Month: February 2009

Contributed by: filbert Friday, February 06 2009 @ 12:20 PM CST

I’m finally on the upswing after getting ill Wednesday. Really ill. “Coming out both ends” ill, combined with “not being able to sleep” ill. Pretty miserable combination.

I’d have taken a picture but . . . there’s no reason for you all to get sick, too.

Update: You want to know how bad it was? Snookums tells me I got sick Tuesday night. I completely lost Wednesday somewhere. Yikes.

Contributed by: filbert Monday, February 02 2009 @ 10:14 AM CST

Economists Harold L. Cole from the University of Pennsylvania and Lee E. Ohanian of UCLA write in today’s Wall Street Journal[*1] :

The most damaging policies were those at the heart of the recovery plan, including The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), which tossed aside the nation’s antitrust acts and permitted industries to collusively raise prices provided that they shared their newfound monopoly rents with workers by substantially raising wages well above underlying productivity growth. The NIRA covered over 500 industries, ranging from autos and steel, to ladies hosiery and poultry production. Each industry created a code of “fair competition” which spelled out what producers could and could not do, and which were designed to eliminate “excessive competition” that FDR believed to be the source of the Depression.

The success of the New Deal is a myth. I’d feel better about our future if the Democrats showed any sign of understanding that.