November 2008 - Posts

• No Depression

  Be careful what you read this week. Newspapers and magazines are presenting lots of gratuitous reflections on Thanksgiving, trying to make some relevant comparison to the Great Depression. Aside from the fact I can’t improve on my comments from last November Read More... Posted Wednesday, November 26, 2008 11:10 AM by REB | 0 Comments

• Let's see the money

  We’ve got a poll running on our homepage asking visitors (unscientifically, of course) what should be the solution to the “Detroit problem”: No bailout: Those of us who prefer the “no bailout” approach tend to do so for one or both of two reasons: it’s Read More... Posted Sunday, November 23, 2008 9:51 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• When it's time to relax …

  Many readers, I'll assume, will recognize the opening lines of an old Michelob commercial, which is my way trying to change the mood just a little bit. Let's take a break. A microbrewery in Colorado — apparently a fun place, called New Belgium Brewing Read More... Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:27 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• Facing the inevitable

  An earlier quip about Wall Street and Washington staging a merger might have to be expanded now to address the likelihood of that conglomerate taking over Detroit, but it’s too late to complain. Something is going to happen, and the automakers are going Read More... Posted Sunday, November 16, 2008 9:13 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• One vote against bankruptcy

  As GM's cash flow slows, the "bailout versus bankruptcy" debate is picking up speed. The outgoing Bush administration is opposed; Congressional Democrats, and apparently the incoming Obama administration, are for it. I've argued against it, too, fwiw, Read More... Posted Tuesday, November 11, 2008 10:21 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• When everything else fails, try "deregulation"

  Lots of responders are ticked off at my last post , in which I argued that a GM and/or Chrysler bankruptcy would be better for everyone than a federal bailout of the automakers. (For what it's worth, the U.S. Treasury Dept. reportedly has denied them Read More... Posted Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:30 PM by REB | 0 Comments