Un-Raptured
I am pleased to report we have survived the rapture of 2011. To the "true believers" I say... well, maybe next time.
Obama Off To Ireland
I thought this was a cute news item; "Obama In Ireland To Discover His Irish Roots" I can't help but wonder if Mr. O'bama will be off to Russia next, to discover his socialist roots.
Say It Aint So
According to two of his team-mates, Lance Armstrong was not only doing enhancement drugs but, he was trying to convince his pals to enhance also.
I can't really explain why I always get spicious when folks get a conscience and fess up a couple years after a dirty deed was done.
Don't Buy American
At least that is the message I am getting from THIS STORY courtesy of MSN.COM this morning. The story author, Katherine Reynolds Lewis, suggests the notion that Americans who "go out of their way" to find and purchase American made products are doing the economy far more harm than good. Ms. Lewis contends "a complete end to imports would actually hurt the U.S. economy because consumers and domestic companies would lose access to cheap goods."
[A complete end to imports? How do we go from some Americans making an effort to buy American made goods to a nationwide ban on all imports?]
Mark Perry, an economics professor and visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (a conservative (?) think tank) says; "If we restrict trade to just the fifty states, what would happen immediately, and increase over time, would be a huge reduction in our standard of living, because we wouldn't have access to the cheap goods we get from other countries. We also wouldn't have any export markets, so companies like Caterpillar and Microsoft would have a huge reduction in sales and workforce."
[Since Caterpillar and Microsoft both have operations on foreign soil, I don't see how they would stand to lose much if their American based operations cut off all exports. As for cheap foreign made goods and their effect on our standard of living; had greedy businesses like Caterpillar and Microsoft (et al) not moved various operations out of the country, to avoid paying big bucks to American workers, there would be more Americans working and enjoying a better standard of living. Of course, if American workers had not been so greedy by demanding big bucks and high priced benefit packages...]
According to Ms. Lewis, who is quoting "financial experts;" "when you spend more on an equivalent product because it's made in the U.S., you're wasting your money and supporting an inefficient manufacturer that, by rights, should become more efficient or go out of business."
[I thought that was how the system worked. A business either produces quality stuff and prospers or, puts out junk and goes out of business when folks refuse to buy said junk. However, Ms. Lewis almost makes it sound as though some "higher forces" should be in a position to PUT those businesses out of business.]
So says Ken Fisher, Founder and CEO of Fisher Investments in Woodside, California, and the author of "Debunkery." "The additional money Americans spend on an inefficient U.S. producer could have been spent on something else, helping the economy further. Or it could stay in their savings account and been funneled into the financial system, which in theory allocates capital to the most efficient producers. These most efficient producers are best-positioned to create more jobs and return profits to their investors, and to the government in the form of tax revenues. "We make the country better by allocating resources toward the ones that can use them best," according to Fisher.
[I'm sorry Ken, whose economy would we be helping out exactly? China's?
Savings accounts!!! Are you serious!!! If the banks decided to have a "holiday," our savings accounts could be going on said holiday with the banks. As for those accounts being used to funnel money into the financial system, are we talking about the same financial system that has allocated capital to all of those big businesses who are building off shore operations? Or are we talking about the financial system that has all but bankrupted America by funneling money into it's own pockets?]
To tell you the truth folks, after reading these stories today, I'm almost disappointed the rapture passed us over. Well, maybe next time.
MikeH.
I am pleased to report we have survived the rapture of 2011. To the "true believers" I say... well, maybe next time.
Obama Off To Ireland
I thought this was a cute news item; "Obama In Ireland To Discover His Irish Roots" I can't help but wonder if Mr. O'bama will be off to Russia next, to discover his socialist roots.
Say It Aint So
According to two of his team-mates, Lance Armstrong was not only doing enhancement drugs but, he was trying to convince his pals to enhance also.
I can't really explain why I always get spicious when folks get a conscience and fess up a couple years after a dirty deed was done.
Don't Buy American
At least that is the message I am getting from THIS STORY courtesy of MSN.COM this morning. The story author, Katherine Reynolds Lewis, suggests the notion that Americans who "go out of their way" to find and purchase American made products are doing the economy far more harm than good. Ms. Lewis contends "a complete end to imports would actually hurt the U.S. economy because consumers and domestic companies would lose access to cheap goods."
[A complete end to imports? How do we go from some Americans making an effort to buy American made goods to a nationwide ban on all imports?]
Mark Perry, an economics professor and visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (a conservative (?) think tank) says; "If we restrict trade to just the fifty states, what would happen immediately, and increase over time, would be a huge reduction in our standard of living, because we wouldn't have access to the cheap goods we get from other countries. We also wouldn't have any export markets, so companies like Caterpillar and Microsoft would have a huge reduction in sales and workforce."
[Since Caterpillar and Microsoft both have operations on foreign soil, I don't see how they would stand to lose much if their American based operations cut off all exports. As for cheap foreign made goods and their effect on our standard of living; had greedy businesses like Caterpillar and Microsoft (et al) not moved various operations out of the country, to avoid paying big bucks to American workers, there would be more Americans working and enjoying a better standard of living. Of course, if American workers had not been so greedy by demanding big bucks and high priced benefit packages...]
According to Ms. Lewis, who is quoting "financial experts;" "when you spend more on an equivalent product because it's made in the U.S., you're wasting your money and supporting an inefficient manufacturer that, by rights, should become more efficient or go out of business."
[I thought that was how the system worked. A business either produces quality stuff and prospers or, puts out junk and goes out of business when folks refuse to buy said junk. However, Ms. Lewis almost makes it sound as though some "higher forces" should be in a position to PUT those businesses out of business.]
So says Ken Fisher, Founder and CEO of Fisher Investments in Woodside, California, and the author of "Debunkery." "The additional money Americans spend on an inefficient U.S. producer could have been spent on something else, helping the economy further. Or it could stay in their savings account and been funneled into the financial system, which in theory allocates capital to the most efficient producers. These most efficient producers are best-positioned to create more jobs and return profits to their investors, and to the government in the form of tax revenues. "We make the country better by allocating resources toward the ones that can use them best," according to Fisher.
[I'm sorry Ken, whose economy would we be helping out exactly? China's?
Savings accounts!!! Are you serious!!! If the banks decided to have a "holiday," our savings accounts could be going on said holiday with the banks. As for those accounts being used to funnel money into the financial system, are we talking about the same financial system that has allocated capital to all of those big businesses who are building off shore operations? Or are we talking about the financial system that has all but bankrupted America by funneling money into it's own pockets?]
To tell you the truth folks, after reading these stories today, I'm almost disappointed the rapture passed us over. Well, maybe next time.
MikeH.