Month: November 2010

Canada, Economics, PoliticsLeave a comment

Plan B?

Podritske

“Government Motors,” doing business as General Motors (GM), recently concluded the biggest initial public stock offering (IPO) in United States history; it raised about $20 billion. The dog and pony show which promoted the offering was timed to coincide with the elevated level of public scrutiny following mid-term elections. President Obama commented on the big day. He saw a “pay off” after two years of making “tough decisions”. (It must be emotionally draining to condemn taxpayers to decades of penury with bailouts and privileges for the few, while hamstringing the economy with more regulations, taxes and other curtailments of liberty … Continue reading Plan B?

Ethics, Political EconomyLeave a comment

Pork Them

Podritske

The low calibre of the United States’ educational system has consequences. Too many people can’t read, write or do simple arithmetic at a level adequate to function effectively in modern society. Even these undesirable consequences are secondary to the fact that many never really learned how to think. Today we see evidence of all of this in Alaska. Lisa Murkowski is a Republican Senator from the state, or at least she is fighting to retain that status in a ballot-counting exercise reminiscent of the lunacy over “hanging ‘chads’” in a Florida ballot recount during the 2000 Presidential Elections. During the … Continue reading Pork Them

PoliticsLeave a comment

Tea Leaves

Podritske

Poking at tea leaves following the U.S. mid-term elections is a rationalistic divining exercise. One thing is clear: American voters indicated they are unhappy with the status quo. Unfortunately, government influence in daily life will continue to escalate. The biggest problem the world over is the ever-expanding scope of the State in the lives of individuals. Nothing about this election is likely to check the growth of Leviathan. Staying with the U.S. example, there are several factors which justify pessimism. Foremost is the primarily partisan reaction of President Obama: as surprising as sunrise.  Nothing about this man suggests to me … Continue reading Tea Leaves