Monthly Archives: June 2011

Romneycare: Pros and Cons

The Economist published an interesting article recently that laid out the pros and cons of Mitt Romney’s healthcare reform package in Massachusetts. Here is my brief summary of them:

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Healthcare, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

President Obama Releases Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Why?

Last week, President Obama ordered the release of 30 million barrels of crude oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in concert with a broader International Energy Agency (IEA) effort to release 60 million barrels. This action was only the third … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, Central Asia, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Defense, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, International Security, Middle East, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Predictions | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part VII): Lessons Learned

In the last six installments of this series, Egalitarius’ management encouraged its workers to unionize, and then instituted several aggressive cost-cutting measures to offset the cost of more expensive unionized labor. In another scenario, Egalitarius’ unionized workforce went on strike. In the last … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Investing, Mathematics, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Rick Perry and Texas’ Real Economic Advantage

As Governor Rick Perry positions for his big run, it’s worth examining the accomplishments he can and can’t take credit for.  The importance of this exercise stretches beyond his campaign.  You can expect that other states might try to duplicate Texas’ … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

An Open Letter to Aspiring Presidential Candidates: Seven Questions

Yesterday, I invited all of the current declared Presidential nominees to my site for a 10-question interview on all elements of their policies ranging from healthcare to international security. I suggested that I would post a series of 7 questions … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, China, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Crime, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Investing, Media, Middle East, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Social Security, Special Guests, Taxes, Terrorism, Unions, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

An Open Letter to Aspiring Presidential Candidates

As competition for the Republican Presidential nomination heats up, I wanted to invite all of the current declared Presidential nominees to my site for a 10-question interview on all elements of their policies ranging from healthcare to international security. Format … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, China, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Crime, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Investing, Media, Middle East, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Social Security, Special Guests, Taxes, Terrorism, Unions, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part VI): Recession

In the last installment of this series, Egalitarius’ management instituted several aggressive cost-cutting measures to offset the cost of more expensive unionized labor, and Meritocratus’ management moved its production facilities offshore. This scenario starts before Egalitarius’ strike begins. As both companies … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Investing, Mathematics, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part V): Offshoring

In the last four installments of this series, the Widget Worker’s Union (WWU) brought Egalitarius to its knees with a strike that ultimately forced the company to declare bankruptcy. Before the WWU strike, Egalitarius’ management instituted several aggressive cost-cutting measures to offset the … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Investing, Mathematics, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Build a Community: Ten Lessons From Four Months of Blogging (Part XI)

In my first few months of blogging, over 50% of my traffic came from search engines. That said, I suspect that my other sources of traffic will increase over time. A little over 30% of my traffic was from what I … Continue reading

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Posted in Blogging, Business, Education, Mathematics, Media, Predictions, Thurston and Talbot, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part IV): Strike!

After Egalitarius’ management launched its cost-cutting program in response to worker unionization, the Widget Workers’s Union (WWU) called for a strike. The union contended that Egalitarius’ cuts constituted unfair retaliation against the workforce’s unionization. It is also complained that the inferior materials Egalitarius now used were hazardous to the … Continue reading

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Investing, Mathematics, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments