"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money."

— Margaret Thatcher

View high resolution

Political cartoon in the Chicago Tribune from 1934.  One thing is certain, history is bound to repeat itself.

Reading: Atlas Shrugged

“Who is John Galt?”  I’ve been asking myself that a lot over the last few weeks.  Well, more than 1000 pages later, both that question and the world we’re living in are starting to make a whole lot more sense.

This is simply a book you must read yourself.  It’s a compelling narrative, that can stir deep thinking about humanity and change (or confirm) your perspective of what it means to really produce.  It’s timely, given where America is headed politically these days.

I’ve heard about Rand’s novels for years, and have been urged by close friends (including my wife) to read them.  I knew they had philosophical undertones, but they always seemed to get trumped by more obviously compelling material.

That changed over the last few months when Atlas started cropping up for me everywhere.  I noticed it in blogs I follow, in business texts I was studying, even in the mainstream media.  It was time to read it (and I wasn’t alone, see this Wall Street Journal article about a recent spike in sales).  I wasn’t disappointed.

There are several speeches in the book that you’ll undoubtedly dog-ear to reread in the future, particularly Francisco d’Anconia’s about money (rather than quote it at length, you can read an excerpt here).  It’s the kind of story you’ll want to read twice, and I eagerly await that opportunity.

Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged

An interview with John Stossel about defending market principles from inside the (typically left of center) media, with this notable quote about why people on the left hate business:

“My best guess is that it’s the intuitive reaction that the world is a zero-sum game, that if he makes profit off you, you must’ve lost something. If you don’t study economics, that is how people think. I see why politicians think that way, because that’s how their world works. One wins. Somebody else has to loose. We have a lot of work to do to explain that free commerce doesn’t work that way, everybody gains.”

You can find the original post with a transcript here.

Improving Traffic Flow with Variable Tolls →

The section of this article titled The No-Rush Hour in Southern California describes the variable pricing used on the 91 Express Lanes.  Prices vary by hour of the day and day of the week (up to $1 per mile during peak times) which provide not only quick access for drivers, but a market-based test for identifying where more capacity is needed.

Thomas Friedman: 'The Great Disruption' →

Thinking about sustainability, both economically and ecologically.  Are we in the midst of a fundamental shift?

Visualization of One Trillion Dollars →

Warren Buffett's Letter to Shareholders →

Full of wisdom, albeit somewhat frightening this year.

Reading: The Forgotten Man

It is rare that I recommend a book before finishing it, but the timeliness of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression could not be denied. With all the speculation about our nation’s economic future, what better can we do then learn from the past?

The book, written by a respected economic commentator I’ve followed for some time, opens with the following quote:

“As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine what C shall do for X, or in the better case, what A, B, and C shall do for X… What I want to do is to look up C. I want to show you what manner of man he is. I call him the Forgotten Man. Perhaps the appellation is not strictly correct. He is the man who never is thought of… He works, he votes, generally he prays—but he always pays…”

William Graham Sumner
Yale University, 1883

After observing our government’s response to the recent financial crisis, and listening closely to the economic proposals of both presidential tickets, it is obvious that more education about the consequences of government intervention (in this case the Great Depression and the New Deal) is critical for the engaged voter.

Shlaes, Amity. The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression