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Showing posts from July, 2010

Shadow Government Statistics

A great site which tries to put some reality into the government spun numbers being fed to the masses. If you have the guts to pursue the truth, check out http://www.shadowstats.com/ Alternate Inflation The CPI chart on the home page reflects our estimate of inflation for today as if it were calculated the same way it was in 1990. The CPI on the Alternate Data Series tab here reflects the CPI as if it were calculated using the methodologies in place in 1980. In general terms, methodological shifts in government reporting have depressed reported inflation, moving the concept of the CPI away from being a measure of the cost of living needed to maintain a constant standard of living. http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts

The Scariest Unemployment Graph I've Seen Yet

The median duration of unemployment is higher today than any time in the last 50 years. That's an understatement. It is more than twice as high today than any time in the last 50 years. OK, you're saying, but what does this mean? Does it mean we must increase the duration of unemployment benefits to protect this new class of unemployed, or does it mean we need to stop subsidizing joblessness? Does it mean we need to expand federal retraining programs, or does it mean federal retraining programs aren't working? Does it mean we need more stimulus, more state aid, more infrastructure projects, more public works ... or does it mean it's time to stop everything, stand back and let business be business? You're going to find smart people make a case for all six of the above public policy directions. (I tend to side with the first of each coupling.) It's hard to know for sure how to design public policy for historically unique crises precisely because they are histo

The Monumental Incompetence of the TSA

According to GAO, TSA inspectors spend 33% of their time inspecting, 8% on incidents, 5% investigating, 5% on “outreach,” and 49% of their time on “other.” Other? 10% of useable TSA equipment (worth millions) in transit is stored for 2 years or more due to poor logistical processes. During the first 3 months of 2007, the TSA Logistics Center received eight explosive detection systems units at a cost of about $7 million. As of January 2009, all eight explosive detection systems units remained in storage at the Logistics Center. In December of 2009 TSA leaked a full copy of its 2008 S.O.P., screening protocol, and other security standards onto the internet. In June 2007, investigators testing the TSA checkpoint screening process were able to smuggle prohibited items past security despite passing through secondary screening and pat-downs. Read more: Here