Wednesday, September 04, 2002

NYTimes.  I have always thought the best thing that could have been done to limit the stock bubble was to increase margin requirements (most of my financial industry friends didn't think the Fed had the power, they do).  Here is what Greenspan said earlier in the cycle: In September 1996, at a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, he told his colleagues, "I recognize that there is a stock market bubble problem at this point." And he had a solution: "We do have the possibility of . . . increasing margin requirements. I guarantee that if you want to get rid of the bubble, whatever it is, that will do it."   Yet he never did increase margin requirements, that is, require investors to put up more cash when buying stocks. Of course, it is history now that Greenspan never increased margin requirements.  He now says it wouldn't have worked.  What gall! [John Robb's Radio Weblog] I think the best thing the Fed could have done was to not create the bubble in the first place. Well, technically the best thing would have been to go away, but that's not too realistic, alas. comment () trackback ()  9:58:23 AM     Listening to the Velvet Underground as I blog tonight (they are so great).  Watching the second half of "In the Bedroom" later.  Conflicted on this movie.  What would you do if a son or daughter was killed by a rich kid that could skate virtually scoff free? [John Robb's Radio Weblog] I've seen that movie, and thought it was quite good. I think the parents acted prematurely--they should have given the system a chance to work, even if it probably wouldn't have. That said, I would probably have done the same thing eventually. And in the case of the movie, I think the parents are at least somewhat guilty for not making sure their son was armed, especially since they knew of his girlfriend's abusive ex-husband. comment () trackback ()  9:54:50 AM     I am starting to work on an active outline for the widely read news subscriptions.  Still need to find an elegant way to insert the coffee mug that links to Radio's fast subscription feature.  I like the presentation of this better than yesterday's effort.  It will allow me to scale the number of sources better.  Let me know if you have any ideas.  [John Robb's Radio Weblog] To me the outline is the interesting thing. A week ago I wrote about making instant outlining accessible via the web, and it seems like the activeRenderer is a solid step in that direction. comment () trackback ()  9:36:27 AM     My Encounter with the Poverty Pimps: The World Summit on Sustainable Development, Part 3. Jim Peron at Laissez Faire Electronic Times - My Encounter with the Poverty Pimps: The World Summit on Sustainable Development, Part 3 - A first-hand account of the gathering in Johannesburg. [grabbe] This time it was different. Far more different than first meets the eye. You had to read the signs these poor people were carrying to understand how much their message contrasted with that of affluent protesters from the Northern Hemisphere. If you stepped in front of the man with slivers of leather attached to his feet you'd see his sign said: "Trade Not Aid." The marchers in this protest were mainly poor, virtually all black, and mostly women. They were street traders and farmers. Without fail everyone had a sticker saying: "Freedom to Trade." Farmers from India marched side by side with Zulu women wearing T- shirts saying: "Biotechnology for Africa." On the sideline the press and Summit delegates stood aghast. What do you say to poor people with signs reading: "Stop Eco-Imperialism" or "Save the Planet from Sustainable Development" or "Free Trade IS Fair Trade". [End the War on Freedom] A man-on-the-street perspective on the "Anti-Civilization" summit. There's some very good coverage of the unusual protest march by actual poor people. Usually protesters at these kinds of events are rich college students and "professional radicals" from North America and Europe--it's nice to hear about actual poor people speaking out against the parasites who use them as an excuse for collectivist policies. comment () trackback ()  9:29:47 AM

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