Subway in Santo Domingo

Say what you want about the subway under construction in Santo Domingo, it's got momentum and it will not be stopped.

Here's an article by the Associated Press on it. God save us all.

On the Immigration Debate

Here's a very interesting point made by Don Boudreaux on Cafe Hayek about how muddled the debate is based on labels ascribed to immigrants and their implications. Labeling illegals as "criminals" tends to draw a very dark picture in people's mind instead of say, the people picking fruit on the fields. When was the last time you saw an ad on the newspaper for that job?

Assault on Reason

Former Vice President Al Gore has a new book out titled "The Assault on Reason" I've just ordered the book, so this post won't be much of a review. If that's what you are looking for, check out this review at the NYTimes.

As I understand, the books asserts the Bush Administration, with its secret ways and little desire to take into account expert opinion on policy debates, has done away with reason and replaced it with a system that only accounts for the facts that already support its preconceived notions. I look forward to reading the book to draw my own conclusions.

I would also add that as a nation, we have had an ongoing assault on reason, from both the left and the right, for sometime now. What is that, you ask? Simply put, the politically correct left and father knows best right have dedicated a great deal of effort to shape what children read on schools. For more on that, you can read Diane Ravitch's book The Language Police.

My ultimate point is this: perhaps this is more pervasive at all levels in our nation, not just government. How often do we succumb to preconceived ideals and ignore reason? In our quest to shape the world the way we think it ought to be, where do we draw the line? As usual, I have more questions than answers.

Law of unitended consequences or just markets reacting.

Today's Wall Street Journal has a very interesting article under the headline: With Corn Prices Rising, Pigs Switch to Fatty Snacks.

Basically a bushel of corn costs twice as much as it did in the last few years. This in turn makes it costlier for farmers to feed livestock.

Thanks to the ethanol rush, the price of a bushel of corn for months has hovered around $4 -- nearly double the price of a few years ago. That has prompted livestock groups like the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Chicken Council to call for an end to federal ethanol subsidies, including a 51-cent-per-gallon tax credit offered to companies that blend gasoline with ethanol. For now, livestock must pay up or make do with alternatives.

It's certainly worth looking into how these subsidies are affecting the market. I can already picture someone bringing up the obscene farm subsidies so why complain about energy subsidies.

I've seen some headlines questioning how green is ethanol given the costs of producing it and its ramifications though the economy. More research is needed on my part to form an informed opinion. In the meantime, it's interesting to see the markets react.

Returning to blogging Redux

Lots of changes have taken place in my life, but my computer is finally setup just the way I like it. That means I have access to my favorite blogs.

Today I was moved by a commencement speech given by US Senator Barack Obama (D) Illinois at Southern New Hampshire University. If you get a chance, read the entire thing. Andrew Sullivan has it on his blog here.

FEMA again

It's been over a year since Hurricane Katrina, through its forceful winds and strength, destroyed a city exposing the plight of many if inhabitants and the gross incompetence of government at all levels.

Today the AP is reporting that an audit by the Government Accountability Office shows FEMA is still squandering money on its Katrina effort. Millions have been spent and double-payments, and claims by individuals who alleged damage to their property from Katrina and Rita.

It used to be Republicans stood for smaller government, fiscal responsibility and strong on national security. The Republican administration led by President Bush has presided over large expansion of the government and weakening of many agencies by appointing less-than-qualified political operatives to fill high level posts. While "Brownie" is no longer at the helm at FEMA, the agency is still not able to adequately carry out its duties. It is sad that more than a year later, it is questionable that FEMA would be able to adequately respond to a disaster of a similar scale without squandering its resources.

Alb

Bolton Resigns

The AP is reporting Bush has accepted John Bolton's resignation to the post of US Ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton, a fiery figure, did not win the support of a bi-partisan bloc of Senators in the committee that would recommend his appointment to the full Senate. Not even a lame duck session of Congress, where Republicans still have control, could see through his renomination.

Even though Republicans and Democrats did not back Bolton the administration blames the failure of this nomination squarely on the Democrats

"Despite the support of a strong bipartisan majority of senators, Ambassdor Bolton's confirmation was blocked by a Democratic filibuster, and this is a clear example of the breakdown in the Senate confirmation process," she said. "Nominees deserve the opportunity for a clean up or down vote. Ambassador Bolton was never given that opportunity." Dana Perino, Deputy White House Press Secretary.

Nevermind that GOP Senators were not in the Bolton camp such as Ohio's Voinovich and Rhode Island's Lincoln Chaffe. According to an article on the Washington Post Colin Powell did not sign up as a supporter of Bolton and Condi Rice was quoted saying Bolton would be "closely supervised" at the UN.

We'll see who gets nominated now.

Imagine this scene in the US

The Associated Press is reporting a story out of Amsterdam, where local government is poised to shut many of the windows used by "ladies of the night" in a quest to deal w/ crime. In case you did not know, prostitution is legal in the Netherlands.

My favorite quote is this:
"The biggest problem we have is with pimps on the street, not the people who own the windows,"
Here's a link to the article. Enjoy

Return to blogging

It's certainly been a long time since I last posted anything on this blog. Thanks to a dear friend who has joined the blogosphere, I've decided it's probably a good time to resume posting.

As far as what topics I'll post on, "staying the course" is probably a good way to sum it up. That is, economics, politics and current events.

Fed Report: US Income Growth Slows

Articles in today's Financial Times and Wall Street Journal (Typical U.S. Family's Net Worth Edged Up Only 1.5% in '01-'04 Page A4) discuss the findings of a report published by the Federal Reserve. The report points out that over the 2001 - 2004 period the median household income adjusted for inflation and before taxes only grew 1.5% to $43,200 whereas during the 1998- 2001 period it had grown at a more robust 10.3%. The report also discusses the changes in networth between the top 10% and the bottom 25%.

The net worth of the typical family in the richest 10% rose to $831,600, a 6.5% increase from 2001, adjusted for inflation. In contrast, the net worth of the typical family in the bottom 25% fell 1.5% to $13,300.

The report also notes that more families have increased their debt and a large chunk of their assets are tied to real estate.

Meanwhile, the typical family took on more debt. After declining for years, mortgage and other debt as a percentage of total family assets rose to 15% in 2004 from 12.1%, the Fed said. "The largest part of that increase was attributable to debt secured by real estate," the report said. "As debt rose over the period, families devoted more of their incomes to servicing their debts, despite a general decline in interest rates."

This is of concern because if there is a downturn in housing, many of these households will be holding assets that would be less valuable. Combine this with slow growth in real income and this could pose a threat to the economy overall because the consumer spending plays a large role in our econony.

Lastly the report also noted that during in 2004 there was a decline in savings by households
to 56.1% from 59.2%. You may have heard in recent reports that the US savings rate was in the negative, not of much concern over a quarter, but of great concern if this is a long term trend. This would mean that households would be operating way beyond their means, increasing their debt leading to a possible consumer spending slowdown.