Carnival of the Capitalists

Carnival of the Capitalists - November 20, 2006 Edition - Edited by Brian Gongol


Editor's Introduction
Welcome to the Carnival of the Capitalists, a weekly compendium of the best in business and economics on the Internet. The world lost a great thinker this week with the death of Milton Friedman, an individual whose importance can hardly be overstated. Several tributes are found below, indicated by a special Milton Friedman icon.

All of the contributions here are cross-posted at CommerceBucket, where comments and voting are open. To be fully honest, some of the contributions below are pretty awful...but others are outstanding. Since the spirit of capitalism is generally inclusive, all of the legitimate contributions this week were included and the best handful are noted as "editor's picks". You may have tastes and preferences that differ mightily, which you're welcome to discuss at CommerceBucket. The list here is presented in a completely randomized order, but the icons are offered to categorize submissions into ten major groups.

As with everything on the Internet, caveat emptor -- several of the sites features in this Carnival offer specific investment advice which may or may not be ethically motivated. A wide range of thoughtful articles are posted daily by the sites included in the Econ Directory. Your comments are welcomed.

Site Post/Essay Category Summary Editor's Picks
Divided We Stand, United We Fall Libertarian swing voter backs Chuck Hagel for President Law and Regulation Why fiscal conservatives should get behind Chuck Hagel for President (related: Fiscal ratings for the 2008 Presidential candidates) Editor's Choice
Kicking Over My Traces Click fraud Technology Anxiety about click fraud can be bad for the legitimate website owner
L William Losapio New concept in live music venue Law and Regulation How a bar could make extra money by presenting live bands in a new way
StayGoLinks The ubiquitous Web Technology How Web links should follow the user wherever he or she goes
Simple Dollar The value of personal appearance General Business How to frugally use personal grooming to financial advantage
Making Ripples The power of a dream Entrepreneurship How an inspiration became an entrepreneurial movement in Virginia
How Do People Get Rich? Top 3 easiest ways to make money Personal Finance Save and invest
Big Picture, Small Office Words to the wise General Business Doublespeak in the office
Asymmetrical Information What would nationalised health care look like here? Health Care and Social Services Four things that a new health-care system can't do Editor's Choice
Long or Short Capital Sometimes the sell-side sucks Personal Finance A tirade against analysts
Blog Business World Business blogs: Entrepreneurial growth opportunity Technology Entrepreneurs seem to like writing about what they do
Avant News Wider Panama Canal makes room for Airbus A380 General Business Satirical story about the new super-jumbo
InsureBlog FSA = failing support abounds? Personal Finance Most people are missing the opportunity to let Uncle Sam pay 30% of their medical expenses
Big Picture Most influential works of Milton Friedman Milton Friedman A short list of links to classic Friedman works
Reasoned Audacity The best company structure in four easy steps General Business Forget open doors and wagon wheels; the best firms operate under a pyramid
Stock Reply REIT delete Personal Finance Chronicles unhappiness with REITs
Software Project Management Micromanagement General Business A rant against micromanagement
Marginal Revolution Milton Friedman: Entrepreneurial economist Milton Friedman "Friedman did not restrict his genius to the academy, he used economics to forcefully argue for a better world"
Seth Godin Don't make a bad deal Entrepreneurship 8 rules for setting up a business with a partner
Small Business Buzz Mompreneurs: Balancing work and motherhood Entrepreneurship Tips on how to be a mother and an entrepreneur at the same time
Brain-Based Business Money messes with people's minds General Business Exposure to cash can actually change a person
Mine Your Own Business Who's on your board of directors? General Business People need personal advisors for the same reason major corporations need boards of directors
Stock Market Beat Analog Devices conference call review Personal Finance Stock advice
Lip-Sticking Is your fortune made online? General Business "Innovation is something you believe in"
SportsBiz Should judges be art critics? Law and Regulation Can fine art violate trademarks?
Wordlab Bond . . . James Bond Law and Regulation James Bond's namesake didn't spend much time pursuing secret agents
Passion, People, and Principles I've stopped reading General Business Some of the serious consequences of spending more time with the Internet and less with books Editor's Choice
The Business of America is Business Does Wal-Mart hurt mom-and-pop businesses? General Business Wal-Mart may not be good for small retailers, but its net impact on the small-business sector may be nil
Personal Finance Advice 10 easy and pain-free ways to save $100 Personal Finance Call the cable company and wash in cold water
Business and Technology Reinvention What I learned from Hollywood General Business Fake pressure from a boss is like "jumping the shark" on television
Instigator Blog Don't forget to pay yourself when you start a new business Entrepreneurship Taking even a little cash from your new business increases your emotional attachment to it
Capital Speculator Farewell, Milton Milton Friedman "Milton didn't preach utopian visions in the hope that the empirical record would lend support"
Greg Mankiw Milton Friedman Milton Friedman "Milton and Rose were libertarians--aggressively vocal libertarians--before libertarians were cool." Editor's Choice
Trust Matters A little more outrage, please Law and Regulation "The options backdating scandal is fundamentally about integrity and honesty, not about the dollar amount scammed" Editor's Choice
Economist's View Money and inflation Economics "There is a close association between inflation and the growth rate in M1 two years earlier."
Searchlight Crusade The perfect time to buy Personal Finance Right now may be an exceptional time to be a homebuyer
Wa Salaam The French and wine; the Muslims and bread General Business Suggests there's something sinister about France's relationship with wine
Five-Cent Nickel The Social Security tax ceiling Personal Finance The self-employed need to make sure they're not overpaying Social Security taxes
The Entrepreneurial Mind New wealth more generous than old wealth Entrepreneurship The people who actually earned their wealth are more generous with it than those who just inherited it Editor's Choice
Existential Hoosier How the election restored my faith in capitalism Economics Election betting markets: Better than polls
Slow Leadership Industry worst practice General Business "Best practices" are a road to mediocrity Editor's Choice
Roth and Company Milton Friedman dies, but his tax legacy lives Milton Friedman The impact of the economic master on tax withholding, the EITC, and the flat tax Editor's Choice
Photon Courier Exports: Stronger than you might imagine Economics Americans are importing more than ever, but we're also exporting more
Econbrowser The yield curve and the term premium Economics Sees slower growth ahead, but less chance of a full-blown recession
Footnoted An end to the gross goodbye? Law and Regulation Clear Channel's move to go private may spell some positive signals for honesty in accountancy
Free Money Finance 301 saving money posts Personal Finance A categorized list of money-saving ideas
Queercents The cost of finding God General Business What's a reasonable amount of money to leave in the collection plate?
BusinessPundit The French: A 35-hour work week but none the happier Law and Regulation France may have limited the work week by law, but many French are working the same amount as ever Editor's Choice
Transparent Real Estate Title insurance exposed General Business Changes are due in the title-insurance industry
Rdoctor Hip fractures Health Care and Social Services What's the real cost of a hip replacement? What about an "imported" hip replacement?
Sox First United Airlines Flight 93 and whistleblowers General Business What Flight 93 tells us about whistleblowers
Execupundit 7 ways to destroy the effectiveness of a team General Business "5. Openly express skepticism about the value of the unit's work"
Time and Money Group Navigating through a trading fiasco Personal Finance An example of how cutting your losses can be a winning market move
Scott on Money Everything's included . . . except everything else Law and Regulation If all options aren't included in a deal, then a trademark probably shouldn't suggest that "everything's included"
Debt Free How to become a millionaire Personal Finance Be frugal, work hard, and think long-term
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis October housing starts, permits, foreclosures Economics "A recession in 2007 is now all but guaranteed."
Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket Lost: Simple basic yard sale Law and Regulation It's easy to buy stuff in a store, so why do regulations make it so hard to sell it at a garage sale?


Guide to Icons
Law and Regulation Law and Regulation Business General Business Marketing and Sales Marketing and Sales
Computing and the Internet Technology Health Care Health Care and Social Services Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship
Economics Economics and Finance Education Education Milton Friedman Milton Friedman
Personal Finance Personal Finance Editor's Choice Editor's Choice


Note to Future Hosts
If you want to duplicate this method of displaying the Carnival of the Capitalists, download the template (Excel format; for a free program that reads Excel files, visit my open-source programs page and download OpenOffice) and try it for yourself. Please contact me for help using the icons and formatting. Please save the icons to your own site in order to save my bandwidth. The icons are included in the spreadsheet template.