How Real are the Defects in Toyota's Cars? - Business - The Atlantic

In which we, O Best Beloved, discover that there are some REALLY INTERESTING skews causing echos of the Audi Adventures of Ye soi-distant (*pun*) past:

In the original Sudden Acceleration Incident craze that afflicted America in the late eighties, the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration eventually ruled that the problem was "pedal misapplication", aka stepping on the gas when you meant to step on the brake. These incidents were highly correlated with three things: being elderly, being short, and parking (or leaving a parking space). The elderly are more prone to the sort of neuronal misfiring described in yesterday's New York Times. Shorter people have to hunt more for the pedals. And starting up from a complete stop is the most likely time to press the wrong pedal.

McArdle points out that there are three risk-increasers:

1. Being elderly
2. Parking
3. Being short

Repeat after me: correlation does NOT prove causation, and in fact correlation is not here demonstrated. But there are some really interesting data points.
How Real are the Defects in Toyota's Cars? - Business - The Atlantic

Robert J. Samuelson - Will Millennials become the chump generation? - washingtonpost.com

Money shot:

Millennials could become the chump generation. They could suffer for their elders' economic sins, particularly the failure to confront the predictable costs of baby boomers' retirement. This poses a question. In 2008, Millennials voted 2 to 1 for Barack Obama; in surveys, they say they're more disposed than older Americans to big and activist government. Their ardor for Obama is already cooling. Will higher taxes dim their enthusiasm for government?

Hah! One can only hope!
Robert J. Samuelson - Will Millennials become the chump generation? - washingtonpost.com

Chickens, Turkeys, Deficits And the Future of America - Kiplinger

Chickens, Turkeys, Deficits And the Future of America - Kiplinger

Posted using ShareThis

Chickens, Turkeys, Deficits And the Future of America - Kiplinger

Chickens, Turkeys, Deficits And the Future of America - Kiplinger

Posted using ShareThis

PerhapstheBestFordCommercia.wmv (video/x-ms-wmv Object)

Yep, sometimes Dads aren't very good a saying things...
PerhapstheBestFordCommercia.wmv (video/x-ms-wmv Object)

The China Syndrome No More? - Political Punch

Michael Douglas, a founder of greenpeace, and the Prez: Coal-lee How!

Michael Douglas a supporter of nuclear power?

Yes, the star and producer of The
China Syndrome -- released less than two weeks before the incident at Three Mile Island -- told NPR that he "was against nuclear power for a long time, but have dealt with the realities of global warming, and what the alternatives are....I do support nuclear power now. I wish there were other alternatives, but I don't think there are."

The president is also pushing new nukes -- and a founder of Greenpeace, too.

The China Syndrome No More? - Political Punch

The Story the New York Times Won't Touch | The Big Money

Not that the Greatest Newspaper that Absolutely Ever Was would do something like this:

The Story the New York Times Won't Touch | The Big Money

Maritime Executive: Maritime Budgets Struggle as Obama Administration Tackles the Budget Deficit

Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Joan Bondareff, of Counsel Blank Rome LLP, offers MarEx readers an executive review of the requested 2011 MARAD budget.

On February 1, 2010, the Obama Administration submitted its FY2011 budget to Congress, thereby kicking off the year-long budget deliberations for the Federal government, including the key maritime agencies, the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and the Coast Guard.

The Administration’s budget highlights the difficult decisions that have to be made if the deficits are to be brought under control, and if the Administration is to succeed in getting its requested three-year freeze on discretionary spending. The President had fenced off the defense, national security, and VA budgets from this freeze, but this does not mean that the President did not intend to apply a scalpel to programs within these budget areas, including programs housed at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The President’s budget does not include funding for two new maritime programs that Congress authorized in last year’s Department of Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 111-84), the maritime highway grants program (also called short sea shipping), and the port infrastructure grants program. In fact, these new programs were to be administered by MARAD but are not mentioned in the budget documents. If the maritime and ports community ever want to get these programs funded, they will have to redouble their efforts on the Hill. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has already lamented the lack of funding for maritime highway grants as well as the decline in funding for port security grants from the $400 million authorized level to the $300 million budget request. (AAPA press release, February 1, 2010, at www.aapa-ports.org.)

As for the rest of the MARAD budget, it reflects an overall decline of more than $10 million in discretionary spending from the FY2010 enacted levels. However, this does include a total of $100 million for the Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, New York, including $31 million for capital improvements at this aging academy. The state maritime academies take a relatively small hit in the President’s budget, reduced from $18 million to $15 million. The Administration continues to zero fund the title XI loan guarantee program to finance commercial shipbuilding at U.S. shipyards (aside from $3.7 million to administer existing loans).

Jobs legislation is moving on a parallel track to the budget, and is expected to be finished well before the FY2011 appropriations bills are enacted. In the Jobs for Main Street Act, 2010, passed by the House in 2009, $100 million is authorized for title XI loan guarantees. As of this writing, the Senate has not yet decided what to include in its Jobs bill, or bills as the case may be.

The MARAD budget also zeroes out any new funds for the Small Shipyard Grant Program that was funded at $100 million in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (popularly called the stimulus bill). The grant program received $15 million in the FY2010 enacted budget. This small, but very popular, grants program has not met with the favor of the Administration and will have to be encouraged from Capitol Hill if it is to remain on the books and actively helping small U.S. yards.

Finally, the Obama budget requests $174 million for the Maritime Security Program (MSP) which defrays the cost of keeping 90 ships under the U.S. flag for deployment in times of war and national emergency. This is a decline of $13 million from the FY2010 enacted budget for MSP.

The FY2011 budget request for the Coast Guard (now housed in DHS) reflects what sources at DHS have called “difficult tradeoffs” between men and women and machine. (Reported in CQ.com on February 1, 2010.) The President’s budget places a priority on recapitalization of the Coast Guard’s aging assets, such as cutters, aircraft, boats, and C4ISR. A total of $538 million is allocated to construct the 5th National Security Cutter and $240 million to construct four more Fast Response Cutters. But, the cost for procuring these assets is a reduction of 1,100 personnel billets.

The personnel cuts are taken by decommissioning five Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSSTs) and deploying the remaining seven MSSTs regionally to protect the most critical U.S. ports. Other reductions are derived from discontinuing two seasonal Coast Guard Air Facilities at Muskegon, MI, and Waukegan, IL. Finally, a reduction in several hundred billets is associated with decommissioning four High Endurance Cutters being replaced by the new National Security Cutters.

We have already heard complaints from Republican Members of Congress who are displeased with the Coast Guard cuts. For example, Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, has called these reductions in “the ranks of our brave Coast Guard personnel” both “dangerous [and] indefensible”. (See www.halrogers.house.gov.)

It remains to be seen whether Democratic Members of Congress will toe the Administration’s line or continue to support their favorite programs and agencies. If the programs can be justified on national security lines and on the basis of creating more jobs for American workers, Congress will probably side with national security and jobs.

Director’s Blog » Blog Archive » The Obama Administration’s Health Care Proposal

Money shot:

"...materials that were released this morning do not provide sufficient detail on all of the provisions. Therefore, CBO cannot provide a cost estimate for the proposal..."

I 'spect a bunch of innumerate's sat 'round a-talkin'

Director’s Blog » Blog Archive » The Obama Administration’s Health Care Proposal

Healthcare Protestors Wield Pitchforks, Torches in CT

I left the title alone because it's not clear that the pitchforks-and-torches protesters were protesting lack of GOVERNMENT health care.
Healthcare Protesters Wield Pitchforks, Torches in CT

Why are there no Arab democracies?

Good question, that.
Why are there no Arab Democracies?

How the government fudges job statistics | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters

Ye flippin' stars, this is from Felix Salmon!
In the Marketplace letters segment yesterday, Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) took issue with me saying that infrastructure investment is an extremely expensive way of creating jobs and “costs a good $200,000 per job”. Just as well I didn’t use the $1 million figure here, which I stand by, and which was fact-checked by the Atlantic!
How the government fudges job statistics | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters

Greg Mankiw: Thoughts about the Fiscal Commission

Here is a question I have been pondering. If you were a member of the fiscal commission, what would you try to achieve?

The answer for liberals is easy: They want to raise taxes to fund the existing, and even an expanded, social safety net, while politically insulating the Democrats as much as possible from the charge of being the "tax and spend" party. President Obama can then campaign in 2012 that he did not break his no-taxes-on-the-middle-class pledge, but rather a bipartisan group broke it. That is, the President wants to take credit for fixing the fiscal situation but duck responsibility for having imposed higher taxes.

But what if you are conservative? This is harder. You can try to stick to your no-tax-increase position. The problem is that doing so would require spending cuts larger than are politically realistic. If I were king, I bet I could find sufficient spending cuts. But I am not expecting to be anointed any time soon. If the fiscal commission is going to succeed, tax increases will have to be part of the deal.
the rest is here:
Greg Mankiw's Blog: Thoughts about the Fiscal Commission

McDonnell puts down a marker

Let’s see what the Legislative Branch does. I think he’s giving the legislature – especially the Ds – some potential cover: “I got back x% or the governor’s cuts”. But there’s got to be some serious cuts somewhere.

Another potential: "Sell the ABC stores and we can restore X.
McDonnell's Deep Cuts Send Shock Waves in Virginia | NBC Washington

Niall Ferguson - How to take Moral Hazard out of Banking

Finally, slowly, the issue is coming to the fore. Pity it didn't happen in 1974. Be a greater pity if it doesn't happen now.
Taxpayers are entitled to ask for a radical reform of banking regulation to ensure they will never again have to foot huge bills for financial folly. So far, there is only one credible proposal.

In a recent speech in Edinburgh, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, called for “utility banking”, which would limit banks to their legitimate purpose – financial intermediation and payment facilitation – as opposed to gambling with taxpayers’ money.
Niall Ferguson - How to take Moral hHzard out of Banking

Big Government's Big Shortfall

Blow the trumpet louder. They're not listening
Big Government's Big Shortfall

Honesty thru a lack of grammar

one of the candidates for Frank Wolf's seat in the 10th congressional district (of Virginia) drops a comma and creates a level of honesty that's probably not intended:
Julien Modica (D) - Brain Injury Survivor, Navy Veteran, Felon & '08 US Sen. Candidate
Now I'm willing to bet that Modica doesn't think that US Senatorial Candidates are all felons, but...

State of The Union Address/GOP Response Word Cloud

http://www.bermanpost.com/2010/01/obamas-state-of-union-address-word.html

GOP reply word cloud:
http://www.bermanpost.com/2010/01/gops-response-to-obamas-state-of-union.html

Why the U.S. is Ungovernable, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

From Dr Arnold Kling: "The theory is that there is a discrepancy between trends in knowledge and power. Power in the United States is remarkably concentrated. We are creating increasingly specialized knowledge, which means that the information needed to make good decisions is located outside of Washington, D.C. And yet we have a central government attempting to do for 300 million people what governments in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Denmark, and Switzerland do for many fewer people.

I do not wish to contend that government is better in those countries than in the U.S. But if there were scale efficiencies in government services beyond the level of 10 million people, then we would expect governments in small countries to be much, much worse than in the U.S. The fact that Singapore, Hong Kong, Denmark, and Switzerland function at all is proof that a 300-million scale polity is not necessary to run an effective social insurance system, an effective education system, etc."

Why the U.S. is Ungovernable, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

change *I* can believe in!

Fishersville Mike: Best of the year - the Boob Czar