Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Gregory Clark, a perfesser of Economics at UCal/Davis, seems to think success is something our modern society cannot afford:
With the march of technology, the size of a future American underclass dependent on public support for part of its livelihood is hard to predict: 10 million, 20 million, 100 million? We could imagine cities where entire neighborhoods are populated by people on state support. In France, generous welfare has already produced huge suburban housing estates, les banlieues, populated with a substantially unemployed and immigrant population, parts of which have periodically burst into violent protest.
So, how do we operate a society in which a large share of the population is socially needy but economically redundant? There is only one answer. You tax the winners — those with the still uniquely human skills, and those owning the capital and land — to provide for the losers.
The old “The loot can’t come from anywhere else” argument. And yet…those who advance it, never seem content to wait for the crisis. Better get ready to cut the capitalists off at the knees, now, before we have to. Kind of like cannibalizing your hiking buddy’s body, one limb at a time, before those hunger pangs set in. Since it’s just a matter of time after all.
Related: We’ve already put some effort into cannibalizing achievement, just this summer. How’s that worked out for us?
Remember that the labor demographic most likely to make the minimum wage is teenagers, who are often working part-time jobs, summer jobs or after-school jobs. Since 2007 we’ve seen 2 $0.70/hour hikes in the minimum wage, with a third $0.70/hour hike hitting at the end of July. Given that 1/4 of the people who lost their jobs in July were teenagers, it’s likely that business owners were shedding entry-level, low-skill jobs before the minimum wage hike hit:
Another factor that will boost the unemployment rate in future months will be the fate of teenage workers. Teens accounted for a quarter of the decline in the labor force last month. July’s jobs report was conducted before the minimum wage took effect. Therefore, it is likely that the job market for teenagers will be further weakened by the minimum wage increase. Teenagers already have the highest unemployment rate at 23.8 percent, which is more than double the national average. [emphasis in original]
The pattern remains consistent. We thirst for poverty, and we get it.
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I did not screech.
I never screech. I just mentioned a fail you had neglected to correct.
Screech, hmph, honey I cajole and suggest. Sometimes I go all wicked with my stilettos, but I never screech. My throat doesn’t work that way.
- Daphne | 08/14/2009 @ 15:42Did I mention that I love the new ease of operation? You are so the king, Morgan.
- Daphne | 08/14/2009 @ 15:43