Archive for the ‘Econ / Finance’ Category
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
My friend, Lauren Hillquist, sent me this postcard via email today:
1928 CAR REPAIR MAILER.
AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR ADVERTISEMENT IN 1928... SENT ON A PENNY POSTCARD
(click on image for full size)
He also included this text:
May 31, 1927, the last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line. It was the first affordable automobile, ...
Posted in Econ / Finance | No Comments »
Monday, December 26th, 2011
Things, especially things about numbers, and especially things about big numbers, are often very hard to both explain and comprehend.
Pictures help a lot.
Along those lines, this is the best illustration I've seen yet on what the U.S. debt looks like, in visual terms that anyone can understand: http://usdebt.kleptocracy.us/
Note: I ...
Posted in Econ / Finance, US Politics | No Comments »
Saturday, January 15th, 2011
This is an interesting graphic from The Economist magazine. It compares U.S. states' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and population to their closest match among the countries of the world.
[swfobj src="http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/media/2011InfoG/Interactive/US_equivalents_7/main.swf" width="595" height="630" align="none" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"]
Posted in Econ / Finance, Geopolitics | No Comments »
Sunday, December 19th, 2010
There's a lot of heated political rhetoric about taxes these days, particularly U.S. federal taxes.
Some people want to abolish federal taxes. Just about everybody would like to pay less federal taxes. I think it's safe to say that everyone would like to see federal tax dollars used more efficiently.
I don't ...
Posted in Econ / Finance, US Politics | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
I read a good article on the radical re-making of the advertising market today: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/mayhem-on-madison-avenue.html
The article referenced a classic post by Clay Shirky that I'd read before, but was worth revisiting: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/04/the-collapse-of-complex-business-models/
Clay, in turn, referenced a book by Joseph Tainter, The Collapse of Complex Societies.
Tainter makes many compelling observations, as summarized by Shirky:
"Complex ...
Posted in Econ / Finance, Geopolitics, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | No Comments »
Saturday, June 12th, 2010
I compiled my thoughts on the primary challenges the United States faces in the coming decade, and ways to overcome them, here: http://www.hackneys.com/docs/facingthefuture.pdf
The primary focus in this collection is on domestic challenges, although some geopolitical issues are addressed.
.
Posted in Business, Cultures, Econ / Finance, Geopolitics, health care reform, Media, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Steph is in the news again. This time twice in the same day.
First, in a story in MSN Money: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/FindDealsOnline/big-discounts-on-little-pleasures.aspx
Second, in a story on FoxNews: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/04/16/rv-travel-beginners/
The Fox story included a link to our Travel web site, www.HackneysTravel.com, which was nice of them to include. I haven't checked the traffic levels ...
Posted in Business, Econ / Finance, Expedition Vehicles, Media, Travel | No Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
The United States of America enjoys many riches, inherent capabilities and positive attributes, as well as shortcomings, unresolved issues and a converging set of existential threats.
The challenge is to be aware of the upsides of the United States without becoming defiantly hostile to any discussion of specific shortcomings or ways ...
Posted in Cultures, Econ / Finance, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | No Comments »
Sunday, March 7th, 2010
“…our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are … testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” – Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
*******
The United States ...
Posted in Cultures, Econ / Finance, Geopolitics, health care reform, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
In the posts Show Me Your Budget and Buying Boxes I addressed the components and priorities of the United States government budget and how we as a nation pay for that budget. What I did not address are the components of that budget that are on rapid growth curves and ...
Posted in Econ / Finance, US Politics | No Comments »
