thousand and ten" or "twenty ten"?  The great debate begins!)

 ~ ~ ~

As one year ends and another begins, it is quite common for people to reflect on the news highlights of the outgoing year.

Dave Barry, writer extraordinaire at the Miami Herald, wrote his "Dave Barry's Year in Review: 2009" article.

Some common themes are:

• Somali pirates, 
• The Appalachian Trail,
• North Korea's continual pleas for attention,
  
• The Obama Administration complaining about inheriting things from the Bush Administration, and
  
• California's financial problems (attempted resolutions included selling San Diego to Mexico and renaming the state South Oregon).

Here's one of my favorite quotes from the article (from the December news section):

"On the environmental front, Copenhagen hosts a massive international conference aimed at halting manmade global warming, attended by thousands of delegates who flew to Denmark on magical carbon-free unicorns."

Because, obviously, how else could so many people of gotten there without unnecessarily spewing vast amounts of evil global warming causing climate changing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?

Read the whole article here.  And remember the year that was.  And smile.

Obama Awarded More Than Just the Nobel Peace Prize (video)

If the world was stunned to learn that President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, it will be even more amazed by all the awards that are still coming his way.

Obama Address - Accomplishments (video)

President Obama addresses the nation, on SNL, listing his various accomplishment so far since taking office.  Quite funny.

Note: This was just after Chicago lost its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

SNL Spoofs Glenn Beck and Obama's Media Blitz (video)

Pretty funny.

Going Green with Cap and Trade (video)

Are you ready for "Cap & Trade"?  If you're not sure what it is, just watch this little video from The Tax Foundation.  And at the same time, learn a snappy tune!

The Obama Card (video)

The Shape of Things to Come

Tuesday, 2/17/09, President Obama signed into law his economic stimulus massive spending and federal government expansion bill, and our country embarked on its journey toward failed European-style democratic socialism.

One fun aspect of the debate over the bill was how "bi-partisan" came to mean "agree 100% with the other party" rather than the former meaning of "both parties compromising to something they both could live with".

Another fun aspect was that "I'm open to other ideas" seems to actually mean "My mind is already made up, so don't bother me with ideas I don't already agree with".

The next four years are going to be awesome.

Speaking of awesome... Two years ago (2006) our state's governor was up for re-election. She was telling people that they should vote for her because, if they did, then the next four years would be really awesome. In 2008, our state had the highest unemployment rate of all states in the country (according to Michigan's Labor Market Information site, unemployment was over 10% in December 2008). Awesome.

By the way... If the Democrats had really wanted to stimulate the economy (as opposed to what they did do... fund all their pet pork projects), here are some things they could've done instead:

• reduce, if not eliminate, the capital gains tax
• stimulate investment in the economy
• reduce corporate taxes while also eliminating all the crazy exemptions
• simplifies the tax code for businesses
• reduces the cost of doing business in our country (Ireland only charges businesses 12.5% vs. Washington charging 35%)
• Remember, business do not really pay any taxes. People do. We pay taxes for businesses when we buy their products/services. Which leaves less money for us.
• reduce payroll taxes, what individuals pay, what employers pay, and what self-employed people pay
• reduces the cost to employers of having employers (makes it less expensive to hire new workers, or keeping the current workers)
• puts more money in people's paychecks
• would help poor people, as EVERY worker pays payroll taxes
• reduces expenses for small businesses and self-employed people
• would immediately help people and businesses

Understanding the Cost of Obama's Stimulus Bill

Sometimes it's difficult to conceptualize large numbers, such as one trillion dollars.

This might help.

Earlier this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that, "if you started the day Jesus Christ was born and spent $1 million every day since then, you still wouldn’t have spent $1 trillion".

Want to work that out yourself?  Here's a simple (and very simplified) formula:

$1,000,000/day x 365 days/year x 2009 (assume Jesus was born in year one) = $733,285,000,000.

A little over $733 billion dollars, which is less than Obama's massive spending and debt increasing stimulus bill.  The version passed by the House of Respresentatives weighed in at $819 billion.

Thank You, President Bush

I'd been trying to think of how to phrase my thoughts about the eight years President Bush was in office.  I came across a post on National Review's web site that really mirrored my own thoughts.  That post is quoted below in its entirety.  You can read the original here.

Thanking President Bush
by Peter Wehner (1/20/09)

Among the things President Bush's fellow citizens should thank him for:

* Defeating Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.

* Keeping America safe in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when virtually no one thought such a thing was possible. In achieving this, President Bush fulfilled the first duty of his office.

* Correcting earlier (and significant) mistakes in Iraq and supporting the surge when almost everyone — the American people, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commanding general in Iraq, all Democrats, and many Republicans — opposed his efforts. This was a textbook example of leadership and wise decision-making in the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

* Leading efforts that led to a humiliating defeat for al-Qaeda in Iraq and, more broadly, to militant Islam being on the defensive throughout much of the world, including the Arab world.

* Liberating more than 50 million people from two of the most malevolent regimes in modern history.

* Standing with Israel against its enemies and having the wisdom to declare he would not deal with Yasir Arafat.

* Adding two outstanding Justices to the Supreme Court and appointing first-rate federal judges.

* Championing a culture of life and the global AIDS initiative.

* Cutting taxes several times and never, not even once, raising them.

* Putting in place the most far-reaching reforms in education in generations, which insisted on accountabilty, high standards, and produced positive results.

* Restoring dignity to the Oval Office, acting with civility and grace, loving his country, and serving her well.

Full of Hopiness & Changiness

I don't know about you, gentle reader, but like so many, many others in this country, I am just filled to overflowing with hopiness and changiness.  I'm drinking the coolaid, eating the ice cream, and it is good.  So very good.  Yessirree!

editor's note.  Below are some word definitions.

hopiness... the quality of believing concepts one wishes or hopes to be true, rather than in facts

changiness... the qualitiy of believing that change, regardless of the details or the exact nature of that change, is A GOOD THING^®

new definition of racism

Racist—n.,adj. 1. Any person who performs any act, holds any belief or makes any statement that negatively reflects upon or adversely affects Barack Obama or his policies, positions, interests, conduct, associates, or holiness. 2. Any act, belief or statement that negatively reflects upon or adversely affects Barack Obama or his policies, positions, interests, conduct, associates, or holiness. Synonyms: conservative; Republican; red state; rural; churchgoer; gun owner.

from The Corner at National Review Online

General Zod is unhappy about the election's result, too

According to his presidential campaign web site, General Zod was quite displeased with the results of Tuesday's voting.

I was to step before you in January and become your new President. All I asked for was your allegiance! And all you own! All that defines you and your petty lifestyles! But I see before me that you have cast 65 million votes for this idol Obama and 55 million votes for the warlord McCain.

Below is a picture of General Zod's appearance at Obama's victory rally in Chicago's Grant Park:

Election 2008

We just elected a black man to the highest office in our country. Given our country's past, this is truly historic! (I really mean that)

Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton. I'm still astonished by that fact. And he beat John McCain. I genuinely congratulate him for that. Neither of these accomplishments are small.

But, let's not kid ourselves. Our country is in for four years of misery.

We have elected the least experienced person in many decades. Someone with proven extreme far left beliefs about economics, tax policy, education, the role of government in our lives, and free speech.

The people of our country have chosen to ignore troubling facts about someone who charismatically talked about "hope" and "change", and how socialism is really just about sharing and being fair.

My hope is that not too much damage will be done to our country. And, frankly, to the world, as religious extremists realize our new president will never stand up to them.

I have no doubt that the damage that is wrought to our country during the upcoming Obama administration will usher in a Republican landslide in Congress in two years. And bring us a Republican president in 2012.

If I do turn out to be wrong about President Obama, frankly, I would be grateful. Especially if he surprises me by actually recognizing that we are in a war we didn't ask for, and acts accordingly.

I genuinely hope that he will be a good president.  It's not an easy job.  And I will regularly pray that God will guide him.

Well, at least Vice President Biden will supply us with four years of amusing statements, speeches, and soundbites. :)

In the meantime, I am joining, as someone else wrote, His Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

Acorn Follies

McCain and Obama Roast Each Other

McCain & Obama roasted each other at the Alfred E. Smith Memmorial Service Dinner Thursday evening, October 16, 2008.

Here's a video of McCain's speech. It's pretty funny, especially when he talks about Bill Clinton.




And here's Obama's speech.

2008 Summer Olympics in China

I definitely hope all our athletes do well at the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Beijing, China.  And plan to do what I can to cheer them on, from my couch, where they can't hear me.  And especially by watching as much of NBC's coverage as much as possible.

But on a more serious note, we also shouldn't forget the main abuses of human rights, especially including religious freedom, that communist China is guilty of.

I, for one, welcome our new Democratic overlords

Well, this blog is purposefully non-political, so that's about all I have to say here about the results of the 2006 mid-term election season. Yeah, I got this idea from someplace else and from this place.

Click here to learn more about The Simpsons episode that inspired that phrase.

Apologies to Kent Brockman, the best news anchorman of our time. Well, at least in Springfield. (That's Kent reading the news in the picture.)

Enough of political commentary. Spike the Wave will now return to its regularly scheduled programming.