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Showing posts from March, 2013

Is our air too clean?

I am not a scientist, but neither are our politicians, pundits and eco-terrorists. After this past, crazy-cold winter and predictions of a blazing summer, has anyone considered the fact that our atmosphere might be TOO CLEAN? Think about it. In the middle of the winter, a greenhouse is usually a lot warmer than it is outside. In the summer, it is hot as well, but the temperature is moderated between the highs and the lows. Also, there is not a lot of turbulence inside a greenhouse. So, if they are claiming that increased CO2 in our atmosphere causes a "greenhouse effect", then the Chicken Littles had better get their metaphors straight. Consider this: if the air was devoid of smoke, smog, dust and other particulate matter, the sun's immense heat would have nothing to stop it from warming up the earth. And the opposite might be true as well... nothing to stop the radiant heat from dispersing when there is no sun (at night and in the winter.) Another phenomenon of we

Money, Money, Monetary

I consider myself a fairly intelligent chap in spite of my lack of graduate and post-graduate degrees. I can hold my own in many discussions both on and off the political field, but when it comes to monetary policy theory, well, that is where I punch out of the debate. We might as well talk about quantum physics as far as I am concerned. I understand the fact that if a nation floods their system with new currency, inflation should soon follow (see the Bernanke Anomaly) because more money (buying power) is chasing fewer goods, but the mechanics and minutiae behind it is something that I have never been able to wrap my head around. Terms like M3, M4, quantitative easing, discount window, multiplier effect, and concepts like the role of the Federal Reserve, balance of trade vs. currency trading, currency manipulation, and how the gold standard keeps things in balance make sense on the surface, but digging in deep to understand how it all works together makes my head spin. And, I don&#