Bad News-3, Good News-0.3

I've been searching for some good news about the economy today per Ben Stein's instructions but unless you were long white truffles the past year the news continues to be gloomy. For the good news, Macao gambling magnate "Uncle Stanley" Ho, bested the highest price ever paid for a white truffle by over 50%!! This will undoubtedly have a negative effect on my power to purchase even low market truffle goods such as pizza and scrambled eggs(that's right). I'm more than a little annoyed that The Merc has yet to create a forward market for this good that would allow me to hedge my future truffle needs. When will they get off their duffs and start meeting the world's demand for unique derivatives? And for the bad news... I won't even explain, you should just be aware of it all before you go into Christmas shopping mode. Bad, Badder, Badderer

I Couldn't Agree More

I am extremely excited to see that the New Hampshire Union Leader has endorsed John McCain in the upcoming primary. Like everyone else in America I don't agree with everything the candidate I've chosen to support believes in, but overall John McCain is correct on the issues that will keep America competitive economically for the coming years. There are obviously other issues but economic health is the macro issue from which many aspects of society are derived. Most importantly he is correct about free trade. This is one reason I could not vote for a Democrat. People who don't support international free trade don't understand the way the world really works and are taking the short term view over the long term benefits that trade brings and will bring. The trade imbalance is a problem right now but it is a natural step in the path to increased wealth per capita for the entire world. It is cheaper to buy goods from overseas because labor is relatively less expensive. As they provide us with goods, they will become more wealthy, healthy and educated. When this occurs they will increasingly demand the higher quality and more technologically advanced goods that we create. Wealth can be created, it is not a zero sum game where capital is shifted around creating only winners and losers. Not supporting free trade will cause the price of goods in America to rise unnecessarily but more importantly will deprive developing countries the opportunity to better themselves. Many on the left argue that factories and long work days are not beneficial to the beautiful pastoral societies that existed before capitalism moved in, they stubbornly refuse to see that when a society becomes richer that it means better schools, better hospitals and longer lives, which is better for us and them. America went through an industrial revolution with the same pains and consequences. Why deny others the chance?

Here is a McCain endorsement by thoughtful moderate David Brooks. I will provide more justification for my support later or as demanded...

Your Doing it Wrong

Courtesy of Fark, some idjits provide more evidence that Democrats know less about economics than Republicans know about Fluxus.