Most Recent Posts
Retirement Plans? Private Investment is still Smarter than Social Security
So, which system do you want to be covered by when you retire? One that has paid out an annual return of 6.85 percent or one that’s completely bankrupt and funded from current tax dollars? Apparently, America is split on that question:
50% of the workforce has no private pension coverage.
31% of the workforce has no savings set aside specifically for retirement.
I have only one question if you are part of that 50% or 31%: are you crazy? [cont...]
Obama’s 2012 Budget Proposal is a Trip to La-la Land.
What would you say if I told you that the Obama Administration is proposing in a budget that cuts out spending to the equivalent to getting a penny off of your Wendy’s value meal?
Let’s be clear: for an administration that has had to deal with the worst economy in decades, the Obama Administration has proven an uncanny ability to live in La-la Land when it comes time to make a budget.
I don’t say this to attack the Obama Administration on its handling of the economy. Indeed, that might be seen as a different issue. Rather, I point it out because it is significant in that budgeting is how the executive branch sets its priorities for the coming year. As yet, over the course of his tenure in the White House, the President has not had a budget survive through Congress, even when his party controlled both the Senate and House.
Further, it is widely accepted by economists that once national debt exceeds 90% of GDP (gross domestic product or the value of everything a country produces in a year), “annual economic growth tends to be about one percentage point lower.” The current GDP for the US is about$14.58 Trillion. The current national debt is at $15.087 Trillion, or about 103.45% of GDP. [cont...]
Would we have elected Lincoln or Washington, today?
Today we celebrate President’s Day in honor of, ostensibly at its roots, the birthdays of George Washington (February 22) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12). Would either have been elected if they were on the ballot today? One was part of the 1%, the other trod on the constitution…would they have survived any primary process, today? [cont...]
Books
Book Review: “Drood” by Dan Simmons
“The Mystery of Edwin Drood” was Charles Dickens last novel, but he died before it could be finished. Dan Simmons picks up the mystery, not to solve and finish Dickens’ work, but to provide a back story, the real source of Drood. The result is a tale that is tragic, eerie, and mysterious.
Simmons starts out with heavy foreshadowing. Told in the voice of protagonist Wilkie Collins, friend and confidant of Charles Dickens, [cont...]
Review: “A Free-Market Monetary System” and “A Pretense of Knowledge” by Friedrich A. Hayak
I recently read the short brochure “A Free-Market Monetary System,” a compilation of Friedrich A. Hayak’s 1974 Nobel Prize speech “A Pretense of Knowledge” and a short essay on proposing a free-market monetary system (hence, the name, see?). Both are short, and neither waste any time proposing radical changes to what was then, and indeed what is still, the status quo in monetary and economic policy.
Both the essay and the speech are worth reading.
In “A Free Market Monetary System,” [cont...]
Book Review: “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” by Thomas C. Foster
It’s a rare day that I’m willing to give a full five out of five stars to a book. It’s rarer still that I’ll give the five stars, and then put it back on my bed-stand for continual reference in my future reading.
It’s just that kind of a book, and every bibliophile should read it. [cont...]
Book Review: “Anthem” by Ayn Rand
Objectivism: an extreme philosophy that is to the free market what communism is to liberalism, just in the opposite direction. Instead of glorifying collective action, it glorifies the individual, the ego, denigrating all else–love, charity, God, and any kind of shared effort or brotherhood. I’m all about independence, freedom, and self-reliance, but Rand sees no need for sacrifice, charity, or love. [cont...]
Other Books & Reviews
Restaurant Reviews
Bohemian Brewery & Grill: Sprechen ze Good Food?
If it were to be judged solely on the service, then Bohemian Brewery & Grill would earn a “Two Thumbs Up” and a Gold Star, too. Add food to the equation, and I doubt the score would change. Within seconds of walking into the Bohemian for the first time, I was greeted with a smile, [...]
Yanni’s Greek Express: gyros for the rushed.
A quickie, because sometimes that’s all you have time for. Unless you have been hiding under a rock (with the Geico guys), then you know that Salt Lake City has an abundance of Greek owned and themed restaurants. This week, I visited Yanni’s Greek Express. Fast. Greek. And good. I ordered, of course, a gyro (pronounced [...]
Apple Spice Junction: Not So Spicy
“Oh,” she said when I told her where I had had lunch. “Average.” Yep. That pretty much about sums it up. Average. Apple Spice is quaintly named, and I think I even detected a note of a cinnamon in the air when I walked in. However, when I left, I realized I didn’t have a [...]
Pioneer Restaurant: Best. Fries. EVER. (or at least last week)
I hope I don’t exaggerate too much when I say that I may have found the best fries in Utah. Ever. Admittedly, it’s not the most accessible restaurant in town, unless that town happens to be Springdale, Utah at the gate of Zion National Park. I arrived by en route from Sand Hollow Reservoir, where I was [...]
O’Falafel: Fresh, healthy, and exotic food
Looking for something exotic? Something new? Something fresh? Something healthy? O’Falafel has it all. Almost hidden behind the Pancake House on 2100 S. in Sugar House, this boutique size restaurant has prices that seem geared towards the college/lunch time crowd, but has a selection that will make just about any body happy. My wife and [...]
