The Skeptical Optimist

National Debt Thermometer: 26-Feb-05

The USA's Debt Burden edged up slightly since last month, and so did the inflation rate.  Also, I added a few more countries from the list in the CIA Factbook. 

This chart is as current as I can make it from the official data available.  For that reason, you'll notice a slight difference in the Debt Burden on this chart versus the number on the cause-of-change chart ("Why the Debt Burden increased in 2004"); there's a two-month difference, Feb-05 vs Dec-04, between the two different analyses.  [Original article explaining the Debt Thermometer.]

Click the image to enlarge it. 

Why the Debt Burden increased in 2004

Comparing 2004 to 2003, the USA's Debt Burden increased from 63.6% of GDP to 64.7%.  The chart below shows why.  (The slight difference in the number below versus the Debt Thermometer are due to timing: Dec-04 vs Feb-05.)

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Bid these with partner: 26-Feb-05

Call your bridge partner.  Then click on the red group below, while partner clicks on the blue group.  Each of you bids your two visible hands.  When finished, you can both discuss the hands using double dummy.  (Origin.)

•SouthWest, •NorthEast, and •DoubleDummy
(Click on a color group.)

Why Bush was the better choice

Guess what: The masses aren't so stupid after all (...although that should be no surprise to free-market advocates).  This book explains why . . .

Clinton’s Military

I'm sorry, but Al Franken has struck a nerve.

"Bush Can't Lose with Clinton's Military" — That's the title Franken chose for chapter 28 of his best-seller, Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them): A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.  Franken is a self-anointed Lie-Detector and Truthmeister.  Sarcasm-as-proof is his weapon of choice. . . 

Another name for Al Franken's Lying Liars list

I wonder if Al Franken can spell "Paul Krugman"?  The skeptic in me says no, because Al Franken and NYT columnist Paul Krugman share the same negative ideology regarding Social Security (..."If the other side advocates something, we have to be against it").  Therefore, I do not anticipate seeing Krugman's name appear on Al's list of Lying Liars in my lifetime.  Jim Glass has the whole explanation.

American Pie: The Tax-bite Movie

[Part 1: Ike vs GW Bush...]  Has the federal government's tax bite been too big, too small, or just the right size?  Did the size of the tax bite affect the subsequent size of the economy?  If so, can we expect Bush's lower tax rates to increase the future size of the economy?  If so, would the economy grow by enough extra to generate at least the same amount of tax revenue dollars for the federal government?

These subjective questions are fun, because they tend to generate entertaining political debates, dogma, half-truths, sloganeering, pandering, teeth-gnashing, demagoguery, class-warmongering, and just plain good-old fights at the Thanksgiving dinner table or the July 4th picnic blanket. 

But before we tackle those, we should answer five easier questions . . .

Bid these with partner: 19-Feb-05

Call your bridge partner.  Then click on the red group below, while partner clicks on the blue group.  Each of you bids your two visible hands.  When finished, you can both discuss the hands using double dummy.  (Origin.)

•SouthWest, •NorthEast, and •DoubleDummy
(Click on a color group.)

Best and second-best advice ever

My Favorite Quotes document is in its tenth year of growth.  Unsurprisingly, the first and second entries are my first and second favorites; they both pack a ton of practical guidance into just a few brief words .  . .

Al Franken's Lying Liars List: Who's Next?

Rhetorical question of the day:  Will Al Franken add the name "Al Franken" to his list of Lying Liars?  (Reminder: A rhetorical question is one to which no answer is required.)  Cassandra has the full explanation.