Interest rates too low?

Interesting discussion of how these extremely low interest rates do not encourage banks to lend.

Low interest rates mean "easy money". With easy money no one has an incentive to economize....

Yet, banks aren't lending except for high collateral positions...and why is this? The answer is simple, as Robert Higgs said, "regime uncertainty".

This is a bit contrary to the fact that most profit these days has been the result of increased productivity a.k.a. economizing a.k.a. laying off, closing factories, offshoring work, etc.  This only works in the short term.  Eventually, you need to put Employees First.  :)

Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down

Dr. Laura Schlessinger & the "N" Word

From Dr. Laura's (Schlessinger) radio show, yesterday, regarding the use of the word "nigger":

Caller:	It’s OK to say that word?
Dr. Laura:	It depends how it’s said.
Caller:	Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?
Dr. Laura:	It’s — it depends how it’s said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it’s OK.
Caller:	But you’re not black. They’re not black. My husband is white.
Dr. Laura:	Oh, I see. So, a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can’t do much about that.

Can't handle the truth? On NPR, John Ridly said it was OK for blacks to use the word "nigger" because of a "history" of slavery & Jim Crow. Huh?

When asked the same question that Dr. Laura was asked by a listener, Ridley responds that it's OK for black people to use the word because of the history of slavery and Jim Crow laws.

Know anyone that has been in slavery? Can President Obama use the word "nigger"? Not by this criteria since his ancestors weren't here for any of that.

Viaduct lies

Excuse me if I veer into Seattle politics a bit.

Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle

Advert: The Alaskan Way Viaduct

According to the the Stranger, The State Is Lying About the Tunnel.  All this fuss about whether or not the City of Seattle will be on the hook for all cost overruns for the project to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct with an under-downtown tunnel--all this fuss may be for naught.  It seems, not that many contractors want to bid the job anyway.

One of the four groups expected to bid on the contract to build the tunnel dropped out in March. Then, on July 12, the city got word that one of the three remaining teams seeking to win the contract to build the tunnel had stopped work on its bid. The team's lead member, Kiewit Corporation, said the state's contract was "not compatible" with its business model.

If the bids are too high, no one know what will happen. Apparently, the State did not make this information public until months after they knew about it and not until asked by the press.  That may or may not be a big deal, but as I always say, when you deceive me, you have have to earn the trust back.

Though the project has been voted down, the newly elected mayor of Seattle is against it and it is still being pursued, this is just a fact of life in Seattle where the saying is, "How many times do we have to vote against it before they just go ahead and do it anyway?"  Now, folks are trying to get another vote this Fall.

Citizens of Seattle will have pay for a project we don't want, suffer through the construction, lose the breathtaking view of the Puget Sound we have now as we drive along the current highway, end up with no more traffic lanes and have to pay a toll to use the new tunnel.  On the bright side, the folks that own property along the current road will make out like bandits.

Alaskan Way Viaduct: Phase III-B preliminary seismic retrofit plan and cost estimate
Preliminary plan and profile of Alaskan Way Viaduct Battery St. to 1st Ave. S. two-deck design, six traffic lanes
[Report in support of a petition to use the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Battery Street Tunnel, and Aurora Avenue as a truck route for the transportation of flammable liquids]
Capital improvement needs for roadway structures: A preliminary report to the Seattle City Council
Seismic vulnerability of the Alaskan Way Viaduct: SED typical unit
Geotechnical report, Alaskan Way Viaduct: Phase III seismic vulnerability study, SR 99, MS-2494
Alaskan Way Viaduct Park: Proposal for site development analysis and design