Real Clear Politics

One of my favorite blogs.  Today it led me to these three editorials:

(1) What can be done about the economy?
         Peter Goodman, New York Times

(2) A Troika of Big G'ovt, Big Business & Big Labor
         Warren Meyer, Forbes

(3) Hatching Bigger Government
         Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune

Where are the data?

How is consumption distributed by type?  How much of it is essential.  (Really essential such as food, clothing, and shelter and probably transportation and arguably essential like health services and security and supposedly essential like education.)  How are jobs distributed by the consumption they provide (essential or otherwise including the counterproductive ones)?  How are they distributed by activity:  physical such as operating machinery or using tools; selling; keeping tract; managing; engineering; teaching; health care; miscellaneous other?

Government

Parkinson's Law [one of them] is true: Government always expands. This is a form of evolution because it is controlled by politicians and others with a strong vested interest in such expansion. It's like asking teachers to put a value on education or scientists on research. Why are academics liberals? Could it be because the bulk of their funding comes from state and local governments? I am a libertarian but am convinced it is a lost cause. All branches of government vote to expand their own powers. Could it be otherwise? Game theory says not. Read Predictioneering.

Think about it.

The super rich don't eat that much.  They do occupy more space but are we that short of space?  They have more clothes in their closets but they can't wear out most of it.  What eventually happens to it?  Surely they don't burn them.  Even their houses are in effect recycled.

Where are the figures comparing the most and least effective consumers.  [Sort of a negative value-added.]

Wealth and income are not zero-sum items.

My Haiku

What are you doing?
I am counting syllibi:
One, Two, Three, Four, Five.

It comes to my mind:
Today is another day
Like it always is.

It has some content.
It is not about dried fruit,
Just some other things.

I have read somewhere
That I think, therefor I am.
I mostly agree.

I, I, I, I, I!
Must it be just about I?
I do not think so.

Today it will rain
So I have my umbrella.
I am sure it won't.