tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post2881903971574711813..comments2024-03-28T00:18:25.641-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: The US economy as seen from 30,000 feetScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-46279709312925899182021-06-28T12:40:43.864-07:002021-06-28T12:40:43.864-07:00"I've been mentally exploring what it mea..."I've been mentally exploring what it means to society to [have free lunches].<br />Me too.<br /><br />Anecdote #1<br />A few days ago, my wife and i accompanied our youngest one (age 14) to her tennis class; it was relatively hot. There was one court left and my wife and i (aged early and mid 50s) played as usual, real hard for a full hour with no break. Kind of brutal but so much Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792779708580094262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-13317062129321762702021-06-27T15:54:31.600-07:002021-06-27T15:54:31.600-07:00Carl, I've been mentally exploring what it mea...Carl, I've been mentally exploring what it means to society to be able to wish for things like Aladdin with his lamp. In effect, that's what it means to live in a place like America and print money. I argue in my blog rantings that our pricing structure for life is broken. We can be as generous as we want and we don't have to pay for it. It's self-esteem porn. We feel really good K T Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259428595745509790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-45170393453895365262021-06-27T15:51:45.770-07:002021-06-27T15:51:45.770-07:00Thanks for the advice, HDX.
By the way, if you wa...Thanks for the advice, HDX.<br /><br />By the way, if you want to see crazy, just click on my profile and then go to my blog. I've been writing a daily post for 15 years from my cell here in the asylum, right after they give me my morning gruel.<br /><br />Sincerely, I hope you have a nice day!K T Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259428595745509790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-82171122961250708722021-06-27T06:00:44.975-07:002021-06-27T06:00:44.975-07:00@K T Cat
"...that YouTube video on debt was c...@K T Cat<br />"...that YouTube video on debt was crazy. Chilling, too."<br />Yes, the topic (sustainability of debt levels {on- and off- balance sheet}) has become what it is, in large part, because of a bipartisan and increasingly bipolarized situation where both ends of the spectrum do not see building (ideological) bridges as a potentially constructive option.<br />'We' will Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792779708580094262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-74636186966141220942021-06-26T23:52:43.208-07:002021-06-26T23:52:43.208-07:00@K T Cat -- on behalf of everyone in Dixie (and th...@K T Cat -- on behalf of everyone in Dixie (and the rest of the country), you are not welcome. Stay in California, and DEFINITELY keep your crazy wife in California.<br /><br />There are signs all over the south -- FL and TX have made the news but the feeling is widespread -- stupid Californians who voted to wreck their state, then move to another state and vote the same moronic way!<br /><br />HDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-17868798790717071792021-06-26T16:39:06.317-07:002021-06-26T16:39:06.317-07:00HDX, as a Californian who can't get his wife t...HDX, as a Californian who can't get his wife to move to Dixie, I agree with all you've said, but I'm past the waving my arms and yelling stage. Whatever gaps in data this blog might have, it seems to give a decent view of the world.<br /><br />Carl, that YouTube video on debt was crazy. Chilling, too.K T Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259428595745509790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-15573877242923091322021-06-24T04:40:15.486-07:002021-06-24T04:40:15.486-07:00"Scott, what do you make of the tighter yield..."Scott, what do you make of the tighter yield curve since last week’s Fed announcement? Seems to anticipate a slowing economy in the next 12 months, which I’m just not seeing in the data (despite Biden’s best efforts to screw up the economy). Your thoughts?"<br /><br />This is a fascinating question.<br />In 2019, the inverted curve (along several other economic markers) was suggesting Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792779708580094262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-27336434105790247792021-06-22T15:37:04.272-07:002021-06-22T15:37:04.272-07:00With temps in California today hitting 100, Califo...With temps in California today hitting 100, California's electrical grid is once again on the verge of total failure. It seems like only last summer they were in the same situation, and the summer before that, and the summer before that... none of the eco-terrorists in California want to have a electrical generation plant anywhere within a 100 miles of their home, and preferably in anotherHDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-2322171873417380372021-06-21T21:05:26.039-07:002021-06-21T21:05:26.039-07:00@unknown -- the Treasury market is completely brok...@unknown -- the Treasury market is completely broken. The marginal "buyer" (with other people's money) is the Fed. The yield curve isn't signalling anything, its not a market price.<br /><br />When the Bank of Japan broke the JGB market (ten years before bumbling Bernanke found his Zimbabwe printing press), many market pundits thought they could read something into Japan'HDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-20898679223906409032021-06-21T19:31:51.399-07:002021-06-21T19:31:51.399-07:00Scott, what do you make of the tighter yield curve...Scott, what do you make of the tighter yield curve since last week’s Fed announcement? Seems to anticipate a slowing economy in the next 12 months, which I’m just not seeing in the data (despite Biden’s best efforts to screw up the economy). Your thoughts?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06167236840205126508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-81190075160379898842021-06-20T18:45:17.504-07:002021-06-20T18:45:17.504-07:00PS -- if my previous comment comes across as mean,...PS -- if my previous comment comes across as mean, or if it threatens your "safe space" or makes you question your birth assigned gender... quite bluntly that is your problemHDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-86690269533258832102021-06-20T18:42:47.740-07:002021-06-20T18:42:47.740-07:00@randy -- thanks for the kind words, but I've ...@randy -- thanks for the kind words, but I've decided not to promote goolge or their products. I've also decided that California is just too unpleasant a place to bother with right now (and the name of the blog is...).<br /><br />Perhaps these extremists will tone down their rhetoric.<br /><br />Perhaps illegal immigrants (who are literally risking their lives to escape socialism) will HDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-14945125320107221202021-06-19T09:29:43.886-07:002021-06-19T09:29:43.886-07:00My thanks to all those who contributed thoughtful ...My thanks to all those who contributed thoughtful and reasoned comments here.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-71236678745458593202021-06-19T09:10:40.934-07:002021-06-19T09:10:40.934-07:00@K T Cat
Interesting. Our 'kids' (most are...@K T Cat<br />Interesting. Our 'kids' (most are young adults now) call us "boomers" sometimes these days (lovingly?) and i tend to not respond, thinking that they may eventually experience the wrong side of social mobility. <br />We're all doing our best, i guess, and trying to alleviate the woes of creative destruction.<br />Speaking of doing our best, kudos to Mr. Grannis Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792779708580094262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-46331888586873851712021-06-19T07:27:32.068-07:002021-06-19T07:27:32.068-07:00That was great, Carl.
I'm Scott's age or ...That was great, Carl.<br /><br />I'm Scott's age or perhaps a bit older. I'm learning to shrug and get on with life, trying to impart that on our children. My advice is to stay aware of what's happening so you can protect what you've earned and continue to learn. Me, I'm working on getting better at fixing old cars, programming in Node JS, becoming a better Catholic and K T Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259428595745509790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-28540013295476541862021-06-19T05:26:20.903-07:002021-06-19T05:26:20.903-07:00^Kipling's poem came as herd immunity had been...^Kipling's poem came as herd immunity had been achieved and as the roaring 20s were coming to life with the prostrations to the Market-Place. And many people suggest that we are about to go through our own new modern version of a roaring 20s decade.<br />In the early part of 1920s, the government debt to GDP was 10%, there was huge potential for tax cuts, the median age was 29, seeds had beenCarlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792779708580094262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-59453434869508574382021-06-18T14:29:06.290-07:002021-06-18T14:29:06.290-07:00Carl and Randy, I'd suggest that political thi...Carl and Randy, I'd suggest that political things only mask reality and temporarily at that. Abenomics / Trumponomics / Bidenomics - borrowing endlessly - or the lack of married families will, in the end, take their toll. <br /><br />Genius that he was, Kipling was right all along. http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_copybook.htm K T Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259428595745509790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-69331996669216033692021-06-18T14:03:00.344-07:002021-06-18T14:03:00.344-07:00The potential to "succeed" is still ther...The potential to "succeed" is still there but it's become harder to succeed and perhaps there are unnecessary barriers. A clear trend though is that the younger generation shows higher support and higher enthusiasm for alternative models which are more socialistic (and more authoritarian!?) in nature. i know it's wrong but the idea then is to propose a more constructive Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792779708580094262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-22680685445316776042021-06-18T12:47:05.909-07:002021-06-18T12:47:05.909-07:00Carl, a few thoughts:
1. GDP growth, why? I loo...Carl, a few thoughts:<br /><br />1. GDP growth, why? I look at it this way: what creates the conditions for growth? Stable money, low taxes, low government spending, low regulation, and rule of law consistently applied to all. Low growth is signaling that the US has work to do on these points. The answers aren't hard, but the political will and ability to move them forward are.<br />2.Anonyxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457276381315349743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-51536546127964083022021-06-18T12:39:41.311-07:002021-06-18T12:39:41.311-07:00Another note - the only place I can sometimes see ...Another note - the only place I can sometimes see Eliz Warren has a point is in consumer protection and finance. Unsophisticated lower income people generally get screwed - and often by sophisticated financial and consumer service companies that target them.randyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368254229927808998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-38363634938220320022021-06-18T12:16:12.795-07:002021-06-18T12:16:12.795-07:00HDX - fwiw, I was interested in what you wrote - b...HDX - fwiw, I was interested in what you wrote - but you've since deleted it.<br /><br />On the rest of it, of course KT Cat is right - that a lot of social problems are self inflicted. And there are many social policies that have the wrong incentives that make it more likely for people to make bad choices. My problem with democrats is the need to catastrophize and then pursue policy changerandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368254229927808998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-30042054064266254102021-06-18T07:49:11.367-07:002021-06-18T07:49:11.367-07:00Carl, I'm always leery of population curves an...Carl, I'm always leery of population curves and graphs if they aren't related to behaviors. I would argue that with any one of a set of skills, among them network and computer security, plumbing, basic accounting, a person from any background can not just do well, but excel. For me, it's all about behavior and skills.K T Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259428595745509790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-6825006747618864332021-06-17T19:21:26.139-07:002021-06-17T19:21:26.139-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.HDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-1451057653032764662021-06-17T18:58:01.454-07:002021-06-17T18:58:01.454-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.HDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-43979516553397223512021-06-17T18:22:31.266-07:002021-06-17T18:22:31.266-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.HDXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769249455015381260noreply@blogger.com