JUST a bit outside...

They actually got it centered perfectly...on the wrong yard line.

Nod to WH

Spreadsheets Cause Financial Panics?

This is pretty great.

Now, they CAN'T be serious.  Of course, there are some arguments that are not entirely nonsensical.

But still.

We Know with Great Certainty We Have the WRONG Policiies

There are some problems with economists.  They don't often know the right thing to do.

But we are actually pretty good about recognizing the wrong thing to do.  The problem is that policy makers are driven, in part by their own overconfidence and in part by their need to be seen as "doing SOMETHING," to do things that are clearly wrong.

Great video.  Check out John Cochrane, just after 3:45 mark.  Nicely done, Dr. Cochrane.




Nod to WH.

Education: yer doin it wrong

In this Times piece on young women leaving the labor force to increase their human capital, the author focuses in on one such person, getting an MA from the university of Denver.

The piece returns to her at the end and causally notes that, when added to her BA debt, the young lady will be $200,000 in the hole when she graduates!!

Given that her BA was from Wartburg College and her MA is in "strategic communications", I hope this person got a tremendous amount of enjoyment from going to school because as a financial investment, this stinks.

It's quite likely that she has consigned herself to an adult life lived out entirely behind the financial 8-ball.

Your Euro Death Watch update

Spanish 10 year bond yields hit 6.975% today.

YIKES!

With no growth in sight for Greece Italy and Spain, high re-financing costs like this will make their debt ratios grow even if they manage to balance their budgets. Only large surpluses will stabilize those debt ratios if their cost of funds is 7% or above and economic growth is weak.

Good Grief: What does Obama have against Lee Myung-bak?

The South Korean president is here to celebrate the US-Korea FTA signing. Here is what our President has planned for him:

"Obama on Friday will then take Lee for a road trip to Detroit, home of the U.S. auto industry."

Let's break this sentence down, Tosh.O style:

1. A "road trip"? Are they DRIVING FROM DC to DETROIT? Who's paying for gas? If they use an electric car, how many days will that take?

2. Where, upon arrival, UAW officials will bury Lee under a parking lot, Jimmy Hoffa style?

3. Maybe President Lee has a thing for vacant lots or $11,000 houses?

4. Umm, Mr. President, I don't think Detroit is actually the Home of the US Auto industry anymore. Are you going to use a time machine and take him to Detroit in 1966?

Plenty of room in the comments for more!

Double Fail

We all know that the Middle East is full of fail, but sometimes the fail is too good to pass up.

Consider first the "Palestinian Spring" story.

So here's an entrenched calling for his own ouster? After all the Arab spring involved deposing existing leaders.

Next up is that well known reformer King Abdullah giving women the right to vote.

Not in the upcoming election of course, but later. This will make a big difference in Saudi policies I'm sure as votes mean so much in the Kingdom.

PS: If you are wondering where I get off calling a geriatric despot a "reformer", it's right in the AP story linked to above:

"The right to vote is by far the biggest change introduced by Abdullah, considered a reformer, since he became the country's de facto ruler in 1995 during the illness of King Fahd."

Snake on a Car

It's just a snake. I have picked up copperheads in our yard, put them in a bucket, and taken them down the hill to a swamp and let them go. This was just a non-poisonous snake. I would have pulled over, taken it off, and let it go. Why kill the poor thing?

Sure, I'd be startled at first. But it's dangerous to drive if you are that distracted, and the driver behind you would likely swerve.

(Nod to the Blonde, who would probably have been firing her sidearm through the windshield)

weekend links

1. Alexander Cockburn absolutely kills BHO over the OBL affair.

Here's a teaser: From this active volcano of lies, we can safely assume that Obama's re-election campaign has been well and truly launched.

2. Al-Zarkawi gets a new roomie.

This is the funniest thing I've read in quite a while (hat tip to the King of Arkansas).

3. Once again, Timmy Geithner proves himself to be a man of the people.

Maurtius: Paradise Not

Every time I wonder to myself, "Could Joe Stiglitz sell out his considerable talents as an economist any more than he has?", Joe goes and shows that, YES HE CAN.

Mauritius--Paradise. What can the US learn from this tiny island nations?

We can learn that capital is berry, berry good ting to hov, mon. (No, Mauritius is not in the Carribean, sue me). But, when the Mauritianians want a big night out, they go to...Madagascar.

Also, the reason the Mauritius doesn't have American problems is that they don't have the American government. I say we give them Joe Biden, and throw in Fanny and Freddie for a player to be named never.

Anonyman writes: "Having been there, I can say that it's nice, for a 3rd world country. But it's still basic, and basic infrastructure is - well - basic. When you arrive and go through customs you wait in line and a guy behind a tiny desk looks at your passport, and then stamps it. That's all, no computer, no questions, nothing. When I remarked how primitive it was they guy next to me said, in all seriousness, that it's much more modern since they got A/C in the airport.

The best part was that there is a highway across the island, but no overpasses. So every time there is an intersection you go through a traffic circle at 60 mph. It was terrifying, but not in a good way. I was about to vomit after the first one, sort of like when you at the amusement park.

So nirvana? Not really. But a great excuse to visit there as an "economist talking guy." "

Okay, One for the Critics

I generally have little patience for the haters who want to blame America's collective and individual giant fat asses on fast food in general and Mickie D's in particular.

But...I have to admit the anti-oatmeal bitching is pretty much on target.

Tried it myself:

1. Asked for no cream and no sugar. Got both.
2. Took it back. Was assured that could be done. Got both again.
3. Took it back. Manager came over. No, turns out can't be done. Can redo without sugar if I really WANT to, but cream is already mixed.
4. I just left it on the counter, and left.

McDonalds insists you can customize, but it's actually not true.

Don't park illegally in England

Not even if you have a pretty good excuse....(note action in circle on left)

He Lied and Said He was a ... Lobbyist

Rep. Lee is married, and 46. And a Congressman.

But he lied and said he was single, 39, and a lobbyist.

The woman on Craigslist was not impressed.

Reminds me of the story about the economist. Mom was coming to visit, and economist made his friends promise NOT to tell mom he was an economist. "She would be so embarrassed, so don't tell her! She thinks I play piano in a whorehouse!" You can see why saying you were a congressman was even worse. In effect, Rep. Lee said that he was an economist.

@mattyglesias says: "Not sure I understand what wrongdoing Rep Lee has committed." Dude! Being a pathetic idiot is not illegal, but it is certainly embarrassing. Congressman gots to go.

Is this anyway to WTF?

It depends. If WTF means "win the future", then no. But if it has its more traditional meaning, then yes!

People, after all the speechifying, name calling, accusations, and general boo-sheet, the Obama administration has again declined to name China a currency manipulator!

Now personally, I don't think having a fixed exchange rate is currency manipulation, nor do I understand what makes us judge and jury on these issues, but my God, these guys really really really give new meaning to the phrase "cheap talk".

Dear Feds: if you are not going to do anything about it, then please just STFU!

talk like a Egyptian

Via Salon, here's a truly excellent post about how NOT to talk about events in Egypt.

My favorite faux pas: "I loved Sadat".

(Sadat WAS Mubarek with a worse hairdo)

Relatedly, Bill Easterly describes the double standard for democracy that seems to be operating.

and that's the reason I'm a Bullets fan!

Hat tip to Zach M.

Darwin Award, Honorable Mention (No Fatalities)

They were pouring gas directly into the carburetor.

From a bucket.

As they drove.

I'm almost sure these people must be kin to me, somehow.

The woman said she and her two friends had bought gas at a Factoria gas station, but were having trouble keeping the van running. She said they didn't have a gas can, so they filled an open bucket with two gallons of gas and put it in the van.
The engine cowling -- a piece of metal that covered the engine and which was located between the two front seats of the van -- had been removed, the woman said. The passengers used a water bottle to transfer gas from the bucket directly into the carburetor in order to keep the engine running.

(Nod to the Blonde, who assures nobody in MO acts like this. Perhaps because they don't actually have cars...)

UPDATE: KPC friend Andy Rutten emails a report I had missed:
"It's very rare that a car explodes, there's got to be a reason," said Bellevue police spokeswoman Officer Carla Iafrate.
Now THAT is police work, right there.

how not to multi-task

Riding the Sex Doll

A river mishap in Oz.

Insert your own joke here. (well, write in your own joke, then)

(Nod to the Blonde)

Heavy Legal Ordnance Used For Oppressive Ordinance: Street Vendors Must DIE!

KPC friend Sara Burrows has a nice piece on the increasing official harrassment of street vendors in Raleigh.

Brick and mortar restaurants are thinking about this wrong, because they can. They are like the idiot record companies, who assume that all music downloaded at a zero price would have been purchased at full price (price elasticity = 0, in other words).

I'm sure street vendor food is SOME kind of substitute for restaurant food, but not dollar for dollar, and not meal for meal. When my friend Jay Hamilton sneaks a Pauly Dog, he is not doing it INSTEAD of a restaurant meal. He is having a hot dog on the run.*

More on street vendor harrassment below. Remember, the state is simply acting here as the enforcement arm of anti-competitive business interests. The interests of consumers count bupkis, bagel, nada.

Raleigh is actually far behind Durham in this respect, which is remarkable. But then the New York Times did recently list Durham as one of the top unexpectedly cool places to eat and to visit (check #35...). Raleigh, listen up! Good restaurants and good food trucks are NOT substitutes, but rather are complements....If you want to be the sort of place where people go to eat, you need more stuff to eat. Stop protecting all those suckwad Applebees and Bob Evans in Raleigh from Tony's Tacos!

(*Jay is running, not the hot dog).