Monday, October 30, 2006

Smart Thinking?

Larry Summers has begun writing a column in the Financial Times. It starts with a really good shot, and deals with the ‘Left Behind’ of the globalization world. Arnold Kling remains a skeptic of middle class squeeze. I stand on the position that Those who lose out from globalization may not exceed Those who gain, but are of such magnitude that the Objective must be to provide a Soft Landing for Those who do fail.

Ritholtz has a very important Post on real placement of the GDP values. I have revised my personal estimates, believing We have entered a Contraction already, which started with the decline of Factory Orders last month. This was combined with a delay of Factory Delivery of Orders, and a build in Retail Inventories. The Oil Price drop was accompanied with a general drop in Material Costs which was not economically sympathetic. The increase in Civilian Aircraft orders hid apparent Manufacturing and Construction shifts.

Dean Baker likes pay-as-you-go auto insurance, as do I. He uses as a disincentive for Energy consumption which is Cost-free as it does not raise the Costs of Insurance. I like the Concept for its propellent inciting People to adopt Mass Transit systems. People regulate their Long Distance and Cellphone charges by limiting their Communication time. Individuals will start to utilize Mass Transit systems to cut Household Costs. lgl

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