Clash of the Classes

Steve Curnutte — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:38:23 -0400

Take any sampling of say, 500 Americans. Ask each of them if the language of today’s political rhetoric and public discourse through the media is too inflammatory, too mean spirited. To the last one, they would say yes. They might even go so far as to say it is worse than it has ever been.

The Death of 'Cruel Arrogance'?

Steve Curnutte — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:20:33 -0500

Arrogance will never die of course, but hopefully the last few months have set it back a pinch.

The Case of the Puzzled Baboons

Steve Curnutte — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:13:39 -0500

America has collectively awakened to a crisis. Fear and a bunker mentality have choked consumer spending. It seems bad news makes people act even more conservatively, which makes things worse, which makes for more bad news. Most of what is written about this phenomenon seems to rest on intangible reasons like consumer sentiment or retail pullback. So we thought we could offer a concrete, albeit strange, example by looking to the world of primates.

A Wall to Push Off...

Steve Curnutte — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:26:47 -0500

To intervene or not to intervene. That is the raging debate on our satellites. That is the raging debate around our water coolers. ‘Let them fail!’ or “They are too big to fail.’ But it is far deeper and more subtle than that…

Capitalism....dot gov?

Steve Curnutte — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:15:44 -0500

There is a new drugstore test called the E.G.T. (Early Government Test). You pee on a stick. If the lines appear, you are no longer living in a free market.

The Yearning for a Malefactor (and other failures)

Steve Curnutte — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:29:33 -0500

The churning of the press in the last few weeks has at least been good for something. If there were any doubt before, none now should remain. Our national conversation about our economic woes is shockingly devoid of an original voice. Each new article about the state of our affairs seems little more than a recapitulation of someone else’s opinion; which itself is derivative of another’s opinion. At best, we might find a concise description of what has happened.

Comment on Node ant

Steve Curnutte — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:24:51 -0400

I read a biography about Teddy Roosevelt last year and discovered that story about Panama. There are very few instances of it showing up on the web - but you can find a great deal of information in literature about the building of the canal itself. Just not digitally I am afraid.

The Treasury, Mosquitoes, and Unintended Consequences

Steve Curnutte — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:41:58 -0400

Comment on Node ant

Steve Curnutte — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:10:08 -0400

To Bart H -

Comment on Node ant

Steve Curnutte — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:01:56 -0400

To M Lynch -

Yes, technology is one of the solutions. But it is far more than simply software. Technology could provide significant transparency to the actions of hedge funds for example. It could also help us track the amount of leverage being used by individuals and by institutions. Moreover, the fed needs to do a better job of tracking data, defining what constitutes inflation for example. A new banking system will be built on the bones of a technology platform not yet designed I think.