Playing the Hand Dealt

Posted on July 14, 2015 by MN Gordon

Does anyone really care about Greece anymore?  The ‘Grexit’ talk has been going on for years.  It became dull, tedious, and exhausting long ago.

Unquestionably, Greece’s relationship with Europe is ugly.  Greece owes more money than it can possibly pay back.  But the European Union won’t let them default.  Somehow the can continues to get kicked down the road until it must get kicked again.  Why not just let Greece default already?

Greece’s economy makes up only about 2 percent of the euro zone’s total GDP.  Certainly, the departure of Greece wouldn’t be a major loss to the European Union.  They’re significance to the European Union’s economy is a mere gnat on an elephants behind.

But the Greece problem does expose a flaw in bloc currencies.  Namely that unifying different countries – and different cultures – under the same currency isn’t the prodigious idea it was thought to be.  Some countries are greater credit risks.  Their debt should have a greater premium.  Continue reading →

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The Ghost of Mao Zedong

Posted on July 10, 2015 by MN Gordon

“Let a hundred flowers bloom.” – Mao Zedong

Someone screamed “fire” in a crowded theatre in Shanghai about a month ago.  For whatever reason the audience was on edge.  Perhaps they were watching a suspense thriller, or maybe a horror flick.  We don’t know.

But we do know that all at once, a manic herd of panicked patrons all made a mad dash for the theatre exit.  Then, however, something went terribly wrong.  They couldn’t escape.

The hysterical masses piled up against the inwardly opening door.  The force of the bodies made it impossible to egress.  Pushing for the exit the patrons sealed their fate…they went up in flames, along with the building.

Fortunately, this grim theatre incident is merely a graphic yarn.  There’s been no fire that we are aware of.  No fatalities either.  There have been casualties, though.  Namely money…lots of it.

Anyone with even half their wits saw this money combustion coming from miles away.  We could even see it from across the Pacific.  Continue reading →

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How the World Becomes Unrecognizable

Posted on July 7, 2015 by MN Gordon

Ninety three percent of Americans believe Elvis Presley is dead.  That means 7 percent believe he’s still alive.  The real insight here is that 7 percent of Americans are morons.

The secondary insight is that a statistical result of 93 percent or more is near conclusive.  The Elvis factor, up to 7 percent, is too trivial to warrant consideration.  Anything less than that should be taken as mere noise.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in June.  This is the lowest it has been since April 2008.  This is an especially remarkable feat considering economic growth has been stuck in first gear since the recovery began in 2009.

Hence, we must pause to praise the headline number before pelting it with rotten tomatoes.  A 5.3 percent unemployment rate is practically full employment.  It means 94.7 percent of the labor force is employed.

The Elvis factor more than covers the unemployment rate.  Continue reading →

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Stars and Stripes

Posted on July 3, 2015 by MN Gordon

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America,” remarked President Bill Clinton in his inaugural address, shortly after reciting the oath of office in late January 1993.

What he meant by this is unclear.  But perhaps it is the sort of thing a fledgling President says to sound smart, and adept.  We really don’t know.

Tomorrow is Independence Day.  By now many Americans have clocked off early for the weekend to celebrate the occasion.  Like Clinton’s hollow words, there’s hardly a living soul who has any inkling what the holiday means.

Can we blame them?  Why pause to consider it when there’s cold Budweiser to guzzle down and bundles of cheap bottle rockets to blast off?  Moments spent in contemplation are a waste of time.

Any serious mention of freedom, liberty, and independence in the context of Independence Day is saturated with conceit.  Over the years such terms have been reduced from mere platitudes to outright canard. Continue reading →

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