September 4, 2013

foreign relations testamony on Syria

http://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/the-authorization-of-use-of-force-in-syria
starts at 23;39
four hours we should all listen to. This is what they are basing their decision on; support of oppose, correct or flawed, this was what they got told. Succeed or fail, we must hold them to this.

July 30, 2013

BEA tacitly admits widescale failure of markets

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/18/4298502/the-art-of-revising-the-gdp.html Ok,setting the horribly stupid and inane article aside, this change to the GDP is...I don't even have words...Criminally negligent? Grossly incompetent? An outrageous attempt to justify the existence of "entrepreneurs"?

The BEA is the agency of government which keeps all the statistics about the economy. They are proposing adding the development cost of products to the current calculation for the Gross domestic product, on top of the current value. However, the Gross domestic product is calculated by adding together all the sale prices of all products made in the united states.

If markets are pricing efficiently, then all costs of production should be reflected in the final sale price. If it costs more to develop and build a washing machine then the price the washing machine sells for, then producers should stop selling washing machines until the price rises to the level at which all inputs are covered by the sale price. If producers continue operating at a net loss, then they go out of business, and again the price rises (since there are fewer washing machines) until the price exceeds the costs.

For the BEA to be adding the development costs into the GDP mean that the development costs are no included in the sale prices of goods and services in the market, OR that the BEA is trying to count the development costs twice. If the first, then we have wide scale market failure on a historic level. Literally, that would mean that markets are not now and have never set prices efficiently. If the second, then the official records of the US government have just thrown the effort of American workers under the bus for no credible reason other then to make entrepreneurs feel good. This is first tier Randian garbage, completely altering the basic measured of the economy to justify the wealth of the few, by counting their contribution twice. Either the price of development is already reflected in the final products price, or markets have failed. Its that simple.

March 17, 2013

JP morgan hearings video recording, six hours well spent.

If you should feel like listening to something while cooking, cleaning, working, playing games, or anything else, please, enjoy. http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/investigations/hearings/chase-whale-trades-a-case-history-of-derivatives-risks-and-abuses