Where the debt comes from
As Congress dithers over extending the debt ceiling, the New York Times has published a useful chart that indicates when the current $14.3 trillion debt originated, as well as who holds the debt.
The chart shows that $6.1 trillion of the total, or about 43 percent, resulted from actions during the George W. Bush ...
Debt ceiling debate: bad political theatre
Even more than the Eurozone crisis, the debt discussion in the US shines a harsh light on the dysfunctional nature of the modern political class.
Read my spiked article in full here.
This week’s articles of note
“What if the government defaults?” Slate, by Simon Johnson
“Mastering the machine: how Ray Dalio built the world’s richest and strangest hedge fund,” The New Yorker, by John Cassidy
“Why America’s young and restless will abandon cities for suburbs,” Fortune, by Joel Kotkin
“The world is not overpopulated,” Real ...
Debt ceiling talks: dysfunctional political class on display
There are two economic crises roiling the markets: the Eurozone rescue and the US debt ceiling negotiations. Although ostensibly economic in nature, both are essentially political crises as well. Of the two, it is more understandable why the European nations face difficulties: the Eurozone is a monetary union, not a fiscal or political ...
The New York Times and Murdoch
Day by day, another shoe drops in the story from Britain concerning the phone-hacking scandal and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The latest news is that the head of Scotland Yard has resigned, and former News of the World ...
Back to posting
Sorry for the hiatus. The day job and moving house have got in the way. Service is resumed.
This week’s articles of note
“Why Europe no longer matters,” Washington Post, by Richard N. Haass
“The online looking-glass,” The New York Times, by Ross Douthat [on Weiner]
“Barack Obama: unity president or great divider?” Fortune, by Nina Easton
“Death of the duopoly,” Wall Street Journal, by Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch
“Why not ...
Sympathy for the devil (LeBron)
Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks for winning the National Basketball Association finals last night. It was a riveting series, nearly every game a close one.
This morning I woke to hear all the sports pundits saying that the Mavericks’ ...
Fortunate Son
A great anti-war song, one with balls. A great song period. This is the original version from Creedence Clearwater Revival, performed live on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.
This week’s articles of note
“Disaster not averted,” The New Republic, by Dean Baker
“Obama’s ratings,” National Journal, by Ronald Brownstein
“California’s green jihad,” Forbes, by Joel Kotkin
“Evolution: Darwin’s city,” Nature, by Emma Maris
“Man is not cat food,” Los Angeles Review of Books, by Barbara Ehrenreich [Review of five books on animals ...
