How to REALLY Close the Wage Gap

This will help these girls close the wage gap infinitely more than any "graduate program" in the liberal arts. I'm amazed a public education institution though offered such a thing.

Naming a Bridge After a Degenerate

HAR!

Just like Jim Morrison, his music just wasn't that good. And also like Jim Morrison, you had to be high or drunk to like it. And how did both of those guys end up? Hmmm...another similarity.

Suffering Again Enjoying the Decline

This is Harney's Peak in the background. I had hiked it earlier and then noticed some storm clouds off in the distance. Was very glad I decided to high tail it out of there as the storm engulfed the peak.

Jim Beam, Cusano Cigar and a 1940's Motel

I originally was going to take pictures, but then it dawned on me I don't want to ruin it with digital precision and am going to let you imagine it.

I am currently sitting outside in my fold-out chair at my dirt cheap motel in a very small town nestled within the Black Hills of South Dakota. A place none of you will find. It's 78 degrees, about 2130 and the red neon lights just came on casting a very nice hue over the dilapidated trucks in the parking lot. The old man who runs the joint just came out and lit up a cigarette himself.

I am currently puffing on an M1 Cusano Torpedo Cut cigar with a flask of Jim Beam. I have no cell phone reception. Nobody can get in contact with me. I no longer suffer from the jilt or jolt of my cell phone vibrating or ringing, thereby making it my master of a Pavlovian dog-like response to some request or another. My only concerns for tomorrow is to determine which mountain I'm going to climb OR, if it's particularly hot which swimming hole I shall visit OR if it's particularly cool, which portion of the Badlands I shall hike straight through.

Additionally I have not listened to talk radio for about the past 3 weeks and am blissfully unaware of the debt and deficit problems I have tacitly paid attention to when I do decide to visit the Drudge Report. Though I have noticed on my sidebar plug-ins my dollar-short positions against the NOrwegian Kroner and the Canadian dollar are doing quite well - thank you Barry.

I did download some Tom Leykis so I could listen to something while I was driving my motorcycle around the Black Hills today, but otherwise right now I hear nothing but crickets and the occasional motorcycle or car driving by on the only paved road in town. I think I will drink myself my flask of Jim Beam and retire watching the history channel or the military channel.

If there is a way to enjoy the decline. This is it. Not trying, not working, and living as cheaply as possible on the minimum amount of labor you forfeited to the labor market/government-taxing machine. In the meantime I authorize all junior, deputy, aspiring, official or otherwise economists to pour themselves a hefty pour of whatever they got and make a long-range toast (wherever you may be in the Capposphere).

Enjoy the decline!

Pathetic

1.4% RGDP and last quarter revised down to .4%.

You Keynesian morons.

My Generation

This woman is my age.

I have no children.

She has two generations.

Enjoy the decline!

Hippies Don't Help Economic Growth

I was at the post office the other day. In front of me was a younger-looking grandmother sending off what seemed to be a book and a National Geographic issue. It was a small post office, but it wouldn't have mattered because this woman was quite insistent on speaking loud enough for everybody to hear.

"Yes, I'm sending these to my grandchildren! That's me on the front of the National Geographic when I was in South America! I'm also in this book! It's the first book written by and about the Peace Corps."

Naturally my eyes rolled. Not because in front of me was an aged hippie who can only point to something she did 50 years ago as the pinnacle of the acheivements in her life, but because who else but Peace Corps hippies would think their grandchildren want a lame book written by hippies and a dated National Geographic from 1964?

Of course I couldn't pass this up, so I inquired,

"Where were you in the Peace Corps?"

"Ecuador. Have you been there?"

"No, no, haven't been there."

"Well how do you know about it?" (which I found to be a funny question because it's not like you had to have been to Ecuador to know it exists)

"I'm an economist, I follow the Correa administration."

And with that exchange, that's all I needed. I found the country she and the other hippies were at in 1964. So off the Captain went to the Cappy Cap Cave, fired up his ole Cappy Cap Computer and went to work looking up Ecuador's economic history.

And in a few short minutes of superawesome economic research, I found the presence of hippies do not help economic growth. Of course most people know that, I just wanted to confirm that it wasn't by some miracle they actually did make a difference this time.

Notice when hippies were introduced to the Ecuadorian environment, nothing happened for about a solid decade thereafter. It wasn't until EEEEVIIIILLLLLL oil was discovered in 1973/1974 did its economy actually start growing.

Ever since then Ecuador's economic performance can largely be explained by oil. When oil prices tanked in the late 80's, so too did its economy. And even with a largely leftist president implementing largely leftist policies, the economy is still booming today because of the price of EEEEEVILLLLL oil.

This behooves the question then;

"What the heck did the hippies go for there in the first place?"

And another follow up question;

"Why do we keep sending hippies overseas if they don't achieve anything?"

Oh, what innocently foolish questions.

You see young, aspiring, junior, deputy and otherwise economists, Peace Corp, Ameri-Corp, UN, UNICEF, IMF and whatever other aid/humanitarian types out there do not go to these countries to help these poor countries out. They go there simply for themselves. If you look at the statistics globalization and economics is what gets countries out of poverty just as oil got Ecuador out of absolute poverty. Not this lady and her ilk helping build a well in some remote village of the Ooki Booki tribe. They go there, first and foremost, so they can feel good about themselves. Whether they actually bring about tangible results is inconsequential, because deep down inside they really don't care.

Now, while you may think I'm being harsh, especially for criticizing an old woman for sending her grandchildren a book she helped write and a magazine with her and her hippie friends, think about that.

Would YOU as a grandparent send your GRANDCHILDREN a book you wrote, let alone articles about YOU and on topics they could not care less about? It tells you all you need to know about the woman's psychology.

Can you imagine what a fun Christmas that would be at the Captain's household?

Grandchildren - "GRANDPA CAPPY! GRANDPA CAPPY!"

Old Cappy Cap - "Well hello grandchildren!"

Grandchildren - "What did you get us for Christmas!?"

Old Cappy Cap - "Well, I brought you a copy of my book, Behind the Housing Crash and an article written about me from 2007!"

Grandchildren - "Awww poop. That's not a real present."

Old Cappy Cap - "Shut up, you ungrateful brats! You will read it and like it! Where's the Rumpleminze?"

And of course, that's the point. This woman, just as she did back in 1964, is doing the same thing today. She's sending these poor grandkids a boring book not for their sake, but for herself.

But perhaps I could explain a little better with a quote from a previous post.

"The fact that the "house" in figure 2 still looks like garbage 7 years later just goes to show that sociology majors just like in the first world can't fix anything in the third world either."

I say just never grant a hippie with enough credit or skill to actually fix anything.

"Brat Ban"

Something tells me this would not have been an issue in the 1950's.

Some Guys Get All the Luck

I leave Minnesota and this lucky guy finds a rattlesnake.

Recession Medicine

Because the recession is over.

The True Damage of Crusaders

Here's a perfect example;



The audio is poor, so here is the quote;

“Nearly every day without fail…men stream to these [mining] operations looking for work in Walker County. They can’t pay their mortgage. They can’t pay their car note. They can’t feed their families. They don’t have health insurance. And as I stand here today, I just…you know…what’s the use? I got a permit to open up an underground coal mine that would employ probably 125 people. They’d be paid wages from $50,000 to $150,000 a year. We would consume probably $50 million to $60 million in consumables a year, putting more men to work. And my only idea today is to go home. What’s the use? I see these guys—I see them with tears in their eyes—looking for work. And if there’s so much opposition to these guys making a living, I feel like there’s no need in me putting out the effort to provide work for them. So…basically what I’ve decided is not to open the mine. I’m just quitting. Thank you.”

Remember, it's more important that the crusader at the Sierra Club or the soccer mom who is bored and wants to launch a safety campaign against pollution or the college kid protester who needs to protest something, it's more important THEY feel good about themselves than that the rest of us have jobs, careers, and a future.

$1.18 Trillion of Worthless Paper

Because what? A generation of Justin Beiber sociology majors is going to produce the wealth required to pay these guys back?

I'm just glad the debt crisis is finally starting to pay nice dividends on my foreign currency plays. Though I do feel sorry for the Chinese for investing so heavily into US assets.

How does one say, "Enjoy the Decline?" in Cantonese?

As Mayor of Scenic, South Dakota, I Promise

No property taxes. Only, one sole sales tax on every transaction within the city limits

People will be allowed to smoke in private establishments if that private establishment allows it.

All forms of commerce, both admirable and shameful would be allowed.

People will be allowed to carry any gun, any time, anywhere, knowing full well if they try any nazi-jerk Norwegian schtick that moron carried out, people will be shooting back.

Whiskey is served 24-7, bars and commercial ventures are allowed to do what they want, when they want, and frankly it's none of the local government's business what yours is.

I'd make a GREAT mayor of Scenic, SD.

Where Are the EPL Stars Now?

I love it. Wish Dalrock would inform me of these more regularly.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

It's all good and fun and games telling other people what to do, until you have to deal with the ideology you espouse.

Regulatory Costs to Housing

Reminds me of how there is a progressively larger and larger group of contractors that will NOT do business in Minneapolis because of the over-burdensome regulation and fees. I'd be curious to see how much these costs vary based on the municipality they're in.

And Yet Somehow...

the world continues to rotate.

What irks me is how this took the top spot on Drudge in light of the tragedy in Norway.

Purposely Log-Jamming the Economy

Along the same lines of my previous post about whether it was ignorance or evil on the part of the democrats to destroy the country, another report from "Ebo" (evil big oil!)

"Compared to historical trends, pending exploration plans are up by nearly 90%, approvals are down by 85% ,and the approval process has slowed from an average of 36 to 131 days."

But hey, at least we stuck it to Big Oil! Right!? And that's what our 9th grade school teacher told us was important. Fighting the system and sticking it to the man.

Enjoy the decline

"Don't Ever Hit Your Mother With a Shovel"

On a Butch Cassidy and Sundance related note;



For those of you interested, I was intending to visit the actual Hole in the Wall where Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang hung out. Just requires a 4x4 vehicle. Which is not at my disposal right now.

"Those Stupid Red Neck Hicks"

Nowhere near as intelligent or enlightened as us coastal and metropolitan folk!