The GAO has released its audit of the Federal Reserve. The 266-page page-turner can be found here.
If you find anything surprising here, please send me an email.
Bernie Sanders' interpretation is here. Nothing the senator says is surprising anymore.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
DVD drives are on their way out - Apple
The latest news from Apple is that the Mac Mini (desktop) has lost it's DVD drive. Also, they dropped the MacBook line (that was their low-end laptop) and kept the MacBook Air.
The MacBook Air is the closest thing to an iPad with a keyboard that I've seen, so that one makes sense.
Evidently the MacBook Pro still has it's DVD drive (Superdrive), but one should wonder if that's not long for this world, too.
Remember, Apple was the first to drop the floppy (iMac) for USB, and the first to drop the CD for DVD. And the first to drop Firewire (and use it, too) for that matter.
The MacBook Air is the closest thing to an iPad with a keyboard that I've seen, so that one makes sense.
Evidently the MacBook Pro still has it's DVD drive (Superdrive), but one should wonder if that's not long for this world, too.
Remember, Apple was the first to drop the floppy (iMac) for USB, and the first to drop the CD for DVD. And the first to drop Firewire (and use it, too) for that matter.
George Soros to close hedge fund to avoid disclosure
The Financial Times (UK) is reporting that George Soros will restrict his Quantum Fund to insiders only, mainly in order to avoid mandated disclosure under new regulations.
Surprising? It shouldn't be. This is similar to what we've seen happen over and over again. In FINC 4331 we discuss how hedge funds are driven offshore, and how investment banks went to London after Glass-Steagall was passed back in the '30s.
Another note: Soros is content with asking for more regulation, but only if it doesn't apply to him. He seems to spend a great deal of time and energy convincing the rest of us that things such as global warming taxes and financial controls are good things, and then he uses his massive resources to figure out how to profit from or avoid those regulations. This behaviour among industrialists is a side effect of what economists have traditionally called the "mixed economy". Historians have also referred to it as "fascism" on occasion.
Surprising? It shouldn't be. This is similar to what we've seen happen over and over again. In FINC 4331 we discuss how hedge funds are driven offshore, and how investment banks went to London after Glass-Steagall was passed back in the '30s.
Another note: Soros is content with asking for more regulation, but only if it doesn't apply to him. He seems to spend a great deal of time and energy convincing the rest of us that things such as global warming taxes and financial controls are good things, and then he uses his massive resources to figure out how to profit from or avoid those regulations. This behaviour among industrialists is a side effect of what economists have traditionally called the "mixed economy". Historians have also referred to it as "fascism" on occasion.
The Wealth Gap Widens, by Race
Pew Research Center is reporting a 20 to 1 wealth gap between whites and blacks, and an 18 to 1 wealth gap for Hispanic families versus their white counterparts.
I'm not sure what this tells us, but it can't be a good thing to have that kind of disparity in the long term. Is it a consequence of the War on Poverty and Great Society? A consequence of the subprime crisis? Unknowable. One thing is clear, though: throwing money at poverty hasn't helped. If anything, this article makes it clear that it has hurt certain groups over time.
I'm not sure what this tells us, but it can't be a good thing to have that kind of disparity in the long term. Is it a consequence of the War on Poverty and Great Society? A consequence of the subprime crisis? Unknowable. One thing is clear, though: throwing money at poverty hasn't helped. If anything, this article makes it clear that it has hurt certain groups over time.
"Fast and Furious" sting produces results; guns show up at Mexican crime scenes
I think I've written about this before, but the BATFE's "Fast and Furious" program, where they let semi-auto assault-like rifles get into the hands of known criminal associates, has backfired even more. To date, nobody has lost their job over this, by the way.
This is just another example of government gone wild, and how an agenda can backfire. There is no doubt in my mind that the original intent of this program was to allow a crackdown on autoloading rifle sales here after showing them turn up in Mexico. Thank goodness some brave folks blew the whistle on this operation.
This is just another example of government gone wild, and how an agenda can backfire. There is no doubt in my mind that the original intent of this program was to allow a crackdown on autoloading rifle sales here after showing them turn up in Mexico. Thank goodness some brave folks blew the whistle on this operation.
Monday, July 25, 2011
What is poverty? A new study puts things in perspective
The Heritage Foundation (a conservative think tank) has recently published a study that outlines how "well" the poor in this country are actually doing relative to 20+ years ago. It's interesting to see how our definition of "poor" has changed over time in this country.
I'd argue that children who are trapped in ineffective schools are also "poor," but the authors don't measure that quality of life issue. Not directly in any case.
I'd argue that children who are trapped in ineffective schools are also "poor," but the authors don't measure that quality of life issue. Not directly in any case.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Another govt-backed green company folds. Who knew?
Yet another of the "green miracle" firms has folded, but only after eating up a bunch of government grant dollars. Read about it here.
Is anyone surprised? I agree with government-sponsored basic research, to a point, but some of this pie-in-the-sky green stuff isn't basic research. I guarantee that SOMEONE came out smelling rosy on this one.
What ever happened to the Twentieth Century Motor Company, anyway?
Is anyone surprised? I agree with government-sponsored basic research, to a point, but some of this pie-in-the-sky green stuff isn't basic research. I guarantee that SOMEONE came out smelling rosy on this one.
What ever happened to the Twentieth Century Motor Company, anyway?
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Why do we expect anything different?
I guess it was different in the Great Depression, when people were ashamed to be poor (heck, that was just a few years ago) and humble, grateful for handouts. It's depressing to think that the dependency is so ingrained now that people are fighting over Section 8 housing vouchers in Dallas.
Obviously vouchers are a danger to the community and must be curtailed!
Obviously vouchers are a danger to the community and must be curtailed!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Last flight of the STS
135 missions, each one the equivalent of strapping a tactical nuclear bomb on one's back and hoping for the best.
Today's shuttle launch is the last flight of one of the most successful engineering feats of mankind. I hope everyone takes a few moments to think about that crew and their families and the crew of the ISS while the shuttle is up.
You can keep up with what's going on at the NASA Human Space Flight page, here, and read up on all of the others, as well as the glory days of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
Today's shuttle launch is the last flight of one of the most successful engineering feats of mankind. I hope everyone takes a few moments to think about that crew and their families and the crew of the ISS while the shuttle is up.
You can keep up with what's going on at the NASA Human Space Flight page, here, and read up on all of the others, as well as the glory days of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
UH-Clear Lake actually houses the Johnson Space Center archives, and there are plenty of materials online, including oral histories dictated by some of the original heroes themselves. For example, you can read transcripts of interviews with pioneering folks such as Glynn Lunney online at the JSC archives. Not everyone at NASA has had enough time to write a book about their experiences.
[Glynn Lunney, as you may recall, was the flight controller who took over after the Apollo 13 explosion and decided to have the astronauts use the lunar module as a lifeboat. More at Wikipedia (which seems to have most of it right).]
Despair not, ye faithful! NASA has faced some dark times before, and I'm sure they will again. The shuttle has always been slammed as a mission to nowhere by Gene Cernan and others ( with the ISS now that's hard to remember) and so now we get the chance to move on.
Where ever we end up moving to, I wonder if we'll meet the Chinese there.
Keep in mind one simple fact: Hundreds of artists have recorded "Purple Haze" over the years, but Jimi Hendrix did it first.
[Glynn Lunney, as you may recall, was the flight controller who took over after the Apollo 13 explosion and decided to have the astronauts use the lunar module as a lifeboat. More at Wikipedia (which seems to have most of it right).]
Despair not, ye faithful! NASA has faced some dark times before, and I'm sure they will again. The shuttle has always been slammed as a mission to nowhere by Gene Cernan and others ( with the ISS now that's hard to remember) and so now we get the chance to move on.
Where ever we end up moving to, I wonder if we'll meet the Chinese there.
Keep in mind one simple fact: Hundreds of artists have recorded "Purple Haze" over the years, but Jimi Hendrix did it first.
He "did it all for the unions."
Ron Bloom, the White House czar behind the auto bailout, is in dutch with Congress over something he claimed he never said. Two different sources have stated that he said it, although one suggests that he was just making a funny.
The fact that the UAW ended up making out like bandits in the auto bailout is well documented elsewhere. Regardless of whether such a comment was made in jest, it's still in poor taste. The auto bailout will end up changing the face of US industry, and probably not for the better. It's the cavalier attitude of some of the folks in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, that is getting the populace rankled these days.
The fact that the UAW ended up making out like bandits in the auto bailout is well documented elsewhere. Regardless of whether such a comment was made in jest, it's still in poor taste. The auto bailout will end up changing the face of US industry, and probably not for the better. It's the cavalier attitude of some of the folks in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, that is getting the populace rankled these days.
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