How to save the financial system the old fashioned way: lessons from Walter Bagehot
If you do a search for Walter Bagehot on the web-sites of major newspapers around the country you’ll probably find numerous articles written during the past six months citing his book Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market and praising the Federal Reserve for following his advice of “lending freely” and averting financial meltdowns in March (Bear Stearns) and again in July (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).[1]
I read Lombard Street recently and found Bagehot’s wisdom especially relevant given our current financial crises. Read more
Why Bailouts Are Bad For Business
The New York Times recently ran an article titled “Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt.”[1]
While the article raises a variety of issues regarding the proper use of debt and individual responsibility, here is the paragraph that stuck out to me: Read more
Since when does going on a field trip earn you foreign policy credentials?
I’m not even going to cite any sources because it’s all over the Internet and TV: Senator Obama is currently traveling in the in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East and building his foreign policy credentials.
What! Read more
Men Walk On Moon
Yes it’s been 39 years since you would have woken up to that famous headline :
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0720.html
July 20, 1969: the Eagle landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on it. Read more
The price for pretending like Pakistan is our ally is going up.
The Taliban recently attacked a US base in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan.
The attack was coordinated and large: reports indicate about 200 Taliban fighters attacked the US outpost (I remember hearing on the news that US forces were about 40-50 men strong but I cannot find a reference) with both sides suffering heavy causalities. 9 American soldiers were killed and 15 wounded before the enemy was driven back. [1]
Following this deadly strike, US commanders are finally getting vocal about the biggest problem in the Afghan theater: Pakistan. Read more
Some Tips For Getting Better Gas Mileage
I decided to write this post after seeing a story on what the airlines are doing to save fuel and thought hey, if it works for planes why not cars?
- Slow down-you’ll burn less gas.
- Don’t fill up the tank-on a plane if you fill up the tanks the plane is appreciably heavier than if you take what you need with a little extra for safety. As a result, the airlines figured out they were using part of their fuel supply just to carry the extra weight of a full tank. Now they’re carrying less jet fuel around and that’s why you’re hearing all the stories on the news about pilots complaining. If you’ve got a small car this probably won’t help much but if you’ve got a truck or SUV it will.
- Carry less weight around-again, you’ll burn less gas. This doesn’t mean you get to leave your significant other at home but if you’ve got extra seats take them out. Also, carry what you need in the trunk and don’t use it as a spare closet.
- Reduce drag-take off the luggage/bike/ski racks unless you use them regularly.