Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
The Morning Report — 10/15/24
Daily Tech News 15 October 2024 Monday Overnight Open Thread (12/14/24) Columbus Day Edition Forza America Cafe Not-So-Friendly Indians Open Thread Fake Comedy Program SNL Knocks Harris For Saying Nothing But "I Grew Up in a Middle Class Family" Joker Has Biggest Second-Weekend Drop of Any Comic Book Movie in History, and Among the Biggest Drops of Any Movie; Falls to Third Place The "Young" Turks' Ana Kasparian: Yes It's True, I've Left the Left NBC "News:" Kamala Harris's National Lead Is Now Completely Gone (Which, PS, Means Trump Is Well Ahead) JD Vance Appears on "Tales from the Crypt" and DESTROYS the Crypt-Keeper with FACTS and HOLY WATER Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Overnight Open Thread |
Main
| Veterans Day 2010 »
November 11, 2010
Financial Briefing: Shave and a haircut, two bits[UPDATE] GAH! My bad. I was trying to delete comment-spam and killed the post by mistake! The comments are gone! Feel free to call me an idiot. The President's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its report early. Surprisingly (to me), the panel addressed the absolute necessity of cutting Social Security and Medicare, which of course means that no Democrat who values his job (including Bammer) will support the plan. And Republicans are likely to shit on the tax hikes and ObamaCare extensions from a great height. So the whole thing was -- again, as expected -- a futile exercise in ass-covering. The report will be sent into committee, where it will be humanely shot in the head. (You can get a PDF of the draft report by following this link.) I think Rep. Paul Ryan's "roadmap" is a much more realistic path to solvency, but it has even less of a chance of being passed into law than this thing. Here's Ace's post from yesterday. In fact, the report was still warm from the copier when the shrieking from the usual leftist suspects commenced. A sample of the well-reasoned discourse we can expect from the left in the coming months:The sharpest reaction came from Pelosi. [Editor's note: I had to sit down, my knees were that weak from the surprise.] “This proposal is simply unacceptable,” she said. “Any final proposal from the Commission should do what is right for our children and grandchildren's economic security as well as for our nation's fiscal security, and it must do what is right for our seniors, who are counting on the bedrock promises of Social Security and Medicare. And it must strengthen America's middle class families — under siege for the last decade, and unable to withstand further encroachment on their economic security.”I've said it over and over again: if you're not going to address Social Security and Medicare, you might as well not bother, because nothing else really matters. It's going to be an ugly fight. The end of a Ponzi scheme is never pretty. Via Slublog, some chart-fu from Heritage showing just how profound the SS/Medicare burden is compared to all other government programs. (And I think this chart understates the Social Security burden for a variety of reasons, probably by as much as 20-30%.) Rates on long bonds are going up. We won't be able to keep rolling our short-term debt at zero interest for much longer, and the price to roll our debt could skyrocket quite suddenly. Trust is a funny thing -- there's no halfway. You either trust someone, or you don't. And that status can change overnight. (You'd have to be a real optimist to be investing in 30-years right now. I wonder how many buyers will actually end up holding those bonds until maturity?) I believe that this is what is known as poetic justice. The Schadenfreude will be hard to contain if this situation does indeed come to pass. I'm sure you'll all be as shocked as I was to find that government spending had gone up just a bit under the reign of King Obama the Profligate and his Merry Band of Idjits. I wonder what the Portuguese is for "Oh, shit!"? Sir Oswald Fitz-Picklar, Third Earl of Pewt: I say, Charles, come to the window! Who are all these grimy urchins demonstrating in front of the club? There is an unwholesome look to them! Sir Charles Gilligan Whyte-Arke-Layton, Baronet: Why, the vulgarity! The cheek! I should go out there and give them a damned good thrashing! Sir Oswald: Well, now, let us not be hasty, my good man. Perhaps there has been some upset at the lunatic asylum down the road, and these poor souls have escaped into the city. Sir Charles: Bosh! Guttersnipes, trollops, and layabouts, the lot of them. Fetch me the sword I used in Sudan against the fuzzy-wuzzies, Fitz! Lord Kitchener himself presented it to me! I'll have these louts cleared out in a trice! Sir Oswald: The world has moved on, alas, Charles. We can no longer use hot lead and cold steel against these cheeky monkeys. More's the pity. Sir Charles: Hrmph. I suppose not. Bloody nuisance they are, though. Might we get Hackett to spray them down with the hose, or set the hounds upon them? Sir Oswald: Hackett is not as spry as he once was, Charles. Nor the hounds, come to that. Look! Look there! Is that not my nephew, the one with the pitiful little chin-beard? I'll be dashed! Civilization collapses before our very eyes, old boy. Sir Charles: No saving the situation, then? Sir Oswald: No, no, I shouldn't think so. It's all quite hopeless. Sir Charles: Hrmph. Sir Oswald: Hrmph. Sir Charles: Billiards, then? Sir Oswald: Righty-o. For Ireland, Judgement Day is about a week off. As Sartre might say: les jeux sont faits. I don't know the Gaelic for the same sentiment. NRO's Uncommon Knowledge is interviewing Gary Becker (a founder of the so-called "Chicago School" of economics) this week. Good stuff. A great point that Becker makes is this: banks were exposed to a lot more risk than they thought they were; they thought they were well-hedged, but they weren't. The risk was so huge and pervasive that it simply became invisible to people immersed in it. There's no criminal in the world I hate so much as a thief, but this is a new low. Supply is fine; it's demand that's lacking. The Christmas season will tell the tale, at least in terms of retail. I think the story is going to be what most of us expect: very slow growth, but nothing to break out the bubbly for. I've been told this by any number of ex-girlfriends: desperation is not an attractive quality. I rant and rave about the economic situation, but it's all just good fun until something truly serious comes along and reminds me of the danger we all face. This shall not stand! (Via Insty.) Here's some fuel for you folks who dislike my goldbug ways: Dr. Doom thinks a gold standard is a bad idea. Pull quote: Roubini raises the following question: If you are on a gold standard, or modified gold standard, what do you do in the event of a bank run—if you don't have enough gold to fully back the currency? Roubini explains that most central banks in today's economy have far greater financial liabilities than gold in reserve. In fact, according to Roubini, in the case of most central banks today that ratio is about 40 or 50 to 1. Of course, many who support a gold standard would say that limiting the ability of central banks to increase their leverage would be a benefit of adopting the gold standard.(Emphasis mine.) Remember back when the concept of "moral hazard" was something other than a bad joke? Is economics a science? A branch of sociology or psychology, maybe. It most assuredly is not a hard science like math, in spite of its mathematical trappings. I think I've found a likely site for the future Ace of Spades Retirement Community. Where the Val-U-Rite Vodka flows like water and the hobo preserve is restocked monthly. Global debt as percentage of GDP. California, how boned art thou? Let me count the ways: boned, boned, boned, boned, and again boned. Thou art fair, but thou art boned beyond redemption, my love. Verily, akin to the lowest clapped-out strumpet upon yonder boulevard. A barber's cittern, for every man to play upon. --------------------------------------------------------------- A dreamer of pictures I run in the night You see us together, chasing the moonlight, My cinnamon girl. | Recent Comments
rhennigantx:
"“Quiet Period Provision” of the 1993 N ..."
ShainS -- Assassination is The Ultimate Form of Censorship [/b][/i][/s][/u]: "Shootings, bombings, stabbings, and organized crim ..." J.J. Sefton: "85 Top Image (on Kommie-la's Plagiarism): Kamala K ..." ShainS -- Assassination is The Ultimate Form of Censorship [/b][/i][/s][/u]: "The longtime Democrat Party lawyer has already fil ..." Rip N Read: "If Kamala lifted whole sections from wiki it is a ..." Ignoramus: "The estate tax raises little. Old Money works aro ..." Mister Scott (Formerly GWS): "The way around it is for people, when they still h ..." J.J. Sefton: " 75 Posted by: Ignoramus at October 15, 2024 07:4 ..." Soothie: " LOL @ "estate" tax They do this in England, a ..." ShainS -- Assassination is The Ultimate Form of Censorship [/b][/i][/s][/u]: "Top Image (on Kommie-la's Plagiarism): Kamala Kno ..." Soothie: " And, "men" without fake "breasts." ..." ShainS -- Assassination is The Ultimate Form of Censorship [/b][/i][/s][/u]: "“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our ..." Recent Entries
The Morning Report — 10/15/24
Daily Tech News 15 October 2024 Monday Overnight Open Thread (12/14/24) Columbus Day Edition Forza America Cafe Not-So-Friendly Indians Open Thread Fake Comedy Program SNL Knocks Harris For Saying Nothing But "I Grew Up in a Middle Class Family" Joker Has Biggest Second-Weekend Drop of Any Comic Book Movie in History, and Among the Biggest Drops of Any Movie; Falls to Third Place The "Young" Turks' Ana Kasparian: Yes It's True, I've Left the Left NBC "News:" Kamala Harris's National Lead Is Now Completely Gone (Which, PS, Means Trump Is Well Ahead) JD Vance Appears on "Tales from the Crypt" and DESTROYS the Crypt-Keeper with FACTS and HOLY WATER Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |