1 Doom yer just like SMOD, always promising and never delivering. You big tease.

2 But the summer of recovery is just around the corner.

3 Recovery Summer V  the boning.

4 Guess I shouldn't comment on economic matters. Apparently I lost 10.8 billion dollars on a GM stock deal and boy do I feel stupid.

5 David Simon is really an idiot. The amount of bullshit that article suggests he believes would fertilize all the fields in Iowa.

6 David Simon on libertarianism:

"Ultimately we abandoned that and believed in the idea of trickle-down and the idea of the market economy and the market knows best, to the point where now libertarianism in my country is actually being taken seriously as an intelligent mode of political thought. ItÂ’s astonishing to me. But it is. People are saying I donÂ’t need anything but my own ability to earn a profit. IÂ’m not connected to society. I donÂ’t care how the road got built, I donÂ’t care where the firefighter comes from, I donÂ’t care who educates the kids other than my kids. I am me. ItÂ’s the triumph of the self. I am me, hear me roar."

No, David, that isn't remotely what any serious Libertarian is suggesting. Keeping things on a local level isn't a radical idea. It is how things were done until fairly recently.

7 Epobirs, he makes the same point about modern group health insurance as "socialism." "Private socialism" is called either cooperation or charity, depending on the benefit to the giver. "Public socialism" is called the Holodomor.

8 I understand why Purp linked the Simon piece but now I feel like I need a shower after my monitor erupted with that deluge of crap.

9 Crap? Tune in CNN......Mandela funeral/slobberfest is airing.

10 Doom? Oh fuck

11 epobirs, I would say that Purp read the trend of what the ONT was discussing at the end and went out to get some data. ZH definitely has problems, and they fall mainly on too much doom and gloom (plus a bit of anti-Semitism in the comments).
 
But charts are a real thing. Sure, you can make hockey sticks out of them if you choose your start and end points injudiciously *waves at Jim Hansen and Michael Mann*
 
And yes, libertarianism can approach anarchy, where every man is answerable only to himself. I say this as a libertarian.

12 Purp (or Monty, or anyone else, but in that order), has there been any serious talk about taxing bank accounts (like Cyprus?) or enacting a tax on wealth?  I figured next step is confiscation of retirement accounts and that horse has left the barn, but I wasn't sure where the talk was with taxing savings or wealth.

13 ZH talks about our trade deficit with China, for example, without talking about the overall picture. Our overall trade deficit has been falling of late, due to primarily increased LNG, coal and refined petroleum products being exported.
 
And take profits -- Who makes the most money, a group of people working 12 hours a day for 6 days a week at near slave wages, or the manager of such a group? The former is Chinese labor; the latter is Apple (or pick your own company). And it doesn't even mean that the 12hr/6day workers are being exploited, if their living and financial conditions improve markedly. They have moved UP the economic ladder.

14

 

Ah, but it's the twisty maze of passages that is doom. The maze will lead to a wise open area of recovery. Alas, that area will be packed with a platoon of cyberdemons. Sorry, sucka... still DooM.

15 Cheer up kids...it is not like the Feds would willfully starve people by restricting the ability of people to have gainful employment like in the coal sector...or the Feds would demand you pay more of a diminishing pool for energy artificially by shutting down coal plants like the one my dad is helping demolish in Ohio...

Nah the Feds ONLY care about helping "the poor" and by Jesus they intend to create as many poor as worker's paradise needs.

16 12 : tunakermit at December 10, 2013 05:22 AM (idk45)

Xeroxonomics allows the Feds to steal your bank accounts without going to the trouble of the raid that has bad press.

Cyprus are pikers compared to our bandits.

17 >> Purp (or Monty, or anyone else, but in that order), has there been any serious talk about taxing bank accounts (like Cyprus?) or enacting a tax on wealth?
 
I'm not one of the ones listed, but i'll give er a go -- Your bank account is already being taxed, but you can't see it. Artificially low interest rates mean you earn basically nothing for your cash on hand, while inflation slowly chews away at its buying power. Presto, hidden tax.
 
And yes, the push is own to charge a transaction tax for every trade you make.

18 17 GnuBreed at December 10, 2013 05:29 AM (wNF3N)

You can make the argument that measured in BPP they have already stolen 66-80% of the value of the income you were frugal with.

19 President Barack ObamaÂ’s expected 10-minute speech at Nelson MandelaÂ’s memorial will cost taxpayers at least $500,000 per minute.
 
Daily Caller. Let's just hope he doesn't develop a sudden urge to spend a billion or 5 while he's there; that's where the real bill comes due.

20 OK, I will admit being utterly unplugged from popular "culture" since Emily died in 2010 and I sold the TV and canceled the cable TV subscription....

Who the Hell is-

David Simon. WTF is "The Wire," and why the Hell should I care?

21 Our overall trade deficit has been falling of late, due to primarily increased LNG, coal and refined petroleum products being exported.  Posted by: GnuBreed at December 10, 2013 05:22 AM (wNF3N)



Yes, and by dragging his feet on Keystone and slowing down LNG exports, he keeps killing actual shovel ready jobs.  He is an absolute feckless and worthless monster.   I wish him a long life spent trying to live down his awful legacy.  Yet, I predict that when he does finally pass from this vale of tears, we will be treated to an orgy of grief that will make Mandela's funeral look quaint.

22 Epobirs, #6, quotes David Simon: "People are saying I donÂ’t need anything but my own ability to earn a profit. IÂ’m not connected to society. I donÂ’t care how the road got built, I donÂ’t care where the firefighter comes from, I donÂ’t care who educates the kids other than my kids. I am me. ItÂ’s the triumph of the self. I am me, hear me roar." This reminds me of that wonderful study by an honest liberal psychologist, who among other things found that liberals pretty much suck at accurately characterizing views they oppose. (See "Tranny, know your place!") Conservatives aren't perfect, but we're better at laying out the liberal view without caricature before tearing into it. Liberals (in my experience) either can't resist presenting a straw man, or they honestly don't know they're doing it.

23 Dag nabbit, some of the more insightful of the Horde are here and I'm being attacked by the white screen of death. Oh well, the country has gone past the tipping point. Might as well, while keeping my powder dry, eat, drink and make Mary,,, and Sue,,, and Donna,,, and,,, what's that? Whatever. I like it better my way.

24

What I find amazing is the disconnect between reality and expectations all of these supposedly-educated economic gurus have...

 

1.  They know that unemployment is ridiculously high.

2.  They know that workforce participation is way down.

3.  They know that more people are working part-time and temp jobs than ever.

4.  They think that consumers are sitting on huge piles of money that they're not spending.

 

Wait, what?  How does 4 follow from 1-3?

25 But, but the middle class and green energy, seriously you guys.

26 24 It doesn't and therein lies the problems we are going to have in the near future.

27 I think the retail numbers after the first of the year will be horrid.

28 I know that in our household, almost every penny of discretionary spending is being postponed.

If it isn't needed, we aren't buying it.

And in discussion with some small business owners that I know, they are seeing the same thing taking place.
Go long on Dentists, and Funeral homes.
Most people can't put off either one if the need arises.

29 And....Baltimore County schools have pre-emptively closed for snow predicted to start falling in a few hours.

30 @28:  Most people.  I've been in dire need of some dentistry for the past year, but hey.  I'm working part-time, y'know?

31 26 Infidel at December 10, 2013 06:29 AM (6bvBO)

Correct and you have a power structure and populace that is programmed to prevent the industry necessary for economic recovery.

1) wages must come down so there is a demand for labor

2) the markets must find new efficiencies

3) we must harvest our natural resources for cheap energy and capital while the reset takes place...

instead we have fast food workers trying to snag 15 bucks an hour in their rent controlled little magic kingdoms

32 @sven - I'm going to try and use that word today in regular conversation.  Thanks!

33

instead we have fast food workers trying to snag 15 bucks an hour in their rent controlled little magic kingdoms

 

That's the union socialism.  Their wages are tied to minimum wage.  I am so sick of hearing about the minimum wage,  hey dumb shit, it's not supposed to be a lifetime job.  It's  called  'entry level' for a damn reason.

34 32 tunakermit at December 10, 2013 06:35 AM (idk45)

We're all in this together...

35 For the first time in several years, there is ZERO rent increase for my apartment. This is very unusual in my experience of renting for 25+ years (only happened a few times), and perhaps  anecdotal evidence of a weakening rental market or a worsening economy.

36

David Simon is really an idiot. The amount of bullshit that article suggests he believes would fertilize all the fields in Iowa.

 

Simon is a perfect exemplar of the adage that, just because you can write doesn't mean you should write.

37 "Most people. I've been in dire need of some dentistry for the past year, but hey. I'm working part-time, y'know?"

Oh, I have plenty of dental work on my teeth that I am putting off.

But once one of those little enamel covered rat bastards break or start to throb, it's off to see the Dentist.

Interestingly, Mrs VIA (The Dental Assistant) says that Teeth Bleaching as an elective is going gangbusters.
Seems to me that putting that off would be the first thing on my "Reduce Spending" list of things to get rid of.

38 Someone grab Willow, let's go.

39 28 I know that in our household, almost every penny of discretionary spending is being postponed.

If it isn't needed, we aren't buying it.

And in discussion with some small business owners that I know, they are seeing the same thing taking place.
Go long on Dentists, and Funeral homes.
Most people can't put off either one if the need arises.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice

Yep. Slashed to the bone. Withdrawing as much from commerce and society as I can. Never vote again- "it only encourages them...." Not a penny to the Stupid Party. Look out for me and mine. The rest of O-Merica? Can go to its own self-selected Hell.

40 There is only one way we will start seeing a recovery.  Get the Choom God_King out of office and a strong conservative who will roll back all his BS regulations in office.

41 Baldy: I've been paying the same rent for six years in a row (Shenandoah Valley). Some of the newer tenants may in fact be paying less, but I have too many books to make moving for slightly lower rent a reasonable proposition.

42

@31:  All slashing wages will do is drive more people onto the welfare rolls.  You can have a garbage standard of living without lifting a finger, or a garbage standard of living busting your hump.  It's already getting to be a siren's call for those of us hanging onto the bottom rung of the ladder with one hand.

 
Here's a better idea.  Get rid of all business regulations that aren't health & safety and do away with corporate taxes altogether.  (Corporations don't pay taxes, their customers do, baked into the price of the product.)

 

 

43 If fast food workers get $15 an hour and the fast food reflects that cost, so what?  People stop eating fast food.  And Ms. $15 an hour will lose her job because the business shut down.  I don't understand why people here cry about that.

44 @ Sven "We're all in this together..." No we're not polar bear.

45 42 Cato at December 10, 2013 06:47 AM (i+Vw2)

I disagree, but I would.

The minimum wage as set by idiots who don't live in the private sector coupled with a too generous welfare state is a job devouring trap.

If I had a magic wand I'd abolish minimum wage, price controls, and reduce welfare as aid dispersals.

46 43 If fast food workers get $15 an hour and the fast food reflects that cost, so what? People stop eating fast food. And Ms. $15 an hour will lose her job because the business shut down. I don't understand why people here cry about that.

Posted by: Case at December 10, 2013 07:04 AM (o00SF)

All but 20 of those so-called fast food workers are paid union rent a thug mobs.

47 43 Case at December 10, 2013 07:04 AM (o00SF)

I don't think anyone is slashing their wrists over the retardation of the fry cooks, BUT it is a symptom of why there will likely never be major industrial surges in this nation again.

A person thinking they are entitled to a banker's lifestyle for making fast food is a sign there is a serious amoral rot in your workforce.

48 44 Barack Obama at December 10, 2013 07:13 AM (BZwfq)

Oh yes we are Mocha Messiah.

http://youtu.be/xlCPkmb6cuY

49

>>>I'm not one of the ones listed, but i'll give er a go -- Your bank account is already being taxed, but you can't see it. Artificially low interest rates mean you earn basically nothing for your cash on hand, while inflation slowly chews away at its buying power. Presto, hidden tax.

And yes, the push is own to charge a transaction tax for every trade you make.

.

.

.I make the princely sum of .175% annual interest on my accounts I will have you know!

50 46 Vic at December 10, 2013 07:16 AM (T2V/1)

That as well.  Economic education has always been lacking in this nation, but usually in civics it was at least explained that your wages were a reflection of your utility.  Now civics education has a lot less to do with fostering a working society and a lot more to do with indoctrination towards political desires by the NEA.

51 49 Registered Voter at December 10, 2013 07:20 AM (MZGhy)

Plug in the law of 72 and you'll understand the scale of theft Helicopter Ben Bukakke has engaged in.

52 If you haven't already, stock up on guns, ammo, and store-able food - having a nice hunk of land would be nice too.

This isn't gonna be a controlled landing, folks....

53 52 fred zeppelin at December 10, 2013 07:22 AM (zL/eJ)

Halifax Nova Scotia looks a lot like Havre D'Grace there Fred...just colder and with even stranger accents.

54 53  Halifax Nova Scotia looks a lot like Havre D'Grace there Fred...just colder and with even stranger accents.
Posted by: sven at December 10, 2013 07:23 AM (9jfyN)



LOL, I spent a night in jail there.

55 54 Vic, You told me when we compared notes. Fred and my kids plyed together there a few times...happier days when I looked crazy for predicting doom.

56

>>Plug in the law of 72 and you'll understand the scale of theft Helicopter Ben Bukakke has engaged in.

.

.

.I have already figured it out.  The Wife wants to keep all of our money in savings and in our 401K.  I have explained to here that we have a ton of money sitting there that is losing value every year no matter how much we put in.   She just sees the ending balances grow and thinks that is good and we keep maxing out the tax free contributions.  She is OK with me buying silver however.

57 56 Registered Voter, I'd buy some Canadian land....I plan to the next time I have 10,000 bucks to rub together. The most logical outcome of Krugatonomics is codified theft.

58 56  Posted by: Registered Voter at December 10, 2013 07:31 AM (MZGhy)



If your 401K is in good stocks that will not fail and your company makes a contribution it will exceed inflation.


Bank accounts and the shitty MM funds they have now, not so much.  When I closed out all my accounts at BOA to move them I took a good junk of what had been in those MMFs and bough wife a new car with it.  Car prices going up much faster than bank funds.

59 57  I'd buy some Canadian land....I plan to the next time I have 10,000 bucks to rub together.

The most logical outcome of Krugatonomics is codified theft.

Posted by: sven10077 at December 10, 2013 07:34 AM (9jfyN)

Not a good idea with an ice age oncoming.

60 59 Vic at December 10, 2013 07:35 AM (T2V/1)

Well I'll be cold with the Eskimos then....

Take your bets and chances I guess...

Belize and Mexopolis are the other hedges but the warmer the climate the more Banana the Republic...up until the last 5 years it seems.

61 Yamamoto, where are you now that we really need you?

62 @56 Registered Voter I have been recommending the "3 Gs" gold, ground , guns for sometime now. Acquintances thought I was joking. I would hesitate on ground as when the inflation hits, property taxes/ confiscations will go through the roof (pun intented).

63 Ah, David Simon. The guy's claim to fame is that he made an outstanding television series about the human and economic disaster that results when the left gets its way for a half-century in a one-party city in a one-party state.

But, you know, the answer is MOAR LEFTISM. Keep voting for Democrats you guys.

64 Ah, just embrace the AoSHQ approved DOOM lifestyle: hookers and blow.

65 The velocity of money has slowed because the Fed pays banks an interest rate on excess reserves that the banks redeposit back at the Fed. Excess Reserves on deposit with the Fed are up to $2.4 trillion now. The jobs created are mostly government jobs, each of which requires about 10-20 real jobs just to pay for. All GDP and inflation and employment figures shod be calculated by reference only to the private economy, with government activity either ignored or counted as a negative. Those numbers reveal the true extent of the Boning.

66 Who the Hell is-

David Simon. WTF is "The Wire," and why the Hell should I care?

Posted by: backhoe at December 10, 2013 05:54 AM (ULH4o)

1. Some jackass.

2. Some TV show.

3. Can't think of a single reason.

The only reason I didn't drop cable in 2010 when my wife passed is I have kids still living at home. For another 4 years, and then that's it.

67 Sven,

Wife thought I was crazy asking for 12gau ammo for Christmas, as much as she could afford - now, she's finally come around to realize how deep in the drack we are...

68

 WTF is "The Wire," and why the Hell should I care?


Posted by: backhoe at December 10, 2013 05:54 AM (ULH4o)


==========================

 

It's a TV show. It's actually pretty good, although not the second coming that various right on leftists are portraying it as. A large part of the overpraise is that it requires attention to follow along (although it's not that it's particularly difficult, just not built for casual viewing.) That means, like long and difficult books, people have a tendency to overpraise them just to prove to themselves that it was worth the effort. Also, people tend to use it to show that they *can* pay close attention to multiple storylines and lots of characters.

 

Where the show itself is *is* sociologically useful, however, is in its depiction of white leftie's viewpoint. To put it bluntly, they never came home from Woodstock. Apparently, all the inner city majority black (Hispanics don't seem to exist) is moar munneh. And apparently all the teachers need to do is, like, be relevent, yo. And all the black drug dealers are EXACTLY the same, deep down, as people like David Simon. What, you think it's unrealistic that the highest level drug dealers - or the up 'n comings - are all highly literate, capable of college level courses if only they are given the opportunity, spend their spare time reading literature and are basically middle class people 120 IQs trapped in the ghetto? Raaaaacist!

 

The end of the war on drugs, for these people, is not letting people get on with things. It's not prosecuting them, and instead sending in massive amounts of social workers, health workers, welfare state administrators etc. (If this sounds an awful lot like what has been tried and failed then, well, yeah.)  

69 The decline in V2M is almost entirely due to quantitative easing.

What is truly scary about the state of V2M is what will happen to inflation should it start to rise.

There are a set of laws that Obama cannot control and they dictate only two possible ways out of this scenario.  The Fed has no real way to pull all that QE pack out, and the banks will not tolerate deflation.  Massive, if not hyperinflation is inevitable.

Stagflation is the least worst option.

70 12 Purp (or Monty, or anyone else, but in that order), has there been any serious talk about taxing bank accounts (like Cyprus?) or enacting a tax on wealth? I figured next step is confiscation of retirement accounts and that horse has left the barn, but I wasn't sure where the talk was with taxing savings or wealth. Posted by: tunakermit at December 10, 2013 05:22 AM (idk45) The US already taxes wealth. The Estate Tax hits people who have a net worth of over 5 million at a 40% rate upon their death. The theft of 401K's will begin sooner rather than later.

71 has there been any serious talk about taxing bank accounts

I'm sure the leftists have thought it.  We're not to the point where they'd speak it openly though. 

72 The fast food strike was organized out of the White House through SEIU. That strike was nothing more than performance art to back up Obama's speech about income inequality. I'm too lazy to pull up the link to the USA Today story that mentioned SEIU being "one of the organizers" behind the fast food strike.

73 69 ThomasD. Have you been to the grocery store lately? Or Costco? Or pumped gas? Or bought any clothes? There is so much inflation out there it's sick. Those phoney numbers the gov puts out ("ex food and energy") are a crock. Ask any housewife. Although I firmly believe some of the food inflation is due to the massive amount of increased food stamps in the system since Zero came into office. That's another middle class tax. The lack of velocity of money is the only thing saving us from being Zimbabwe inflation wise. I agree with you that the fed cannot back off of QE. Look for Zero to use it as a weapon to influence the 2016 elections.

74
Ah, David Simon. The guy's claim to fame is that he made an outstanding television series about the human and economic disaster that results when the left gets its way for a half-century in a one-party city in a one-party state.

But, you know, the answer is MOAR LEFTISM. Keep voting for Democrats you guys.

Posted by: Masturbatin' Pete at December 10, 2013 08:29 AM (xN1DB)

One of my favorite scenes in The Wire is when Carcetti wins the Dem primary for mayor. Everyone's raising glasses and patting each other on the back, and then Carcetti tamps down the festivities by saying "let's not celebrate yet, I still have to win the general election".

*pregnant pause*

(Everyone in the room ) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

As I recall, Simon and the rest of the Wire producers are all raging lefties, but they screwed up and in the pursuit of compelling TV drama ACCIDENTALLY produced the greatest indictment of Donk control of government ever in popular culture.

75 Funny, I didn't see any striking fast food workers here in Texas. I do regularly see young people in their very distinctive orange Whataburger polo shirts waiting for the bus or walking to work. I remember being that age and working seven days a week to keep a shitty apartment roof over my head and walking to work because I wrecked my car and my 18 year old thought process had been, "Whaaaaat? Insurance??? I'll just drive real careful!" And I say a little prayer that those kids are learning excellent lessons and developing the resolve to figure out what it takes to not have to take the bus to make people burgers all day. It's only by the grace of God that I did. I wonder about the kids being surrounded by the total maroons that our society is infested with, and despair, and then remember that the brighter among them might look at the maroons and say, "Yeah, no thanks." Re retirement and stuff: We just took out a 401k loan of several dozen grand to pay off all debt. Needed to ease the monthly cash flow (to buy moar guns, ammo and dried beans!)(kidding, kind of!) and the value had increased dramatically over the past couple of years, and it felt vulnerable just sitting there. That is the degree of confidence we have at the moment.

76 I always find David Simon to be very frustrating, at least in his interviews/articles. He can almost SEE the disaster the Left and Liberalism has created. But he just can't make the final ideological jump to see that it is to blame. This article was filled with slams against capitalism, praising the Unions, hating libertarians and distorting what they believe. But buried in that pile of poo are some nuggets of gold. Just like in the Wire. Great TV show partly because it just showed what was going on and what was causing it. The Wire didn't really get the chance to blame it all on Republicans, partly because Republicans haven't been in power in Balmer in a long, long time.

77 I agree, Mark. I want to know what this very rich, deservedly so, TV producer has done to share his own wealth.