18. August 2011 by Publius.

This news report from the Government News Service has been found:

Washington DC (GNS) —

Tomorrow President Obama will finally make public his new job plan. President Obama will announce the formation of the Department of Jobs. The new DoJo (to distinguish it from the Department of Justice) will absorb the old Departments of Labor, HEW, Energy, EPA and Treasury.

By taking on the duties of the absorbed departments, DoJo will be responsible for seeing that every citizen contributes his fair share to the country. For each individual this contribution will be optimally allocated between financial contribution and labor. As part of this plan, every citizen will be provided with a job when they reach their 18^th birthday. In order to maximize the utilization of resources this job will be allocated by the Department of Jobs to whatever sector and whatever state DoJo determines to be in greatest needs. Waivers will be granted to the families of elected officials and any non-elected officials above GS-13.

By folding the functions of the old Environmental Protection Agency, DoJo gains the enforcement capability they need. Since CO₂ has already been determined to be a pollutant, if a citizen is determined to be unable to contribute their fair share, their license to produce CO₂ will be revoked.

Initial funding for the Department has been set at $1.3 trillion. The President warned, however, that this was merely an initial estimate and that it might have to be increased. His candor received enthusiastic applause from the Press Corps.

On the podium with President Obama while he announced the plan were Republican Senator John McCain and Representative John Boehner. Reports that Mr. Boehner was bound and gagged were dismissed by the White House.

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10. August 2011 by Publius.

Forget politics, forget economics, forget global warming.

This is the post that will make me widely hated.

Apple has reached the top of my “Hated Technology Companies” list. They’re ahead of Microsoft, ahead of Google, ahead of Oracle.

Why? Because they are abusing the patent system in worse ways than the others. Microsoft, in fact, is making an attempt, if half-hearted and disorganized, to come to terms with the open-source communities. Apple, on the other hand, has managed to get an injunction against Samsung based on drawings that look like a tablet. The problem is that the drawings were made 10 years after Microsoft demonstrated a working tablet.

So Apple wins the Egregious Use of Patents Award, and their place on the freedom wall of dishonor.

I suppose that, to be fair, the courts, lawyers, and legislators ought to join them, but they’ve got their own lists.

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9. August 2011 by Publius.

“Economics is the study of the use of scarce resources which have alternative uses.”—Lionel Robbins

This has nothing to do with the economic system in place. It is true under capitalism and under communism. Man has always existed with conditions of scarcity. Man will always exist with conditions of scarcity.

It is important to note the difference between scarcity and shortage. A commodity can be scarce without there being a shortage. In the United States today there is no shortage of food. Much of the country is fighting a battle with obesity instead. Yet there is a scarcity. This scarcity is localized – and that is what results in food being traded. Most people in this country do not grow enough food to feed themselves. Farmers, on the other hand, do not produce enough farm machinery to keep their farms growing. Both sides find it preferable to split the tasks of producing machinery and producing food and to engage in trade to reduce the scarcity of both commodities.

This is the basis of all economic activity.

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