Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Monday, June 28, 2010

Krugman: The 3rd Depression

Krugman:
"We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost — to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs — will nonetheless be immense.

And this third depression will be primarily a failure of policy. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/opinion/28krugman.html

"de-incentivizing" growth...

...the Obama Formula

Trillions for Defense, trillions for entitlements - stratospheric spending. What's gonna happen?

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Budget is broken, sez Bill Clinton

"...you can't get milk out of a turnip."

Slick Willie advocates large scale SBA loan guarantees to free up the 1.5 trillion the banks are currently hoarding to gain a million jobs in 6 months time.

Monday, June 21, 2010

home prices

When Shiller speaks... usually no one wants to listen.

just wish him into the corn field and everything will be alright.



Best case scenario:
"starting in 2011, going up at 2 to 3 percent a year"

Worst case scenario:
"when that (bubble) burst, home prices fell in Japan from 1991 to 2006.... 15 years of decline"

Thursday, June 10, 2010

do ya feel lucky punk? well do ya?

People who claim to know shit say the chance of a double dip recession has sunk to 20%. Some same the chances have increased.

Everyone predicts slow growth at best.

Obviously, no one knows for sure about anything.

But the consensus ranges from semi-crappy to horribly crappy.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Huaxi, the richest village in China



Do you ever wonder where all that money goes for the cheap electronics and clothes and crap we're always buying? Wonder no more.

In Huaxi, everyone has a villa, a car, free cooking oil, total health care... McMansion-ey American-Dream-like hive living for all.

The catch?

A 7-day work week and you can never leave.

http://english.cri.cn/7146/2009/04/16/2041s475214.htm

Oh, and they're building the 15th tallest scyscraper on earth.

It took only 30 years from a rural muddy-road village to first world trappings.

When do the crystal meth dealers arrive? How many decades before it resembles Detroit?