The Wall Street Journal really got my attention this morning. No, not because of some riveting story. Rather, because when I picked up the blue bag it comes in — it’s my one remaining paper subscription, and only because I could use frequent flyer miles to pay for it — it was twice as thick...Read More
Confusing “Us” and “Them” Today’s Wall Street Journal is running a house editorial decrying government wage controls on the top 175 executives at seven companies that are still using money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”). The title of the piece? “Our New Paymasters: wage controls are politically easier than genuine reforms.” I can...Read More
Coke Didn’t Make America Fat. —Wall Street Journal headline (10/8/09) Pressed for time? (and who isn’t) Then do what I do, as I hurriedly scan the Op-Ed pages (online and off) for the 8-10 pieces I want to “dig into” that day: 1. Read the headline;2. Jump to the byline at the end, to check...Read More
More Half-Full Glasses The deeper the slump, the zippier the recovery. —The Wall Street Journal (9/19-20, 2009) Just six months ago, the mantra of the hour was, “the bigger the party, the nastier the hangover.” That was succeeded by the “green shoots” metaphor. Now, I am seeing variations on “the steeper the fall, the more...Read More
“Obama Saw Successes, Then Harder Times” I’ve read (or skimmed) Barack Obama’s two autobiographical books, and followed his political rise, so the above headline in today’s Wall Street Journal caught my eye: was there some, heretofore hidden chapter in his life? Nah. The “successes” referred to Obama’s first three months in office; the “harder times”...Read More
Tighter Regulation = Less “Innovation”? Thirty years ago credit cards were exceedingly simple. They charged high annual fees just to own them (often $40-$50), high fixed interest rates (approaching 20%), and offered no cash rebates. Today credit cards are more complex, but they are also better. They offer no annual fees for no-frills cards, flexible...Read More
