Great rant. The scale of things are lost on folks. Many have become numb to the numbers. Rick reminds everyone that the estimates for the cost of the Japan recovery of the quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster could be addressed with one month of the US deficit spending. ASTONISHING.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Regenerative Medicine
While doing a masters degree in 2006, my class was asked what effect the baby-boomer retirement would have on productivity in our society, and what we could do about it. I responded with "accelerate research in regenerative medicine and keep those people working"! The prof. felt that it was too far fetched. This video is from 2009, three years after that discussion. Exciting stuff..
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Matt Taibbi
Via Jesse's:
This strikes to the heart of what I have called the credibility trap.
The US government cannot effectively deal with the financial crisis and the required credible reforms because in fixing the problems they would necessarily expose the underlying fraud, and endanger the very powerful status quo that funds them and their political campaigns.
This is more difficult to manage than a liquidity trap because the very means of remedy have been co-opted. The doctors caused the illness, and cannot pursue a cure without admitting their malpractice, which may not have been done in simple error but with complicity.
So this malaise and period of selective recovery will continue until there is a another, more destructive crisis that finally clears away the fog of corruption. Or there is some exogenous event to distract the people to some other problem, to change their focus. 'Never waste a crisis' as they say in the Washington Beltway.
This strikes to the heart of what I have called the credibility trap.
The US government cannot effectively deal with the financial crisis and the required credible reforms because in fixing the problems they would necessarily expose the underlying fraud, and endanger the very powerful status quo that funds them and their political campaigns.
This is more difficult to manage than a liquidity trap because the very means of remedy have been co-opted. The doctors caused the illness, and cannot pursue a cure without admitting their malpractice, which may not have been done in simple error but with complicity.
So this malaise and period of selective recovery will continue until there is a another, more destructive crisis that finally clears away the fog of corruption. Or there is some exogenous event to distract the people to some other problem, to change their focus. 'Never waste a crisis' as they say in the Washington Beltway.
Taibbi: Why Wall Street Isn't In Jail - Video Interview
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