Bad Moon Rising, part 2 – Disjointed thoughts on the Economy
To me, the superbowl has really never been important. This year, as we approach the precipice of a depression, I see irony in it. The U.S. steel industry was once the model of efficiency and quality for the world. Now, it takes serious thought to remember why Pittsburgh’s team is called the ’steelers’, or where the logo on their helmets came from.
Nobody seemed to be concerned that a ’service economy’ just can’t exist stably. It translates to ‘consumer based’ economy. If all we do is consume goods created elsewhere, eventually the ‘elsewhere’ has collected all of our capital. That leaves us with broke, but with lots of stuff. It’s a bit like the star-bellied sneeches from Dr. Seus. Except that they didn’t have jobs, apparently. Don’t worry, we’ll get there.
Knowing what lies just around the corner for our country, I can’t help but think of Rome. They continued to enjoy their circuses and gladiatorial holidays while their empire crumbled out from underneath them. Our beloved government is going to try to borrow their way out of debt, which will only give us double-digit inflation for years.
And for a comparison between this depression and it’s place in U.S. history, here’s a video from itulip.
Update:
From the International Herald Tribune:
He now estimates that $2.2 trillion in new government debt will be issued this year, assuming the stimulus plan is approved.
“You either crowd out other borrowers or you print money,” Ferguson added. “There is no way you can have $2.2 trillion in borrowing without influencing interest rates or inflation in the long term.”
“This is a crisis of excessive debt, which reached 355 percent of American gross domestic product,” he said. “It cannot be solved with more debt.”
“People are not stupid,” Zedillo said. “They see the huge deficit, the huge spending, and wonder what comes next.”
To that last I would add that he is referring to economists that are NOT in the U.S. Nobody around here seems to have gotten that far … yet.
Two Incidents, Different Results
Locally, there were two break-ins recently that have made the news. The first was in a gated and guarded community. Men forced entry through a rear door, and killed the couple who were there. The second was a daylight robbery where men again forced entry through a rear door of a home where the woman had stayed home from work sick.
The difference? The people in the first were relying on someone else to protect them. The woman in the second took it upon herself to be ready to defend herself if the need arose.
When seconds count, police are only minutes away.
If you are unwilling to use appropriate force to defend yourself, why do you expect overworked and underpaid government employees to do it for you.
The after-effects of both are quite different, too. The first set of criminals have learned that robbery and murder can be done and gotten away with – at least for a time. So did everyone else that heard about it. Everyone else also learned that the security in that neighborhood is probably not as good as it is advertised to be.
The second set of criminals, as well as anyone who watched the news or heard about the incident, learned that breaking into an occupied house can be quite dangerous.
Any guess what the crime rate in the two different areas is?
It is a citizen’s DUTY to resist all crime. It shifts the balance of the cost/benefit equasion against it. If every crime were effectively resisted by the victim, criminals would stick to stealing unattended stuff. Some might even get a (gasp) JOB.
One Less ‘Victim Disarmament’ zone
Last week, news broke that a small Texas school district was going to train and authorize it’s teachers to carry firearms in the school. After many ‘blood in the streets’ arguments from people, more information was found – the school board is requiring extra training and making those people official school police.
Hopefully . their . police . training . won’t . put . them . on the . same . power . trip . as it . has . others .
Happy Birthday
Someone in our house has a birthday today.
I was by myself last night, since Ginger had gone down to her sister’s house to make cookies. I decided to make a cake, and had even stopped on the way home to get the right kind of cake mix (butter pecan). Unfortunately, I didn’t think to ask just how much of our kitchen had been removed in order to make the cookies. I had to run out to the corner store to get eggs. The mixer was gone, so I had to mix it by hand, and the only bowl in the house was a small one, so I had to make the cake in two passes. It still turned out all right. And I’m glad I spent the extra five minutes digging through the cupboard to find the canola oil. Olive oil probably wouldn’t have worked too well.
While the cake was baking, I wrapped the gifts that I had gotten in a really nice blue wrapping paper. It’s very shiny, sparkly, elegant looking. BUT, the tape doesn’t stick to it. I had forgotten about it since the last time I used it. Next time I’m using the hot-melt-glue-gun instead of tape.
I took the day off, not really sure if we were going to do anything. Last week, we were going to Crystal City, but that got canceled.
I really didn’t think that anyone would want to make a special trip just to wander around and look at plane sculptures, so I took pictures.
Hello World
I felt that it was appropriate for a first post. Not that I understand why the first program any tutorial ever has you write says 'Hello World'
