Home » 2010 » November (Page 2)

Monthly Archives: November 2010

Deflation

Posted on by | 18 Comments

The ads seem to bring a lot of good news.  A local clothing store advertises that if you buy one suit you get two free and a discount on dress shirts – an amazing 2/3 off!  Prices on computers and technology continue to fall with some laptops available for as little as $500.  This is a great boom for consumers, isn’t it?

The short answer is yes, but the long answer is no.  If you take all of this together we’re looking at a serious problem with deflation, something we haven’t seen since the 1930s.  It’s far worse than inflation for many reasons, the simplest version of it being that an economy based on credit cannot function if there is no reason to expect rising returns on investments.  And there are signs that deflation is going to be the watch phrase for some time to come.

Continue reading →

G20 Finds its Seoul

Posted on by | 9 Comments

The big summit in Seoul is over, and all the world’s leaders have emerged with a united plan of action to stabilize the global economy.  That’s the headline that the G20 conference would like me to write, but I can’t.  We had another opportunity missed, but no one really expected anything else.  That’s the situation around the world right now.

Responsible nations like Brazil did their best to reign in the profligate ones like the US, but with little result.  I like using that as the headline because the irony of it is really funny.  The joke, however, is on all of us.

Continue reading →

A Thanksgiving Story

Posted on by | 9 Comments

It naturally comes up in my family just before Thanksgiving every year.  The Puritans’ deliverance to America is billed as a search for religious freedom, something which is a core value of our nation. It’s good that we celebrate such a thing, but do the Puritans really deserve credit for it?  The short answer is no, they do not, because they were seeking to establish their own theocracy – and across the ocean where no one would bother them seemed like the perfect place.

Religious tolerance as a founding principle of America came from a different source – William Penn, the “absolute proprietor” of Pennsylvania.  The reason that he doesn’t get the credit he deserves is murky at best, but may have its origins in a prejudice that most of us wouldn’t even understand today.  I think it’s time to correct that.

Continue reading →

The Future of the Democratic Party

Posted on by | 17 Comments

Left or Center?  After a “shellacking” at the polls, it’s what Democrats always wind up debating.  Do we focus on the core values that make us a potent political force or do we re-tool ourselves to meet the swing voters who get us over the top?  I’ve had this conversation with many people lately, and I’ve reached the conclusion that we’re almost certainly asking the wrong question.

I don’t think it’s a matter of politics for Democrats.  To be the party of the people we have to do a lot more show, don’t tell.  Are we standing up for people and their personal issues or are we just playing a game?  If that means we wind up being more to the left than we’ve been, so be it.  But I don’t think it’s where we need to start.

I’d like to know your opinion.  Which way should we go?

Continue reading →

Jargon

Posted on by | 10 Comments

Science exists to provide new answers about our world – or at least ask good questions.  The process of doing this leads to new discoveries or perspectives that demand paragraphs of thought be condensed down into handy new words.  That is the natural process that creates jargon.  There are simply times when one word, no matter how strange, is far easier than many.

When the science or philosophy is being used to develop new systems of thought for people – political, economic, or in communications– the use of jargon creates barriers that separate the class of those “in the know” from the masses.  This is sometimes done very deliberately.  But whatever the motive, jargon creates a barrier to entry that prevents new ideas from being properly democratized.  The more social the field of study the more dangerous and counter-productive this is.

Social Media has this tendency, but it is far from alone.  Many fields of practice and study need a team of dedicated and ruthless translators if they are every going to advance and make vital new connections.

Continue reading →