The Joy of Going for Broke

Posted on July 30, 2013 by MN Gordon

One of the fabulous familiarities of living in a fading society is that not a day goes by where something utterly flabbergasting doesn’t occur.  We don’t like it, of course.  But who are we to stand in the way of it.

Naturally there’s nothing we can do about it…except enjoy it as best we can.  Here’s what we mean…

The U.S. federal government has run up $16.8 trillion in debt.  Pencil in household, business, state, and local government debts and you get $59.6 trillion.  You’d think by now something would’ve given way.

No doubt, many things have and are giving way – like Detroit.  Still, as John Maynard Keynes, the messiah of deficit spending once remarked, “There’s a lot of ruin” in a nation.

The ruin, of course, can be enraging…if you let it be.  However, we recommend against that.  Rather, we recommend you find entertainment in it. Continue reading →

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Guided By the Heavy Hand of Government

Posted on July 26, 2013 by MN Gordon

Wednesday was one of the more hilarious days in recent memory.  President Obama gave a speech on the economy.  As a Reuters article put it, the speech “sought to inject momentum into his economic and domestic policy agenda.”

It didn’t.  Instead the speech reminded us what a jester the nation’s number one man is…

Certainly, there have been worse presidents.  Surely, there have been dumber presidents.  But never before has there been a president that was so doggone funny.

The mere glance at the man gives us a belly guffaw.  Yet when he opens his mouth we double over in sidesplitting laughter.  We howl in anticipation of the wicked punch line that never comes.  You know what we mean…

Obama’s reverse syntax and rhetoric is always smooth and polished.  Yet his substance is rutted and coarse.  The juxtaposition of two produces a comedic delivery even Steve Martin would be envious of.  What’s more, when speaking on the economy, the laughs reach a fever pitch. Continue reading →

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Detroit Bankruptcy Uncovers Disastrous Pension Fund Fudge Factor

Posted on July 23, 2013 by MN Gordon

Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy case in U.S. History last Thursday.  Then, on Saturday, Helen Thomas bit the dust.  No doubt, both passing were long overdue.

As far as we can tell, the demise of Helen Thomas and Motor City has no direct correlation.  Nonetheless, in certain ways, they are both rich in consequences.

For five decades Helen Thomas had the best job in the world.  As Presidential Correspondent, she was responsible for peppering the President with questions he’d rather not answer.  Who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to wag their finger at the world’s top public servant and pour salt on their flubs and flaws?  Particularly Nixon and Obama…that must have been a hoot.

Thomas, unfortunately, stuck around long after she’d lost her marbles.  She could have gracefully exited stage left a decade – or two – ago with her reputation intact.  But instead she remained in the spotlight until May 27, 2010, when she made public utterances about Israelis and Palestinians that should have been reserved for private company. Continue reading →

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The High Point of China’s Economic Boom

Posted on July 19, 2013 by MN Gordon

Sometime in the early 1980s, goes the popular lore, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping looked out across the vast people’s communes and pronounced, “To get rich is glorious.”

Suddenly, without hesitation, the people put down their rakes, walked off the farm production teams, and entered the factory.  Implausibly one billion people came together and focused like a laser on one single task…making stuff.  Within a generation every corner of the globe was flooded with a tsunami of plastic doodads marked Made in China.

After decades of self-sabotage, people were finally getting ahead.  Some bought refrigerators.  Others ate red meat.  The future was glorious.  Everyone just knew it.

Yet when the Chinese weren’t making stuff to ship overseas, they were making skyscrapers – and brand new cities – regardless of if people would occupy them.  By the start of the second decade of the second millennium the property boom had turned to an epic property bubble.  According to one analyst, China is “building somewhere between 12 and 24 new cities every year.” Continue reading →

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