Without Voice » Economy

MJ: Economic martyr

shawn — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:18:55 +0000

Despite his eccentricities and his alleged scandalous activities, there is one thing we can thank Michael Jackson for other than his music talent: Single-handedly reviving the economy. In a time when celebrities seem to be dying off at an alarming rate (Ed McMahon, Billie Mays, Farrah Fawcett, Steve McNair, etc), only the early demise of Michael Jackson was enough to send the populace out in a panic to purchase his legacy. Eat your heart out, Bernanke.

Plastic Hysteria

shawn — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:45:28 +0000

I’m always shocked when I hear someone say “I don’t want a credit card” or “I try not to use my credit card” so that they don’t spend too much. I’m the exact opposite: If a store takes credit cards, I use my credit card, no matter the price. Cash is obsolete as far as I’m concerned.

Today, there is an article on CNN about a group urging a stop to all use of credit cards. This is like taking matches from an arsonist and saying he’s cured. The problem is not the matches, it’s the psychotic lunatic setting fire everywhere. Similarly, credit cards are not the problem but the complete inability of people managing their personal finances.

A responsibly used credit card is a great thing: it’s essentially a month long interest free loan every time you use it. Not to mention the cash back and other rewards many credit cards offer.

Risky Business

shawn — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:56:44 +0000

Other than a short run about a year ago, I haven’t played much poker at all in general since I went to the WSOP in 2006. At the time, I transferred all of my winnings to a more cut-n-dry form of gambling, stock trading. It seemed like a good idea at the time as I didn’t have the time or motivation to play much poker and investments have always intrigued me. In another life, I think I would have liked to have been a stock broker.

I recently got around to watching the WSOP Main Event coverage on ESPN from this year which wrapped up about 2 weeks ago. As always, that has stoked my interest in poker again. In addition, most of you have probably noticed the economy is not doing so well. My investments, funded w/ my poker winnings, have taken a hit along with everyone else. Tell me again how online poker is gambling but stock trading is not? Perhaps I should have stayed away from stock trading and focused on the less risky business found in gambling.

Speaking of Risky Business, I did indeed name this article such that I can have a reason to post possibly the best television ad ever: Risky Business.

No crutches

shawn — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:52:28 +0000

Congress is having another go at the bailout that failed last week. While I would love to come up with a magic pill to cure the economy, the fix must be designed correctly so that it doesn’t make it worse in the long term.

The Fed needs to be sure it does not become a crutch for insolvent firms, distorting credit allocation and risk taking.

– Economist, Sept 20-26, 2008

Good investments are rewarding; bad investments must be equally bad or else the whole idea of a market economy is destroyed. Get it right, Congress, and let’s get this done correctly.

Camping in Hooville

shawn — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:47:10 +0000

Rained out of our camping trip to Douthat State Park, my in-laws and I met up with the Coopers down in Charlottesville for dinner & game night. There weren’t many complaints about missing out on the camping and we even played a full game of Trivial Pursuit, boys vs. girls. Quick: What are the eastern-most and western-most states? The ladies missed that one though they gave us a pretty good game overall. There were several out-of-thin-air answers from them that kept the game close. Our victory was aided by a distraction in the form of Fred…

Fred in baseball uniform

We got home fairly early on Sunday and Christina squeezed in as much anxious worrying as she could — Today was her first day at her new job. On a day when the economy blew up, it’s quite reassuring to have two incomes again!

Let them crash

shawn — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:29:35 +0000

You always yank the band-aid off. If you try and do it slow and steady, it just makes it more painful and last longer. Forest fires, while devastating, kill off unhealthy plants, nourish the soil, and let the forest grow back stronger and healthier. I could come up with a hundred analogies but the point is – The same is true of the economy. If you don’t remove the issues that caused the pain and instead prop up the bad business decisions with a handout of money without regulatory oversight to fix the issues, you’re rewarding bad business for causing the problems in the first place. Nearly every economist who has any idea what’s going on in the business world — other than those in charge of the companies, of course — is against the idea of bailing out these companies. Yet, the popular notion is to prop up these companies to “protect” the economy.

I’m not an economist… but I am married to one and I’m also one of those “elitists” that reads the excellent Economist. Plus, I stayed at a Holiday Inn awhile ago.

Update: A few more links about the bailout.