Here we go again…

$700 billion more.

You and I (and our children and grandchildren) stuck footing the bill.

By now, you’ve heard the story. Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, proposed a bold new plan of action that would drive the value of the dollar into the ground. It would create exciting new opportunities for government corruption. And, it would make each of us marginally better off for a few months while harming all of us for the next 100 years.

If you need background, see the Ron Paul video below.

I don’t typically get involved much in politics. But this issue burns me up. Take action now. Contact your Senators and Congressman. (Disclosure—link goes to a John Birch Society sponsored website—if you disagree with their politics, use another service).

This article is an interesting commentary of how over 100 economists feel about the issue.

Sorry for two straight political posts, but I think that ultimately this issue will affect each of our lives much more than who the next president is.

Stop the Bailouts, please

As you may have heard—unless you’ve been in a cave for the last month—as a U.S. citizen, I am now the proud (one-three hundred millionth) owner of:

• millions of private homes, including lots of foreclosed properties (via the Fannie/Freddie takeovers)
• the world’s largest insurance company, with over a trillion dollars in assets (allegedly)

I hate that my government is getting involved here.  We allowed these companies to purchase financial derivatives and make billions in profits from these financial instruments.  When things go sour, I get stuck footing the bill.

I think Lewis Black said it best.  If you can’t describe in one sentence what your company does, it’s illegal.  No one can describe financial derivatives in one minute, much less one sentence.

On the upside, I’m excited to see how fast Uncle Sam can run these companies into the ground.  They are starting at the bottom, and somehow will manage to continue screwing up. 

Four tens

At the beginning of august, my company decided to have a trial of
allowing employees to work four ten hour days instead of five eight
hot days.

We are now in our sixth week of that trial. You might have noticed
that I have also not had a blog post in about six weeks. A stunning
coincidence!

Now, for some honest opinions about the four day week. It is awesome
to have the long weekend every week. However, Mondays thru Thursdays
are a waste. It's really hard to be motivated to do anything outside
of work on those days. You work, come home, then sleep (or so it seems).

All the same, I'm going to miss my long weekends when our trial period
runs out. With any luck, we will do them again once our holiday season
is over.