My Bad Attitude

Here may be a Case of biased reportage, though totally accurate. 11,610 projects of total value of $17.2 billion seems like an incredible lot, but contemplating other federal expenditures, the American Taxpayers might be better served by insistence that legislators devote their entire attention to Pork Barrel spending; avoiding legislation entitlements of Defense, foreign assistance, and incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan. One Suggestion would be to close all federal offices for one week without Pay, probably saving Taxpayers about an amount equal to the Fiscal Stimulus Package. Another Suggestion would be to lock Legislators out of the Capital for one Week, undoubtedly saving the American Taxpayers more than all the Pork Barrel projects. A Constitutional mandate insisting that Congress take an additional month of Vacation per year could possibly negate the Medicare deficit over the next Twenty years. Another venue could be a Constitutional mandate paying Senators an additional $300/hour of timed filibusters past 6 hours duration; which might actually save American Taxpayers anywhere up to $3 million per minute. I am just full of ideas this morning-- heavily caffeinated coffee.

Mike Moffit joins Palmer in disregard for the Solow model, denying the exogenous technical change in production environment as important. There is room for real discussion of the Propellents for growth, but Mike deters off-course to harangue the Coase theorem. I myself doubt the actual Review powers to Coasean negotiation, which will always diminish the Property Rights of the Affected, without total restitution by the Polluters (defined as Anyone who impairs the Property Rights of Others). Still, this is discussion of the construct environment to promote and sustain economic growth. I believe there is a Take-off Shelf of economic stimulus precepts necessary for the stimulation of economic growth, but past that level, further stimulus of any type provides motivation; i.e., domestic Consumption patterns set the generative motivation for economic growth.

Here is one of those times where I disagree with Mish, but not really. I agree with Soros of FT that the Markets are not self-correcting, and with Mike Shedlock that the Fed becomes part of the market by its activity within it. An outside Agent is necessary to correct Market mal-direction, but this interference becomes integrated into market performance, unless the outside Agent utilizes criteria not fixated upon the Market itself. Distortion and mis-direction enter the matrix just as soon as intervention is geared to Market reaction. The Fed’s responsibility remains Commercial banks, not Investment banks, and drawing intervention criteria from Investment banks makes the Fed a Player in the Market; one easy mis-guided Step away from a brokerage firm, committed to maintaining a Boom environment. We do not need a Glad-handing Fed hipping momentary Treasure Stocks and Bonds; We do need Commercial bank system stabilization. lgl