Sunday, February 27, 2011

Why Wholesale Prices Increase

Newsday has an unsigned article titled: Increase in wholesale prices hints at inflation:

It included:

“Some economists said yesterday that companies are starting to pass those [increased] costs to retailers. That’s likely to increase prices for consumers later this year.”

This is on the Business page. The dope who wrote the headline see hints of inflation just because gas prices have doubled in two years? Hints? When is a hint not a hint anymore?

And where did the other dope who wrote the article find ANY economists who thought that price increases for raw materials only INDICATED companies MIGHT start passing these costs to retailers. And if they passed those costs along, it is LIKELY that the retailers would increase prices to consumers.

Of course, there is no mention of printing money or borrowing money having anything to do with this. The blame goes to “about 40% of the rise in the core index stemmed from higher pharmaceutical prices”. Pharmaceutical prices! The question is whether the pharmaceuticals this dope was using are the legal kind. As long as oil companies, pharmaceuticals, banks and any other company that employs anyone keeps taking the blame, we will make zero progress in correcting this mess.

Oil Plan

Oil is $100 a Barrel and the USA sends billions to countries that want to blow us up to get it. It would be better not to depend on these guys or give them money.

Natural Gas is 1/5 the price for the same amount of energy produced. It is clean burning and exists in huge quantities in the US.

The Obama Administration controls GM.

The Obama Administration favors clean energy alternatives like solar and windmills. But it is unlikely that we will ever see either a solar powered car – especially at night – or powered by a windmill in the near future.

GM introduced a new breakthrough car that can go as far as 40 miles without a charge, is expensive to buy, hard to refuel, and not really ready for the market. In addition, if all those problems were resolved, it would still run on electricity – most of which is provided by oil.

The Obama Administration pushed tax credits for cars that use less oil instead of pushing for cars that use no oil.

Cars powered by natural gas exist, get good mileage and have a decent range.

The question: Does this plan makes sense to anyone who is not a dope?

Monday, February 14, 2011

Quotes from the Second Dope

"Mubarak is not a dictator."

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here's what happened.'" The stock market crashed in 1929. FDR was elected in 1932. And televisions were still in the laboratory.

"Chuck, stand up, let the people see you," said Biden at the rally. He than noticed the wheelchair and added, "Oh, God love ya...What am I talking about?"

"In Delaware, the largest portion of the population is Indian-Americans," said Biden. "You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking."

There are lots of others. His plugs are too tight

Nassau Animal Shelter

The real issue with the Animal Shelter is being obscured by the ridiculous salaries and political affiliations of the people involved. The debate should be on whether running an animal shelter is a valid use of public funds at all. Operating a kennel or adoption agency for stray pets is not a valid function of government or a good use of the limited funds available. If the people to whom this is important wish to donate to a center for the purpose that is their business. Like people who want to listen to a particular type of music, public radio and television or enjoy watching people who cover themselves with chocolate in the name of their art, these things should exist or not based upon their ability to generate the funds necessary. If the people who want these things are not willing to make contributions and or buy tickets to keep them in business, why should anyone else.
The story prompted a letter asking when the cat shelter would be build. Seriously. We are going backwards.

Defense of Sex Workers

Newsday printed an article about how mistreated Sex workers are. Or else it was an early April Fools' story. The next article will be about the organization to protect the rights of street load lighteners. Otherwise known as muggers, these are the guys that will gladly reduce the heavy pocketbooks and wallets that their unwilling victims are carrying. The police could work with these people to determine what strategies they use to protect themselves from violence from their intended victims and improve their working conditions. They do things like preying on the weak and vulnerable, working in groups, working in more affluent neighborhoods when it is not raining. Muggers and thieves are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters and we as a society cannot accept violence against them.

Head of the Nail

I copied this from a European paper.

The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.

The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.

The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.

It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.

School Budgets

Two things have to change in order to make any significant progress. First, we must get rid of the notion that spending more money per student will resolve the problem. It clearly will not. The highest cost per student systems in the country are in Washington DC and Detroit. No one can argue that those systems should be emulated.
The second idea is that the goal is to push every kid through college. The number of college students taking remedial college makes that a joke. It would be cheaper and just as effective to just everyone a college degree without wasting money requiring that they actually go to school.

Jose is still drunk

Jose Borbon got convicted of DWI. He actually got a year in prison so it probably was not his first offense. Six weeks later he is behind the wheel again, still drunk and even on his cell phone. This time he killed someone. He got 1 1/3 – 4 years and he’ll be out in a year - a slap on the wrist for killing someone
Last year Newsday ran a series of stories about “The Gap” - the small distance between LIRR platforms and railroad car. It is time to run another series. The public should be aware of the ridiculous fines, suspended sentences, probation and minimal jail time that multiple DWI offenders are getting. These people are putting everyone else on the road at risk when they get behind the wheel. Establish a real level - .08 is not it; enforce the drug laws that mandate confiscation of the vehicle; increase jail time/fines. This will never end until the punishment is made to fit the depraved indifference that these people show to everyone else’s life.

The left finds religion

In most situations, Newsday’s position is that other Christianity must bend to whatever is necessary - except when it serves their political purposes. The most recent example is Mr. Keeler’s heart rending effort to justify the Dream Act. The newest parallel is somehow between certain parents (don’t say Christ - that would be hateful) that fled to Egypt 2,000 years ago and the basic illegal alien. The illegal alien is away from home, misses the memories of home, misses the family that is unable to illegally enter the country, and misses not being able to illegally go home and then illegally come back. Now all of this could be avoided if the illegal alien stayed wherever the family was in the first place. That would be the country where his kid is going to college; where he would be with his wife and other kids; where he wouldn’t be lonely; and where he would be in a culture that celebrates his traditions. All those things were less important to Mr. Busboy than getting in this country. Remember that Mr. Busboy came here of his own volition.

Lots of things can be done to make the immigration system better but none of them should be done because people who leave where ever they are miss the people they willingly left behind.

Representative Israel has saved us again.

He has introduced legislation to” standardize dosing devices” and to “require clear dosing information”. His justification is a red flag. When “the children are at risk” gambit is used it is most often a clear indication that the topic under consideration has no defensible purpose.
Now no one wants children to be hurt. The doctor that was interviewed identified the larger problem – whether the medicine works – that needs to be investigated but Rep. Israel focuses on different issues.
It seems that the doses of different medicine are in various units (tablespoons, teaspoons). This is a potential source of a different problem than the Representative envisions. If a parent doesn’t know, or can’t figure out where to get the information that there are 3 teaspoons in a table spoon, the child needs more protection than the government can provide.
It is also laughable that a member of a Congress that has constantly produced bills consisting of thousands of pages of unintelligible legalese is calling for clear instructions.

Listening to the wrong guys

People come up with all sorts of ideas. The ones that make the market place are voted on by consumers who either buy the product or they do not. Success or failure is rewarded accordingly.
It would be of enormous benefit if governmental ideas were put to the same type of evaluation. Some of these are put to the test of elections every few years but some are the work of appointees who seem immune to the process. There should be some kind of scorecard kept to memorialize the idea, who supported/promoted it and whether it worked. Some examples are instructive:

Years ago those of a certain political philosophy determined that the right thing to do was to make it really easy for immigrants to not learn how to speak English. Governmental instructions, the entire education system, voting, signs and most everything else became bi- and then multi- lingual. Look how much better it would be if everyone spoke English. It would certainly better for the immigrants who would be more able to contribute to the economy and cheaper in tax money. It was just an incorrect decision.

In the 1990’s the people running Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae determined that it would be a good idea to increase the percentage of subprime loans in their portfolios. So they changed their lending standards and bought as many of these loans as the banks could sell them. These loans were made regardless of down payment, with no proof of income and no credit check. That didn’t work. Who is responsible? Google: What They Said About Fan and Fred

China is currently building 25 nuclear plants; France gets most of her energy from nuclear sources. The United States, thanks to the determined opposition of a few, has not built a nuclear plant in more than 30 years. We export big bucks to buy oil and fund terrorism against ourselves. Which party is associated with opposition to nuclear plants?

The current Administration is showing its commitment to current technology by promoting expansion of the trains which were the really hot technology in the 19th Century and by building windmills which people with wooden shoes popularized in the 16th Century but were around before that.

Several years ago, electronic signs began to appear on NY parkways informing riders how long it was going to take to get from where they were to a spot 8-15 miles away. The State spent tax money to develop, install and maintain this worthless addition to our knowledge base. Whose idea was this? Is he still employed by the State? Why?

The list goes on and on and the same people are the wrong side all the time. But they manage to stay around. Maybe that makes them the smart ones.