Good morning. A few things I’ve seen so far: A roadmap for killing Social Security, what Citigroup knows that you don’t, the bee vs the car, and today’s funny-but-oh-so-true video.
Federal jobs look too good not to have a big price (Bloomberg)
The new relative appeal of a government job sends a message that private-sector work, especially self-employment or a job at a start-up, may not be worthwhile. Recent wipeouts of big businesses and the recessionary struggles of smaller ones only reinforce that message. So do politicians’ occasional disparagement of “risk.”
A roadmap for killing Social Security (LA Times)
Like a zombie tromping through a Hollywood gorefest, the idea of privatizing Social Security still walks among us.
The economic equivalent of war (Forbes)
Stop sniping at Hank Paulson. The former Treasury Secretary saved the day by overcoming his predilection for free market capitalism and he didn’t do it to save Goldman Sachs, his and my alma mater. His pragmatic boldness helped save the capitalist system from a possible total collapse.
What Citigroup knows that you don’t (Marketwatch) More on the Citi “financial collapse derivative” I wrote about last week:
Questions of the day: Would you buy a round-trip ticket on an airplane prone to crashes? How about a car with a history of serious brake problems? Interested in a TV that works great, except for the picture?
If you answered yes to any of those, do I have an investment opportunity for you.
Bee vs Car: Who gets more miles per gallon? (NPR)
“We are playing with the numbers a little bit in terms of the scaling factors,” he said. “But that does not negate the fact that honeybees are super, super efficient, far more efficient than any kind of internal combustion engine that human engineers have ever devised. So yes, we’re cheating a little bit, but if you want to think in terms of miles per gallon, no denying it: We [he means the bee] got almost 5 million miles per gallon. Pretty darn impressive.”
Today’s funny but oh so true video (YouTube) A new service — Polluter Harmony — matches lobbyists and legislators looking for love:
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