26. January 2012 by Publius.

Well, suddenly it looks like Newt Gingrich might be the Republican nominee. So, just to get a leg up on how the 2012 election might shape up, lets examine the differences between the leftist Obama and the rightist (it obviously should be a word) Gingrich:

• On taxes:
  • Obama believes that Warren Buffet does not pay enough in taxes.
  • Gingrich believes that Mitt Romney does not pay enough in taxes.
• Cap and trade:
  • Obama: “Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity price would necessarily skyrocket … Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, natural gas—you name it—whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”
  • Gingrich: ”I think if you have mandatory carbon caps combined with a trading system, much like we did with sulfur, and if you have a tax-incentive program for investing in the solutions, that there’s a package there that’s very, very good. And frankly, it’s something I would strongly support.”
• Global warming:
  • Obama: “All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it’s here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster.”
  • Gingrich: “We do agree. Our country must take action on climate change.”
• Paul Ryan budget:
  • Obama criticized the Ryan budget.
  • Gingrich: ”I don’t think right wing social engineering is any more desirable than left wing social engineering.”

So it is obvious that there are clear dif… Oh… wait… they are actually the same guy. Or at least sharing one brain.

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6. January 2012 by Publius.

From the Department of Labor (unmassaged numbers): (follow menu item 1 to see the numbers)
In December 2008 there were 135,254,000 people employed.
In December 2011 there were 132,721,000 people employed.
That means there has been a loss of 2,533,000 jobs in the last 3 years.

That much is fact. Now for some mathemagic…. U.S. population has historically grown at a rate of 1.3%/year. If that has held true for the last 3 years, then the population has grown by roughly 11,800,000 people. If you assume that the increase in uniform for all age groups, then the population between 18 and 65 then the growth of the population segment that is (theoretically) looking for a job has grown by 7,700,000 in the last three years.

Therefore the true increase in unemployment is 10,000,000!
Welcome to the obama recovery.

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1. January 2012 by ropsnobi.

I’ve been reading a book on home production of Biodiesel. I’m not going to mention which book yet, because I’m not very impressed. It’s just that it seems like such a good idea.

Unlike ethanol fuel, the energy budget is positive - you get more energy in the product than it takes to produce. That makes it, at least, a viable idea. It can also be made from feedstocks which do not take up prime farm land, therefore there is at least a chance that it will not drive up food prices. It remains to be seen, however, if a feedstock can be found that can produce large quantities of fuel without impacting food production.

And home production remains both feasible and economical. It does not suffer from the major problem that ethanol has - the government thinks it has the right to prevent people from producing ethanol at home, while, so far, the government does not restrict the production of oil.

In any case, as I explore the subject you can expect more posts.

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