http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,187945,00.html
Cripes, now I gotta go and wait in line for a 360.
The official economist lingo for this is "this effing blows."
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Of Course!
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11478562
And we're to blame for the tsunami, and Africa's horrible situation and the middle east and AIDS and everything else.
Amazing how when leftist policies don't work that the left resorts to more and more conspiratorial explanations why their lives suck.
Morons.
And we're to blame for the tsunami, and Africa's horrible situation and the middle east and AIDS and everything else.
Amazing how when leftist policies don't work that the left resorts to more and more conspiratorial explanations why their lives suck.
Morons.
Bad Credit Analysis
This chart was interesting. How many years various Latin American countries have been in default in the past 180 years. Now, you'd think, 10, maybe 20. Oh no, try like 80-100 freaking years.
Why would any sane rational person loan money to anybody south of Texas and north of the South Pole? Is it any wonder that Argentina defaulted on $132 billion? Is it any wonder why most Hispanic countries have a fraction of the income per capita that Americans do?
Why would any sane rational person loan money to anybody south of Texas and north of the South Pole? Is it any wonder that Argentina defaulted on $132 billion? Is it any wonder why most Hispanic countries have a fraction of the income per capita that Americans do?
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
There's Some Irony for Ya!
I know things aren't going swell there, but I like the fact they have flat panel TV's in this horrid war.
Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now!
"Private giving to poor countries" is like giving money to my alcoholic, heroin addicted, felonious brother. It is largely pissed away.
Don't believe me? Well, just look at how much $600 billion in aid has helped Africa. And wow, that Live 8 crap sure did wonders didn't it? I mean, not one life has been improved, but we made a bunch of preppy spoiled brat suburbanites across the western world feel good about themselves!
Thus, whilst those on the left complain that the US does not give enough money as a percent of its GDP I'd like to point out two things with the following chart;
Don't believe me? Well, just look at how much $600 billion in aid has helped Africa. And wow, that Live 8 crap sure did wonders didn't it? I mean, not one life has been improved, but we made a bunch of preppy spoiled brat suburbanites across the western world feel good about themselves!
Thus, whilst those on the left complain that the US does not give enough money as a percent of its GDP I'd like to point out two things with the following chart;
1. We give more private money than most of those in Europe who do the majority of the bitching.
2. The smartest people in this chart as far as I'm concerned are the Italians who know their money will be wasted and the most guilt tripped are the Norwegians who are stupid enough to piss away their money.
I'd also like to point out that it isn't always "poor countries" that need be the recipients of money to make it charitable. How interesting the left failed to pick up this data and parade it around;
Wherever There's a Problem...
You'll find a socialist.
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060314-125702-7713r.htm
God I hate you people. Of all the well-intentioned people out there that have managed to impoverish if not kill millions, cripes. And this guy is developing a nuclear bomb.
My favorite is how when economies tank because of the leftist policies implemented by these freaks it is blamed on the "capitalist imperialist west."
Cripes.
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060314-125702-7713r.htm
God I hate you people. Of all the well-intentioned people out there that have managed to impoverish if not kill millions, cripes. And this guy is developing a nuclear bomb.
My favorite is how when economies tank because of the leftist policies implemented by these freaks it is blamed on the "capitalist imperialist west."
Cripes.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Wafah Watch 4!
So my future wife and personal-server-of-martini's has made it in the news again.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060310/tv_nm/leisure_binladen_dc
Unfortunately she will be hosting a reality TV show, which has now just more or less made her the intellectual equivalent of the typical American girl.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
FREAKING SWEET!!!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_re_us/border_troops_1
A democrat female with more balls than anybody I've seen except the Israelis saying they'll stop Iran if the UN won't.
She just made herself a viable candidate for the presidency.
A democrat female with more balls than anybody I've seen except the Israelis saying they'll stop Iran if the UN won't.
She just made herself a viable candidate for the presidency.
Monday, March 06, 2006
My Apologies
I was hellishly busy this weekend. Tax season and all, plus I started a radio show.
Here's something I've been meaning to get to. Martin Andrade.
Has some great charts here;
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/updated%20olympic%20graph.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/gold%20medal%20graph.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/Graph%20Olympics.0.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/Better%20Fertility%20graph.jpg
They should show up, if not go to his web site and check them out.
Here's something I've been meaning to get to. Martin Andrade.
Has some great charts here;
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/updated%20olympic%20graph.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/gold%20medal%20graph.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/Graph%20Olympics.0.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/105/342/1600/Better%20Fertility%20graph.jpg
They should show up, if not go to his web site and check them out.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Costs of the War on Terror
For all of you on the left, please do yourself a favor, and shut the ef up.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Two Last Charts from Al
These are charts I gleaned from Greenspan's last report at the Fed.
I will say it again; Americans are lazy and I want to rip the throats out of people who complain about the cost of health care, but would rather instead use the equity in their home to buy portable video games for their little sh!t kids and SUV's for their impotent asses.
I will say it again; Americans are lazy and I want to rip the throats out of people who complain about the cost of health care, but would rather instead use the equity in their home to buy portable video games for their little sh!t kids and SUV's for their impotent asses.
The War on Terror Has Cost Us Nothing
Once again, to quelch the idiot baby boomer hippies-turned career politicians who all of the sudden became fiscal conservatives overnight and contstantly bitch and whine about the costs of this war please note;
2,400 people died in Pearl Harbor.
3,000 died on 9-11
Look at the corresponding response in government fiscal policy and defense spending
2,400 people died in Pearl Harbor.
3,000 died on 9-11
Look at the corresponding response in government fiscal policy and defense spending
Monday, February 27, 2006
The New Inflation
9 is the new 8.
Tuesday is the new Monday.
Economists are the new studs.
And house prices and stock prices are the new inflation.
It's an interesting discussion being circulated on whether or not monetary policy should target asset prices. Traditionally "inflation" only referred to consumer items as a means by which to gauge whether or not prices were increasing. But that doesn't account for all the money being floated around in the system. And if enough money is floating around, prices are bound to go up somewhere.
When it hits consumer goods, we call this "inflation." And it is bad.
When it hits housing or stock markets, we call this "a bull market." And is deemed good.
The problem is, assets or consumer goods, if prices get too out of whack, then this leads to a misallocation of resources. Idiots flooded the stock market during Dotcom mania days. Idiots today leverage up 100% to buy a house or property whose plausible rents could never come close to covering the mortgage payment, thereby driving the prices further. And in both cases savings tanked.
We're in a particularly precarious situation now, where a fair amount of economic growth is due to consumer spending and a fair amount of spending is due to morons squeezing every penny of equity out of their homes.
Of course, as always, when resources are misallocated to a large enough scale, recessions occur.
But you don't want to hear that, you just go ahead and take out that remaining $10,000 in equity in your house to buy that SUV.
Tuesday is the new Monday.
Economists are the new studs.
And house prices and stock prices are the new inflation.
It's an interesting discussion being circulated on whether or not monetary policy should target asset prices. Traditionally "inflation" only referred to consumer items as a means by which to gauge whether or not prices were increasing. But that doesn't account for all the money being floated around in the system. And if enough money is floating around, prices are bound to go up somewhere.
When it hits consumer goods, we call this "inflation." And it is bad.
When it hits housing or stock markets, we call this "a bull market." And is deemed good.
The problem is, assets or consumer goods, if prices get too out of whack, then this leads to a misallocation of resources. Idiots flooded the stock market during Dotcom mania days. Idiots today leverage up 100% to buy a house or property whose plausible rents could never come close to covering the mortgage payment, thereby driving the prices further. And in both cases savings tanked.
We're in a particularly precarious situation now, where a fair amount of economic growth is due to consumer spending and a fair amount of spending is due to morons squeezing every penny of equity out of their homes.
Of course, as always, when resources are misallocated to a large enough scale, recessions occur.
But you don't want to hear that, you just go ahead and take out that remaining $10,000 in equity in your house to buy that SUV.
Cripes
There are times I am so happy I'm a man. Like, for instance, right now.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,17909-2057781,00.html
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,17909-2057781,00.html
Saturday, February 25, 2006
The Price of Power Drinks
So I hated coffee. Still do hate coffee. Didn't have a cup of coffee until I was 26. Only reason I drink coffee now is because it has anti-carcinogenic thingies in it. And whilst I lived off of Mountain Dew and the shortly-lived Surge during my collegiate years, I would have killed to have had the power drinks that we have today.
Of course today I do not exert myself physically or mentally anywhere near as much as I did in college, but I have at least one a day, typically two. And depsite all the research and whatever else people say about it;
1. They do wake me up
2. The power drink of my choice has a full supplement of vitamin C in it
3. My liver be damned
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a classic, text book example the power drink market was of an industry going from monopoly to a perfectly competitive market. It should be in every modern day economics text book, of course, that would require most economists to get a clue and abandon "widgets" and "utils."
The most obvious characteristic of an industry going from monopoly to perfectly competitive is the decrease in price and the power drink market is no exception.
Notice Red Bull was the first to come out, debuting in 1997. I couldn't afford it back then and it was largely something for preppy frat boys from the suburbs to drink to cure hangovers, not so much as to wake them up cause they only got 3 hours sleep the previous night because they were working. It's market price was $2.12.
What was interesting was the introduction of two new comers to the market, Pepsi's "Amp" and Coke's "Sobe Adrenaline Rush." These (as far as my recollection can tell me) came in around 1999-2000. However, again adhering to the classical textbook of economics, we had an oligopoly and there seemed to be price fixing (or at least standardization) as prices remained at $2.12. And again, following a classic lesson in economics, product differentiation and improvement occured. Red Bull tasted like sh!t. Rush and Amp did not.
From 2002 or so on the flood gates opened and product differentiation occured. Michael Savage's son started producing "Rock Star" which was just one of a score of "double shots." I remember seeing one called "Bullet" which the can was literally in the shape of a large caliber bullet. I even remember seeing "Boo-Koo" a QUADRUPLE shot of power drink. Your pee would come out an interesting hue of yellowish green.
Come 2003, early 2004 the original players noticed they were being squeezed and thus you started seeing Amp, Sobe and Red Bull being sold at Wal-Mart in 4 packs, effectively bringing their price down to about $1.79. But then came my savior.
You see, even though by this time I was making good coin, I still couldn't get myself to splurge on things that seemed excessive. Maybe it's the economist in me, but I'll never drive a beamer. Beamers are for insecure baby boomers who still think they're in high school and have to impress everybody. I'll never buy anything at Starbucks because I am not a preppy gen-Xer that is stupid enough to drop $3 on frilly girly girl coffee. I'll never buy a suit that costs more than $500. I'll never stay at a fancy hotel when there's a perfectly good way side I can pull the car over and crash. Thus, forking over $2 for what amounted to a fraction of a soda was a no-no as well.
Oh, but the power of the free market should never be estimated for in came Rooster Booster.
4 pack.
$4.27
Full regiment of vitamin C
Cheaper than soda.
You gotta love capitalism.
Thus for the past 2 years I've had my daily Rooster Booster, usually an afternoon one too. I swear by them and the people at my office look at it and then look at me as if I'm some strange zoo animal.
But the forces of capitalism do not relent. For just last week I saw "Vault" the newest entrant into the power drink market.
Tastes good
Really wakes you up
79 cents.
It's a text book lesson come true.
Of course today I do not exert myself physically or mentally anywhere near as much as I did in college, but I have at least one a day, typically two. And depsite all the research and whatever else people say about it;
1. They do wake me up
2. The power drink of my choice has a full supplement of vitamin C in it
3. My liver be damned
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a classic, text book example the power drink market was of an industry going from monopoly to a perfectly competitive market. It should be in every modern day economics text book, of course, that would require most economists to get a clue and abandon "widgets" and "utils."
The most obvious characteristic of an industry going from monopoly to perfectly competitive is the decrease in price and the power drink market is no exception.
Notice Red Bull was the first to come out, debuting in 1997. I couldn't afford it back then and it was largely something for preppy frat boys from the suburbs to drink to cure hangovers, not so much as to wake them up cause they only got 3 hours sleep the previous night because they were working. It's market price was $2.12.
What was interesting was the introduction of two new comers to the market, Pepsi's "Amp" and Coke's "Sobe Adrenaline Rush." These (as far as my recollection can tell me) came in around 1999-2000. However, again adhering to the classical textbook of economics, we had an oligopoly and there seemed to be price fixing (or at least standardization) as prices remained at $2.12. And again, following a classic lesson in economics, product differentiation and improvement occured. Red Bull tasted like sh!t. Rush and Amp did not.
From 2002 or so on the flood gates opened and product differentiation occured. Michael Savage's son started producing "Rock Star" which was just one of a score of "double shots." I remember seeing one called "Bullet" which the can was literally in the shape of a large caliber bullet. I even remember seeing "Boo-Koo" a QUADRUPLE shot of power drink. Your pee would come out an interesting hue of yellowish green.
Come 2003, early 2004 the original players noticed they were being squeezed and thus you started seeing Amp, Sobe and Red Bull being sold at Wal-Mart in 4 packs, effectively bringing their price down to about $1.79. But then came my savior.
You see, even though by this time I was making good coin, I still couldn't get myself to splurge on things that seemed excessive. Maybe it's the economist in me, but I'll never drive a beamer. Beamers are for insecure baby boomers who still think they're in high school and have to impress everybody. I'll never buy anything at Starbucks because I am not a preppy gen-Xer that is stupid enough to drop $3 on frilly girly girl coffee. I'll never buy a suit that costs more than $500. I'll never stay at a fancy hotel when there's a perfectly good way side I can pull the car over and crash. Thus, forking over $2 for what amounted to a fraction of a soda was a no-no as well.
Oh, but the power of the free market should never be estimated for in came Rooster Booster.
4 pack.
$4.27
Full regiment of vitamin C
Cheaper than soda.
You gotta love capitalism.
Thus for the past 2 years I've had my daily Rooster Booster, usually an afternoon one too. I swear by them and the people at my office look at it and then look at me as if I'm some strange zoo animal.
But the forces of capitalism do not relent. For just last week I saw "Vault" the newest entrant into the power drink market.
Tastes good
Really wakes you up
79 cents.
It's a text book lesson come true.
To Remind You All Again
Well, I've already received some pictures, but they are slow in coming. And I'm going to keep posting this post until we get enough for a good calendar.
When I first started this blog I had an idea that was genius. As with many ingenius ideas, the masses are too stupid to appreciate them. The idea was to put together a calendar of good looking babes that were Capitalists. I was going to call it "The Babes of Capitalism Calendar." I would then take the proceeds and pay off my mortgage.
Of course this fell flat on its face for one simple reason and one simple reason only. And I forgot this reason, thus I have only myself to blame for this because it is a rule, a lesson that I learned many years ago;
Men will always find reasons to do things,
while women will always find reasons NOT to do things.
This undeniable truth largely explains many phenomenon we see in life.
It is why there is no female equivalent to a sausage party.
It is why the majority of asking out is done by men (and the majority of denials are done by women).
It is why you can have a great band, an open dance floor, and swarms of girls, brimming on the edge of their seats, their bodies bouncing to the music, ready to burst out on the floor, and yet when you ask them to dance they say, "well, I just ordered a drink" or "we're about to leave" or "I'm not really in a dancing moood."
And above all, it is the primary reason why men on the average will always make more than women and constitute the majority of astronauts, explorers, economists, enterpreneurs, executives etc. etc.
Thus, I've been barking up the wrong tree.
Yes, it would have been cool to have a calendar that I could offer of all these capitalist babes.
Yes, it would have been cool to have capitalist babes across the fruited plains do this as a little funny ha ha that we could all have a good laugh about and be proud of.
Yes it would have been cool!
But if I wanted something to get done, why did I rely on women?!!? Women will always find reasons NOT to do things.
Thus, it seems, once again, if anything is going to get done around here we're going to have to do it ourselves guys.
Therefore men I propose the;
"16 Month Calendar of Male Economist Extravaganza!"
Yes, 16 rememberable months of 100% pure economist sexiness. Fat or skinny, tall or short, ugly or....ummm...welll, uh, ugly.
All economists are welcome to enter.
Here are the rules;
You can be a professional or amateur. A student or professor. Aspiring or employed. Public sector or private. You needn't be employed as "an economist" you just need to be a student of it and love economics.
The more outlandish the better. This is not supposed to be a sexy calendar (duh). The more hideous/nerdy the better. I fathom seeing a 300 pound economist with swimming trunks reading "Atlas Shrugged" on the beach.
No nudity damn it. If I didn't want the contestants of the BABES of Capitalism to send in nude pictures, I sure as hell don't want you schlepps sending them in either. Keep it clean.
Pictures should be large enough that they'll take up an 8X11 piece of paper without losing resolution.
Inlcude some kind of bio
Once you have your picture, e-mail it to captcapitalism@yahoo.com. Note it is best to copy and paste this e-mail, it is NOT CAPTAINCAPITALISM@yahoo.com, but CAPTcapitalism@yahoo.com
Get off your lazy ass and do it NOW!!!! Don't procrastinate because I have to print these things off myself unless you all want to pay $30 for each calendar!
I shall choose the best 16 pictures sent in. Those chosen will win a free calendar on my dime.
The calendar will then be put up for sale for some reasonable fee. Proceeds will go to the "Help Captain Capitalism Pay Off His Mortgage Early Fund."
Get crackin'!
When I first started this blog I had an idea that was genius. As with many ingenius ideas, the masses are too stupid to appreciate them. The idea was to put together a calendar of good looking babes that were Capitalists. I was going to call it "The Babes of Capitalism Calendar." I would then take the proceeds and pay off my mortgage.
Of course this fell flat on its face for one simple reason and one simple reason only. And I forgot this reason, thus I have only myself to blame for this because it is a rule, a lesson that I learned many years ago;
Men will always find reasons to do things,
while women will always find reasons NOT to do things.
This undeniable truth largely explains many phenomenon we see in life.
It is why there is no female equivalent to a sausage party.
It is why the majority of asking out is done by men (and the majority of denials are done by women).
It is why you can have a great band, an open dance floor, and swarms of girls, brimming on the edge of their seats, their bodies bouncing to the music, ready to burst out on the floor, and yet when you ask them to dance they say, "well, I just ordered a drink" or "we're about to leave" or "I'm not really in a dancing moood."
And above all, it is the primary reason why men on the average will always make more than women and constitute the majority of astronauts, explorers, economists, enterpreneurs, executives etc. etc.
Thus, I've been barking up the wrong tree.
Yes, it would have been cool to have a calendar that I could offer of all these capitalist babes.
Yes, it would have been cool to have capitalist babes across the fruited plains do this as a little funny ha ha that we could all have a good laugh about and be proud of.
Yes it would have been cool!
But if I wanted something to get done, why did I rely on women?!!? Women will always find reasons NOT to do things.
Thus, it seems, once again, if anything is going to get done around here we're going to have to do it ourselves guys.
Therefore men I propose the;
"16 Month Calendar of Male Economist Extravaganza!"
Yes, 16 rememberable months of 100% pure economist sexiness. Fat or skinny, tall or short, ugly or....ummm...welll, uh, ugly.
All economists are welcome to enter.
Here are the rules;
You can be a professional or amateur. A student or professor. Aspiring or employed. Public sector or private. You needn't be employed as "an economist" you just need to be a student of it and love economics.
The more outlandish the better. This is not supposed to be a sexy calendar (duh). The more hideous/nerdy the better. I fathom seeing a 300 pound economist with swimming trunks reading "Atlas Shrugged" on the beach.
No nudity damn it. If I didn't want the contestants of the BABES of Capitalism to send in nude pictures, I sure as hell don't want you schlepps sending them in either. Keep it clean.
Pictures should be large enough that they'll take up an 8X11 piece of paper without losing resolution.
Inlcude some kind of bio
Once you have your picture, e-mail it to captcapitalism@yahoo.com. Note it is best to copy and paste this e-mail, it is NOT CAPTAINCAPITALISM@yahoo.com, but CAPTcapitalism@yahoo.com
Get off your lazy ass and do it NOW!!!! Don't procrastinate because I have to print these things off myself unless you all want to pay $30 for each calendar!
I shall choose the best 16 pictures sent in. Those chosen will win a free calendar on my dime.
The calendar will then be put up for sale for some reasonable fee. Proceeds will go to the "Help Captain Capitalism Pay Off His Mortgage Early Fund."
Get crackin'!
Friday, February 24, 2006
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