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The End of the US Piano Industry by Jeffrey A. Tucker
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Let's say
that FDR had initiated a bailout of the piano industry and the
even taken it over and nationalized it. The same firms would have
made the same pianos for decades and decades. But that wouldn't
have stopped the Japanese industry from taking off in the 60s
and 70s. Americans would have far preferred them because they
would be cheaper. American pianos, because they would be state-owned,
would fall in quality, lower and lower to the point that they
would become like a Soviet car in the 1960s. Of course you could
set up tariff barriers. That would have forced American pianos
on us. Except for one thing: demand would have still collapsed.
The pianos still have to have a market. But let's say you find
a workaround for that problem by requiring everyone to own a piano.
You still can’t make people play them and value them.
America's Racist Belt [PIC]
This map shows the most racist parts of America. Only 22% of counties voted more Republican this year than 2004. These are the people that bucked the general trend and actually went the other way, i.e., Democrats and moderates switching to the Republican side. Race is the only reason that makes sense for a Democrat to switch sides this election cycle. Keep this in mind when you plan your next vacation: America’s “racist belt” stretches through the whitest parts of the South and up the Appalachian Mountains.
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This map shows the most racist parts of America.
Only 22% of counties voted more Republican this year than 2004. These are the people that bucked the general trend and actually went the other way, i.e., Democrats and moderates switching to the Republican side. Race is the only reason that makes sense for a Democrat to switch sides this election cycle. Keep this in mind when you plan your next vacation: America’s “racist belt” stretches through the whitest parts of the South and up the Appalachian Mountains.
Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives | Video on TED.com
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we're left, right or center. In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most.
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Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we're left, right or center. In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most.
McCain self-destructs - THE WEEK
The problem is that the more a candidate Does Things, the more likely he is to make a mistake—to frighten off voters at the very moment he needs to be reassuring them. That is what has happened to McCain. Whatever else you say about his campaign, it’s not boring!
The McCain campaign has depicted Obama as a dishonorable slanderer of American troops, a friend of terrorists who is thrusting sex upon kindergarten children. Spicy stuff. (It certainly got a reaction from Shrum.)
But then we see the actual Obama on stage—and he sure does not sound spicy. He sounds grave and measured. He speaks respectfully of John McCain. He finds something nice to say about George W. Bush. You can almost hear swing voters across America thinking, “He’s polite. He’s presentable. He seems less jumpy than the old white guy. He’ll do.”
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The problem is that the more a candidate Does Things, the more likely he is to make a mistake—to frighten off voters at the very moment he needs to be reassuring them. That is what has happened to McCain. Whatever else you say about his campaign, it’s not boring!
The McCain campaign has depicted Obama as a dishonorable slanderer of American troops, a friend of terrorists who is thrusting sex upon kindergarten children. Spicy stuff. (It certainly got a reaction from Shrum.)
But then we see the actual Obama on stage—and he sure does not sound spicy. He sounds grave and measured. He speaks respectfully of John McCain. He finds something nice to say about George W. Bush. You can almost hear swing voters across America thinking, “He’s polite. He’s presentable. He seems less jumpy than the old white guy. He’ll do.”
Commentary: Bankruptcy, not bailout, is the right answer - CNN.com
- Excellent, concise comment on the recent bailout plan and the state of the US financial system. - scribkin on 2008-10-02
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Bankruptcy does not mean the company disappears; it is just owned by someone new (as has occurred with several airlines). Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.
In contrast, a bailout transfers enormous wealth from taxpayers to those who knowingly engaged in risky subprime lending. Thus, the bailout encourages companies to take large, imprudent risks and count on getting bailed out by government. This "moral hazard" generates enormous distortions in an economy's allocation of its financial resources.
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