Yearly Archives: 2013

Here’s Why You Think Inflation Is Much Higher Than the Government Says

"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, producer prices for finished goods moved up just 1.4 percent for the 12 months ended in August, the smallest advance since a 0.5-percent rise in April 2013. According to the BLS release, over the past 12 months, at the producer level: Fresh and dry vegetables are up 47.1%. The price of chickens is up 6.2%. Residential gasoline is up 7.7%. Soaps and detergents are up 6.6%. Footwear is up 4.9%. Processed eggs are up 10.3%. Milk is up 6.7%. So if you don't eat, wear shoes or wash, there is hardly any price inflation." Continue reading →

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Terrible News: Mark Zuckerberg Does D.C.

"Mark Zuckerberg appears to have learned the lessons of his Silicon Valley predecessors — he’s not waiting to get caught in Washington’s cross hairs before trying to find friends on Capitol Hill. In a rare personal lobbying blitz, the 29-year-old Facebook CEO and billionaire is slated this week to meet with top Senate and House Republican and Democratic leaders and the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.[...] Zuckerberg’s visit also highlights his company’s ongoing shift from a thriving tech startup in Silicon Valley to a prominent corporation with vested interests in Washington." Continue reading →

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Georgia congressman complains: ‘I’m stuck here making $172,000 a year’

"A Georgia Republican congressman was caught complaining about what he described as a low salary in a closed-door meeting with fellow party members concerning the Affordable Care Act. During a discussion concerning a possible exemption for lawmakers and staff members from taking part in the state health exchanges mandated by the new law, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) reportedly lamented that aides can become lobbyists 'and make 500,000 a year. Meanwhile I’m stuck here making $172,000 a year.' USA Today reported that Gingrey’s net worth is estimated to be between $3 million and $7.6 million, while the median household income in Georgia is $49,736." Continue reading →

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Surprise, Surprise: Consumers Do Not Believe the Fed’s Inflation Projections

"Caroline Baum of Bloomberg addresses the question of why consumers have ignored the Fed’s widely ballyhooed inflation target of 2 percent and the fact that CPI inflation has averaged only 1.5 percent over the past five years. Her answer is enlightening: 'Consumers either don’t listen, don’t care or derive their expectations from their own shopping cart. Food and gas comprise a big part of the household budget, and energy prices, at least, have been rising much faster than inflation. Just as consumers vote their pocketbook, they use their pocketbook to make judgments on where inflation is today and where prices are headed.'" Continue reading →

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Krugman: “The Employment Story is Highly Unimpressive”

"Even Paul Krugman gets it. He writes: 'The measured unemployment rate is down a lot — in fact, at 7.3 percent it’s almost exactly the same as it was in November 1982 1984, when Ronald Reagan won big on claims of restored prosperity. But most of the fall in unemployment reflects lower labor force participation rather than job growth. Even if we focus on prime-age workers, so as to net out demographic effects, the employment story is highly unimpressive.'" Continue reading →

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All Government Policies Succeed in the Long Run

"Many people, for good reason, have concluded that the surest test of whether a politician or public official is lying is to ask, Are his lips moving? An equally simple test may be proposed to determine whether a seemingly failed policy is actually a success for the movers and shakers of the political class. This test requires only that we ask, Does the policy remain in effect? If it does, we can be sure that it continues to serve the interests of those who are actually decisive in determining the sorts of policy the government establishes and implements." Continue reading →

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California Approves $10 Minimum Wage; What Will Become Automated Now?

"The next time you pump gas for yourself ask yourself what happened to the gas station attendants that used to pump gas and wash your windshields. The same thing when you can't find a department store clerk. It's the same thing with those damn automated phone answering services that most firms now use, it's just too expensive to hire human operators. And its the same with grocery store baggers from days of old. Thank you minimum wage. The damage of minimum wage isn't some theoretical, you have just gotten so use to it that you have forgotten what things were like, or you are too young to know the good old days." Continue reading →

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Swiss Fund Centralway Invests $250k In Bitcoin Exchange Buttercoin

"Swiss company builder Centralway is opening a new seed and early stage investment arm that will invest $50 million per year into 20 to 30 startups — including both small seed-stage investment and larger Series A rounds. It said its 'preferred case' will be to do a smaller investment at the seed stage, followed by larger investment into the same company at a later round. Buttercoin‘s model is to open a local Bitcoin exchange in each country where it operates — starting with Europe (where it’s due to launch in around two months’ time) — and then partner with local money transfer businesses to gain legal compliance in the country." Continue reading →

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Canadian billionaire predicts end of US Dollar as world’s reserve currency

"Canadian billionaire businessman Ned Goodman predicts the end of the U.S. Dollar as the world's reserve currency. He predicts the transition out of the U.S. Dollar will become, '...quite ugly.' He delivered the lecture at Cambridge House's Toronto Resource Investment Conference 2013 on Thursday, September 12, 2013." Continue reading →

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