Well, since the mass media couldn’t dream up anything else, they decided to blame an obscure virus in China for the market movements Sunday night. Equities are down…….
Virus
Slope of Hope Blog Posts
Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.
One Summer: 1927
I’m surely traipsing onto hallowed ground by saying so, but honestly, I don’t care much for this holiday. It has nothing to do with the man we’re supposed to be sitting around and remembering today. Whether today was in honor of MLK, Cole Porter, FDR, or Buddha, it’s not the person that rubs me the wrong way: it’s the timing. Hear me out on this.
See, I’m a workaholic. I’m shamelessly addicted to workahol. Yet every year, around November 20th or so, things start to slow down, as we enter the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s triumvirate of getting nothing done. Everything slows down. But, hey, I can work with that. I can maybe put together a family vacation. And there’s decorating to be done. There’s family to see. The whole schmear.
(more…)Just Sayin’ Update
MLK PPP – Part Three
Preface to all three parts: I’ve written dozens of books, but the only history book I’ve ever written was Panic Prosperity and Progress. This weekend, I’m sharing one of the chapters from the book in three parts, since it offers interesting lessons about what can happen when governments decide to experiment with finance and economics. You can read Part One here and Part Two here.
Unlike many modern legislative bodies, the French Parliament did not accept the financial machinations happening around them lightly. Parliament had, by and large, protested the introduction of paper money, and even as apparent prosperity pulsated through Paris, the Parliament viewed it with great skepticism.
(more…)The Mother Tongue
I’ve been on a bit of a reading binge lately, and I just finished a Bill Bryson book written back in 1990 called The Mother Tongue. It is about the English language, and I’ve been looking for precisely this kind of book for years.
MLK PPP – Part Two
Preface to all three parts: I’ve written dozens of books, but the only history book I’ve ever written was Panic Prosperity and Progress. This weekend, I’m sharing one of the chapters from the book in three parts, since it offers interesting lessons about what can happen when governments decide to experiment with finance and economics. Part One of this piece can be read here.
So impressed was the French court by Law that it granted him a new title – Comptroller General of Finance – and new powers. Law set out to take down what he saw as encumbrances to the economy, such as canal tolls and overly-large land holdings; he encouraged the building of new roads throughout France; and he put in place incentives, such as below-market low-interest loans, for new industries.
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