Bleak House
In the US (and much of the industrialized world) morbidity is higher than fertility. We are not replacing ourselves. I won't delve into the sociological details here, but rather the pragmatic ones. Historically, those countries with large numbers of available
Striking
According to statistics I've read on the web, about 40% of strikes are failures, 50% effective in improving wages, and 10% "neutral." Strike funds from the union can compensate for about 40% of lost pay, but that still leaves quite
Send in the Clowns
Every time I watch a televised political debate of either party I think of a circus. The moderators are the ringmasters and the candidates are the various daredevils and "acts." It's an insult to the intelligence—shouting over each other, not
Is the Sky Falling, or Are the British Coming?
The tropism of the media is to present bad news, and even to exaggerate average news until it is bad news. What do I mean? Well a story that's titled, say, "Election turnout better than average" will have a subtitle
Wait, It Wasn’t the Middle Finger?
In an op ed piece in the Providence Journal, a woman lobbied for the state legislature to pass a law making it illegal to use one's fingers to pretend to point a gun at someone. It seems she "inadvertently" cut
Cause and Effect
The great Eric Hoffer, the "longshoreman/philosopher," said once, Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket. I find that people often grasp at any straw to prove the gravity and seriousness of their
From the Surface to the Depths
The photo of the year might be the $175 million dollar yacht picking up the survivors (and dead) of the rickety migrant boat that overturned close to Greek shores, which the Greek coast guard was not very aggressive in trying
The Fifty-Cent Outrage
I read on social media that someone was enraged because a restaurant had assessed a fifty-cent charge on the bill for an order of extra cheese to sprinkle on the food. The total bill was $124. It strikes me that to
The Right Lane
Two days I week I take Royce to puppy school. The quickest way to get there is by avoiding the back roads and taking the interstate (I95) for about five miles. Since I take him (and Coco) in the pickup
Why Does A Japan Visit Have Precedence Over A Possible Default?
Just a consultant's observation, without any political leanings: If the debt crisis and default potential are so severe, what is President Biden doing in Japan, a trip that could be rescheduled, instead of meeting with key people to resolve an