I have been seeing a lot of references to “a speculative bubble†Nope. They were not speculating. The crisis consisted of people, mostly members of protected minorities with nothing to lose, buying houses they could not afford with borrowed money in the expectation that they would go up, and if they went down, it was …
Month: March 2009
Racefail 09 explained
Constantinople drew my attention to “This way lies fascism†which explains the conflict of which Racefail 09 is part. The left claims authority to convict people for thought crimes committed in other people’s dreams. The hearer can find an offensive meaning without concern for authorial intent, and the author is guilty regardless of his intended …
The problems with Laissez Faire sexuality
In traditional society, women were strongly encouraged to refrain from sex before marriage, and marry responsible men with good jobs who were able and willing to support a family. Today, women are encouraged to follow their hormones, which tends to result in them have offspring with a long succession of sexy males who disappear, often …
Why Racefail 09 hates John Scalzi
John Scalzi said he wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with the racefail 09 debate, and would ban anyone who brings the debate to his blog. This non statement, and non communication, caused intense outrage, resulting in massive attack on John Scalzi, since all good leftists have to enthusiastically agree with the correct line, …
Racefail 09
Hear the sound of the left ceasing to be the smart party, and becoming the stupid party: On the Livejournal science fiction blogs, there is, or recently was, a passionate debate called Racefail 09, wherein lots of bloggers accuse other bloggers of being racists. Those accused of racism are those that are very left wing …
The crisis has barely begun
“Naked capitalism†explains what has happened, and observes that the Bush-Obama policies caused it, are causing it, and are likely to cause a lot more of it. Government guarantees will be abused – and the broader the guarantees, and more chaotic the situation the more they will be abused. The solution is that existing guarantees …
Obama plans massive permanent reduction in US standard of living
Under current USA nuclear regulations, you cannot launch any new nuclear projects unless the waste is going to go to a federally approved repository, and Obama has announced there is not going to be a federally approved repository. Hence no new nuclear projects. Obama has also announced that carbon emissions are going to be reduced …
The Stimulus bill
Bryan Caplan wonders why Brad Delong cannot comprehend those who doubt the effectiveness of the stimulus bill. Assume that creating value is easy, any brainless fool can do it, even the brainless fools at Washington Mutual. It is then immediately obvious that the government can make everything lovely by printing money and giving it to …
Warren Buffet explains how to lose a trillion
Warren Buffet explained how to lose a few trillion, here and there. Well managed companies, like Warren Buffet’s, don’t get government guarantees. Badly managed companies with good political connections get government guarantees. So naturally all the capital floods to companies with a track record of losing it.This is capitalism in reverse. For capitalism to work, …