The
Cunning Realist has been arguing that bail-outs, aside from moral hazard, lead to a national psychology of demanding bail outs. From the linked article:
One week ago, Ronnie Ambrosino was a millionaire. Now, Ambrosino is among the long list of investors whose fortunes were allegedly wiped out by Bernard Madoff. Like them, she's left hoping for a bailout that might never come.
The business park I work in has installed a large screen TV in the coffee area. Not sure why, it isn't used, but invariably people glance at it as they walk past where it usually playing some mix of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. When I was getting coffee this morning there was a news story on how the Real Estate industry was seeking a bail-out.
I can recall when I was about eight years old my uncle stating that "the middle class are the only people who pay their bills". It is off the backs of the middle classes - those that don't earn enough to manipulate the arcane tax laws, nor earn so little they fall outside the government tax radar - who will be paying for all this. They are the ones trapped into wealth creation and economic security through earning wages and salaries.
While I think John Robb leans too far on the pessimistic side of system resiliency,
he has a point with the looting of the state through a mix of elite self-interest and incompetence. Robb writes:
Of course, the follow on is true too. "If everyone impacting your future is a crook, but you aren't, you are the sucker/target."
And alas that is how I am starting to feel. I put in ten years hard work to get where I am and did everything the way that you are supposed to; married, 20% down on the house, worked habitual six day weeks and seven in times of project necessity - and yet after a divorce, the housing collapse, the stock market collapse (401K/IRA) and now the economic uncertainty facing the world because of immoral behavior in the financial and real-estate markets I have little to nothing to show for it.
I feel like I am the schmuck. I especially resent the government aiding and abetting those that perpetuated the crisis. Since I have little left but my skills on the free market to barter, I want the financial morons to face the same future; that includes AIG, Goldman Sachs, et al.
I have to compete. I have no other choice. They can too. Assholes.
Phoenix Eats Out is the restaurant review site for
Phoenix,
Scottsdale and
Old Town Scottsdale which lists the modernist and contemporary restaurants, taverns and bars in the greater Phoenix area.
This is the list of the most popular restaurants pages from phoenixeatsout.com that have been viewed the most;
My personal favourite restaurants in Phoenix are
AZ88,
Postinos,
Bomberos with
Grazie,
Humble Pie,
Orange Table,
The Vig,
Fez and others coming close behind. View the complete list with the photo-journalistic style images on
phoenixeatsout.com
Arizona is an outdoor state and has lots of hiking in the city and around the state. Phoenix is unusual for most cities in having several large mountains in the center of the city with great hiking. Anyone who comes to Phoenix has to do the
Echo Canyon trail on Camelback and the
Summit Hike on Squaw Peak or Piesta Peak. The views of the city, suburbs and surrounding mountains are wonderful from Camelback and Piesta Peak.
For more experienced hikers there is the McDowell Mountains in North Scottsdale that has several difficult and strenuous hikes in
Tom's Thumb and
Bell Pass. Alternatively, you can hike the highest mountain in Arizona. At 12,600 feet
Humphrey's Peak is a long and difficult hike.
Between 2004 and 2009 this site,
southsearepublic.org, was a constitutional blog based on scoop which focused on Australian and global constitutional issues.
One of the strongest aspects of it was the development of constitutions by those involved in the blog. These constitutions are the outcome:
The constitutions were built using principles from Montesquieu's separation of powers, the enlightnment's universal political rights and the ancient Athenian technology of sortition and choice by lot.
South Sea Republic started in 2004 as an Australian constitutional blog in 2004 based on scoop software. It was an immigrative outgrowth of Kuro5hin. The archives for each year since then;
The articles are ordered by views.
I am an Australian living in the United States as a permanent resident.
I am a software developer by trade and mostly work in Java and jump between middleware and front end.
I originally worked in the New York area of the United States in telecommunications before moving to Washington DC and
working in a mix of telecommunications, energy and ITS. I started my own software company before heading out to
Arizona and working with Shutterfly. Since then I have joined a startup in the Phoenix area and am thoroughly enjoying myself.
I do a lot of photography which I post on this website, but also on flickr. I have a photo-journalistic website which lists
the modernist and contemporary restaurants in phoenix. I have a site on the
Australian Flying Corps [AFC] which has been around since the 1990s and which I unfortunately
lost the .org URL to during a life event; however, it is under the
www.australianflyingcorps.com URL now.
The AFC website has gone through several iterations since the 90s and the two most recent are
Australian Flying Corps Archives(2004-2002) and
Australian Flying Corps Archives(2002-1999) which are good places to start.
