Monthly Archives: January 2009

Kansas Day Again

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James rightly pointed out that my recent Kansas Day photo was beautiful to those who have been there. He also said that those who haven’t been there wouldn’t get the full effect from just a still picture. I agree, and have trolled the InterTubes again to find a video of what he and I both remember.

Perhaps this video doesn’t convey the majesty, either. In 19 seconds, it captures nuances missing in the still photo. Check it out; only 19 seconds.

If you’ve seen it, you’ll dig it. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. Play it, OK?

-k-

Big Business is not Necessarily the “Free Market”

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From my Cato @ Liberty feed, a book that makes my to read list: The Myth of the Robber Barons; an observation from the book:

A key point about the steamship industry is that the government played an active role right from the start in both America and England. Right away this separates two groups of entrepreneurs — those who sought subsidies and those who didn’t. Those who tried to succeed in steamboating primarily through federal aid, pools, vote buying, or stock speculation we will classify as political entrepreneurs. Those who tried to succeed in steamboating primarily by creating and marketing a superior product at a low cost we will classify as market entrepreneurs. No entrepreneur fits perfectly into one category or the other, but most fall generally into one category or the other. The political entrepreneur often fits the classic Robber Baron mold; they stifled productivity (through monopolies and pools), corrupted business and politics, and dulled America’s competitive edge. Market entrepreneurs, by contrast, often made decisive and unpredictable contributions to American economic development.

The linked Cato article applies the book to the current Stimulus Spending Bill, and opines convincingly about why companies such as IBM are on board with the Stimulus Spending Bill, or at least those sections which benefit them.

From my humble perspective, there are companies who make it on their own, and others who make it because they are on a teat of some description. Not through hard work. Not by having better products. Not through markets. But via some type of favorable regulation.

There are those who bemoan Insufficient Regulation, and who are sure that if we just had More Regulation, that things would turn around. To them, I’d say, Give real unfettered competition a chance. I don’t know that unfettered competition has been tried in this country. I think it’s time to try it.

Don’t cost nothin’.

-k-

The Other White Meat?

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Today, I came across something that I absolutely must try, being a fan of bacon, sausage, and all meats porcine. It’s called the Bacon Explosion, which requires the following ingredients:

2 pounds thick cut bacon
2 pounds Italian sausage
1 jar of your favorite barbeque sauce
1 jar of your favorite barbeque rub

You weave half the bacon into a kind of lattice, season with some rub, pat the sausage into a pattie the size of the latticework of bacon, top that with the rest of the bacon, cooked up and crumbled; then, you put the bbq sauce on top of that. Finally, roll up the sausage, roll again with the bacon “netting” on the outside. Then smoke it over hickory smoke. Slice, and serve.

Much more precise details, and mouth-watering photos, are here. It is a great thing that this dish was created in Roeland Park, KS. And it certainly hasn’t hurt the BBQ Addicts that the Mainstream Media has picked up the Bacon Explosion story. The New York Times has the story here1. But check out the BBQ Addicts site for the nitty gritty details. If my humble prose has generated even a temptation to salivate, check out the pictures.

I’ll fall asleep dreaming about this tonight.

-k-

1 Still feels strange linking to a Times article. But hey, this is bacon. And sausage. And BBQ.

Happy Kansas Day!

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On January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted to the Union. I’ve made no bones about my love of the place here on this old blog. I’ve also mentioned numerous times that I’d go back there to live and work, should the opportunity arise. So this year, I’ll just look at the above photo, imagine the wind, and the sound it makes as it ruffles this wheat field into more shades of green than you can count.

I’ll also cite a little piece of poetry, found here. This expresses my feelings about as well as anything I’ve found.

Wandering children of Kansas away,
By mountain, by desert, or sea,
Feasting or fasting, at prayer or at play,
Whatever your fortunes may be,
Open the doors of your hearts to the breeze,
Prairie winds never are still,
Hark to the surf in the cottonwood trees,
The breakers that boom on the hill.
Open your soul’s windows-let in the sun-
The prairie sun gay with delight.
Where’er your wandering pathways have run,
Come home tonight.

–From: “A Song for Kansas Day” by William Allen White

-k-

H/T for the photo: Dave Leiker and his wonderful Postcards from Kansas series, licensed through Creative Commons. Thanks, Dave!

Bad Banks

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Apparently Treasury Secretary Tim “I can’t use TurboTax” Geithner will float a plan for some kind of national “Bad Bank” which will take over shaky loans from existing banks.

I can’t disagree with the term Bad Bank, but it seems to me we’ve had our share of bad banks already. Here are a few:

  1. Citibank
  2. Wachovia
  3. Bank of America

And, closely related, while not precisely banks:

  1. Freddie Mac
  2. Fannie Mae

So, the Bad Bank idea has already been tried. Didn’t work.

-k-

I, and 200+ Economists, Respectfully Disagree

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“There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy.”

— PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA, JANUARY 9 , 2009

Well, I disagree. But, then, I’m only a lowly computer jock. How about over 200 economists who do disagree?

Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we all support a big increase in the burden of government, we do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan’s “lost decade” in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today. To improve the economy, policy makers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.

The Cato Institute took out a full-page ad, with the above statement, in several major newspapers today.

Check here to see the full ad and signatories, in PDF.

-k-

Update: The House of Representatives either didn’t read the ad or disagreed with it, as the Spending Bill passed, 244-188. Here’s hoping the Senate has more backbone. I also hope to win the lottery, attend the night race at Bristol, and ride a pony. Maybe the pony will be included in the Senate version.

And a Pony

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After reading the line items of the “Stimulus Spending Package”1, it strikes me that precious few of them can be considered “stimulating”, and that the preponderance of them are outright pork. The cure for spendthrift government is not to spend more, but rather to return more money, via reduced taxes, to taxpayers and business.

Had there been ponies involved, I may think differently about it.

-k-

1 $825 billion, up to $887 billion, and growing.

Racin’ Research Commences

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My equine handicapping crusade has started; I just ordered via Amazon, a bolus of Andrew Beyer books1. Andrew Beyer makes the dry, nuts-and-bolts mechanics of racing pleasant to read, and they will help me get reconnected with the principles of successful wagering that I’ve either forgotten, or sporadically employed, for a good long time.

Just reading the books again will be a treat; none of them has the subtitle The Definitive Guide; $DAYJOB has enough of that book genre.

And They’re Off!

-k-

1 Some of which I think I “loaned” to Brother-in-Law a few years ago. No worries; he has actually cashed a pick six ticket in his track forays.