Econophile could only come up with the top 8 most important events for 2007. If I tried for 10 I would be trying to make something that’s not important, important. These events and ideas that will, in my opinion, have the most impact on your 2009.
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Barack Obama, an African-American man, is elected president of the most powerful nation in the world.
Phenomenon. I can’t think of a better word to describe it. This charismatic man seemed to sweep across the country with calm dignity and uplifting speeches and gave people hope about the future in an uncertain world. In with the new new and out with the old. Let me set the stage: I don’t think I agree with his policies. I say this because we don’t know what his policies will really be until he assumes the office. I don’t see from his position papers or through the selection of his advisors that he’s bringing anything particularly new to the debate.
The significance of his election to me is that he is black. That alone is a transcending, uplifting event. In light of the record of the United States of America on slavery and race, we’ve all come a long way. Obama is irrefutable evidence of that. His election could mark a new era of good race relations in America. That is change.
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You read it here first. In my article about the demise of hedge fund Peloton Partners in March, 2008 (“A(nother) Cautionary Tale: Or, if it’s too good to be true, it isn’t”), I Iamented the mistakes that these managers continually make without, apparently, learning anything from their previous losses:
I actually don’t think [...]
Massive Fed Intervention Cannot Force Consumers to Borrow and Spend
We hear this everyday: the banks aren’t lending. We’ve given them billions ($167 billion, to be precise) and those bastards are hoarding money. We’ve got to take the banks over and make them lend. Which is what Secretary Paulson has been doing. He’s [...]
Peter Schiff constantly battles current economic thinking. This is an excellent video in which he argues that massive government deficit spending and the propping up of failing companies is bad for the economy.
Commentary by talking heads such as the woman interviewing Schiff reflect the herd mentality of current economic thinking. Without much economic [...]
The myth of the New Deal is examined and rejected. Again! You will enjoy this video from the Reason Foundation.
“The trouble with socialism is socialism. The trouble with capitalism is capitalists.” Willi Schlamm, former Austrian communist
Ponzi schemes are fascinating. Why would anyone do one unless they have a plane to Rio waiting on the runway? They know that they have to get off the train at some point and then [...]
Have you noticed there hasn’t been a depression since the 1930s? We’ve had recessions, of course. But obviously our economic and political leaders have conquered economics and judicious policies have and will prevent depressions.
If you believe this, then I have a bridge to sell you.
There is a simple reason we have [...]
We are making some of the same economic policy mistakes today that caused the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Japanese Disease
There is a proxy battle going on in the media and blogosphere between a Nobel winning economist and a writer on economics about the most important issue we face about [...]
Why Nasim Taleb isn’t Sleeping Well, Pt. II I’ve urged my readers to read Taleb’s books about risk: The Black Swan and Fooled By Randomness. Here’s a good interview, but you may not like what he says. [...]
Harvard Endowment’s Huge Losses
Crowing over the failures of others is such a bad human trait. Schadenfreude, that wonderful German word, sums it up: taking pleasure in others’ misfortune. But, in the interest of truth and doctrinal purity, I’ve got to call your attention to the largest loss in the history of the [...]
