Worried About the Economic Recovery? You Should Be

You can see from the following graph the changes in employment post-recessions throughout recent history. Not only is our downward trend more severe, it is continuing where others saw improvement.

Why, Yes, That's My Garage

Tired of your old garage door? Do you believe there is no such as thing as "being too hipster?" Well, then the German company Style Your Garage has a solution for you!

More pics and H/T: Toolmonger

Girls Just Wanna Have Funds

I was a bit taken aback by this cheery report about Iceland banning all strip clubs, in the name of supposed male-female equality and a boon to feminists everywhere.

The author writes,

Iceland has just banned all strip clubs. Perhaps it's down to the lesbian prime minister, but this may just be the most female-friendly country on the planet.

First, how is banning places where strictly women find employment a "female-friendly" policy? Assuming these women are strippers of their own free will and are not forced to perform any type of activity they do not want to, isn't reducing their choice of job rather unfriendly?

People may cite things like "strippers are psychologically damaged and emotionally fragile and would probably not strip if they knew better." I have no doubt some strippers are in this category, but so are some fully-clothed female secretaries and fry cooks. Should we banish all industries where we suspect psychologically damaged underachievers are in our midst? An unfortunate psychological state of some participants is not a reason to punish an entire industry of workers.

I happen to know of quite a few instances where male and female strippers performed just for a few years to make big bucks to do things like get through school debt-free or start a new business.

But apparently Iceland feels differently, and wants to take away such money-making opportunities from their citizens,

Iceland is fast becoming a world-leader in feminism. A country with a tiny population of 320,000, it is on the brink of achieving what many considered to be impossible: closing down its sex industry.

While activists in Britain battle on in an attempt to regulate lapdance clubs – the number of which has been growing at an alarming rate during the last decade – Iceland has passed a law that will result in every strip club in the country being shut down. And forget hiring a topless waitress in an attempt to get around the bar: the law, which was passed with no votes against and only two abstentions, will make it illegal for any business to profit from the nudity of its employees.

One more reason I'm proud I'm not a feminist - whatever it means.

H/T for the title: A pretty good entry-level book I read on investing years ago.

Boy In Tree Left for His Own Health and Safety

In London, a boy is left in a tree after recess while teachers went back to classes because a health and safety policy made the school do it.

...instead of helping him, staff followed guidelines and retreated inside the school building to ‘observe from a distance’ so the child would not get ‘distracted and fall’.

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The boy was only rescued after 45 minutes in the tree when passer-by Kim Barrett, 38, noticed the child and helped him down herself.

But instead of being thanked for her actions by the head teacher of the Manor School in Melksham, Wiltshire, she was reported to the police for trespassing.

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[Barrett said] 'He was so young. He didn't look frightened but he was completely on his own - there were no teachers or friends in the playground and the field was empty.

'I walked past at 11.15am and he told me he had been hiding since the end of playtime because he didn't want to go back into class.

'Break ends at 10.30am so that means he had been in the tree for at least 45 minutes.

‘I stopped to ask him if he was OK, and it became clear that he'd been there since the end of playtime, which had been around half an hour earlier.

‘I was immediately concerned. I walked over to the school with the boy and was met by the associate head.

‘He didn't appear at all concerned, and was actually very patronising, patting me on the arm and asking me “what do you expect me to do, exactly, dear?”

‘When I said I thought it was a serious incident, he then said his only concern was me trespassing.

And people wonder why I'm interested in homeschooling.

10 Rules for Dealing with the Police

I watch a lot of Law and Order. I mean a LOT. I tend to think most cops are good cops and I have a lot of respect for police officers.

However, I have had limited interactions with the law and know that many people's liberties are infringed upon in the name of the law, in particular where non-violent crimes such as pot-smoking or peaceful demonstrations occur. Recently in my own city I read about a man who is legally allowed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes who had his supply confiscated by police who refused to return it, despite the man being found innocent of any wrong-doing.

There is a new film out which looks both entertaining and educational, in that it teaches people how to avoid common mistakes like inviting officers into your home without a warrant, etc.

Could a Union Be Coming to a Home Near You?

Of all the ridiculous things our government does, I always think I cannot be shocked any more. Not that the forced unionization of self-employed home-based day care providers really shocks me - it's just more ridiculous than any parody I could have come up with.

From the Petosky News-Review in Michigan,

The case of Petoskey day care owner Sherry Loar versus the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS) is headed to the Michigan Supreme Court.

In the suit, Loar and the other day care providers are challenging DHS after being forced to pay dues to a union as government employees after receiving state subsidy payments provided to low-income families. Operating a day care from her home, Loar currently cares for only one child out of 23 child day care recipients receiving subsidies, but is forced to pay 1.15 percent of those state-received funds back in the form of union dues.

"This isn't about money," Loar said, "This is about setting a precedence that the government can't do this. It's principle, OK."

Her union membership came in the form of a letter in the mail from the state of Michigan one afternoon.

"I do not dislike unions," Loar said. "I'm never asked to vote, and this is my home. There are places that a union is needed, but not in your home. Think about it. How in the world am I supposed to hold a union meeting? I'm management and labor."

A Free Market Bar - Genius Idea

I love stuff like this, a grill pub whose prices fluctuate based on customer demand,

What if the movie "The Boiler Room" took place in a bar? It would probably be a lot like Gramercy's new stock-market-themed Exchange Bar and Grill. The giant ticker above the bar isn't scrolling news about the day's Dow; it's ticking info about drink prices, which change due to supply and demand. If everyone wants to slam a vodka tonic at the same time, then the prices will go up. The drink costs will only rise and lower by 25-cent intervals, so you don't have to worry about losing your life savings if you slept through Economics 101. While the drink speculation goes on up front at the 35-foot bar, boozers seeking to escape the stress of the boiler bar can head to the back. There's a small seating area where you can chow down on bar food like wings and mozzarella sticks. If you're not much of a day trader, stop by for their happy hour. From noon to 7 p.m., beers go for $3 and well drinks are $5. With prices like that, maybe you'll have some money left over to invest.

Lies about the Costs of Health Care Reform

Why are the American people so easily hoodwinked? It does not take more than a 4th or 5th math education to discover how unlikely the projected health care "savings" promoted by Obama are to be. If anything, our record deficits put us in even worse positions than the past.

Anyone who thinks this bill will save money in the long run is suffering from serious delusions. Anyone who thinks this bill will improve the quality of healthcare, or somehow miraculously bring down the cost of private health care is equally delusional.

From the Senate Joint Economic Committee report, "Are Health Care Reform Cost Estimates Reliable? History Shows True Costs Are Often Significantly Understated,"

Medicare (hospital insurance). In 1965, as Congress considered legislation to establish a national Medicare program, the House Ways and Means Committee estimated that the hospital insurance portion of the program, Part A, would cost about $9 billion annually by 1990.v Actual Part A spending in 1990 was $67 billion. The actuary who provided the original cost estimates acknowledged in 1994 that, even after conservatively discounting for the unexpectedly high inflation rates of the early ‘70s and other factors, “the actual [Part A] experience was 165% higher than the estimate.”

Medicare (entire program). In 1967, the House Ways and Means Committee predicted that the new Medicare program, launched the previous year, would cost about $12 billion in 1990. Actual Medicare spending in 1990 was $110 billion—off by nearly a factor of 10.

If you want more, here's Reason TV,

A Gripe about The Annoying Pregnant Girl Syndrome

I've noticed that for most of my adult life there are complaints that go around about "the girl who got pregnant and became so different and/or annoying." I hear this girl is no longer interesting, or fun to be around, all she can talk about is her belly or her new baby, and once she has the baby all she can ever talk about are her kids. She used to have a job/have a hobby/wear cuter clothes/stay at the party later/etc. I hear this in casual conversation or overhear it out and about. There are even entire websites dedicated to hating on Annoying Parents. Just check out the site STFU Parents, who's tagline is "You used to be fun. Now you have a baby."

Now, I'm not saying there aren't some people who are incredibly annoying and are weirdo hover-mothers, but I'd have to say they are in the minority and I really do not think I will be qualifying for that role.

However, since I've become pregnant, all I can think about is not being the Annoying Pregnant Girl. The other day I was wear my maternity jeans and white sneakers and began to cry because I figure it's all downhill from here - straight into mom jeans and poufy Barbara or Hillary hair cuts. I try to downplay my pregnancy and make it seem like I'm still super cool and will not let my child rule my life. Which it won't. Just ask me! I'm doing tons of other stuff, but none of them do I carry around in my abdomen 24 hours a day, so that kind of trumps everything else.

I'm just wondering where this hating on parents and pregnant women came from. Since when was having a baby "not cool?" Isn't that quite literally the coolest thing, physiologically, a woman could possible do? HELLO - there is a HUMAN growing in my BELLY! Yeah, forgive me for mentioning that minor change. Furthermore, if having a baby and talking about it makes me so uncool, then years ago, did you really think when I talked about my old job or how hard getting through my master's degree was or what dating my future husband was like - I was oh-so-much-more interesting? Probably not. You could probably just relate more. So why don't people just admit that instead?

Or does it feel like pregnant women are joining some special new club? Is there just an unavoidable a gulf between women who have babies and women who can't or don't want to? If so, why?

I don't know what causes this weirdness - but it's weird for sure. It's as if women are measuring themselves against each other - which I something I've always considered useless and maybe that's why this is so annoying to me. I hate to be all preachy and say, "Embrace each other's differences" but seriously - that's all it is. Maybe that's why I'm always just happy for my friends and whatever changes they make in their life - no matter what they are. When my friends inform me they'd like to quit their job and go live on a compound out west to become communal organic farmers, I'm like "Go for it! I'll come and visit!" Similarly, if a friend has a child I just assume we will be hanging out with their kid and I'm more than happy to find activities that accommodate that. It never occurs to me to be annoyed I can't do such-and-such.

Maybe it's also because I've gone through SO many changes in my life. I understand how something can take over one's life and I've always been fortunate to have extremely understanding friends and family - that I can't understand the STFU attitude. Oh well.

Nothing Shocks Me

Today, my friend posted this disturbingly hilarious item to Facebook supposedly written by 3rd graders.

Now, if you happen to have cable, this type of "knowledge" by 10 year olds (is that how old 3rd graders are?) is not that unusual. What is unusual is that adults get such a kick out of thinking little kids are still innocent at that age.

But still, this is pretty comical. Some kids just don't act their age.

I'm so afraid of parenthood.

My Friend Milena

It may come as a surprise to many of my regular readers that I used to be a Michael Moore rally frequenting, door-to-door for MoveOn.org knocking, liberal arts and music school attending young adult only a few years ago. I know, shocker.

Then I took an economics class. Taught by this professor.

What happened next is strikingly similar to what happened to the fictional "Sarah" in this short YouTube mockumentary.