Always 2 things.

A great visual guide if you’re curious to see where those trillions are going.  The big things I see are how much the taxpayer pays of this (about half), and the comparison of military spending vs. everything else.   Nutbars.  Pro-military conservatives sounds like an oxymoron to me if you want to keep a shred of your “less government, cut taxes” rhetoric. Gaaaah.

Car storage 500.

The steep decline in worldwide car sales is forcing car companies to store over-produced cars in unlikely places, like on Nissan’s UK test track, below.

Photos: David McNew/Getty Images, ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images, Christopher Furlong/Getty Images, David Goddard/Getty Images,Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Matt Cardy/Getty Images, Nigel Roddis/Reuters

[via Jalopnik]

Ron Paul and the sheep tunnel.

Based on last quarter reports, AIG lost approximately $465,421 a minute. One more time – anything that “needs” to be rescued like a bank/insurance company should be regulated like a bank/insurance company. Both parties in the US participated in bailouts, so no votes for deregulation will fly.  Many predict nationalization of banks is inevitable.  To me, the amount of socialism scare is still leftover McCarthyism, but without massive changes to the Federal Reserve and the banking system the US will have to wade those wave tanks.  Nobody talks about McCarthyism these days, as well as how readily the GOP throws a veiled version of it out there every day.

So who’s the biggest proponent for massive change in Washington?   Ron Paul is an interesting case study – if you’ve ever been on YouTube, you’ll see his Texan mug all over the place.  His appeal derives from his consistent and principled approach to policy. He sticks to the constitution without fail and is a major proponent of Austrian style free market economics.  State’s rights, non-interventionist foreign policy, individual liberty,  but no department of education, a gun fetish, and zero investment in the environment.  After all, your flawless free market philosophy thinks coal will be the best form of energy for the next 100 years as your whole world revolves around price.  Won’t even go there.

Proof that people don’t want necessarily want a politician that aligns with their values, they just want a politician that has values.  That’s an instant love/hate.  Proof that people value values, but these values can kill.  His racist past is controversially documented after all, he doesn’t believe in evolution, and I hate coal.  The good ‘ol fashioned sheep tunnel.

Deregulation Age.

“Anything that has to be rescued like a bank needs to be regulated like a bank”.

Less regulation has proven to be the wrong answer.  Partisanship is hard when you want to get along with someone, but you also happen to have fundamentally different views on governance and the economy.  Oh, and when this side is also blatantly hypocritical.  Tough.

I feel like opponents of deregulation now have crystal arguments to show that this style isn’t going to cut it anymore.  To paraphrase Nobel economist Paul Krugman, in the past 50 years the periods with more regulation, not less, have proven to be more healthy and stable periods of economic growth.  Regulation gets marketed by conservatives as impenetrable walls and a hindrance to economic growth for their own misguided political reasons.  The thing I find so funny (and amazing) about the outspoken right is they believe that big government and regulation is the devil.  Remember 2002-2008? We all know of Bush’s massive/bloated government and weak regulation along with its result.  Dickery.  And when the con pundits try and call “porkulus” on Obama’s stimulus for a similar amount of money as their “we-need-700-billion-without-an-eye-shake-because-you-will-die-otherwise”?  I just want to angrylaugh at that brainwashing hypocrisy.

Stimulus is not an option, it’s needed, and a big one is needed. Irrefutable.  If McCain was elected he would’ve consulted the same economists and still pushed through a massive bill.  Buuut Fox News would’ve said it was needed.  Aaaand now the blood has boiled out of my veins.  To be fair, MSNBC would have likely been dicks about it, too.  

It’s easy to get people on board with conservative ideals – “Low taxes and tax cuts?  Small government?  Yeah, the government does suck! Blame succesfully externalized!  Unapologetic defense commence!”  Hmm, sounds like something else.  All political and economic structures are created by humans, inherently flawed.  To ignore our (military, socio-economic, political) actions and imminent mistakes is just that – ignorant.  Government normalizes these mistakes, so let’s actualize.  In this case, research (and thus governance) is advocating for economic stimulus.  Tax cuts will not create stimulus, it will just allow citizens to save or pay off debt. Your band-aids are getting sweaty.  We need this, and and we also need government to be better, not smaller.  Easier said than done, I know.  But out of anyone to do it?  mmhmm.

This is Obama’s press conference from last night.  His style is clarity, intelligence, openness.  He scaremongers a bit (which obviously gets exacerbated by the media), but I think at least some if it is actually warranted.  Seems so heavy.

Do you have 58:43?

Want to know some straight goods on our world’s economic state?

Paul Krugman, a Princeton University professor of economics, NY Times contributor, Keynes follower, and Nobel Prize winner holds a 25 minute speech and a 30 minute Q&A about his thoughts on the current economic crisis.  As having no direct connection with government, he’s not afraid to tell it like it is.  Really interesting to get a better idea of what is actually going on in these truly crazy times, according to him.  I just started reading his NY Times blog.  Definitely worth some time.

Although Krugman is left leaning, I am starting to be way more OK with the US’ spending/stimulus bill based on how government spending has a direct (inverse) relationship on unemployment and an obvious increase in GDP.  Roughly $200 billion of investment leads to $300 billion in GDP (so roughly 50% increase in GDP) , reducing unemployment by 1%.  Current unemployment in the US is 7.6% and Krugman expects it to be 10% by the end of the year.   Obama needs to do something, big and fast, to help with unemployment period.  So yeah you guys, pretty much what he’s doing now.

Blindsided.

What the hell is going on in our country tonight?  So incredibly confusing, so little time to react.  Not to sound too conspiracy theory, but this is exactly what Naomi Klein talks about in her new book – extreme events (political, environmental) and the vulnerability of countries to undergo massive political/economic choices for the lucrative benefit of a very small group of people.

Who knows if Harper was acting like a baby and arrogantly hiding his crucially needed (yet reportedly insufficient) economic plans until February, especially in a concerning time.  Or maybe it was three other babies that tried to push a constitutional loophole and get their time in the sun for the next few years.  And do this in a way that feels so coup-like and undemocratic.  Their arguments sound convincing for a few moments, but it still supercedes our democratic process.  It is technically constitutional but I keep hearing this is a major gray area in the constitution.  We also live in an archaic democratic structure, so perhaps we should work on electoral or constitutional reform before we stage an uprising two months after an election.  Right?

Wasn’t our GDP up by 0.3% this past month?  Are we being lied to when we’re told we’re in good shape amongst the G8? The US’ downturn should obviously be the canary for Canada, but wouldn’t this situation be greatly improved if action was forced on the Conservatives?  Are they that impenetrable?  They reinstated public funding for the parties and upped the budget date by a bit?

Already over 3000 comments on one CBC article, that’s not too bad given our dismal voter turnout.  Not to mention a major drop in the TSX and another $300 million with likely election #2?

This will be an interesting week, hope you’re ready guvnah.

Housing market projections.

Yale economist Robert Shiller has shown the past 100+ years of housing values, adjusted for inflation of course.  If an 1890 house valued at $100,000 (current day value) is 100%, you can follow how values have changed from then until now.  Then some other people have guessed the bust of this housing boom.

I feel a bit less anxious since I’m poor and have no investments.  Now maybe I can actually afford a place in Squamish.

(via cflatt and popurls.com)