Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - July 5, 2015
Please note: These show notes may be in various stages of completion -- ranging from brainstormed notes through to well-polished monologues. Please excuse anything that may seem rough around the edges, as it may only be a first draft of a thought and not be fully representative of what was said on the air.
This week
Greece defaults on loan payments to IMF
USA Today reviews 50,000 complaints about TSA and finds 15,000 resulted in claims
We should be nowhere close to this rate of criminal activity inside an organization that is supposed to be protecting the people. We also ought to get them to reel in their enthusiasm for showing off -- like the pictures shared of a cash stash confiscated from a passenger. Novelty isn't illegality, and it's not really a permission slip to make a big deal out of things.
Visitors can now take pictures inside the White House
But those abominable "selfie sticks" are still prohibited, as they rightly ought to be.
Is a Chelsea Clinton speech really worth more than an average American's annual salary?
Department of Justice investigating allegations of collusion among airlines
Any market with a very small number of suppliers is likely to look like it's engaging in cartel-like behavior, whether or not it's intentional. It can get pretty hard to distinguish PR bravado from signals deliberately telegraphed to others. If there really is illegal collusion, throw the book at them. But there's a real possibility that ordinary behavior is going to look like illegal coordination in a market like the airlines.
Using positive feedback via text messages and the Internet to encourage blood donors
What about Greece leaving the Euro?
- Speculation is hot right now -- we don't know whether Greece is going to be kicked out of the Euro or not
- The question that follows is whether the EU is able to stick together over the long run if it can kick out individual members
- Factors that could hurt the US:
- The EU is a huge market for the United States, and anything that does it harm can do our exporters harm
- Uncertainty always leaves financial traders with high anxiety, and when they are anxious, they do stupid things
- If Greece gets shoved by Europe, it may turn to Russia or China for a bailout
- Factors that could help the US:
- Trouble in Europe certainly does more to make the US look financially attractive (but do we really need any more of that?)
- If the stock market overreacts to bad news in Europe, it could mean good news for US investors
Ultimately, we have to remember: Ownership matters. As it's been said before: Assets are in the eye of the beholder, but debts are always quite real.
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