Brian Gongol
Show notes from the WHO Radio Wise Guys - October 25, 2008
Do governments need to subsidize recharging stations to help electric cars catch on?
Britain's Prince Philip, father of four, thinks the planet has too many people
More evidence that monarchical systems ought to be flushed promptly. The only reason anyone pays this man any attention whatsoever is that he happened to marry a woman who won the genetic lottery (coincidentally, he was already part of the family). He's perfectly within rights -- like any other human being -- to have an opinion on anything, including population control. But since he has no training or meaningful experience in the subject, his opinions should matter no more than those of some crazy old drunk at a pub. Sadly, people the whole world around listen to him and don't even know the name of Norman Borlaug, who has dedicated a lifetime to feeding the world's poorest people instead of prattling on about how there are too many of them. If we're not willing to call out the absurdity of listening to the nonsensical musings of a prince, how can we claim the moral high ground when it's time disclaim the lies and abuses of the Chinese Communist Party? There's a reason corruption runs rampant under Communism -- the people in power aren't accountable to anyone. While the UK is obviously a much freer place than China, it still needs an elected head of state.
"Authoritarian Asian capitalism is not about to triumph over the Western liberal variant"
The real power in a free market is in how it unleashes the productive capacities of individuals with great ideas. It only takes a handful of geniuses to make the world much better -- but those individual geniuses have to possess the freedom to express their ideas, even if those ideas are unpopular with the people who control the law. However, if we think of nothing but the current short-term troubles, we could very well make mistakes that will haunt us over the long term -- a long term which Indian and Chinese officials openly talk about. Reports of the death of Western economics are greatly exaggerated, particularly considering how much China's economy depends upon exports.
Summer floods will mean more land application of sludge this fall
25% of Chrysler's white-collar jobs will be eliminated
That's a huge cut -- but it's just as predicted
Obama campaign ads show up in video games
Danger! Falling oil prices make Russia unstable
The country is losing $12 to $16 billion a week in foreign reserves -- 14% of its entire reserves just since August -- and as oil prices drop like a rock, it's going to become very difficult for Russia's government to keep other things (like the banking system) afloat. Oil and related products are 65% of Russia's exports and make up about 20% of GDP. When economies stumble badly, the people tend to get restless with their politicians.
Over-regulation fails the system all too often
The BBC is in trouble with commercial broadcasters, because one of its stations (Radio 1) is attracting an audience with an average age of 33 -- considerably above the 15- to 29-year-old demographic it's supposed to target. By going older, the station is eating into an advertising demographic that commercial broadcasters want for themselves. Herewith we see that government isn't even very good at regulating itself -- which is exactly why we should be painfully cautious of when it tries to regulate anything else. For all the people droning on about how much more regulation we need in the financial markets, hardly anyone seems to be acknowledging that there was a government agency whose sole job was to supervise Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and make sure they didn't get into trouble. Seriously: Despite an annual budget in the $60 million range, OFHEO didn't stop the mortgage lenders from going bad.
Gorman-Rupp reports record results for the past nine months
Should business managers need professional certification?
Absolutely, positively not. Professional licensure for managers is just about the worst possible idea -- as it would, among other things, entrench bad ideas about management as a sort of canon law within business. To paraphrase Milton Friedman, the obligation of a business is to make money. Specifically, the business should seek to make money over the longest possible time horizon. That's best done through long-term planning and patient execution of routine tasks, along with quick reaction to changes in the marketplace. Certifications and licenses would be a step in the opposite direction, suggesting that there's some form of training that makes a person a good manager, rather than a set of habits and practices.
Ukraine imposes emergency measures to keep its banking system together
Inflation is bounding upwards, and if they can't find economic stability quickly, the country could find itself moving backwards on political freedom -- and that's a scary prospect
Sen. Obama would "fix" Social Security by raising taxes alone
A frightening prospect, particularly for those who still have time left to be coughing up payroll taxes. OASDI currently takes a 12.4% cut from every paycheck, and that would have to rise.
Is this the best that Pepsi can do?
The soft-drink company is changing a whole bunch of its logos and brand marks, and the results are profoundly unimpressive. They resort to trendy fonts and inexplicable fooling around with the classic Pepsi globe logo. It's a really bad decision.
Good patent law helps lead to better products
Stem cells from human fat can be turned into beating heart-muscle cells
Ironic, considering that heart disease is often caused by fatty deposits
Toyota will build a new tiny car
The iQ will be less than 9 feet long, but it'll have safety features sized for an SUV
In times of stress, people are wired to see patterns that don't really exist
Mapping Wal-Mart's spread across America
A few reasons why we might not need most derivatives at all
The more effort expended on hedging bets and doing things peripheral to the actual conduct of real business, the greater the chance we'll take our collective eye off the ball and remember that business is about doing something profitable, no more and no less
The independence of the Federal Reserve is eroded once again
When Chairman Ben Bernanke chooses to endorse yet another round of "economic-stimulus" checks, he takes a step too far in the direction of turning the Federal Reserve into a political tool. His job is to watch the money supply like a hawk and keep his mouth shut unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, the politicization of the Fed will make the job of future chairs even harder -- since all of these stimulus packages and bailout plans are going to lead to huge inflationary pressures over the long term.
It's definitely not a depression
The differences between what's happening now and what happened in the Great Depression are many and great
"Young and Restless in China"
An intriguing Frontline report on young people growing up in China today
Iowa's SRF plan updated for 2009
Some conditional predictions
In the spirit of the Future Scale, here are some conditional predictions for the medium-term future:
If the Democrats gain control of the White House and Congress and subsequently reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, religious conservatives will use it against them in unexpected ways.
If income taxes are raised on those making between $100,000 and $1,000,000 per year, the effect will be to discourage people aspiring to those incomes more so than to discourage those actually earning those incomes.
If dramatic changes and labor adjustments don't happen soon at the Big Three Detroit automakers, at least one of them won't be around in recognizable form within ten years.
If the US doesn't stop adding to the Federal debt, creditor nations are going to use that debt as a tool of political leverage against us. China, for instance, isn't going to institute the labor and environmental standards our government might request if we still owe their government hundreds of billions of dollars.
Iowa Department of Agriculture offers clean-water funds to communities