1 Dat pictuw is hiwaiwius.

2 Apart from Kentucky, they're all Democrat strongholds.

LOL, I wouldn't call KY a bastion of conservatism either,.

3 First link is broken.

4 That picture has to be staged because Jimmeh was not black.

5 The Illinois identified link is not working.  I hate that.

6 This is the downside of a high-technology information-based economy: many people simply can't keep up.

I don't think it a factor of "keeping up". The problems in the UK can be laid directly at the feet of two things; (1) Socialism and (2) Pussy PC law enforcement

We will have the same problems here.

7

Hey, California, how’s that “Amazon tax” working out for you?

Keep those negative California items coming. 

Maybe soon I'll convince my father-in-law that it's not in his daughter's best interests for me to move back there.

8 Depending on how the law is written, the state may be on the hook for all of those pensions.

As much as I feel badly for those who will probably lose some or all of their retirement, part of me gets a big kick out of it. They worked jobs with 100% security, no competition, no pressure to succeed, and then expected to waltz into retirement with fat pensions on the backs of the taxpayer.

Too fucking bad.

9 First link should be fixed now.

10 The "His Majesty" link to Pajamas Media also has a < br / > left hanging on it.

11

Michael Barone talks about the failure of the Midwestern manufacturing model and the success of the Texas "low tax, low regulation" climate.

I read that article this morning, and while true for Michigan, I don't agree that it is applicable to most of the country.

Barone blames most of the model's problems on the unions. While true for the auto industry and the steel industry in the Midwest it is not true for most of the rest of industry.

For most of the rest of industry it is the over-restrictive and costly government regulations. He does mention regulation, but almost as an afterthought.

12 The "His Majesty" link to Pajamas Media also has a < br / > left hanging on it.

grumble grumble shitty html editor grumble grumble

13

This is the downside of a high-technology information-based economy: many people simply can't keep up.

It's also the pace of the technological change.  Even for people who are smart enough to re-skill quickly, by the time you complete the training program - the job is filled in your area and you're stuck with a credential you can't use.

NYT (shockingly) had a pretty fair piece last year about the uselessness of most Federal job trianing programs.  They are training people for jobs that either don't exist, won't exist for a few years hence, or existed but have been filled quickly.  All of the above scenarios have the same effect - you have the wrong credential because you didn't have it when the job was open.  Which leads to a secondary effect - you can't pay your mortgage.

While all of us would like to see Education and Ag eliminated as cabinet agencies - I'd kill to see Labor eliminated.

14 there's that frickin rabbit again, and now its afer my cat!

15 You just can't have DOOM in the economy. There I said it, so it's fixed now!

16 So, on the morning talk show I listen to on my drive in to work, the Administrator for the SBA (don't remember the lying witch's name) was being interviewed.

My head nearly exploded from the lies she was telling.  On the other hand, one of the hosts said, right after she'd hung up, that any small business owner who agreed with anything she'd just said "should be tested for drugs."  It was kind of glorious.

17

This guy is f—king brain dead.  He actually still believes that his bullshit socialism still works; that his bullshit socialism is not the cause of Europe imploding; that AmericaÂ’s decline has nothing to do with too much debt.  F—king idiot ideologue shitforbrains.

He is this countryÂ’s bad luck.

18 I think it's a pretty safe bet that Illinois being ranked the worst "sinkhole" state in the nation won't be reported by the national mass media. If there's a problem in Texas, however, even if not man made, it'll receive wall to wall, 24/7 coverage. And be Perry's fault, of course. Or Bush's. Or Bush-Perry-Rove's. Or something.

19 It's also the pace of the technological change.  Even for people who are smart enough to re-skill quickly, by the time you complete the training program - the job is filled in your area and you're stuck with a credential you can't use.

That's both true and not true.  It's true that anything well enough known to have a training program is probably going to be "old news" by the time you actually finish the training, but there will always be need for support of computer systems.

Further, once you've got that first credential, you're much closer to "caught up" and can make up the rest on your own.  Software developers constantly have to learn new technology.  New devs (just out of school, or whatever) are always given fairly routine maintenance/bug-fix projects at first, until they're full caught up.  So it's a big hurdle to clear, but certainly not impossible.

20 Building cars the plebes actually want? How droll.

21 Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall during these discussions.
"Biden to sell Debt deal to Chinese"  Imagine the hilarity...
http://tinyurl.com/3ezt69u

22 Teh Krugman doesn't understand Texas. But he's hardly unique in that regard.

If you haven't lived here, you don't understand Texas.

23

Hmm. Drunker than fuck last night and nothing to delete from FB this morning. No doom for me.

Nobody's gonna breaka my stride.

Nobody's gonna bringa me down.

24

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 09:14 AM (8y9MW)

True, there are exceptions like that.

But let's face it, we're talking about the Feds.  They're always preparing for that last job that didn't exist.  They're great at preparing people for jobs as construction laborers or nursing assistants. 

Everything else, not so much.

25

Shunning responsibility as a policy.  I really wish someone would ask the gasbag in chief what is it that he has heard on his listening tour because it certainly looks like he is doing all of the talking.  Talking about who is at fault – not him.  What is to blame – not anything he has done.  And all of his wonderful plans to make this a better world where children play, and birds sing, and the benevolent f—king socialist overlords look down on us and all theyÂ’ve wrought. 

26

22Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall during these discussions.
"Biden to sell Debt deal to Chinese" Imagine the hilarity...
http://tinyurl.com/3ezt69u
--------------

Give him a real skinny microphone, and the Chinese three curtains to choose from (in lieu of repayment). And secretly make all three curtains Rod Roddy & the big rocking chair...

27 Tea Party Hobbit?

DAMN STRAIGHT

http://www.cafepress.com/realrevolution

28

He is this countryÂ’s bad luck.

Posted by: Hussein the Plumber at August 16, 2011 09:12 AM

That's why he's a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure, isn't it?

29 Posted by: Sean Bannion at August 16, 2011 09:18 AM (sbV1u)

That's true.  And I hate Federal "jobs" programs of any kind.  That's not the Government's job (at any level, really, but we're talking about Federal, here).

If the Federal Government really had a pressing case to have a "jobs training" program, and if they really wanted to do it properly, it would be done as grants directly to students who a) prove they're dedicated (that is, C+ average or better) b) to a degree with actual prospects (liberal arts majors need not apply) c) for 4 years.  That is, the grant is only available for 4 years.

Those are two big "ifs," and I pretty well think they'll never happen.  The first one should never happen.  The second will never happen. 

30

I really wish someone would ask the gasbag in chief what is it that he has heard on his listening tour because it certainly looks like he is doing all of the talking.  Talking about who is at fault – not him. 

"It's not my fault!" is not going to be a winning campaign slogan in 2012.

Nor is, "Yeah, but the other guys are worse!"

This economy will not recover before November 2012.  Which is why Barky's minions are pulling out all the stops to roll out the "How Obama Slew UBL" movie in time for October 2012.  It will probably have some Tom Clancy-esque title to highlight how Obama was the man with the plan.  You know, like "Executive Decision."

I don't think that's going to help either.

Now, registering entire cemeteries to vote in 2012?  That's probably going to work for him.

31 Re the jobs training stuff....

You can't just "train" for some jobs and expect to gain employment. Many professional fields (medicine, law, computer programming, engineering) take years and years to master...and new entrants are competing with a worldwide pool of cheap labor even in those fields (particularly software and engineering, though medicine is now feeling pressure too). Training in the trades (electrical, plumbing, carpentry, etc.) still pays off, but being good at this type of thing requires skills that not all people have. And there are structural hurdles for young workers to clear -- unions, regulations, licensing, etc.

Almost anyone can be a waiter/waitress or a register clerk. Not everyone can be a doctor or a computer programmer, even with training. The further you move up the skill chain, the harder it is to find people who are both willing and able to do that work. Sometimes, this isn't a problem: there aren't many people who can be astrophysicists, for example, but that's not a problem because there aren't many astrophysics jobs to be had. But in fields like engineering and computer software where the need for people is voracious, jobs go begging because there are no qualified applicants -- or they are outsourced to cheaper foreign competition.

32 Any foray by the federal gov into public education of any kind is unconstitutional and should not be allowed.

33

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 09:27 AM (8y9MW)

Spot on.  I used to work there, you are more right than you know.

The bureaucracy there is the worst I've ever seen anywhere - bar none.  They make the DMV look like Lean Six Sigma gurus.  No one there has had a new idea since the Johnson administration.  They just keep re-branding the old ones.

34 heard some stupid liberal on FOX early this AM say she still supports obama because he was stopped by his "opposition" at every step from doing anything? I guess she forgot about the first 2 years when the dems controlled both houses and the White House.

35

35heard some stupid liberal on FOX early this AM say she still supports obama because he was stopped by his "opposition" at every step from doing anything? I guess she forgot about the first 2 years when the dems controlled both houses and the White House.

---

The opposition was 2/3rds of the population.

36 Barky's new economic plan (per Lilek's review of Art Frahm's falling underpants obsession):

(1) Women must wear skirts and buy celery
(2) Elastic on women's underpants fails, so they must buy (equally poor) replacements
(3) Profits for farmers and garment manufacturers!!

The program shall be named "Bloomin' Celery" and its shoots shall be green ...

37 The opposition was 2/3rds of the population. Posted by: Jimmah at August 16, 2011 09:32 AM (TfRqk) Yeah but in the first 2 years that meant nothing.

38 Denationalize (privatize) the currency

No. It's just as bad an idea now as it was over 200 years ago. Even if you said that financial institutions should be able to produce their own scrip that only they were required to accept, how do you establish an exchange rate between them? Even if everyone is required to accept everyone else's "money"- how do you set the exchange rates?

No, having a single, Federal reserve currency is something that has always made sense, and pretty well always will make sense.

39 "It's not my fault!" is not going to be a winning campaign slogan in 2012.

Han Solo/Lando Calrisian 2012!

40

You can't just "train" for some jobs and expect to gain employment.

Monty, a corollary there is you can't train the untrainable in 6 weeks - which is what they try to do.  Too often they are trying to be a remedial high school for people who were cheated by the public education system.  You can't fix that.  There are hundreds of thousands of jobs that go begging because the people who could do those jobs just don't have baseline skills.

I should not have to give you a class to teach you how to show up for work on time or not take drugs.  Yet, exactly those "work readiness" programs are the major focus of Federal job trianing programs. 

I'm sorry, if you're 30 and you can't read, there's not a lot Federal job training programs are going to do for you - or do for you fast enough - to make a difference.  You have been permanantely left behind.

You'll have to crawl out on your own.  It's just the way it is. 

41 I should not have to give you a class to teach you how to show up for work on time or not take drugs.

This is why actions should have consequences.  Only, since at least 1930, or so, our Government has tried to "protect" everyone from the consequences of their actions.

It's that "negative feedback" in the form of bad consequences that teach many (I wish I could say "most") of us not to be stupid.  And our government has a vested interest in keeping us all stupid.

42 I'm getting the vibe that the whole debt/ budget problem is because the Repubs didn't compromise enough is starting to stick.  Twice, TWICE, this morning on the radio different hacks made that statement and the host didn't even call bullshit.  I'm ready for Perry to jump on that meme and beat the hell out of it.

43 OT - Why does an entire US political party continually seek to undermine our allies, particularly our only steadfast ally in the ME sandbox hellhole. 

U.S. Senator seeks to cut aid to elite IDF units operating in West Bank and Gaza

44 No, having a single, Federal reserve currency is something that has always made sense, and pretty well always will make sense.

No. Always and forever, no. It is simply allowing the sovereign the leeway to debase the currency -- always has been the case, always will be the case. Take it out of their hands.

45

It's that "negative feedback" in the form of bad consequences that teach many (I wish I could say "most") of us not to be stupid.

I'm not a purist here.  I don't pine for the halycon days of 1842 and "flinty American individualism."

But I gotta tell ya, with each passing year that's looking better and better.

I wonder if Peggy Joseph has her mortgage paid off yet.  If so, I think I'll go burn down her house.

46 I'm getting the vibe that the whole debt/ budget problem is because the Repubs didn't compromise enough is starting to stick.

Dear GOP: With sincere love from those of us who opposed the debt ceiling deal: We told you so.

I don't really think it's starting to stick, though.  Unless you're listening to a specifically conservative radio station (most of those are talkers) DJs tend to be fairly liberal.  I don't know why, but it has been my observation.

47 Most of the idiots who vote for him don't know socialism from capitalism from communism. They wouldn't know a difference between one -ism and another. The only thing they know is that democrats "want to help people" and republicans are "mean" because they don't "want to help people". That's their entire platform. The only time a republican wins is when democrats are shown as not having "helped people" and those turds stay home.

48 Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at August 16, 2011 09:41 AM (9hSKh)

Those pesky Jews and their ridiculous and stubborn desire to stay alive. It would have been so much more convenient had they not been so resilient about 70 years ago.

Typical progressive anti-Semitism.

49

I commented on this yesterday, but it is so stunningly revealing that I believe it deserves more exposure.  WhatÂ’s amazing is that this asshat would scream his impartiality until he was blue in the face.

50 OT - Why does an entire US political party continually seek to undermine our allies, particularly our only steadfast ally in the ME sandbox hellhole. U.S. Senator seeks to cut aid to elite IDF units operating in West Bank and Gaza Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at August 16, 2011 09:41 AM (9hSKh) Because this guy is a extreme left wing scrunt like most Dems or left wing independents and any Jew who still votes for them is a of no use to me. They hate Israel anyone who dares to stand up for freedom and their homeland. Fuck him.

51 I am become Debt, the devourer of worlds.

52 That's why he's a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure, isn't it?

Posted by: MrScribbler at August 16, 2011 09:24 AM (YjjrR)

Of course you're right.  Thanks for pointing that out again.  Always appropriate.

53 OT - Why does an entire US political party continually seek to undermine our allies, particularly our only steadfast ally in the ME sandbox hellhole. 

Because the unifying theme of social and fiscal liberals is the encouragement of Evil anywhere in any form.

54 35 I guess she forgot about the first 2 years when the dems controlled both houses and the White House.
________

FILIBUSTER!

55  I should not have to give you a class to teach you how to show up for work on time or not take drugs.

I worked for a company that was very professional, had high standards and actually had people competing for interviews and hiring. Everyone there was very bright and getting a job there was something in which to be proud. Unbelieveably, many of the youngest set could not grasp the getting to work on time idea. My boss would ask me to sit in on the conversations he would try to have with some of the young girls (22-25) about getting there on time. It was unreal. Invaribly, I would then have to have the "don't cry at work, you twit" conversation.

56 Unless you're listening to a specifically conservative radio station...

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 09:45 AM (8y9MW)

I was.  570.  I think we are in the same market.

57 Posted by: Monty at August 16, 2011 09:44 AM (/0a60)

Monty, the barter system was (largely) abandoned for a reason.  Maybe, maybe if you wanted to have the Fed work specifically as a monetary exchange, it might possibly work.  The problem, though, is that banks are in direct competition with each other, and therefore have no incentive to peg their currencies against each other correctly.

So if I bank with Chase, and the business I want to patronize banks with Wells Fargo, how do they accept my "money?"  Right now, it's just a dollar and it's all the same everywhere.  In the "denationalized" scheme, then they have to get ChaseBucks converted into WellDollars.  Who is going to do that?  If they go to Chase, Chase will say that a WellDollar is worth less than a ChaseBuck.  If they go to Wells Fargo, WF will say that a ChaseBuck is less than a WellDollar.  That's assuming they even agree to work in eachother's currencies- something of which there is no guarantee.

So you need some third party exchange.  So you end up with the Federal government again.  Which means that, de facto, there is a national "currency" even if the nation itself never prints another greenback or mints another coin.

58 Fuck him.

Posted by: nevergiveup at August 16, 2011 09:45 AM (i6RpT)

I wouldn't fuck him with your dick.

He needs to lose power. That is all he cherishes. He will wither and die in a few months once he gets bounced.

59 About the "exchange" thing re privately-issued currency -- I do about 99% of my shopping at three outlets -- Target, the grocery store, and Amazon. All three issue coupons and gift-cards which function in the same way as cash, so in effect, they already have a privatized currency. If they chose to peg their currencies to a gold standard rather than the US dollar, what would be the difference? I haven't spent an actual "dollar" at any of the three stores I just mentioned in...forever. I can't remember the last time I paid cash. I either pay with a check-card, with gift-cards, credit-cards, or any combination plus coupons.

Technology takes care of the exchange issue. The vendor can denominate and price however they wish -- if I pay with a credit or check card, the exchange is transparent to me.

60 59 Unless you're listening to a specifically conservative radio station...

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 09:45 AM (8y9MW)

I was.  570.  I think we are in the same market.

Posted by: dogfish at August 16, 2011 09:50 AM (N2yhW)

What happened to Laura Ingram?

61

Unbelieveably, many of the youngest set could not grasp the getting to work on time idea. My boss would ask me to sit in on the conversations he would try to have with some of the young girls (22-25) about getting there on time.

My wife is doing an unpaid internship gig as part of getting her PhD.  Traffic was really bad on 50 outbund one morning and she was going to be about 5 minutes late.  She called to let them know.

About an hour ofter she got there the docs told her that she was the only one to call, and the only one who was even remotely close to being there on time.  The rest of her cohort was still wandering in an hour later, clueless as to why people were annoyed with them.

Then the docs thanked my wife for her professionalism

I was stunned by that. 

62 So you need some third party exchange.

There are about twenty FOREX markets already operating. The infrastructure is already there.

And if the US moves back to a gold standard (which I think they'll be forced to do shortly), it removes the problem entirely. Gold is gold, the world over. The sovereigns can denominate as they like, but a Troy ounce is the same anywhere I go.

63 Posted by: dogfish at August 16, 2011 09:50 AM (N2yhW)

And they let it pass?  Gag. 
Of course, I never listen to their morning show (I've been listening to Hal J on 820 since I was born), so I don't know how par that is for the course, but Hal J and Brian Estrich absolutely crucified the lying witch from the SBA this morning.

64 Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at August 16, 2011 09:41 AM (9hSKh)

I hate where our relationship with Israel is going.

65 What about having two currencies, like the commies did? One electronic reserved for certain purchases - like WIC, deemed essential and subsidized - everything else floats on a currency that the government more or less keeps their hands off of (hard monetary policy).

66 I hate where our relationship with Israel is going. Posted by: Hussein the Plumber at August 16, 2011 09:57 AM (jx2j9) Get rid of obama and the relationship will right itself

67 Posted by: Monty at August 16, 2011 09:52 AM (/0a60)

No, Monty.  "Gift Cards" are not private currency.  Those cards are backed with real dollars which were used to purchase them.  A gift certificate is not some kind of private money, it's a voucher for actual, federal reserve dollars that someone else already paid on your behalf.

As someone above said, if companies want to start accepting each others gift cards or reward points or whatever, or if companies want to make them transferable so that someone can by your unused Barns & Noble gift card and give you cash, or an Amazon gift code, that's fine.  But it all still needs to be backed by a single national currency standard.

And if the US moves back to a gold standard (which I think they'll be forced to do shortly), it removes the problem entirely.

This is absolutely true.  But, in that case, "Gold" becomes the defacto national currency- even if you never actually carry any around with you.

68 65 So you need some third party exchange.

There are about twenty FOREX markets already operating. The infrastructure is already there.

And if the US moves back to a gold standard (which I think they'll be forced to do shortly), it removes the problem entirely. Gold is gold, the world over. The sovereigns can denominate as they like, but a Troy ounce is the same anywhere I go.

Why even us gold? I like the idea of bitcoin, where I exchange real goods/services without the Fed poking it's nose in.

69 And, because it can't be said too often, Barack Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

70 The "Obama Stash" van - coming to a "community organized" city near you.

http://tinyurl.com/3ftr7sx

71 820
Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 09:55 AM (8y9MW)

Smart.  It can sometimes be an "issue" around our house in the morning which one we listen to.  I've usually had enough of 570 within 10 minutes and want to turn to 820.

72

What happened to Laura Ingram?

Posted by: dagny at August 16, 2011 09:52 AM (nBOrb)

Dunno.  Where/what?

73 Posted by: dogfish at August 16, 2011 10:03 AM (N2yhW)

My wife doesn't listen to talk radio, so I only listen in the car on the way to work.  I find Hal and Brian to be funny enough (sometimes hysterical), and WBAP's traffic reports are (IMO) the best in the 'Plex.

I kind of wish I could listen at the office- Mark Davis and Rush are my two favorite talk show hosts (though I argue at the radio more when Mark is on).

74 Remember how Germany was going to pay for everything? Oops.

while everyone was talking about stagflation in the US, the UK, even China, few if anyone dared to mention that word in the same sentence with Germany. That may change after Q2 GDP expanded by just 0.1% in Q2

75

What happened to Laura Ingram?

Posted by: dagny at August 16, 2011 09:52 AM (nBOrb)

Laura plays on WBAP 820 starting after Mark Levin.  It's (obviously) a re-broadcast, but that's where she is, now.

I don't think she plays real well in DFW, to be honest.

76 This is Off Topic, but prepare to be infuriated.

1. Total Incompetence

2.???

3. Promotion, Baby.

77

17 He is this countryÂ’s bad luck.

Actually, he's your neighbors' bad judgment. And its not clear to me their judgment has suddenly improved.

78 I kind of wish I could listen at the office- Mark Davis and Rush are my two favorite talk show hosts (though I argue at the radio more when Mark is on).

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 10:06 AM (8y9MW)

If you have a PC and headphones, here is a streaming player that carries El Rushbo:

http://tinyurl.com/3sybt3r

79

This would be great if it caught on because notwithstanding SCOTUS, I donÂ’t believe corporate money is speech.  But unfortunately, there are always those that just have to support their guy because their guy is one of the few good ones. 

80 78--Laura Ingraham gone from Philly market 3-4 years ago. I'm not aware of any demand that she return.

81 The ex hated Mark Levin, so I was forced to make a choice.

82 "Those cards are backed with real dollars which were used to purchase them." You are missing the point. They are backed with X. It doesn't matter what X is so long as both sides of the transaction (gift card issuer and gift card user) can agree that X is an appropriate backing to represent the value. As the abstraction cuts out the middle piece, that X can be as simple as a basket of goods available for sale in the issuer's inventory (or supply chain as the case may be) that can also be redeemed into goods or services elsewhere so that wages and invoices can be paid with it. The problem with the Federal Reserve system is that it is subject to democratic mob rule. A mob elected an unready, unsuitable individual to the office of POTUS, and the OMC appears to be debasing the dollar to prop-up this misadministration's bread-and-circuses base of power. People need to worry about how their ChaseBucks fare against WellsBucks. The alternative is what we have today: Judgment outsourced to a central authority whose motivations are always suspect.

83 Posted by: The Robot Devil at August 16, 2011 10:08 AM (136wp)

Not allowed to stream content at work.
The radio station has a smartphone app.  For iPhone.  And Blackberry (blackberry, WBAP?  Really?) but not for Android, yet.

84 Posted by: franksalterego at August 16, 2011 10:08 AM (7/sDI)

Damn.  Talk about throwing it in the face of congress.  The arrogance is breathtaking.

85 "Gift Cards" are not private currency.

For all intents and purposes, they are. How do they differ from the old-style company scrip? There's no bar to making them convertible, you know -- it's just an exchange-rate deal. I can use my credit card to buy things denominated in Euros in Paris or in Pounds in London -- the conversion happens transparently to me.

Or think of arcade tokens. I spend a buck and get five tokens. But let's say I only have time to use two of them before I leave the arcade and sell three back to my friend Joe for fifty cents. The tokens are a purely private currency, but is convertible to USD. (Albeit with a fairly ad-hoc exchange rate.) The same is true of things like Skee-Ball tickets, subway passes, and so on.

You're getting stuck on the exchange problem, I think, and you shouldn't be. It's pretty much transparent and nearly instantaneous these days. (You have to be vigilant as a consumer to make sure you're getting a favorable conversion rate, of course.)

86 I don't think anyone in power in DC is going to go along with abolishing the Fed or the Mint -- they would lose the ability to debase the dollar (ie the sneaky tax) and have to do it all aboveboard.
 
They will fight to their last breath to protect this ability. Only if the other nations gang up to form an alternative reserve currency plan will our pols have to deal with this issue. Kicking and screaming, as it were.

87 They are backed with X. It doesn't matter what X is so long as both sides of the transaction (gift card issuer and gift card user) can agree that X is an appropriate backing to represent the value.

No.  That allows for barter (exchange between two parties).  To be "money" it has to allow for exchange among many more than two parties- and all of them have to agree on the value of 'X.'

In theory, yes, you're right: private companies could state that their currency of choice is helium-filled balloons, and as long as everyone agreed, we could use helium-filled balloons as currency.  But, as they say, "In theory, theory and practice are the same.  In practice, they  never are."

Like it or not, there will be one "default" or "standard" currency- that's just what will happen.  Given that, it becomes a Federal Government duty to ensure the value of the currency.  Just because our Government is doing a pretty poor job of it right now doesn't change the fact that it is their power and duty to do.

88 They will fight to their last breath to protect this ability. Only if the other nations gang up to form an alternative reserve currency plan will our pols have to deal with this issue. Kicking and screaming, as it were.

Posted by: GnuBreed at August 16, 2011 10:13 AM (ENKCw)

Agreed, that's why everyone of those bastards need to be voted out...

89 Reading about the problems the Swiss have with their currency. Seems everyone wants to be in Francs and this has caused a 10% rise in its value. For some reason the Swiss have not hit on the idea of printing more money and selling it to the Euros. When they do this, look for Germany to bail on the Euro.

90 Well, the doom part of this is quite likely right anyways...

91
Because the unifying theme of social and fiscal liberals is the encouragement of Evil anywhere in any form.

Posted by: Methos at August 16, 2011 09:48 AM (sOXQX)

Freedom is slavery

War is peace

Evil is good

92 I don't think she plays real well in DFW, to be honest.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 10:08 AM (8y9MW)

One too many negative comments about stuff that people like out in flyover country.  She praises rock-ribbed country conservatives, and then rags on their choice of food, clothes, music, whatever.

93 NPR breathlessly reporting that some other agency, Moody's, really thinks we are a triple A.

Guess that makes everything OK.  Whew!  I was worried.

94 88 Or think of arcade tokens. I spend a buck and get five tokens. But let's say I only have time to use two of them before I leave the arcade and sell three back to my friend Joe for fifty cents. The tokens are a purely private currency, but is convertible to USD. (Albeit with a fairly ad-hoc exchange rate.) The same is true of things like Skee-Ball tickets, subway passes, and so on.
____________

Back when Jr. Chronda was in 2nd grade, his teacher would bribe the kids to behave by paying them with in-class scrip. Every so often they'd have a trading day where the kids would trade the scrip for pencils, bubble gum, and whatnot.

Among the 2nd graders, a spontaneous exchange rate emerged. It turned out that 2nd graders were willing to trade a dollar of in-class scrip to classmates for a quarter.

95 If you have a PC and headphones, here is a streaming player that carries El Rushbo:

http://tinyurl.com/3sybt3r

Posted by: The Robot Devil at August 16, 2011 10:08 AM (136wp)

Cool. Bookmarked. Thanks.

96 93 Reading about the problems the Swiss have with their currency. Seems everyone wants to be in Francs and this has caused a 10% rise in its value. For some reason the Swiss have not hit on the idea of printing more money and selling it to the Euros. When they do this, look for Germany to bail on the Euro.

Posted by: Sub-Tard at August 16, 2011 10:15 AM (0M3AQ)

The Swiss are under pressure to tie CHF to the Euro (by  Germany, I'm guessing). That story was floated last week when CHF went up 5% against the Euro & USD. Halted the flight to CHF.

97 I love Chris Plante but having JD Hayworth subbing this week is killing me--he's awful. In the past I would have switched to Laura but she's not there. I listened to her when WMAL had that idiot Scarborough on a couple of years ago. I don't know what combination of idiots they appear to have on 570 now. I listen to Levin if I have to but I really have issues with his accent--makes my skin crawl.

98 I believe you mean 'Fourth Width'

99 Another reason they will fight alternative currencies -- they lose the ability to track and tax transactions. Sales tax, excise tax, even death tax obligations can all be hidden from their view and they won't easily accept this. Think of how hard they have gone after citizens with overseas accounts.
 
Their entire model of tax collections would be thrown into the trash can; can't be having that, now can we.

100 You're getting stuck on the exchange problem, I think, and you shouldn't be

No, I'm "getting stuck" on the fact that- in every one of your examples- you're even still using the USD as the reserve currency.

To make your method work, that Gift Card would have to be exchangeable for a Gift Card to another store.  Those arcade tokens would have to be exchangeable for some real good (food, for instance, or clothing).  We'd be back to a barter system (at least until a de facto reserve currency appeared) because no three or 4 parties would agree to a specific exchange rate between Amazon gift codes and The Tilt arcade tokens.

At the back of all of those exchanges is one single reserve currency, or it's just slightly-less-than-currently barter.  If there is going to be one single reserve currency- one thing that everyone accepts, at bottom, and even if you don't have their scrip you can use that reserve, and you can always demand some of that reserve in return for their scrip- that is a Federal Government job.

101 Can someone please tell Karl Rove to just shut up and go away?  He single-handedly advised Bush to never take credit for his accomplishments nor defend himself when things went badly.  If anyone on earth is responsible for Bush being considered a terrible president despite 6 years of amazing prosperity under his leadership, it is Rove.

Dude, shut up and go away.

102 "To be 'money' it has to allow for exchange among many more than two parties- and all of them have to agree on the value of 'X.'" This is a concise statement of why we are facing debt DOOM. Deficit spending and debt accumulation has stretched the limits of "all of them" to "agree on the value of 'X.'" In other words, the system has already been subverted, and it has been subverted by the classical collective tactic: Centralized authority, cultivated public apathy, and took liberties while nobody was looking. It doesn't take a grand conspiracy to do this. All it took was enough people spotting the opportunities for one more great society program or one more COLA increase or one more cabinet-level department. "Given that, it becomes a Federal Government duty to ensure the value of the currency." Please see GnuBreed@89.

103 101 dagny he used to have his own show out here......it was PAINFUL....

104 bunneh win

105 No, I'm "getting stuck" on the fact that- in every one of your examples- you're even still using the USD as the reserve currency.

No, I'm not. You are, and you shouldn't be. There's no need to.

I can hold reserves in any store I choose (my preference is gold, but others might choose some other commodity). The problem is transparent and fast exchanges, and we have those.

106 This is Off Topic, but prepare to be infuriated.

1. Total Incompetence

2.???

3. Promotion, Baby.

Posted by: franksalterego

 

This isn't off topic in the elast. This is a classic symptom of boning.

107 105  Dude, shut up and go away.

Pay me, first.

108 Another Off Topic..

Suspicion: Captain Abysmal is a Used Car Salesman

Status: Confirmed

109 God, Hayworth is killing me, I'm about to jump up drive to NW washington, burst into the friggin radio station and beg them to get him off the air. It's torture.

110 Seems the dead cat is done bouncing. Now lets see if the bottom holds. Good thing Sparky is doing his misery tour and soon to be in Martha's Vineyard. The only problem with MV is the cruise missile launches. Go figure. BTW, why do all leftards hang out on MV?

111 One of my lefty friends points out that most of the job creation in Texas seems to be of the McJob variety - Texas is actually losing white collar jobs. A quick google search seemed to provide a similar result. What is the story there?

112 NPR breathlessly reporting that some other agency, Moody's, really thinks we are a triple A.

Guess that makes everything OK.  Whew!  I was worried.

Posted by: I'm in a New York state of mind

 

Heh. Now all we need if for them to catch their breath and explain what it is we're doing to deserve a AAA rating.

113 Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

G.K. Chesterton

114 Another reason they will fight alternative currencies -- they lose the ability to track and tax transactions.

I'm suddenly liking this idea.

115 I, For one, look forward to the day when we all carry around purses full of gold dust, live chickens, computer chips, pots and pans, bolts of silk, spices and other "currencies" to make our transactions. Because living like a Gypsy is fucking awesome.

116 116 One of my lefty friends points out that most of the job creation in Texas seems to be of the McJob variety - Texas is actually losing white collar jobs. A quick google search seemed to provide a similar result. What is the story there?


Doom.  (chaos in the classical Greek mythology.)

117 Because living like a Gypsy is fucking awesome.

Posted by: Empire of Jeff

 

Their family reunions seem to be lively.

118 Has anyone noted that the $2.2M bus looks like an overgrown herse? Just sayin. Its like the death star on wheels. Really good optics. Come see the Precedent's body.

119 Hmmm .... Monty, are you saying that Barry is right (albeit obliquely) about automation?

120 120 I, For one, look forward to the day when we all carry around purses full of gold dust, live chickens, computer chips, pots and pans, bolts of silk, spices and other "currencies" to make our transactions.

Because living like a Gypsy is fucking awesome.     EOJ, you should travel to Moldova. All the Euro Gypsies live there because there is not extradition. Amazing comparison between homes in Ukraine and those in Moldava. Roma's are not known for paying for things - they figured this currency trap out long ago. They are the original Flash Mob.

121

"To be 'money' it has to allow for exchange among many more than two parties- and all of them have to agree on the value of 'X.'"

You are so money, baby.

122

God, Hayworth is killing me, I'm about to jump up drive to NW washington, burst into the friggin radio station and beg them to get him off the air. It's torture.

While you're there, can you play this demo tape for us...

123

79This is Off Topic, but prepare to be infuriated.

1. Total Incompetence

2.???

3. Promotion, Baby.
----

Thats called the Peter Principle. Although it had seemed that they already rose to their level of incompetence.

124

Thats called the Peter Principle. Although it had seemed that they already rose to their level of incompetence.

Posted by: Jimmah at August 16, 2011 10:34 AM (TfRqk)

With JEF as their guide, it's riding the wave of incompetence all the way to the top, baby!

125 From what I can tell in an internet search, there was one article written and researched by liberal The Atlantic saying that Texas is losing management jobs which has been cited over and over and over again by the other lib media including NBC. There was also a paper done by an economist in 2003 suggesting the same thing but, it was 2003. You gotta be careful with libtards, they will hear a little blurb and take it  as the gospel truth without ever asking where it came from.

126 128

79This is Off Topic, but prepare to be infuriated.

1. Total Incompetence

2.???

3. Promotion, Baby.
----

Thats called the Peter Principle. Although it had seemed that they already rose to their level of incompetence.

 

Why punish talented implementers when its the owner of the requirement that should be punished? Just sayin. BTW - I hate the ATF, but they don't own the plan - take a look at Hillary.

127 ". . . Texas is actually losing white collar jobs." We just spent three decades in a white-collar jobs bubble. All that "service economy" talk was the bullshit facade we put on the fact that we were floating our economy on notes taken out against future generations. We have been top-heavy, and the trick today is in the creative destruction that will move the upper-echelon supernumerary positions down the food chain to where workers are needed. In Texas, these disappearing white-collar jobs are turning into your "McJobs." Elsewhere, the white-collar jobs are simply disappearing into putting more people on the dole.

128 Whats with all the Bloomturd ads everywhere this morning? 

129 Sub-Tard, I have no idea what point you are trying to make, but I will tell you this: After the American Cataclysm, items acceptable for trade in the Empire of Jeff will be: canned goods, machine parts, go juice for my machines, POL products, ammunition, tobacco and blond wimmens.

130 Monty, are you saying that Barry is right (albeit obliquely) about automation?

Not really, at least in the sense that his (implied) solution is less automation. I'm not sure this problem has a solution. The world economy is in the throes of a major alternation that will take decades to play out -- all we can do is roll with it and do our best to take advantage of the changes.

We need to fundamentally transform our educational system. The public-school system was formed during the industrial age -- even if it functioned perfectly, it would be maladapted to the new economy. And it functions very poorly indeed. For many duller kids, it's quite possible to graduate from high school without knowing how to read, write, or perform basic arithmetic. That is a guarantee of failure in the modern economy.

If you reach the age of (say) 20 without being able to read or write or do math, you're too far gone to save in economic terms. It costs more to train you than you're "worth" to a perspective employer. (This says nothing about your moral or ethical qualities, by the way. Many stupid people are wonderful human beings.)

131 My town in Illinois has four bridges that cross the canal that splits the town in half. Two of them have been closed for around a year, because they need repairs and the state has no money. It's like living in the third world. Although I think the third world isn't in debt, it's just broke, so my apologies to the third world.

132 Buffet "touches a nerve" in the upcoming global class war.


The article was an instant hit on Internet, with Buffett rising to No. 3 on Google's list of top trends, and the article's headline "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich," a trending topic on Twitter.

Dumbasses in the masses can't see through this horsiedoo... Let them eat cake.

133 If your parents haven't taught you to read at a basic level before kindergarten you are as screwed as a kid raised by wolves during the formative years of learning language.  It amazes me how many people think the state is responsible for raising their kids.    

134 Amid all this glorious DOOM and gloom, let me throw out a small ray of sunshine:
 
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - WisconsinÂ’s largest teachersÂ’ union plans to lay off 40% of its staff members.

Director Dan Burkhalter of the Wisconsin Education Association Council said Monday that 42 people who work for the union had received layoff notices. And he blamed it on what he called Governor Scott Walker’s “union-busting” legislation.
 
It seems that just 50-70% of the union members are opting in on the voluntary pay deduction of union dues.....causing these dreaded layoffs. Isn't that a crying shame?

135

In Texas, these disappearing white-collar jobs are turning into your "McJobs."

You know, a McJob is a still a job. 

And yay doom thread.  I was feeling merely mopey this morning, I needed that nudge into all out daydrinking depression.

As far as breaking the precedents re: cutting pension benefits, well, just ask the GM bondholders how well they fared in pointing out that well settled bankruptcy law did not allow the unions to be paid before the bondholders.  What can't go on forever, etc. etc. ad stuttering clusterfuckeum. 

 

136 "You know, a McJob is a still a job." Point taken. I really should not have repeated the slur--even with the scare quotes. I apologize.

137 97 NPR breathlessly reporting that some other agency, Moody's, really thinks we are a triple A.

Guess that makes everything OK.  Whew!  I was worried.
Tea party downgr- I mean... Obama stability

138 I have been reading these articles on currancy and I am more confused than before. However, I do have two thoughts. I want a currency that people can hold independant from any other organization. The No currancy, debit card people scare the hell out of me. If I want to buy something from my neighbor with out bartering a good or service, I should be able to do that with a standardized currency. Gold and silver really does not increase or decrease in value. The dollar increases and decreases in relationship to metals. Too many people think Metals move, they don't. Money moves. $1800 an ounce should terrify people.

139 134 Sub-Tard,

I have no idea what point you are trying to make, but I will tell you this:

After the American Cataclysm, items acceptable for trade in the Empire of Jeff will be: canned goods, machine parts, go juice for my machines, POL products, ammunition, tobacco and blond wimmens.


Who run Barter Town?

140 141 "You know, a McJob is a still a job."

Point taken.

I really should not have repeated the slur--even with the scare quotes.

I apologize.       McJobs - where are all those green jobs I heard about. And those high speed trains and bike paths. The future is all about trains and bicycles. Isn't that what Mao was implementing? Just askin.

141 NPR breathlessly reporting that some other agency, Moody's, really thinks we are a triple A. So, is this a Tea Party Upgrade?

142 beagle my kids learned to read in first grade.....i sent two to a private preschool and it was a joke so the younger two skipped it and began in kindergarten all of them began to read in first grade....two didn't begin to read until the end of 1st grade and while all my kids are smart....the late readers are my geniuses

143 A One Hundred Trillion Dollar note (USA's future):

http://tinyurl.com/43hcykk

144 subtard lol the green jobs you heard about? they got stimulus money and proceeded to fail...that solar co. barky endorsed....flopped

145 All these attacks on Perry (McJobs, etc..) are reminiscent of what they tried with Reagan.

146 Gold and silver really does not increase or decrease in value.

Well...that's not really true. Metal does move, just not nearly as much as fiat currencies do. New metal is constantly being mined, and old metal is destroyed or lost or taken out of the market.

$1800/oz gold is scary, but that says more about how crappy the USD is than how great gold is. Get ready for $2000/oz gold before the end of the year.

I think gold is overbought right now because there's a lot of panic-buying going on, but a lot of gold's rise is real and will last for a good long while. (I remember people telling me that gold was overpriced way back when I was paying $300/oz for it. I'm laughing my ass off at those people right now. Over the past decade, gold is the best-performing asset in my portfolio.)

147 Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall during these discussions.
"Biden to sell Debt deal to Chinese"  Imagine the hilarity...
http://tinyurl.com/3ezt69u

The inscrutable meet the incoherent.

148 Don't pick on the Chinese. Chinese chicks are hawt. And 30 minutes later, you feel like eating more.

149 Why punish talented implementers when its the owner of the requirement that should be punished? Just sayin. BTW - I hate the ATF, but they don't own the plan - take a look at Hillary.

Zey ver only follovink orders.

150 I want a currency that people can hold independant from any other organization.

Yeah, good luck with that.  Fond of the market as I am, the idea of a currency worthy of the name that isn't issued, certified, and kept regular and true by some organization or another simply fails the test of human nature.

Best you can hope for is to keep that organization honest, a test we've been failing for 40+ years now.

151 81 I kind of wish I could listen at the office- Mark Davis and Rush are my two favorite talk show hosts (though I argue at the radio more when Mark is on).

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at August 16, 2011 10:06 AM (8y9MW)

If you have a PC and headphones, here is a streaming player that carries El Rushbo:

http://tinyurl.com/3sybt3r

Posted by: The Robot Devil at August 16, 2011 10:08 AM (136wp)

There is also www.wmal.com which is a DC AM station.  If you listen early in the morning you can hear Mary Katherine Hamm.  It also has a blackberry and iPhone app. so you can listen on the run.

152 Anyone think Kentucky being on that list has anything to do with the Obama administrations attacks on the coal industry.  The state of Kentucky is one of the largest coal producers in the world and it is their #1 money maker.

"We are going to shut down the coal industry"

-Barack Obama

153

154 Why punish talented implementers when its the owner of the requirement that should be punished? Just sayin. BTW - I hate the ATF, but they don't own the plan - take a look at Hillary.

Zey ver only follovink orders.

 

Dos ist true. Did dey not follovink orders at Vaco?

154 $1800/oz gold is scary, but that says more about how crappy the USD is than how great gold is. Get ready for $2000/oz gold before the end of the year.

In my mind, that's still a toss-up. We should know in a couple of weeks if gold is going to hit $2000 or drop to $1700

155 44 OT - Why does an entire US political party continually seek to undermine our allies, particularly our only steadfast ally in the ME sandbox hellhole. U.S. Senator seeks to cut aid to elite IDF units operating in West Bank and Gaza Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at August 16, 2011 09:41 AM (9hSKh) Does COMMUNISM ring any bells? Ding, Ding, Ding!!!! As Rick Perry would likely say... borderline treacherous... treasonous, even.

156 "Why punish talented implementers when its the owner of the requirement that should be punished?" http://tinyurl.com/azo2ht

157 He's the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever laid eyes on!  He's got a vicious streak a mile wide!  He's a killer!

158
http://tinyurl.com/azo2ht

Posted by: FRONT TOWARD LEFT at August 16, 2011 10:57 AM (cbyrC)

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."

159 162 He's the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever laid eyes on! He's got a vicious streak a mile wide! He's a killer! Posted by: Sorcerer Tim at August 16, 2011 10:57 AM (v+QvA) You mean... Obama?

160 I love Chris Plante but having JD Hayworth subbing this week is killing me--he's awful. In the past I would have switched to Laura but she's not there.

Laura's on 730 AM but it is a weak signal. WFMD from Frederick has a simulcast at wfmd.com

161 He's the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever laid eyes on!  He's got a vicious streak a mile wide!  He's a killer!

Sure, he's gone full retard but Biden is not that bad.

162 "86 Posted by: The Robot Devil at August 16, 2011 10:08 AM (136wp) Not allowed to stream content at work. The radio station has a smartphone app. For iPhone. And Blackberry (blackberry, WBAP? Really?) but not for Android, yet." Get Tune in Radio for Android. You can stream it there. You can get most any station with that app.

163 If you listen early in the morning you can hear Mary Katherine Hamm.

And she sounds just as lovely on the air as she looks on TV.

164 I see that the Obama administration is using its laser-like focus on jobs to consider adding a Department of Jobs.  See Drudge.  So that's what the problem with unemployment has been, not enough government bureaucracy.

165 "Fond of the market as I am, the idea of a currency worthy of the name that isn't issued, certified, and kept regular and true by some organization or another simply fails the test of human nature." Trusting any organization to issue, certify, and keep a currency regular also fails the test of human nature, and present events are rubbing our noses in it. We now have the technology needed to do transparent spot markets for exchange. The Fed priesthood needs to go the way of buggy whips.

166

153

Don't pick on the Chinese. Chinese chicks are hawt.

They are when they shave.  IOW, when they're in the USA.

167 151, I never thought about it that way. That explains the wacky undulations of diamonds. I remember a story of the larger, non-industrial diamonds being over mined and they wanted to control what was on the market. Interesting.

168 Verizon wins injunction to stop Union Thugs from throwing feces. Sign of the times.

”Dropping, spreading, throwing, placing or otherwise causing nails, glass, cinder  block, spikes, feces, clubs, rocks, screws, or puncture devices of any kind, or other object or debris to be thrown or strewn in, on, or about VerizonÂ’s driveways, parking lots, entrances, exits, vehicles and adjoining roads to any of VerizonÂ’s property or  at any work site.”

169 Don't pick on the Chinese. Chinese chicks are hawt. They are when they shave. IOW, when they're in the USA. And their teeth are a lighter shade of brown.

170 That explains the wacky undulations of diamonds.

Diamonds really aren't all that rare. The DeBeers cartel has been very successful over the years in creating an artificial scarcity, and in controlling the supply chain, but that dominance fractured some time ago. And synthetic gemstones have taken a big bite out of the jewelry market because they are not only cheaper, but also prettier in many cases since they can be manufactured in a flawless state and given many non-natural colorations and so on.

The benefit of gold and silver is that they are hedges against disaster, not that they are good investments. Historically, gold is a lousy investment (though this isn't true for the last 20-year period). The reason you hold onto gold is because while it's value may drop, it never goes to zero -- and it stays highly liquid even in times of catastrophe (especially in times of catastrophe, in fact).

171 Another member of the "Why Didn't God Make Me Pretty" Club rails against fiscal responsibility.

172 @175 On top of all you said, diamonds as gemstones are not carat-by-carat fungible. Find any online purveyor with a searchable inventory, monkey around with the four-C criteria, and there is a huge difference in pricing across the variations. It takes a gemologist's word to determine the value of a diamond, and the skills needed far exceed what a metals assayer needs in his bag of tricks.

173 Hey all - that McJob comment wasn't meant to be an attack on hard working Americans, just an easy way to codify all the 9 buck an hour service jobs. I'm glad people can get them, but as someone who makes a little over 3 times that amount and still struggles, it is hard to see an abundance of minimum wage jobs as a good thing. Even if it beats no jobs. It doesn't help that when I was on unemployment for 3 months my paycheck after taxes beat out a full time minimum wage gig. I ultimately ended up getting a new job because being unemployed is far too psychologically damaging. Not the fun I figured it might be after the first month or so. Anyhow, tldr; McJob isn't really a slur. And no one has really explained how texas being one of the top 5 in white collar job losers during this recession is a good thing except 132 sorta.

174 @175 if I ever get married my wife is getting a gold ring. Diamonds are not rare and are not valuable. At least with a plain gold ring, it is directly valuable should SHTF for my wife or ex wife. Of course, I have a chronic immuno disease so anyone I marry will need to sign a prenup ensuring that I can't ever be taken to the cleaners so I can provide for myself if/once I can no longer work... and I assume that won't make anyone happy heh.

175 That rabbit's a killah!  He's got huge sharp...he can leap about....just look at the bones!!!

176 @178 "And no one has really explained how texas being one of the top 5 in white collar job losers during this recession is a good thing except 132 sorta." Easy explanation: It's a fucking lie. The recent shitstorm about white-collar job losses originate from some fuck posting his misleading shit under the byline, "24/7 Wall St." The claim is based on a drop in the percentage of the white-collar workforce from (presumably) 12.9% to 12.5% between 2000 and 2009. According to the BLS, the annual average total workforce for 2000 was 9,271,310. For 2009, that number was 10,289,240. 12.9% of 9,217,310 is 1,195,999 12.5% of 10,289,240 is 1,286,155 On what fucking planet is an increase of 90,156 white-collar jobs a loss of white-collar jobs?

177 @181 self Those 2000 & 2009 BLS employment numbers are for Texas.

178 OMG.

The Institute of Cheer is amazing.

The BHG interior design book from the 70's... wow. Just wow.

WARNING!!

DO NOT VISIT THAT SITE UNLESS YOU HAVE HOURS TO WASTE!!!

MONTY WAS NOT JOKING! ELEVENTY!!

179 Article 1 Section 10 Paragraph 1 Clause 5 seems to imply that the states individually could require gold and silver coin as the only legal tender for the repayment of debts.

Am I reading this correctly?

I see it as: No state shall...make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts;...

To me that implies that the states can not authorize a fiat money as legal Tender - Texas for example is prohibited to pass a law making Federal Reserve notes legal tender, but could pass a law which requires gold and silver coins as legal tender in Texas.

How do the rest of you read that?

Here is the relevant section (Italics mine):

Section 10:
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
 

180 I donÂ’t usually add my comments, but I will in this case. Nice work. I look forward to reading more.