Asymptosis: Always Approaching

Month: September 2010

  • Am I Channelling David Stockman, or Is He Channelling Me?

    He could have written my last two posts, or I could have written the script for this: Media Player | WBUR and NPR – On Point with Tom Ashbrook. The Stockman interview starts at 12:03. It would be uncanny, if both of us weren’t simply stating the obvious. He got two things wrong — it’s…

  • The Republican Debt Binge: Was It the Democrats’ Fault?

    I’ve asked my good friend Steve many times over the years to explain the graph in my previous post: How can he rant on so much about federal debt while continuing to champion policies that seem to have resulted in a stunning, spectacular thirty-year runup in federal debt (except under Clinton), as compared to a…

  • The Reaganomics Strategy: A Legacy of Debt

    I’ve laid this out before, but I wanted to give it its own post so I could refer to it — notably in my next post. The Reaganomics Strategy is a brilliantly effective (and profoundly irresponsible) political strategy. It goes like this: Borrow money from our children and from abroad, and use the money to…

  • Damn this guy sounds like me

    But way way way way richer. I’m rich; tax me more Congress should let the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans and use the additional tax revenues that are generated to invest in infrastructure and research. – Los Angeles Times. Related posts: This Time Mankiw’s Just Plain Lying. And He Knows It. Republicans,…

  • Family of Four on $11K a Year: 19 Million Americans Live On That

    Update, 4/16/15: A friend points out that this post misrepresents what’s reported in the linked Census data table. From the Census definitions (PDF), emphasis mine: Receipts from the following sources are not included as income: capital gains, money received from the sale of property (unless the recipient was engaged in the business of selling such property);…

  • Why Is This Traffic Stopped??

    Update from the comments, Nov. 3: Harold gives us this brilliant link. Completely contradicts my surmise below. Definitely watch the video. Being cursed with a curious mind, when I’m driving — especially on the highway — I’m always wondering about the hydrodynamics of traffic. Here’s an interesting insight: With cars moving fluidly in a tight…

  • Does the Liberal Arts Model Deliver Life Success? National Success?

    My friend Steve wonders at all the college students who study Lithuanian folk dancing and the like, and wonders whether they shouldn’t study something useful instead, and pursue less remunerative interests when they’re past their prime earning years. This makes some sense to me, theoretically. But here’s what’s weird, something I’ve been wondering at myself…