Category Archives: Finance and Economics

Twilight in the Desert: Well-Documented Warning on Peak Saudi Oil

Posted on Friday, June 24, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy is Matthew Simmons’ thoroughly researched and well-documented account of Saudi Arabia’s aging oil fields and what it means for the global economy. In the book, Simmons argues that Saudi … Continue reading →

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Posted in Book Reviews, Business, Clean Energy, Defense, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, International Security, Media, Middle East, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Predictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 59 Comments

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part II): Workers of the World, Unite!

Posted on Friday, June 24, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In the first installment of this series, we introduced two widget producers called Egalitarius and Meritocratus. Egalitarius’ management encourages its workers to unionize, because it wants to ensure that the company treats them fairly. With high ambitions to rectify Egalitarius’ “unfair” labor practices, the Widget Worker’s … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Investing, Mathematics, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part I): A Tale of Two Firms

Posted on Friday, June 24, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Once upon a time, there were two firms, Meritocratus and Egalitarius. Both firms operated in the $10 billion widget industry, and each had 50% market share. Widgets were not a commodity. Purchasers were sometimes willing to pay a premium for a … Continue reading →

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

Christie Scores Legislative Victory Against Public Unions

Posted on Thursday, June 23, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

According to The New York Times, New Jersey’s Assembly passed a bill 46 to 32 today that would “sharply increase what state and local workers must contribute for their health insurance and pensions, suspend cost-of-living increases to retirees’ pension checks, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bush vs. Clinton: Unemployment

Posted on Thursday, June 23, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

I posted an article earlier this month comparing the monthly unemployment rate under President George W. Bush with the most recently available unemployment data under President Obama. However, many of my left-leaning readers were also interested in a comparison of George W. Bush … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , | 26 Comments

What Is Fracking?

Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

There’s been plenty of media hype and hysteria about a process known as hydraulic fracturing, which is more popularly known as fracking. Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which drilling rigs drill vertical wells 3,000 to 8,000 feet underground and then … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, International Security, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Filter Bubble: A Great Book That Exposes an Emerging Trend

Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

“A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa.” — Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You is Eli Pariser’s fascinating account … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blogging, Book Reviews, Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Middle East, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Explaining Falling Crime Rates in a Struggling Economy

Posted on Sunday, June 19, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In early June, The Economist published an article showing declining U.S. crime rates. The magazine posed an interesting question: Why does crime continue to decline in the United States, even when unemployment is high?

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Posted in Business, Crime, Finance and Economics, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

What the Tea Party Gets Right

Posted on Friday, June 17, 2011 by Chris Ladd

“I think we have to blow up the place.” — Retiring Sen. George Voinivich on how to fix Congress Source: goplifer, chron.com It’s not easy to glean a coherent message from the raspy bullhorns of the Tea Party Movement. I get the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

California vs. Delaware

Posted on Friday, June 17, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Earlier this month, I travelled to Delaware for a family event. Before the event, I had been trying to open a business bank account for an LLC I incorporated in Delaware several year ago. I intended the LLC to be … Continue reading →

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