Category Archives: economics

Suing OPEC

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House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices

“The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.”

[…]

“‘This bill guarantees that oil prices will reflect supply and demand economic rules, instead of wildly speculative and perhaps illegal activities,’ said Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin, who sponsored the legislation.”

My guess is that OPEC is charging fair market values. The price of oil is skyrocketing because the US dollar is dying. Compared to the price of gold, oil has stayed level. There hasn’t been any real increase in demand. Until there is, I wouldn’t expand OPEC to increase production. After all, what would they get in return? Certainly not increased profit. In fact, they might lose money in the deal.

Self-Preservation and Job Security

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A recent post, 96% of Ordinary People Know That Modern Art is Crap and Artists Are Pompous Narcissists, reminded me of the simple fact that every field is self-preservative. That is to say, of course art professors are going to say that people need to be educated, and need to be “woken up,” or something to that effect. They’re art professors and gallery owners! If people don’t need their art, who will buy it? And then there goes the nice condo in downtown Manhattan, and hello burger-flipping job.

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$600 Million Slot Revenue: Jackpot or Ripoff?

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Pennsylvania’s Democratic legislators are very proud of themselves for reducing property taxes by offsetting them with slot machine revenue.

“Pennsylvania’s budget secretary this week certified that the state’s slot machine facilities have now produced enough revenue to begin reducing property taxes – more than $600 million for homeowners statewide.”

I do not understand why this is good news. Sure, it sounds good. After all, who doesn’t want their property taxes lowered? Unfortunately, that which sounds too good to be true, likely is.

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Neoliberalism? No, Thanks.

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I’m not sure if Philip Bobbitt is malicious, mentally deranged, or merely foolish. To wit, this review of his latest book:

“What’s needed is a constitutional order that takes its structural cues from multinational corporations and nongovernmental organizations, relying ‘less on law and regulation and more on market incentives’ to expand people’s options. Such a market state keeps its finger on the pulse of consumer demand, advocates trade liberalization, is prone to the privatization of public works and ‘will outsource many functions.’ In the seminar rooms of political science departments this change is referred to as ‘neoliberalism (on the streets, it is known as ‘globalization’) — and Bobbitt, who is a geopolitical realist, believes we have no choice but to embrace it.”

Riiiiight. Let’s define our rights and responsibilities in terms of consumerist ideals and the flavor of the month. I’m not sure if I should laugh or scream. If this is anarcho-capitalism, this is where libertarianism and I part company. I’m reminded of a line in the film Network.

“There are no nations! There are no peoples! There are no Russians. There are no Arabs! There are no third worlds! There is no West! There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multi-variate, multi-national dominion of dollars! petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars!, Reichmarks, rubles, rin, pounds and shekels! It is the international system of currency that determines the totality of life on this planet! That is the natural order of things today! That is the atomic, subatomic and galactic structure of things today!”

God help us all if Arthur Jensen is right.