Topper's TravelsTopper Kain's blog. Topper Kain is a world-famous kazoo player and traditional norwegian food chef. He wants you to use the comments. Tuesday, September 23, 2008Despite the high pitch screams coming out of everybody Paulson, Obama, McCain, and Company, we are not in crisis, only our financial sector is. Unemployment is at 6.1%, high compared to the last 3 or 4 years, but around average for a recession for the last 50 years- and certainaly a far cry from the 70's. The stock market, while rattled, currently is around where it should be if it actually grew at the same rate as the US economy for the last 15 years (IE- the 90's bubble never REALLY popped...) Housing prices are down 20%, but then again they had skyrocketed something like 100% since 2000. What is happenning is a market correction and a downturn in the business cycle. The liquidity crisis does need some solution, but the answer should involve shareholders, executives, and companies losing their shirts on bad, dumb loans, not the US government. I like the suggestion that we follow the Swedish / Fannie Mae plan and demand equity in any company that wants to participate in the bailout.Overall the recent crisis has been an embarassment for the "free-market" republican party. I'm going crazy here over in my libertarian wing. .: posted by Topper 10:33 AMTuesday, February 19, 2008I would still like Huckabee to just go away (although keeping the Republicans in the news while at the same time not actually causing real controversy could be valuable in the general election, I'm not sure Huckabee will turn around and support McCain come convention time), that's not why I'm writing today.I'm writing today because Pakistan held elections and the dominant party lost. Be some people's definition (see the book "Democracy and Development") that is all that is needed to establish a country as a democracy. We'll see if the election results hold, but I kind of think they will. This news made me happy, as it gives more evidence to my senior thesis- President Bush, despite all his other flaws, is and has been serious about supporting the emergence of democracy, even when it has meant damaging "our" guy. So kudos to Pakistanis for their election, kudos to PPP for winning, and kudos to Musharraf for allowing it to happen (mostly), and kudos to Bush for not getting in the way. Now just leave, please. I'm tired of hearing the democrats complain and not have (m)any comebacks. .: posted by Topper 9:50 AMTuesday, February 12, 2008Go away huckabee..: posted by Topper 12:04 PM |
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