Category Archives: ECONOMICS

Progressive? No thanks … or at least only if I’m at the helm …

Posted on December 9, 2016 by xty

The other day I had a somewhat depressing run in with our city councillor who mistook his election as a mandate when it was a strong rejection of the development mad woman whom he replaced. We discussed two recent neighbourhood … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS, LIFE | 2 Comments

Well, call me a broken record (but don’t call me Shirley)

Posted on October 19, 2015 by xty

A topic close to my heart, that human cooperation is key to survival, crops up again through the inestimable Russ Roberts, within the context of our use of narrative, our ancient history (including the use of cooperation to destroy other species, … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS, LIFE | 21 Comments

Back to Russ Roberts, and an almost argument breaks out!

Posted on October 7, 2015 by xty

I nearly always enjoy these podcasts and when Russ is throwing his net wide and doesn’t hesitate to interview people with whom he has a fundamental disagreement it is extra interesting. Add in nostalgia for the early days of computers … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS, LIFE | 31 Comments

Maybe it’s just me, but I find this post-conspiracist most entertaining ..

Posted on September 16, 2015 by xty

I have touted this podcast before, and cannot resist re-touting it. Still time to go back to the beginning, and it only comes out once a month (sadly) so no big time commitment, but if you ever feel you narrowly … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS, LIFE, RANDOM | 65 Comments

Cooperation innate and key to survival? Who’d of thunk it …

Posted on September 1, 2015 by xty

Well, me, for one. And I sure took a lot of heat (and vitriol and even metaphoric urine) for mentioning it at the Swamp: humans tend to be naturally cooperative. Or so argues Paul Robinson in Pirates, Prisoners and Lepers. I … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS, LIFE | 109 Comments

He does call them fanatics and someone goes to jail …

Posted on June 9, 2015 by xty

Bitcoins, they just won’t go away … unless they were mean’t to be in your wallet .. I do find bitcoins an intriguing approach to currency, but have a great deal of trouble taking them seriously. I think owning gold … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS | Comments Off on He does call them fanatics and someone goes to jail …

Leaning on Russ Roberts, but a monetary constitution is an interesting idea

Posted on March 11, 2015 by xty

I feel like the old me, advocating for some system of sounder money, but there can be no doubt that a government monopoly on currency is fraught with dangers, and the current system of rewarding some and not others as … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS | 31 Comments

You could feel a giant sucking sound and fine, blame the third year of a drought …

Posted on March 3, 2015 by xty

Water, water, nowhere and not a drop to drink … You could feel a giant sucking sound and fine, blame the third year of a drought but all those showers and dishwashers and hotels doing laundry and too green golf … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS, LIFE, RANDOM | 34 Comments

One can be excused from thinking the fix is in, when the fix is in …

Posted on February 23, 2015 by xty

Here’s a frustrating topic dear to our hearts, and seems to tell the story of how the Americans took advantage of the carnage of World War Two to make their dollar the only equivalent to gold and created a ‘new … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS | 49 Comments

It’s funny how ideas can have a moment … or how did Nassim Taleb manage to worry about what we were just worrying about, i.e., what to worry about?

Posted on January 19, 2015 by xty

It is here in the comments on the last thread, and then just this morning a headline flashed past me, Fitch: Greek Election Uncertainty Raises Banks’ Liquidity Risks, as I checked on the current status of the U.S. dollar, and I remembered a … Continue reading →

Posted in ECONOMICS, LIFE | 29 Comments