finance
Money talks; reviewing the global economy, government spending, taxes, and economic policy that affect our social and political future.
I Am Not a Dictator, I Just Have a Grumpy Face
The Legacy of Pinochet’s Rule The phrase in the title above is famously attributed to the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, a leader whose reign was marked by brutal repression and sweeping economic reforms inspired by the Chicago School of Economics. Despite the widespread human rights violations under his rule, he was openly praised by figures such as Margaret Thatcher and Milton Friedman. Friedman, while acknowledging his general dislike for authoritarian regimes, described Chile as an economic success story and personally met with Pinochet to advise on economic reforms.
By Sergios Saropoulos3 years ago in The Swamp
Will The Newly Passed Inflation Reduction Act Leads to Higher Inflation. Top Story - September 2022.
This will result in a possible 3% tax hike for individuals making under $10,000 year, but because the affluent are receiving tax credits, no one seems to mind. The Inflation Reduction Act is well known to raise taxes for everyone; in fact, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation have both come out and said as much.
By Estalontech3 years ago in The Swamp
Back to School Conversations
There are only a few days left of the month of August 2022 as I take on the "back to school" topic. For all I know, there are students and teachers in a classroom right at this moment as I'm typing this article. I pray they are safe and well. They don't have time to write this article, but I do - and as a retired teacher I feel it is my duty to "talk" about the subjects concerning public school, the business and politics of the institution, and some "controversies" that still exist and will probably always exist as long as there are people who believe in the continuum of Public Education.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman3 years ago in The Swamp
The Downsides of Data Driven Decision Making
In life, and especially in business it is quite fashionable these days to hear people claim that they make "data driven decisions." Making data driven decision sounds like a very smart thing to do. Certainly much smarter than its regular language translation, "using the facts to determine a course of action" which sounds awfully obvious and boring. Definitely not something one would see published in the Harvard Business Review. Despite its obviousness it would seem hard to argue with the sagacity of making "data driven decisions", after all who would not want to use all of the information at one's disposal (data) in deciding which to select of the many possible alternative options that are available (decision making) for doing whatever it is one is trying to do? Usually that thing one is trying to do is make money or some derivative thereof. Nothing gets me more fired up for an argument than a thing which is hard to argue with. Therefore, below I present to you two arguments against data driven decision making. Of course I am in general a big supporter of data driven decision making and in no way mean to suggest that it is not (most of the time) the smartest way to go about making decisions in just about any aspect of one's life or career. However, that said, it is by no means guaranteed to be the best way to make decisions or even the smartest way to make decisions in every case. As you will see if you continue on, data driven decision making has at least two highly relevant downsides that can make it the less than optimal mechanism for deciding things. Even if less than optimal in some specific instances, it is still likely never a bad way to make a decision, it just won't guarantee that you always come out on top. Nothing ever does though does it?
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in The Swamp
What Really Causes Inflation Made Easy to Understand. Top Story - August 2022.
I will keep this short and simple because otherwise, you will not be here for long. Although we should not simplify complex social sciences like economics, to understand what inflation is, what causes it and why we are experiencing it, we must make these concepts more accessible to everyone.
By Anton Black3 years ago in The Swamp
Accounting Rules Stifle Innovation
The system today "According to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, require that most research and development costs be expensed in the current period." For as long as their have been accounting rules the idea that R&D activities must be entered on the costs side of the ledger has held sway. To my knowledge none or only a very few have ever dared question the wisdom of this approach. After all, it seems obvious, R&D (in its most basic form) costs money, it does not make money, not directly at least. If it does make money it is only indirectly through the products and services that eventually come to market as a result of the money spent on R&D. Much like a building or other capital expense, R&D is viewed as a tool that can be used to make money, but not as a money making enterprise in an of itself. A building, however, is built, and maybe modified some over time, but it does not really do anything. Not anything active at least. It just exists, and is used by a business which occupies it to conduct business, to facilitate the doing of business. In the end it just sits there and does nothing but "exist as a building" On the other hand, R&D, some activities of which can be capitalized like a building (see linked article above for the gory details) is a very active thing (hence the reason we call it an activity or a process). It does much more than just "exist as R&D" waiting for some business to occupy it and use it to make money. Their are alternative R&D models of course that do exist, some of which set up R&D as a profit making enterprise with its own P&L, but these are few and far between and are typically highly risk averse, short term project focused, and significantly limited in scope. Nothing wrong with that model and it can be useful, but it is far from the norm and if all R&D were set up in this manner it is hard to see how real "move the needle" type innovation could actually happen.
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in The Swamp
A Look At The Coming Recession And Surviving The Rough Patch
The realities about our economy may have people worrying, having sleepless nights, and generally stressed. As gas and energy prices remain out of control and prices of food and other consumer items skyrocket, the economic news is constantly grim.
By Jason Ray Morton 4 years ago in The Swamp
