Monday, November 23, 2009

The Lieberman Toggle

Senator Joe Lieberman is nominally a Democrat. In name only.

As noted by driftglass at Crooks and Liars,

"he
  1. Lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut to an actual Democrat.
  2. Formed his own Lieberman Uber Alles Party (Motto: A Smarmy Of One)
  3. Ran against the candidate of the Democratic Party and,
  4. With massive assistance from a cartel of banks, insurance companies, credit card companies and Republicans who now collectively own his quisling ass, managed to win back his former Senate seat.
  5. He also endorsed the Republican candidate for President in 2008 and campaigned for (Mc)same, and was welcomed and applauded as a member of the family at The Grand Ol' Party convention of insane freaks."

Yet... Lieberman is Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. In 2008 after the election, he almost lost the chairmanship. He was recently warned by Senator Harkin that if he votes on the Healthcare bill as a representative of the Connecticut insurance companies his chairmanship would be in jeopardy again.

If Lieberman loses his chair, then his many security-related constituencies lose power. If he votes for health care and keeps his chair, then his state loses business.

Will his security-related constituencies perhaps have a word with his local people?

Lieberman is, after all, just the button they push. And right now, the push-button is a toggle switch.

He could, of course, ask the people of Connecticut what they'd like him to do. That would reduce his dependence on any of these backers. Who presently have his tail firmly in their grip.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Can We Have A Freddie VISA?

If one spends a penny less each month than one has earned, one becomes happy.

If one spends a penny more each month than one has earned, one becomes cursed. One owes. Charles Dickens wrote books about this principle.

Today, if a person can manage to live on quite a bit less and spend only 2/3 of their income, and can set the rest aside in an online brokerage account, then in five or ten years one can live on the income from the money invested. Invest the money in companies that relieve suffering, and one will have it made in days to come. This writer, for example, has chosen SPWRA and ISRG and bought Ford when Detroit was grounding out.

We have seen that market collapse is only another buying opportunity. The cheaper that stocks become, the more government moves in to make Capitalism work right, borrowing deeply as we have even now from Communist China to tilt our leaking bucket aright. So buying at market bottoms is a pretty safe bet. Be Superman coming to the rescue when the Dow is down and your favorite stock has fallen.

For those who can save a penny, easy access to the stock market fulfills the Socialist principle that the working class should own the means of production. Now we do. We just don't manage these companies yet.

We spend less than we earn. We gain power. We will manage soon.

The banks of the world have their claws in the flesh of those who cannot save, who spend more than they earn.

They monthly suck the blood of the mindless with a needlessly high interest rate. There is a public need for cheap rescue credit. We loan money to these banks for almost nothing. Can there be a Freddie VISA to rescue credit card users from their own learning experience?

Perhaps it could be combined with a group brokerage account? Give people the sharable experience of investing in their future.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Computing Power Grows Times 10 Every 7 Years

Many people now know that you can get twice as much computing power for the same dollar two years from now as you can today. You can get twice as big a hard drive. Twice as fast a CPU. Every two years. Gordon Moore of Intel noticed this back around 1965. It's been roughly true ever since.

Moore counted the number of transistors that technology could put on a chip. Every 18 months to two years the number doubled.

Transistors on chips became smaller and smaller. Smaller, they were faster. Smaller, they were cheaper. Strangely, for a lot of non-chip computer resources - hard drives, blank CD disks, monitor screens - the price has also gone down at a similar rate.

If power doubles every two years, how many years does it take for computers to become ten times more capable?

In two years, capability doubles. At four years, capability doubles again to four times the starting level. At six years it doubles to eight times. At eight years, capability doubles to sixteen times the original value.

Ten times larger is nearer to eight times than to sixteen, nearer to six years than to eight years. It would be safe to say that within seven years or less, computing power becomes ten times more powerful.

Data becomes ten times more accessible. Ten times as visible. Moves ten times faster.

A career in auditing should have a guaranteed future.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Bail Out The Employers

Suppose Federal bail-out money went to companies according to their employee count? The more employees it has, the more access to aid a company could receive.

Tie every corporation's survival prospects to its hiring level. Use employee count, not payroll size.

Set a new metric and they will fill it.