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Entries from December 2011

Krugman July 2008: “…the Fannie-Freddie experience shows that regulation works.”

December 22nd, 2011 · No Comments · Economics

Given the recent SEC indictments, I couldn’t resist this passage from Krugman in July of 2008 (emphasis mine:) “But here’s the thing: Fannie and Freddie had nothing to do with the explosion of high-risk lending a few years ago, an explosion that dwarfed the S.& L. fiasco. In fact, Fannie and Freddie, after growing rapidly […]

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Avoid Spam: Don’t Register on These Sites

December 20th, 2011 · No Comments · Uncategorized

Here may be an entrepreneurial opportunity. Register at thousands of sites using a variety of non-intuitive unique email address that are used nowhere else. When you start getting emails about viagra sent to one of these addresses, flag the related site in a database as one to avoid. Build a browser plugin that accesses that […]

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Kim Jong-il Dead: How Millions Will Always Remember Him

December 19th, 2011 · No Comments · Uncategorized

A fitting legacy. This troll of global proportions who threatened to turn Seoul’s presidential palace office into a “sea of fire,” will be be thought of in this hilarious context for all time. Many thanks to Parker, Stone and team for this lasting impression.

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Commodities vs Opportunities: Lessons From a Forgotten Pilot

December 7th, 2011 · No Comments · Uncategorized

Had a chance to sit in on Steve Blank’s Lean Launchpad class last week at the Haas School of Business. Came away very impressed with the real-world/pragmatic aspects to his curriculum, and the enthusiasm of everyone in the room. Prior to attending the class I decided to read through Steve’s blog, and came across a […]

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The Mankiw Class Walkout and Blaming the Messenger: Sorry Kids, but Scarcity Exists

December 5th, 2011 · No Comments · Economics

Harvard Professor Greg Mankiw wrote about the students who walked out of his introductory econ class because “the biased nature of Economics 10 contributes to and symbolizes the increasing economic inequality in America.” He hit upon a few points that I’ve been meaning to post about. I’ve wanted to go into detail how those with […]

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Head of Medicare Cites “Extremely High Level of Waste”

December 4th, 2011 · No Comments · Economics

Ouch. This would appear to handily refute the non-intuitive argument Krugman made (and bloggers parrot) about the imagined efficiency of Medicare and Medicaid. The New York Times reported yesterday: The official in charge of Medicare and Medicaid for the last 17 months says that 20 percent to 30 percent of health spending is “waste” that […]

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