4.19.2006

WalMart America

Econo-Girl has an idea! One that will solve our budget shortfall lickety-split!

Let's sell the name of our country. Sure. There's the Verizon Dome, or whatever, so why not WalMart America? And should they take a nosedive, we can sell it again. This could go on forever. Talk about capitalism. Somebody should mention this idea to the President.

The New Chinese Export

Econo-Girl listened with horror as she heard a news program on the BBC report about the latest Chinese export: human organs. I actually turned off the radio at the point.

Of course, they have a lot of people to spare over there. Econo-Girl guesses that's the rationale behind this behaviour. It's disgusting. Imagine the desparate people who are doing to selling. This is their entry into capitalism?

Econo-Girl points to situations like these when she says that unfettered capitalism is wrong. Organ selling is wrong. People should not be allowed to cut out a piece of themselves and sell it, pressed by poverty and possibly their families. It's gross.

4.13.2006

Controlling Inflation

See article below. Warnings are going out that central banks across the globe will not always be able to control inflation.

Hmmmm. No one knows, still, how national economies work. There are theories that come into vogue that explain what is going on at the moment they are published. That's for sure.

Econo-girl is reminded of the Army Corps of Engineers trying to reroute the Mississippi River. How well did that work? Remember, the Fed only controls the interest rate charged to banks. Yes, it trickles down to all of us. But they don't control prices or inventories. And they don't control what we buy.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060413/ap_on_bi_ge/imf_world_economy;_ylt=Ahk6MKmA51IcwKdGu4x1vO_v5rEF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

Nixon's Last Gasp

In a last bid to hold on to power, Nixon contacted Democrats on the Hill and offered to support universal health care if they just forgot about this breaking and entering stuff.

What is the Republican last gasp these days? Immigration? Lower taxes? The War? It seems the President is even listening to non-scripted questions. Talk about desparate.

Econo-Girl has predicted that in the end, Bush II is going to wish he had lost re-election like his Dad.

4.10.2006

Front Seat at the Revolution

Econo-Girl chanced to see a Congressional fool this morning talking about how even though the immigration reform law he voted for would impose criminal penalties on a doctor that treated an illegal alien, it would not be enforced that way.

What?!?!?

You mean you voted for a law that you knew was so ridiculous on its face that you never really planned on its enforcement? That speaks volumes about our Republican Congresspeople.

On a related note, did my intrepid readers see HOW MANY PEOPLE showed up at these demonstrations protesting the immigration bill? And did you hear what they said? That this is only the beginning of political change. The first step is immigration reform. Then comes other social issues.

In Econo-Girl's opinion, it's about time for universal health care in some shape or form. Econo-Girl herself has been in the precarious state of not having health insurance. And Leisure Lad had a serious health crisis a year ago. If he didn't have health insurance, he might be dead now. Fortunately, I have insurance. We shouldn't have to live like that as Americans. Call me a communist, but that's what I think.

4.06.2006

Immigration, Capitalism and Ethics

Illegal immigration is the current scapegoat for all kinds of problems. The stealth unemployment rate no one is talking about, for one thing. People are mentioning that jobs are really being taken away from Americans, but not the 'it seems we do have unemployment after all' kicker that is its logical underpinning.

The U.S. gets a lot of advantages from illegal immigrants. Cheap labor. Cheaper restaurant meals. Lower building costs. Which is why Congress doesn't really do anything except squack about it. Structurally speaking, paying people higher wages would have an impact on our quality of life. Who wants that?

Mention has been made about cutting all government services to illegal residents. The Supreme Court has ruled that illegal, and so it should. The people are here illegally because we need them to be. And education is not something they are getting much of at home, so none in the U.S. for them wouldn't stop them from coming here. And is it really right to let someone die because of their immigrant status? Econo-Girl doesn't think so. Remember, diseases don't stop and start at the sight of a green card. If a disease is not treated among one group of people here, then it will inevitably spread to other people living here. So it is good for all concerned to keep the overall population healthy, legal and illegal.

Molly Ivins has a great idea on how to attack illegal immigration: arrest and jail a corporate president. See http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/30/ivins.immigration/index.html. Of course, that would bring up all kinds of class issues. And there would be hordes of people who would actually defend the idea that the nice man in a nice suit shouldn't be dragged through the street in handcuffs. That's only for real criminals. Personally, Econo-Girl couldn't get enough of such comeuppance. She suspects she is not alone.

4.05.2006

The Moon

Ladies and Gentlemen, please consider the moon. Not as we know it, that dead planet of rocks and dust. But what it could become. A center of commerce and a place to live after we kill every plant on Earth.

Check out www.lunardevelopment.net. A site with more content Econo-Girl has rarely seen.

Gambling, Gambling, My Goodness!

Econo-Girl is glad that her little dumplings are so thoughtful in their opinions.

We have had some contretemps lately about gambling. To gamble or not to gamble, is that the question? Not really. Can you stop? That is the question. How much of your net income do you spend doing it?

Econo-Girl will not bore her readers with another story of her Vegas trip. But if Econo-Girl was going to measure the joy of a gambling experience, it would be how long $100 would last. Because it can be a heady experience with the dealers and people watching you, the lights and decor making you feel like a big shot. At least that's what Econo-Girl felt at the beginners' cheapskate table. Not even the soda was free.

And then you look around and see the other tables, where you can lose much more money much more quickly. And, yes, it seems that beating the house just might be possible, or even easy. The whole thing scared Econo-Girl and so she stays away.

But if that isn't what it does to you, and you can stop and set limits on yourself, do it! It's just that the casinos are banking on your not being able to stop. And, unfortunately, they are usually right.

4.04.2006

Six and Half Percent Unemployment

The real unemployment rate, if they were counting everybody. And nobody's counting the underemployed.