So, Bush is retired and he has a ranch.
Q: Why hasn’t he gone riding yet?
A: He’s afraid his horse might throw a shoe.
Rimshot! You heard it here first. Not sure if I’m the first to think of it. For the record it’s 12:42 PM Pacific time, January 23 2009.
Apparently skateboarders are draining pools at foreclosed properties. When I saw this article, I immediately drew a connection to the infamous “green pools” that are a breeding ground for West Nile virus in the Summer. I say, let the skaters have at it. As long as they agree to waive liability, they are providing a valuable public service draining the pools, and having a ball at the same time. You’ve got to love it when a problem like this solves itself. Of course, the mainstream will never agree with that approach, so these kids have to look over their shoulders all the time.
Woohoo! He’s going to invest in infrastructure. It will take a while for that to percolate into the economy. That means the recession might be longer; but in the end we’ll have something to show for it. If we just went for a quick fix, we’d party a little while longer and then it would only be worse. So far, I’m not having any “buyer’s remorse” over my vote for him.
Note, his plan is somewhat similar to what I described in my last post. I’m a bit disappointed that he didn’t mention rail. It’s an autocentric plan, it seems; but alas we are still an autocentric country.
That’s the last thing I have to say here for a while. Happy Thanksgiving.
Infrastructure.
Trains and alternative energy.
That’ll re-hire the GM workers, and reduce our dependance on oil.
We should have been doing it for years. It was obvious for years. The only way you couldn’t see it is if you were blind drunk after all those free meals from lobbyists.
How to stop housing prices from dropping, conserve energy, reduce the price of oil, clean the air, and spur innovation to re-stimulate the economy. All without spending a dime.
1. Immediately repeal residential zoning density limits within a quarter mile of light rail stations, and place a moratorium on all new car-dependant suburban development. The value of transportation accessible tracts would immediately increase. Those who still want to live in a tract home would see their home values increase, since their homes are now a rare commodity that isn’t being produced any more. Developer losses from new development in the suburbs would be offset by gains in urban construction. With reduced reliance on the automobile, fuel consumption would decrease and the air would clean up.
2. Reform the patent system. Compulsory licensing of all patents, with limited payouts to patent holders, based on a reasonable percentage of the revenue from products created, with a very short statute of limitations for filing claims against the infringers. In other words, make it illegal to hold a patent for the purpose of suppressing an invention. Innovators would now be able to move forward without fear of patent litigation. From their point of view, the patent system would become a relatively benign tax rather than the octopus that it is now.
Of course, I realize these are sweeping reforms expressed in simple language. The devil’s in the details, and any actions along these lines would be dramaticly more complicated. In particular, any zoning reforms would be difficult to do in a broad sweeping fashion. It might have to be done the same way that the 55 mph speed limit was enacted: withold Federal funds from local governments that don’t comply. Given that, it wouldn’t really be cost free; but since the Federal government is already handing out money any way, it might as well be handed out with some strings that will move us in a worthwhile direction.
Notice that I didn’t mention banks or car companies at all here. There are plenty of other things that are screwed up about the way our country is run, that have nothing to do with that stuff. Yes, of course we need to regulate the banks. Yes, we can’t just dump hundreds of thousands of auto workers onto the doll over night; but that’s beside the point. Oh, but if GM gets even one red cent, it should be on the condition that the CEO of GM personally delivers an EV-1 to every former leaseholder that wanted to buy one.
Spontaneous celebrations broke out all over the country when Obama won. This one happened 4 blocks from my base of operations, which I now rent out. As much as I like California, sometimes I do miss DC.
A few hours ago I heard the Fed seized WaMu and forced them to sell out to JP Morgan. Finally! We don’t have to watch any more of those stupid WaMu ads on TV. I wish I had a dime for every time that Asian chick rode that pink streamliner across the salt flats. It seems like every financial disaster is characterised by one or more companies that advertise way too much. Enron had it’s infamous “Why” ad campaign. For me, the WaMu campaign is etched in my brain, and will symbolize the crisis on some level. And worse yet, they continued to pump money into these ads, even while customers were lining up to withdraw funds. Insanity.
Of course, the pulling of ads like that will have an impact on the ad industry… more rippling effects on the economy. At least we don’t have to watch those ads anymore.
Well, it’s begun. The phase of the campaign where they sink to the level of kindergartners. Standby for another couple of months like this, punctuated by a few hours of serious debate where the questions are scripted and the answers rehearsed.
