Great Writing

http://thepointmag.com/2015/criticism/the-magic-of-untidiness

I read this article because it has to do with a new book out explaining how eliminating stuff or 'decluttering' can make a person happier. Fittingly titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, it examines how messes around home can add to stress and anxiety in everyday life. I haven't read the book although it sounds a bit self-help-y with, most likely, a fair amount of psychobabble tossed in for good measure. The reviewer impressed me though; I've always felt that a good writer of fiction could force the reader to use all five senses to experience a time or place. Laurel Berger does this when explaining his (A man I guess?) fascination with old copies of books the way they look, feel, smell and taste. He gives a description of the dust blowing into his face when opening an old discolored copy that belonged to a professor, a collector of books. The richness of the prose forces the reader to continue in hopes of  discovering the mystery of the old book and what happened to the owner. A long-form piece is sometimes a slog for readers but a gifted writer can smooth out the rough patches and keep the surprise alive until the end. Great writing keeps the reader interested, no matter the subject and no matter the text. Berger is great. And to think I wasn't even interested in this new tidying up book.

Are Businesses Getting Lazy?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/travel-economy-david-kong

I just browsed through a position paper from the travel industry on how the government could do more to promote travel across the continental US by fixing decrepit roads and bridges and shortening the process for visa applications. Like most industries the nuts and bolts of the engine driving growth are gummed up by the unattractive aspects of doing business. New money abroad looks for new opportunities everywhere and what makes the United States a good investment are the things that always have. The legal system respects property rights and rule of law while barriers to entry in most markets remain low. For example, an individual that self employs by retrofitting HVAC units or putting roofs on new and old homes could find work easily. Finding this type of work in a slow growth economy is increasingly important for extra income to many families. Large corporations are subject to different pressures and hassles than small startups. The complaints from most industries usually go something like this: the rules on compliance are a nightmare and change frequently, the pay and benefits for employees are cutting into any profit (hello $15 an hour wages),  and the cost of doing business keeps rising. That's why the solution from the travel exec (David Kong), to call for a Secretary of Travel, is a little odd and disheartening given the problems affecting the economy at large. He lays out a wonderful case for reducing barriers to entry and increasing the level of investment from overseas, and in the same breath asks for a federal solution.

When large industries ask for federal subsidies we roll our eyes like a dad who has heard all the excuses for why the last 'investment' was squandered. At some level we understand that massive industries don't move on major projects until the landscape (legal implications, environmental non-sense, up front investment) is understood. The downside of running afoul of some federal authority is years in legal fees, poor publicity and the very likely prospect of circling the drain Lehman Brothers style. Industries are now in the rent-seeking game and it's precisely due to a lack of guts. Here in Oklahoma T. Boone Pickens (oil baron) tried this technique with his Pickens Plan idea for electric cars and ethanol, in part to reduce reliance of foreign oil. This isn't as big a deal anymore since the price of oil has plunged quicker than the mercury on a January night. I am loathe to say anything negative about Pickens (he is a genuine philanthropist) but the plan wasn't sound because it required a large chunk of federal money before he would move on it. This is unfortunately the way many companies seek investments now; find a friendly in Washington and hope for a license to operate. The jump from bailouts like General Motors received in 2009, to 'rent-seeking' like some agricultural giants want is becoming too common. The solution to attracting more investment from abroad is mostly what the travel industry seems to want, less hassle with visa applications and better infrastructure. I would add to it some type of tax holiday on businesses that have left the country because of unpaid dues. Get them back and tell them to hire people.The United States doesn't need another czar, or secretary, or advocate or any person trying to slice off a corner of the shrinking budgetary pie. Simpler and freer please, or watch American business get lazier.

Don't cry for me Rouhani

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/opinion/sunday/israeli-terrorists-born-in-the-usa.html?_r=1


  Using the timing of the Iran deal (also known as the worst deal of the century) the New York Times reminds all of us in the U.S that Israel also has terrorists and 'Oh by the way, it's America's fault!'. Something in the heavily fluoridated water perhaps that encourages ethnic Jews from America to move to settlements (those pesky controversial ones) in Israel and declare war on Palestinians. It shouldn't surprise many people to learn that Israel's second largest contingent of immigrants is from America most years going back to its founding in 1948. That a handful of terrorists were born in New York or San Francisco shouldn't be shocking. What is ridiculous about the article is the elevation of a minor issue, even within the Israeli communities, to top news of the day status. By lifting sanctions on the Iranian regime and turning away from a traditional democratic ally in Israel, the Obama administration is trying to justify the radical departure from sound policy by commissioning (essentially) articles critical of Israel. Where not directly encouraging criticism of the Jewish state, acolytes of the administration are elevating the status of Tehran by taking Jerusalem down a peg. This would be like if television analysts talked about the Toledo Mud Hens ( AAA baseball team) during the game 7 broadcast of the World Series. It is dishonest to examine both Israel and Iran under the same rubric given their dramatically different histories, ethnic groups, culture, contributions to the world, and forms of government. 

The author of the piece (Hirschhorn) criticizes the settlers for seemingly explaining away terrorism among Jews. "Settler rabbis and the leaders of American immigrant communities in the West Bank have either played down their crime or offered muted criticism." The incident in question is a fire in a town called Duma that claimed the life of a Palestinian toddler and has been blamed on settlers; no reason is given for why the fire might have been started. Hirschhorn even has to go back two decades to find a comparable example of American-born Jews committing terrorism. Criticism from Rabbis and others might be muted and 'played down' but so far no parades have been planned in the streets of Jerusalem celebrating their brave heroics the way Hamas does in Gaza or Hezbollah does in Beirut. Tehran actively promotes terrorism around the world while Israel builds housing close to disputed territories, which one do you prefer.  Condemnations could be stronger perhaps, but articles like this are meant more as a way of taking some of the shine off America's good buddy in the Middle East instead of honest storytelling and relevant information gathering. 

The Story We Tell Ourselves

I work out at a gym that tries to entice non-gym goers into feeling comfortable with their surroundings. Messages that discourage muscle-head type grunting adorn the walls in bright purple while a siren lights up when weightlifters drop dumbbells too loudly. The building is full of treadmills and cardio machines, televisions and even tanning beds; it is light on free weights and bar bells to keep the hard-core weightlifters out and promote a type of 'everyman' ethic to the surrounding. This level of softening the rough edges of the workout community is meant to gain in-roads into the occasional gym goer but instead encourages a false sense of reality among the overly self-conscious. In order to believe the environment is safe for working out, (i.e. no insulting meat-heads will notice how ridiculous and out of shape you are) you must believe that in a normal situation those buff weight lifters would criticize and mock you. I imagine most people have some level of body consciousness that leads them to feel like others are judging them, whether at the pool or in the summer when many wear shorts and sleeveless shirts. Feeling like it's true doesn't make it so however, and by tapping into fears about self-consciousness and creating a narrative around a non-issue is dishonest.
 It is impossible to tell what a person is thinking at a given time but assuming that everyone is looking at you and judging you for your lack of a noticeable diet and for having a dumpy body is quite narcissistic. I've been a member at a gym in most places I've lived and I was heavier in college both because I lifted weights and also because of diet (beer and pizza). Some of my friends back then could have been considered meat-heads, guys who spend hours in the gym getting ripped and taking supplements to increase the size of whatever muscle group was being targeted that week. Some were vain and some were not, I can't remember any of them giving a damn about out of shape people at the gym trying to improve themselves. If anything, they were too focused on themselves and whatever training program or carb cycle they were on at the time. Sometimes the story you tell yourself is a fiction no one has read. I understand how marketing works, take a view about the world that many people share and exploit it for maximum profit. This sounds like a cynical take on all advertising but it is really just a way to understand selling and being sold to. Notice I didn't write 'take a view about the world that is TRUE and exploit it for maximum profit'. I am not picking on the fitness industry, gyms are more utilitarian than they used to be. One used to have to choose between the racquetball clubs with saunas or the weightlifting facilities like Gold's Gym that catered to specific groups. The mixed use clubs of today are more family friendly and encourage new types of exercise and class courses like zumba. Don't buy into the non-sense that everyone is snickering at your flabby stomach and laughing like high school bullies who just yanked some kids pants down during orientation. Fear not, be yourself, try new routines.

Traditional Marriage

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/422391/ryan-anderson-gay-marriage

I don't know who this author Ryan Anderson is but I enjoyed the short Q&A about his book on the future of marriage to American culture. To sum up, Marriage is an idea that has made sense between males and females across all racial, religious, and historic periods of time for many obvious reasons including raising children. He mentions some of the contradiction in societal beliefs and current laws, for instance, how can Americans say fathers matter in the lives of children and in the same breath make them optional? I am interested in how he thinks the country got to this point where marriage is redefined in the highest court. Mostly though I want to hear his prescription for those who don't agree with the Supreme Court from a moral or legal perspective on how to turn the cultural ship around. Understanding how we got here isn't as important as knowing how to get out.

Eat it

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/421623/gmo-label-movement-loses-ground

Good news I think. Too much of the fear about GMO foods is not grounded in research but in scary thoughts about big agriculture.

Lessons from Greece

http://www.politico.eu/article/how-the-olympics-rotted-greece/

Like most problems in Greece lately, the issue results from an overtaxed society without the stomach to reign in generous retirement pensions and a lack of new investment. In any society telling the retires that their living wages are about to be cut is political suicide. When the country can't pay it's debts, raise new money or agree with creditors on a more favorable restructure, what remains?

The IOC (International Olympic Committee) didn't help the Greeks by offering them the chance to host the Olympics in the most historic and perfectly suited city, Athens. The birth of Western Civilization and the center of art, philosophy, mathmatics and politics couldn't have found a more appropriate location. Feel good stories are followed sometimes by nightmarish conclusions for citizens of that once great Aegean country. Blaming the IOC is a bit like blaming the liquor store that sold the booze that led to the drunk running a red light and crashing into a ditch. Responsible countries do research on the Olympics and the financial benefits versus costs to their respective cities and try to make it work. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they get it wrong; voters in Greece are also responsible for the policies they sign on to. Politicians and governments are the result of those collective choices made by citizens who have decided on a national direction in economics, religion, art and culture. The Greeks are to blame here.

There is a lesson here for the United States and our insatiable lust for credit and debt. People in democracies can cost along for a while on interest free debt while business and foreign investment money continues apace. Eventually though the propped up market place collapses and creditors send out a bill. The U.S.  government's addition to borrowing money and pushing the debt forward on future citizens is an extension of voters doing the same thing in their own lives. The easy thing to do is blame 'reckless politicians' for their tax and spend misdeeds, but they use debt in the same way most Americans do. Their concern is for the now because now is what is in front of them. There are three things the United States should do to reign in spending. Clamp down dramatically on the regulatory state which makes it difficult for new business to start making money and hiring workers. I heard an idea recently that some wealthy pro-business types would set up a legal fund to defend owners of companies that have been harassed by silly regulation and the cost of compliance. This is a great way to fight back and keep entrepreneurship strong in America.

The second fixable area of spending is to pass some kind of Amendment that keeps the spending by Congress to a portion of the income. Other 'balanced budget' amendments pop-up as a proposal from time to time but the real energy and will to get it done is clearly not there in Washington D.C. The country has a debt ceiling supposedly for this purpose; Congressional leaders vote to raise it every time is comes up for a vote making the purpose of having a ceiling moot. Amendments can't be voted away. Third, simplify the tax code by making it easy for ordinary people to  read and figure out. I am no tax expert but the code should reward businesses first, because they provide jobs, and investors second because they keep money in the economy. Filing tax paperwork every year need not be a messy and painful affair for those business owners paying their own salaries. Complicated tax laws have given secondary industries like legal firms and tax accountants too much time to create myriad ways of hiding money and using loopholes to get around crazy high rates. Just simplify the law and watch it fix itself.

I haven't mentioned what programs I would cut or even get rid of altogether. The reality is when governments collect less revenue they have less creative ways to spend it. Too many programs that should have gotten the ax years ago are still with us and they continue to grow like a tumor, continually fed by redistributed wealth. Or put another way, money that could be used for job creation and private venture is being sucked up by wasteful and unnecessary programs. Take away the money and you kill the program. If we don't start making our government smaller we could be facing down creditors like Greece, and forced to choose selling off assets or cutting retiree pay. It isn't a choice America will like any more than Greece.