No serious budget cutting will take place unless entitlement programs are put on the table...No wait, entitlement programs ARE the table!

The Economist

 

Add together Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Net Interest and you see our problem.

In one photo we can see the "problem" in manufacturing in the US...Output is up but employment is down in that sector...

This is a photo that accompanies an article about a Hyundai plant in Alabama.  In the battle for the "soul" of manufacturing, it seems technology has won---At least in the auto industry.  I can spot only one worker! The graph below shows that while manufacturing output is increasing, employment in manufacturing is declining.  Not enough attention is paid to this issue.  How much of the manufacturing job loss is for this reason and not off-shoring? Is it much different for a person to lose a job to a machine than to some "foreign worker"? On the one hand we want to tax/punish businesses for sending production line jobs overseas but, on the other hand, we give tax CREDITS to domestic businesses to purchase technology that will, well, eliminate jobs on the production line...Hmm...That is two postings from me today on Irony...

Source NY TIMES



Do you think gas prices are high? Nice graphic showing what other rich countries pay for gas...

This graphic shows the difference in gasoline prices among various "rich" countries. It is measured in dollars per litre. One litre is a little more than 1/4 of a gallon, hence there are a little less than 4 litres in a gallon.  Ignore the actual scale.  It is only important to look at the US cost of gasoline on the bar graph RELATIVE to the other countries.   Look at the bars. The gray-ish part of the bar represents the amount of the tax as a proportion of the price of gasoline. I am assuming the lighter blue bar represents the actual cost of gasoline.Notice the blue bars are mostly the same length, which means in most places the actual cost of gasoline is about the same.  The big difference in the total price is the tax that is levied.   Gas in the US is taxed at a much lower rate.  Gas is taxed at the state level and the Federal level in the US. The Federal portion is $18.4 cents and the State (Texas) is $.20 cents.  Some States it is less, most it is more.  So Texans pay $38.4 cents for every gallon pumped.  Are you surprised how much other countries pay in gas taxes?  It make the price very expensive in many European countries.  Why do you suppose that is so?  Good answers earn extra credit!!

The Federal Budget buy the numbers....and what does a Trillion Dollars look like??

 



WSJ

 The number "trillions" is the new norm. Whether it is revenues, spending or worse--budget deficits.  The graphic below represents ONE Trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000)  in $10,000 bundles each containing one hundred $100 dollar bills. This years budget deficit is projected to be $1.1 Trillion (probably going to be much more). Notice the average size man in the lower left hand corner.

Source HERE

I guess it makes sense...They have so many pieces of green paper with several presidents pictures on them, who better to make the statues?

At Smithsonian, Americana 'Made in China'

Tens of millions flock to the Smithsonian museums in Washington each year to see Americana -- everything from Abraham Lincoln's top hat to Archie Bunker's chair.

Take the miniature sculptures of presidents sold at the National Museum of American History, located right on the Mall in the nation's capital.

From the busts of George Washington to Barack Obama, they were made in China.

Last month Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, was so outraged by the situation that he fired off a letter demanding that the museum sell products made in the USA.

We have our own bonds of oppression that we need to break...

Pres. Clinton makes the right call on Ethanol, but does it get him in trouble with Mrs Clinton???

President Clinton makes a statement that, I assume, is none too pleasing to corn farmers and the ethanol lobby.  Considering the road to the White House starts in Iowa, a major corn growing state, I wonder if he cleared this through Mrs. Clinton or gave much thought to her future political career...Guessin' not...However, it IS encouraging to see a politician come out against this awful policy (although it was lukewarm).  When you don't have much at stake, it is much easier to be honest, I suppose.

Clinton: Too Much Ethanol Could Lead to Food Riots

Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday warned farmers that using too much corn for ethanol fuel could lead to higher food prices and riots in poor countries.


Clinton told farmers and Agriculture Department employees that he believes producing biofuels such as corn-based ethanol is important for reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. But, he said, farmers should look beyond domestic production and consider the needs of developing countries.


"We know that the way we produce and consume energy has to change, yet for farmers there are no simple answers," he said. "There is a way for us to do this and to do it right."

Clinton's foundation has worked to develop agribusiness in African countries such as Malawi and Rwanda. He said the United States needs to look at the long term, global effects of its farm policy.


"I think the best thing to say is we have to become energy independent, but we don't want to do it at the cost of food riots," Clinton said.