Holiday baking

Quick post to remember two things I need to try this holiday season.

Pear and Hazelnut Tart

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Welcome to the future

Cool demos of SeaDragon and PhotoSynth. Crowdsourced maps and imagery. Fascinating.

All of your gifting dreams come true

Don't walk. Run. Amazon has all three seasons of Arrested Development on sale for $27.99. Good today only. You will be loved.

Christmas card stats

I'm in the middle of that feared annual event and paused to run some statistics on our "ship tos":

States: 27

Most per state:
1-Utah
2-Texas
3-Idaho

Foreign countries: 4

Zip codes: 166

Surnames:
1) Wright - not a family name
2) Graham
3) Johnson

Tax the Rich

Democrats want to extend the Bush tax cuts to all but those that make more than $250K. Republicans don't.

Most data I've seen indicates that doing what the Democrats want will not significantly impact the economy adversely. I'm not at all opposed to the rich carrying more of the burden of taxes.

This article by Mankiw today lays out some sound reasoning to hold off on further tax increases. 90% marginal tax seems like a lot, especially when it means cutting take-home pay by 50% from what is currently 80%.

How "USA! USA! USA!" sounds with a British accent

Documenting my swing, not right, not left, but upper center...

Talenti Caramel Cookie Crunch

Long ago I said I was going to start reviewing ice cream - and then I didn't. I know that hundreds of people check in each day in eager anticipation of an ice cream review. Here you go.

Talenti is pricey, as far as grocery store ice cream and gelato goes. My first voyage into their dairy waters was with the Caramel Cookie Crunch. OK, so that's probably not the first gelato I should try. I should probably start with something more traditional. I think I'll try something traditional to give them another shot, because this stuff was no good.

If it was a private label brand, it would have been forgivable. But at $5 for a dinky little pint, I expected far more. I love gelato because of its creaminess. This stuff was not creamy - it had an icey mouthfeel. I wonder if that's just the way it goes with gelato you buy in your freezer section since it is likely difficult to keep it always below freezing.

The flavor was not very good either. With caramel and Oreo, I want one of two things - classic rich caramel (think Mrs Richardson) or something deep and unique (think Fleur de Sel or Michael Rechiutti). This was neither, but stuck somewhere in between. It tried to be rich and unique, but didn't get their.

For my $5, I'd skip the Talenti and go to another standby - Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry.

Happy October.

Six months have come and gone

5 - Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul - Jeffrey Holland

Someone said once that true love must include the idea of permanence. True love endures.

4 - We Follow Jesus Christ - Quentin Cook

Ordinances and doctrines of great importance were initiated at the Last Supper. I will mention just three. First, the Savior introduced the ordinance of the sacrament. He took bread, broke it, prayed over it, and passed it to His disciples, saying, “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” In this manner He instituted the sacrament. Second, His overwhelming emphasis was on doctrines teaching love as a preeminent principle. He taught, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Third, through Christ’s intercession or direction, “the Holy Ghost was promised to the apostles” as another Comforter.

3 - You Are My Hands - Dieter Uchtdorf

It is unworthy of us as Christians to think that those who suffer deserve their suffering.

2 - Continue in Patience - Dieter Uchtdorf (a twofer)

There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed.

1 - Watching with All Perseverance - David Bednar

This early warning system applies to children of all ages and contains three basic components: (1) reading and talking about the Book of Mormon with your children, (2) bearing testimony of gospel truths spontaneously with your children, and (3) inviting children as gospel learners to act and not merely be acted upon.

Religious literacy

Check yours here. No pressure, but I got 15 out of 15. W00t! Be patient - I had a heck of a time getting the pages to load. Maybe it's a popular page today.

More deep thoughts

From Clay Christensen and Malcolm Gladwell.

Talk number two - Required for parents and teachers

Cameron Herold: Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs | Video on TED.com

Two required TED talks for parents and teachers

Dan Meyer: Math class needs a makeover | Video on TED.com

Public Transportation Myth Busted

I found this article from Cato worth reading. Not a bad analog for those thinking that if the government takes over an industry (health care?) that costs will improve. Here's an excerpt for the time/link challenged:

This Cato briefing paper compared the costs of different forms of travel in 2006. Updating to 2008, auto owners spent about 22 cents a passenger mile driving, and subsidies to highways added another penny a passenger mile. Airfares averaged about 14 cents a passenger mile, and subsidies to airports added another penny. Amtrak fares averaged 30 cents a passenger mile, and subsidies brought the total to nearly 60 cents. Urban transit is about the most expensive form of travel in the United States, with fares averaging only about 21 cents a passenger mile but subsidies of 72 cents a passenger mile. This makes transit 4 times as expensive as driving.

In short, those who want to get people out of their cars and onto transit are trying to get people from an inexpensive, convenient, and increasingly energy-efficient form of travel to an expensive, inconvenient, and increasingly energy-wasteful form of travel.

Less than 3 days. Amp it up.

Greed

Give me liberty...

"All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the rest in that they include among the ignorant themselves..."

-Hayek

What is poor?

Obama wants to redefine poverty as a relative measure, i.e., you are poor if other people are rich, not if you can't afford to eat. Good article from Samuelson in the post here, with a good addition in a letter to the editor here.

I did not realize that such a large proportion of the increase in the poor is made up of poor hispanics.

Maybe I'm not so crazy after all

Great article on psychiatry from the New Yorker. At least I think it is great. Then again, it may be the only article I've read on psychiatry so it is #1 of 1. I find it most interesting how psychiatric conditions are added or taken away by political lobbying. I wish someone would also lobby for ALS to no longer exist.

It's all clear now

Very funny.

More or Less Bankruptcy

Under Obamacare, there are two key items to have in mind:
1) The individual mandate - all must have insurance.
2) Pre-existing conditions - insurance companies can't deny coverage based on it.

Because of #2, I have no incentive to comply with #1. I can wait until I'm sick and then get insurance. I'll be fined though, right? Well, unless the fine is greater than the insurance, I'll just pay the fine and call it insurance. Or not pay. What happens if I don't pay for the insurance or the fine? Will I be forced into bankruptcy with the US Government as my creditor? Or will I be thrown in jail?

One very good reason to reform healthcare is the number of bankruptcies attributed to healthcare catastrophes. Will an individual mandate actually create more bankruptcies?

The practicalities of health care make fixing it brutally difficult.

A Good Cause

Every year 29,000 kids age out of foster care in the US. Within two years, 60% will be homeless, dead or in jail. I found those numbers staggering. If you want to make a small difference in a few of their lives, here's a nice project locally.

Teach like a champion

It's a totally lame title, but I just finished this book and thought it was simply extraordinary. We're all teachers, even if it isn't our profession. I thought it had great ideas for teaching at church or at home. Here's an article I recently read about the author and his program that will show you why I decided to buy a book on teaching. I liked the book so much I wrote a five page summary of it that I can refer to frequently. If you'd like a copy of the summary, email me and I'll send it since I don't think I can upload word docs onto blogger. The summary might not all make sense without reading the book, but much of it will.

The Worst Loan Shark

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Hoarders
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Ben's Take on Happiness

Ben Bernanke gave the commencement address at the University of South Carolina this year and I think he did a great job of summarizing the "economics of happiness". I recommend you give it a read, even though it's a bit long, as most commencement addresses are. For the ADD among you, here are a list of the keys to happiness nd couple of snippets:

Ben's Keys:
1) Spend time with family and friends.
2) Spend time in activities that give you "flow".
3) Challenge yourself.

More generally, economic policymakers should pay attention to family and community cohesion. All else equal, good economic policies should encourage and support stable families and promote civic engagement. And to help people feel in control of their own destinies, policies should respect the autonomy of individuals, families, and communities to make their own decisions whenever possible, as research has confirmed the intuitive notion that individual freedoms contribute to life satisfaction.

Happiness is just one component of the broader, longer-term concept of life satisfaction, and only one indicator of how the fabric of our lives is being shaped by our choices and circumstances. I am reminded of a story about Abraham Lincoln. According to the story, Lincoln was riding with a friend in a carriage on a rainy evening. As they rode, Lincoln told the friend that he believed in what economists would call the utility-maximizing theory of behavior, that people always act so as to maximize their own happiness, and for no other reason. Just then, the carriage crossed a bridge, and Lincoln saw a pig stuck in the muddy riverbank. Telling the carriage driver to stop, Lincoln struggled through the rain and mud, picked up the pig, and carried it to safety. When the muddy Lincoln returned to the carriage, his friend naturally pointed out that he had just disproved his own hypothesis by putting himself to great trouble and discomfort to save a pig. "Not at all," said Lincoln. "What I did is perfectly consistent with my theory. If I hadn't saved that pig, I would have felt terrible."

I, Pigovian

Holman Jenkins nails the Pigovian argument today in the WSJ. If you want to use less oil, charge more, don't give tax credits for alternatives. Charging more raises revenue and cuts consumption. Giving tax credits to a highly regressive tax (the people getting the tax credits are not poor) and encourages consumption. Here's a great excerpt:

Even if you believe saving gasoline is a holy cause, subsidizing electric cars simply is not a substitute for politicians finding the courage to jack up gas prices. Think about it this way: You can double the fuel efficiency of any car by putting a second person in it. You can increase its fuel efficiency to infinity by refraining from frivolous trips.

These are the incentives that flow from a higher gas price. Exactly the opposite incentives flow from mandatory investment in higher-mileage vehicles. You paid a lot for a car that costs very little to operate—so why not operate it? Why bother to car pool? Why not drive across town for a jar of mayonnaise?

Though as eager as any to clamber aboard the electric-vehicle bandwagon, German parts maker Robert Bosch notes with rare honesty that electric cars may end up responsible for more CO2 than their conventional counterparts in regions (like much of the U.S.) where electricity is produced from coal.

The downside of entitlements

Doom and gloom article from Samuelson today on the threat of the welfare state. Here's an excerpt:

The welfare state's death spiral is this: Almost anything governments might do with their budgets threatens to make matters worse by slowing the economy or triggering a recession. By allowing deficits to balloon, they risk a financial crisis as investors one day -- no one knows when -- doubt governments' ability to service their debts and, as with Greece, refuse to lend except at exorbitant rates. Cutting welfare benefits or raising taxes all would, at least temporarily, weaken the economy. Perversely, that would make paying the remaining benefits harder.

The Constitution - Not for Children

Check out the copyright page on this edition of the Constitution. Good warning for the progressive era.

HT: Cato

Once a teenage boy, always a teenage boy

*snicker*

Death tax

Despite my recent trend toward libertarian posts, I'm not at all averse to taxation. I'm in favor of taxes in the following order:
1) Pigovian taxes (externalities, e.g., gasoline, cigarette taxes)
2) Estate taxes (death tax)
3) Consumption taxes (sales tax)
4) Production taxes (e.g., income)

This image gives me pause on my enthusiasm for each generation earning his/her own through high estate taxes:

Definition of a capitalist

I don't normally read the National Review, but thought this was a useful description of capitalism as a place that lies between socialism and anarchy, not to be confused with anarchy itself. (HT: Cafe Hayek)

If by “capitalist” you mean someone who cares more about his own profit than yours; if you mean someone who cares more about providing for his family than providing for yours; if you mean someone who trusts that he is a better caretaker of his own interests and desires than a bureaucrat he’s never met, often in a city he’s never been to: then we are all capitalists. Because, by that standard, capitalism isn’t some far-off theory about the allocation of capital; it is a commonsense description of what motivates pretty much all human beings everywhere.

And that was one of the reasons why the hard socialism of the Soviet Union failed, and it is why the soft socialism of Western Europe is so anemic. At the end of the day, it is entirely natural for humans to work the system–any system–for their own betterment, whatever kind of system that may be. That’s why the black-market economy of the Soviet Union might have in fact been bigger than the official socialist economy. That is why devoted socialists worked the bureaucracy to get the best homes, get their kids into the best schools, and provide their families with the best food, clothes, and amenities they could. Just like people in capitalist countries.

It’s why labor unions demanded exemptions and “carve-outs” from Obamacare for their own health-care plans. And why very rich liberals still try their best to minimize their taxes.

The problem with socialism is socialism, because there are no socialists. Socialism is a system based upon an assumption about human nature that simply isn’t true. I can design a perfect canine community in which dogs never chase squirrels or groom their nether regions in an indelicate manner. But the moment I take that idea from the drawing board to the real world, I will discover that I cannot get dogs to behave against their nature–at least not without inflicting a terrible amount of punishment. Likewise, it’s easy to design a society that rewards each according to his need instead of his ability. The hard part is getting the crooked timber of humanity to yield to your vision.

And it’s also why the problem with capitalism is capitalists. Some people will always abuse the system and take things too far. Some will do it out of the hubris of intellect. Some will do it out of the venality of greed.

I bring all of this up because many in Washington seem convinced that the solution to the problem with capitalists is always less capitalism. To be sure, a free-market society is in some sense a government program. The government must prosecute criminality, enforce contracts, and demand that the rules be observed. Few lovers of free markets are so laissez-faire as to want to strip the government of its role as referee.

But few should want the ref to suit up and play the game.

What do you think of these ads?

Bring on the Squash

I don't like zucchini. I never have. However, it is the one thing that I know I could plant anywhere, never water, without sunlight and it would still grow to the moon. We're on the verge of planting our garden and I'm sure we're a couple of months from zucchini mounting on the counter. When they do, this is the first recipe I'm going to try. Sounds awesome. HT: Wednesday Chef.

Zucchini Pancakes
Makes 12 pancakes

For the pancakes
3 medium zucchini, shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh mint
1 teaspoon baking powder (I forgot to add this! And they were fine)
4 to 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, more as needed

For the yogurt sauce
2/3 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place zucchini in a colander over a bowl, and mix with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Allow to drain for five minutes. Transfer to a cloth kitchen towel, and squeeze hard to extract as much moisture as possible. Squeeze a second time; volume will shrink to about half the original.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine zucchini and eggs. Using a fork, mix well. Add flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, olive oil, feta, scallions, mint and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix well, add baking powder, if using, and mix again.

3. Place a cast iron skillet or other heavy skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and heat until shimmering. Place heaping tablespoons of zucchini batter in pan several inches apart, allowing room to spread. Flatten them with a spatula if necessary; pancakes should be about 3/8 inch thick and about 3 inches in diameter. Fry until golden on one side, then turn and fry again until golden on other side. Repeat once or twice, frying about 5 to 6 minutes total, so pancakes get quite crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels, and keep warm in oven. Continue frying remaining batter, adding more oil to pan as needed. Serve hot.

4. For yogurt sauce: In a small bowl, combine yogurt, garlic and salt. Mix well, and serve on the side or on pancakes.

Higher Taxes = Less Work

I hadn't read this (pdf) Nobel-written paper before. Interesting to see how closely he can model the degree to which people work less when you tax them more. Little surprise that I favor less government and stronger individual incentives. We like papers that support our view of the world, don't we?

An inheritance

I came across this column today (sorry it's a year old) and was impressed that this is precisely the sort of inheritance I feel I've been given and could be so lucky as to one day pass along.

Bankrupting America

This makes the point fairly clearly. Bonus points for the first to identify what has driven down income/household in the period mentioned. Clue - focus on the denominator, not the numerator.

Amnesia

Good to remember who was fighting for/against reform at Freddie/Fannie before the crisis. I'm surprised by the public's misperception of who drove the risky behavior. I'm not generally an apologist for Republicans, particularly the Bush administration, but Obama's rhetoric about the financial crisis and who was behind it has long ago passed disingenuous and is quickly approaching dishonest.

Human rights - where do they stop?

Add tourism to the list.

Healthcare just like the mail

Anyone thinking that a more government-run healthcare system would reduce the cost of healthcare might want to peruse this report on the current financial predicament of the postal service. Unintentional comedy galore if you can get past the idea that you're reading from an 80-page government report.

Quick, take a picture

The Cubs are at .500, but they're tied 4-4 in the 5th, so this may be your last chance to see them on bubble until 2011.

I don't know that I can be a Cubs fan. Cubs fans are not sore losers.

Land of the free or land of the entitled?

Insightful post by the rational optimist well worth a read. Here's a nice excerpt (How could it not be nice if it uses the word "recrudescence"? Look it up. I had to.):

America’s longtime sources of strength have been its spirit of individual enterprise and innovation, people motivated to work hard and try new things, confident in their ability to succeed and confound naysayers. This is propelled by America’s freedom and openness, as a meritocratic egalitarian society – egalitarian not in results but, rather, with every person standing on his or her own merits (not pedigree or privilege). Of course it’s imperfect, but these fundamental characteristics are in America’s DNA.

Now, however, a different strand has crept into our national DNA – the ethos of entitlement. It’s a recrudescence of the old world paradigm of entrenched privilege that America was founded to get away from. But in today’s USA, entrenched privilege is everywhere, exerted not by some elite oligarchy but by practically every segment of society.

Myths about China

Interesting article debunking five key myths about China. I learned something. I didn't realize the US manufacturing sector is larger than China's, for example.

Kettle, you're black

First, a disclaimer. I hate fees. I hate the fees that airlines have started charging - for food, baggage, etc., etc.

That said, I find it a riot that our Transportation Secretary and members of Congress are so outraged that they want to take matters into their hands.

Um, is there an organization on God's green earth that finds more ways to nickel and dime me more, day in and day out? How many different ways are there to pay the government? How many "fees" do I pay - in my paycheck, at the grocery store, at the pump, if I smoke, to get my driver's or business license, etc.?

How politically palatable would it be if instead of being charged in so many ways, each of us just got one big tax bill each month and had to send in a check for it by the 15th? Even better, what if you had to stand by a machine and watch the tax bill mount, like standing at the pump watching your gas go into the car? No one, no one, no one is more adept at slipping fees into everything we do than the government is.

Sheesh.

On a lighter note, Twilight Struggle rocks

I got to play a quick game of TS with Tom last night. I've only played it a few times since I rarely get to play two player games, especially ones that last a few hours. Man is it worth it though. If you're a cold war history buff, do yourself a favor and check this one out.

Does Government = Society?

I just watched a classic Milton Friedman clip from a talk in the 70s in which he was asked whether society has a responsibility to provide for the poor. This distinction between government and society (or lack thereof) seems to be a philosophical basis for one divide between conservatives and liberals, particularly when it comes to entitlement programs such as healthcare reform.

The clip brought into resolution that point of contention within me. I believe strongly that I, and each of us, has a heavy responsibility to provide for the less fortunate. There but for the grace of God go I. I am far less convinced that the right mechanism to do so is to outsource that responsibility to the government. Perhaps this makes me a bit conservative constitutionally. I guess that's what makes me a bleeding heart liberal that can't bring himself to vote Democrat very often, particularly in federal elections.

If you're interested, here's the clip (http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/04/milton-friedman-on-responsibility-to.html).

HT: Cafe Hayek

Signs of recovery

I know almost nothing about investing. Probably not a good thing for a Chicago MBA to say, but there it is. I have a pretty boring and straightforward philosophy - buy and hold a diversified portfolio. The trick to this, that I learned from my dad, who unlike me was indeed a great investor, is to ignore your portfolio as much as you can.

I have heeded that advice diligently for the last couple of years. I figured that if I looked closely at my 401k, at best I'd feel depressed and at worst I'd overreact and pull my money out, buying high and selling low.

Today I got my reminder that my monthly statement for my BCG 401k is now available online. I clicked through out of curiosity. This graph is my portfolio in this particular 401k. Note that this says NOTHING about my ability to invest since this is pretty much just an index. However, it says a lot about the current economic recovery. I was pretty floored by the steep decline, but corresponding incline.

I should be clear - part of the reason it has a healthy incline is that I invested capital at the beginning of the last two years (those are the only two points where cash was invested in this graph). At any rate, with a bit of my own stimulus, the fund is back on its longer term trajectory. And I didn't have to saddle my children and grandchildren with debt to make that stimulus work.

Mankiw on Squawkbox

16-5

Looks like another long summer for Cubs fans...

It's the first weekend in April

I'm sad to be traveling today and tomorrow instead of sitting in front of the TV enjoying "jammy church". Don't panic though - here are my top five picks from October:

Bednar - More Diligent and Concerned at Home

Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results.

Monson - School Thy Feelings, O My Brother

“Anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything.”

“A man’s a fool who takes an insult that isn’t intended.”

Scott - To Acquire Spiritual Guidance

Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second is power, or the capacity to do it.

[S]trong emotions overcome the delicate promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Holland - Safety for the Soul

I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world, in the most straightforward language I could summon, that the Book of Mormon is true, that it came forth the way Joseph said it came forth and was given to bring happiness and hope to the faithful in the travail of the latter days.

Monson - What I Have I Done for Someone Today?

A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?” The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone. Dr. McConnell calls this exercise his father’s most valuable legacy, for that expectation and those words inspired him and his siblings to help others throughout their lives.

Enjoy your weekend of inspired thoughts and Sunday brunch.

And my favorite video

OK, not saying much since I don't like most videos. Nevertheless, here it is.

My favorite Ute

Is Eric Weddle.

They don't make them like they used to

I thought this was an interesting video to dispel the notion that cars were safer back in the old days.

Cadillac plans

I think I understand most of the elements of the healthcare debate. However, I don't understand the fascination with taxing "Cadillac plans". Generally speaking, I have to imagine plans like this are high margin, which means at least one of two things:
1) Insurance companies are making a lot of profit off of the people that have them.
2) The margin from these is used to subsidize lower margin products.

Why is either of these a concern for the government? Why tax it? I'm honestly stumped.

If people are willing to pay in inordinately into healthcare, God bless them at this point. Glad someone is.

The greatest irony to me is that (here I completely lack the data) I would assume that the largest contingencies who would have such sweet plans would either be union or government workers - not the folks Democrats generally like to foist taxes upon.

More marketing genius

Healthcare values

I realize I'm slow on this, but thought this editorial worth sharing, even belatedly. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/opinion/24brooks.html?_r=1

Happy Friday

He who learns must suffer. Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, and against our will, comes wisdom by the awful grace of God.

~ Aeschylus

Finally, something useful comes from BYU

What a tremendous invention!

Marketing genius

Being romantic was never so easy.

Evan Bayh

Excellent Newsweek article on Bayh's decision to leave the Senate. I knew nothing about him before this week, which shows how little I follow politics. He seems like the kind of guy we should have more of in DC.

Two words rejected

I hear two words overused right now in the political debate and would like to send them both to the penalty box for a while.

The first: Referendum.

In 1994, the Republicans were dumb enough to believe that the landslide victory they enjoyed in the midterm elections was a referendum on their agenda - the contract with America. It was a referendum - one of confidence in the president at the time, Clinton, and his broad-sweeping healthcare reform plan.

Last year, the Democrats made the same mistake and still haven't figured it out. The landslide last year was a referendum on Bush, not on big government. In fact, Bush was big government, so if anything the referendum was on shrinking government. It was not a mandate (the also-popular synonymous cousin of referendum) to increase deficit spending to drive an expansionist agenda.

I doubt I have a politician who reads here, but just in case, please remember that when there's a landslide election victory, most people are running FROM something, not TOWARD something.

The second: obstructionism.

Any time one party or another can't get bipartisan support for a policy, the other party is labeled overly partisan, or obstructionist. Don't get me wrong - many times there is obstructionism for obstructionism's sake and is really bad for the system. However, the term has been so overused it has become meaningless and cliche. If a group of politicians stands against a policy long enough that the people want passed, they won't be politicians for long. Many if not most of the times I've heard the term used lately (as well as during the 90s when the shoe was on the other foot), what's really happening is that the group in power is trying to force through unpopular policies and can't get votes. Instead of name-calling, they might be better served by moderating their policies to get the votes, particularly those of moderates within their own party.

Obstructionism and referendum, you've both been duly warned.

Health Care Moving in the "Right" Direction

Ryan's plan appears worth studying.

Summary, grabbed from Heritage:

1. Changing the Tax Treatment of Health Coverage
Current tax treatment of health insurance gives preference to employer-based coverage by making benefits tax free to the employee and the employer alike. Obviously, this tax policy only benefits those who receive coverage through their employer. It benefits those who also have the biggest benefit packages, usually, but not always, the wealthy. Ryan’s “Roadmap”replaces this inequitable system through creating a system of refundable tax credits of $2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families for the purchase of health coverage. As Heritage experts have pointed out this will transform the market to respond to patients’ needs, allow portability of insurance between jobs, and further the goal of universal access.

Replacing the tax exclusion with a health care tax credit would not only help the middle class buy insurance and extend coverage to the uninsured; it would also set in place powerful incentives to reduce the rapid growth in health care expenditures…individuals and families will have the ability to choose the health plan they want, own it, and take it with them from job to job. This tax credit would also have the added benefit of allowing individuals and families to decide how much of their compensation comes to them in the form of health insurance

2. Promoting State- Based Reform and Exchanges
The Ryan “Roadmap” would create a Federal-State partnership to help states that wanted to do so create State Health Insurance Exchanges, featuring high-risk pools combined with guaranteed access to care with affordable premiums. A state health insurance exchange can be designed many different ways. The key question is what is the objective of such an exchange. For consumers who want to own and control their health insurance, and take it with them from job to job, a properly designed state exchange, as Heritage’s Robert Moffit argues, can make it easy for employees , especially those in small businesses to compare and buy affordable health plans. It can unleash the free market forces of choice and competition. An exchange designed to restrict health options, as is now being promoted by the Left, is just another regulatory roadblock to personal freedom.

3. Allow Interstate Purchasing of Health Coverage
Congressman Ryan’s proposal would also allow individuals to use their refundable tax credits towards the purchase of health insurance policies in any state. As Moffit explains, interstate competition would lead to broader and more intense competition, greater personal choice and more affordable coverage, and would secure value for consumers’ dollars.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office evaluated Congressman Ryan’s Roadmap favorably, finding that “[The health insurance tax credit] could impose significant downward pressure on… the growth of overall spending on health care.” The Roadmap would also reform Medicare, putting it on more solid fiscal ground and molding it into a more consumer-driven system.

Econ Rap

Little late in posting this little ditty from Russ Roberts. We're not ALL Keynesians now. Hayek is dead; long live Hayek.

Best Walmart Ad Evar

Republicans as hypocrites

Normally this word is used in a moral context. However, this graph illustrates how I think Republicans are hypocrites and possibly the key reason I struggle to identify myself as such. Notice the massive increases in public debt during the Reagan and Bush years. So much for fiscal conservatism.

HT: Zion's Bank

Summary of my 70s project

I've spent the last while reviewing the last ten conferences, specifically studying each sermon given by a member of the seventy, so what I might have forgotten. I found some gems and thought I'd share them. Here are my favorite five talks and then five honorable mentions. They are my favorites either because they are profound and/or very important at this time, affected me personally, and/or enlightened a topic in a new and different way that I found particularly noteworthy.

1 - Gerald Lund - April 2008 - Opening our Hearts

God allows us to be the guardians, or the gatekeepers, of our own hearts.We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for He will not force Himself upon us.

2 - Kent Watson - October 2009 - Temperate in All Things

Likewise, a temperate soul—one who is humble and full of love—is also a person of increased spiritual strength. With increased spiritual strength, we are able to develop self-mastery and to live with moderation. We learn to control, or temper, our anger, vanity, and pride. With increased spiritual strength, we can protect ourselves from the dangerous excesses and destructive addictions of today’s world.

3 - Neil Andersen - October 2008 - You Know Enough (he is now an apostle)

Brothers and sisters, we each have moments of spiritual power, moments of inspiration and revelation. We must sink them deep into the chambers of our souls. As we do, we prepare our spiritual home storage for moments of personal difficulty.

4 - Tad Callister - October 2009 - Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration

There will always be some seemingly intellectual crisis looming on the horizon as long as faith is required and our minds are finite, but likewise there will always be the sure and solid doctrines of the Restoration to cling to, which will provide the rock foundation upon which our testimonies may be built.

5 - Whitney Clayton - October 2007 - Blessed Are All the Pure in Heart

When a dinner-sized fish came near the trap and sensed the bait, it would find an opening on the side of the trap and swim in, just squeezing between the cut wires. Then, when a trapped fish tried to swim out, it would discover that it was one thing to squeeze past the cut wires to get into the trap, but it was an entirely different thing to swim against those sharp ends to get out—it was caught.

Joseph Sitati - October 2009 - Blessings of the Gospel Available to All

Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord revealed that the determining criteria for the order in which the gentile nations are invited include the capacity to spiritually and temporally nourish the kingdom of God as it is established on the earth for the last time.

Dale Renlund - October 2009 - Preserving the Heart's Mighty Change

Enduring to the end can be challenging because the tendency of the natural man is to reject the spiritually changed heart and allow it to harden.

Carlos Amado - April 2008 - Service, A Divine Quality

Kindness, love, patience, understanding, and unity will increase as we serve, while intolerance, jealousy, envy, greed, and selfishness decrease or disappear. The more we give of ourselves, the more our capacity to serve, understand, and love will grow.

Lance Wickman - April 2008 - Today

This life is not so much a time for getting and accumulating as it is a time for giving and becoming.

Robert Oaks - October 2006 - The Power of Patience

Patience may well be thought of as a gateway virtue, contributing to the growth and strength of its fellow virtues of forgiveness, tolerance, and faith.

Political musings

I have felt entirely disenchanted by the three presidential administrations that I have lived through during my married life, and the executive branch seems to be in far better shape than the legislative. I have felt far from any political party in my views of both what to believe in and how to get things done. However, I have also felt that I should be far more active politically to attempt to be less of the problem.

As a consequence, on a long flight this week, I took the opportunity to make a list of the primary political issues that matter, then wrote down my beliefs, then rated those beliefs by their alignment with the stated platform of the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties. I'd actually like to see how they align with others as well, particularly Constitution and Green. I had been feeling that I probably aligned best with the Libertarians these days. The tally:

Republican - 90
Libertarian - 86
Democrat - 61

I was a bit surprised by this.
1) I did not think I'd be most aligned with the Republican platform. I realized that I agree broadly with the beliefs, but disagree strongly with the alignment of those beliefs with actions (e.g., massively expanding government spending), the methods and the madness of Republican politicians.
2) I thought Libertarians would be on top. Those of you that are thinking "but Republican and Libertarian are basically the same" need to study up on Libertarianism. Not so at all.
3) All three scores are fairly high. Politics are a spectrum, and I'm more moderate that I thought I'd be given how opinionated I feel about the topic. Look at me - I'm a centrist!

As I've considered how to properly enter the political debate, I found this speech inspiring.

EDIT - I just added another issue. Current score: L 96, R 92, D 69.

Ethnic markets

In the name of sharing:

Asian: China Market on 90th S just west of state on the south side of the road
Latin: La Herradura de Oro on 78th & Redwood

Does anyone have a favorite Middle Eastern market?

The Antidote

I'm in the middle of reviewing a long series of conference talks. I am acquainted with several folks that seem to struggle with false inadequacy, exaggerated imperfection, and needless guilt. A few thoughts on how to overcome them here.

Happy Friday.

Recommended stuff from 2009

Not a top ten list. Just a few of the best stuff I enjoyed during the last year. I'm sure I've missed a few important ones, but this is a pretty good year.

Restaurants:
JoJo
Cut
BLT
Tao
Prime
Bouchon

Books: (I never would have expected a list without fiction)
Outliers
The Much Too Promised Land
Predictably Irrational
Crisis of Abundance
Cooking

Boardgames:
Agricola
Railroad Tycoon
Le Havre
Tichu

Gadgets:
My new smoker
Snowboard
Videocamera
iPhone
PS3
Kindle
Panini Press
RedLaser
Bose headphones

Events/Activities:
Snowboarding with my kids
FastPass at SeaWorld
VIP at Disney World
Third row of Suns @ Magic
Lagoon in the rain
Ragnar

Blogs:
Six in 2006
Mankiw
Cato
My Husband Cooks
Cafe Hayek

Guilty as charged

I was born an economist.

Entitlements

Is our health care crisis one of cost or coverage? This graph makes the answer fairly clear.