The Gold Standard 

Late last year, the Discovery Channel produced a new reality television series entitled Gold Rush.  The program followed a group of unemployed men from the Pacific northwest as they headed north to the Alaskan wilderness in an attempt to strike it rich.  Completely inexperienced, the so-called miners leveraged everything they owned to purchase, borrow, and hire the equipment needed to search for gold on a long abandoned claim.

By the end of the summer, at least one of the miners quit and the others were not much Read more

GOP candidates vying for the presidential nomination spent most of last week in New Hampshire, in advance of the January 10, 2012, primary contest. The contest has been described as both anti-Obama and anti-Romney. It has been analyzed in terms of the candidates’ charisma, positions on foreign affairs, the military, social issues, and economic matters. We’ve now seen the rise and fall of a number of candidates. Iowa was interesting but revealed that voters remain dissatisfied with their options, splitting the Read more

In tornado alley, the difference between accurately and inaccurately forecasting the trajectory of likely tornadic activity is profound. With a moment’s notice, an entire town can be swept off the map, devastating entire regions. The photos shown in the aftermath—like the recent images from Henryville, Indiana, and West Liberty, Kentucky— are heartbreaking but the devastation among those who have lost everything lingers on long afterwards.

Businesses are reluctant to spend or hire.  Unemployment remains high.  Investors are cautious.  Markets are volatile.  These are the just some of the refrains sprinkled throughout the minutes of the December 13, 2011, Federal Open Market Committee Meeting.  Nevertheless, the Fed reports that the economy is expected to continue expanding moderately in the quarters ahead.

What?  We’re in dire straits (along with the rest of the world) but don’t worry because everything will be just fine sinc Read more