Category Archives: Economy
Export / Import
Boeing and GE have stopped contributing to politicians who oppose the Export / Import Bank. Both companies get subsidized loans from the bank to help them export their products. No stranger to crony capitalism, GE CEO Jeff Immelt threatened to move jobs out of the country if th Ex/Im is closed. Imelt moonlights as Obama’s Jobs Czar.
Credible Threat
“Without a credible threat to walk out of the single currency, Greece was eventually forced to cave in, and accept punishing terms from the rest of the European Union that will push its economy even deeper into recession.” – Market Watch
Planned Parenthood Parts is Parts
Parts is parts to Deborah Nucatola.
Nucatola is the senior director of medical research at Planned Parenthood. She was caught on video discussing her method for harvesting body parts from the babies she aborts.
“I’d say a lot of people want livers”, she explained while swirling a glass of wine. In order to deliver quality parts Nucatola uses ultrasound to locate an organ and then “crushes” the baby above and below the desired part.
This use of ultrasound outraged Michele Malkin.
Think about that. Planned Parenthood has officially declared it “torture” for women to see their unborn children through ultrasound before submitting to abortion.
Her point is that Planned Parenthood fights laws requiring that women be shown fetal ultrasounds before an abortion can be performed.
Others were at pains to point out that this is all legal. Maybe but it seems a little beside the point.
Here’s Kevin Williamson, in National Review:
Abortion is a brutal business — emphasis on business. Planned Parenthood takes in a half-billion dollars a year in government money; its financial footprint is the same size as that of the NCAA.
Craigslist for Greeks
Greece’s Syriza Party Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to accept new conditions for a bail-out from Germany. The conditions are tougher than the ones Greek voters rejected in a referendum less than two weeks ago. The agreement also calls for a €50 billion investment fund to help Greece grow out of its mess. The fund is to endowed by the sale of Greek assets. Craigslist for Greeks.
The agreement requires approval of the Greek Parliament.
In a WSJ piece title “Another Greek Can-Kicking” Holman Jenkins thinks the deal will retard any return to health for Greece.
But if you still have money in Greek banks you might be willing, to sacrifice the economy’s return to long-term health to maximize your chance of reclaiming your life savings.
He also says the deal was less about Greece than preserving relations between France and Germany.
France stepped out as defender of Greece and promoter of fake plaudits… Germany likes to be seen deferring to France to quell any idea that Germany is becoming strident and imperialistic again.
It must be true – David Ignatius lays out the same notion in the Washington Post.
Greek Austerity
Last week Greece defaulted on its debt to the IMF. On Sunday Greek voters said “no” to more austerity from the IMF.
Surging socialist candidate Bernie Sanders applauds the Greeks for rejecting austerity from the Euro ruling class. Economics writer Stephen Moore says Greece needs less socialism and more privitization. The banks are shutting down and withdrawals are restricted. He says what’s happening in Greece is the usual outcome of socialism – economic collapse.
Roger Cohen in the NYT says the euro zone isn’t all that much into democracy anyway: “A vote cannot undo a debt or obscure colossal Greek irresponsibility.”
The IMF had demanded more taxes on Greek businesses. Moore says the country is already overtaxed. His solution is a Detroit style bankruptcy where pensioners and Wall Street investors all take a “haircut”.
Robert Samuelson says the Greek economy accounts for only 1.8% of the euro zone and its collapse might not have much effect on the rest of us. Greece only has a population of 11 million. Hell, we have 94 million out of work.
But this WSJ analysis says if Greece does leave the Eurozone the risk of contagion to more important economies is high.
