dixie

The Great Shift: China Rising, U.S. Falling

A big THANK YOU to the author and to those making many thoughtful comments.

The most thought provoking article on this site in some time.

Private Prisons: A Reliable American Growth Industry

Emblematic of the moral decline of U.S. society coupled with the increased number of single and working parent households.

On the WSJ's 'The New American Dream: Renting'

I believe Americans were both happier and less stressed several generations ago. There was more time for family and friends with a parent usually at home.

Houses were smaller, meaning smaller mortgages, less taxes, and less "warehouse space dedicated to storing today's unnecessary stuff."

Maybe a return to reality will be a relief to many.

Matt Rognlie Doesn't Understand the Public Option

The public option will be staffed and managed by the same folks that gave us, "cash for clunkers."

As we read, reimbursements to the dealers are erratic and unpredictable.

Note to Sears: Nobody Needs More Stuff

Wake-up and smell the coffee, folks.
The day of the big home and oversized vehicle will be but a memory.
People have come to realize there is nothing to be gained with a big house (and big mortgage with high taxes) to warehouse "stuff."

Ravenous materialism is coming to a fitting end.

How Did Vermont Avoid the Mortgage Meltdown?

Good things to be said for those with a positive work ethic and living close to the earth and nature. There is then little want for materialism and the distractions that accompany it.

Europe Is Recovering More Quickly than U.S. - Why?

Here in the USA, materialism and the debt that accompanies it is rampant.

Our god has become consumptive glut: ever bigger homes and more stuff to fill them.

Do Lawmakers Really Understand the Energy Markets?

Does the Democrat Senator not understand that oil does not come out of the ground as gasoline? There is no magic wand either to turn oil into gasoline.

It must be refined and the Dems haven't allowed for the building of any additional refineries in 20 years.

Lawmakers look in the mirror. Yes, the problem is YOU.

The Rally in Financial Stocks Accelerates

What we are witnessing is simply a resurrection of "good regional banks" that were oversold and thrown-out earlier with the proverbial bath water.

Seeking Alpha attracts many "chicken littles" that want us to believe that the sky is constantly ready to fall. 'Taint so. That's why God in His wisdom created day and night.

Cash for Clunkers May Cost Up to $45,354 Per Vehicle

Avery could have connected the dots better. He is focusing on the total cost of the program in relation to the incremental gain. $1 billion divided by 22,000 incremental vehicle sales= $45,460 per vehicle.

SEC's Dangerous California Interference

Typical government thinking, as if somehow isolated from the reality of common sense.

How do the rest of us get a 3.75% apr on our credit cards??? Arren't we all at drift together in the same economic boat???

Obama Takes Pressure Off Health Insurers

The highest percentage of voters is consists of those already insured.

If the proposed change is not for the better, it will not be well received.
The mid-term election will soon be here.

U.S. Economy: Is the Fed Predicting Stagnation?

FED policy has little relationship to the "stimulus" passsed by Congress and enacted by Obama. This misguided public pork spending package will all by itself result in "stagflation."

The only thing being stimulated is the public sector which could be characterized as inherently stagnant.

California - And by Extension the U.S. - Headed for Permanently Smaller Economy

Discard the present costly "stimulus" focused on the public sector.

Instead, cut the corporate tax rate by 50% for two years and eliminate all capital gains taxes for the same period. We must jump-start innovation and investment.

California: Hell as IOUs

This famous quote hits the nail on the head:

Thomas Jefferson: "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

It is time for people to speak-up.