Subscribe to Excerpts
Subscribe by Email
Well, not quite a chat, but a fundraiser at my colleague Ken Klee’s house. (Ken and Elizabeth are old friends, both being law professors who specialize in bankruptcy). There were about 30 people there. The obvious reactions are those that many have had: she is very dynamic and intelligent. She has thought through the campaign [...]
Archive for the ‘Commerce and its discontents’ Category
October 30th, 2011
October 17th, 2011
A listserv that several RBCers belong to has had a discussion about why the ancient meme that cities are evil, unAmerican congregations of overeducated snobs, while folks in small towns are decent, commonsense types who look out for each other and embody real virtue, persists. To the point that no candidate for office boasts about [...]
October 12th, 2011
The other day I received an invitation from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) for its annual fundraising dinner in Los Angeles. But what struck my eye was the icon in the middle of the invitation: “Walmart: Gala Chair.” Let’s be clear what it means to be a gala chair: it’s essentially [...]
October 8th, 2011
Category: Elizabeth Warren, Watching Conservatives
It’s a bad sign for American punditry that George Will’s latest column slams Elizabeth Warren in such disgraceful fashion. It’s a good sign for American politics that the dean of patrician conservative columnists felt the need to do so.
September 20th, 2011
Good news from the Bay State, as PPP’s latest poll shows Elizabeth Warren up two points over Scott Brown. Bad news from Ron Suskind, who strongly suggests that Tim Geithner and White House officials undermined her, and didn’t like interference from women anyway. Well, there’s an obvious way to remedy any problems, and not-coincidentally move [...]
September 19th, 2011
Category: Britain, Commerce and its discontents
As the U.S. debates the “Buffett tax” the LibDem party conference here in the UK is generating a series of proposals to address wealth inequality, from the inspired to the woolly-headed. Inspired: (not least because it’s so blinking obvious). Danny Alexander suggests hiring more Treasury auditors who are devoted to ensuring that wealthy people who [...]
September 15th, 2011
Category: Commerce and its discontents, Financial crises
One of the most annoying things about the troglodyte right is its celebration of “Tax Freedom Day” where supposedly you are no longer working for the government. As soon as they start saying that they don’t want to benefit from Social Security, Medicare, national security, food safety, environmental protection, education etc. etc. then we can [...]
August 27th, 2011
Category: Commerce and its discontents, Management
Thank you for reading the RBC. To assure quality, reader clicks and keystrokes may be recorded. [music you don't like, or at least the middle frequencies of it that a telephone can transmit]Please enter or speak your account number, followed by the pound sign…You entered …if that is correct, press one [music] We are experiencing [...]
July 21st, 2011
I remember seeing a cartoon years ago that portrayed a group of people at a self-service gas station. The cashier yells out “You, with the U.S. license plates, you pay BEFORE you pump!”. The caption read “On a recent trip to Canada, Howard discovered the shame of being from a debtor nation”. I thought of [...]
June 24th, 2011
Category: 2011 Democratic Agenda, Commerce and its discontents, Corruption in Washington, Democrats in Congress
Senator Chuck Schumer says about the deficit negotiations that “there needs to be revenues in any deal.” Very true. What revenues might those be? Well, the Democrats are talking about a lot of loopholes for the very wealthy. Let me suggest one: treating the investment gains of hedge fund managers — mnay of whom make millions of [...]
