Mosler Bets $100mio that the US Govt Can Never Run Out of Money

Reads like an article from The Onion, but he is actually completely correct:

"it must be understood that there is simply no such thing as the U.S. Federal government running out of money, nor is the Federal government operationally dependent on borrowing from China or anyone else. U.S. states, individuals, and companies can indeed become insolvent, but U.S. government checks will never bounce,” states Mosler. “Yes, large Federal deficits that push the economy beyond the point of full employment can lead to inflation or currency devaluation, but not bankruptcy and not bounced checks."

MCIV Saturday

We headed south to San Diego and as usual, the traffic in SoCal is worse than expected.  We made it to Petco Park by the second or third inning and my Uncle Bob and my cousin, Alex were waiting for us at the seats.  Petco Park is new and clean and beautiful most of San Diego.

The Padres needed a win and got it at the end of the 9th after left fielder, Jonny Gomes (who the Padres fans in our section had been heckling all game) botched a grounder down the left field line.  After the game we had cocktails and a romantic sunset walk down the beach in front of the Hotel Del Coronado where Josh met his future wife's mom. 

That night we wrapped up MCIV with the traditional sushi dinner at Taka, followed by dessert at The Marble Room and the third and final round of clubbing in The Gaslamp District.   Mancation IV was a blast, definitely one of my top 3 weekends this year.  I am already looking forward to heading to the Lone Star State for MCV next year. 

MCIV Friday

First morning of Mancation Quatro and we are obviously very hungover.  MG being as obsessed with Entourage as he is, suggests we have brunch at Urth Caffe which was as delicious as it was exorbitantly expensive. No celebrities spotted yet so to make this happen, Rick makes the unfortunate recommendation to try to get onto Wayne Brady's Let's Make A Deal.  After being held against our will in a hot studio for ~3 hours, we are emancipated by Wayne Brady's full-time fluffer, Rocco. 

Starving and with only 90 mins til the Angels game, we head south to Anaheim through the Friday rushhour traffic.  Morale picks up markedly after waiting out the traffic over some In 'N Out in La Mirada and we get to the game by the second inning where Josh's buddy Mike Kai is waiting for us.

Last night in LA has to be big, so we splurge on the table service at The Colony which split six ways is not too bad.   Colony was a serious scene but worth the price for avoiding the hassle of switching night clubs, catching cabs and waiting in lines.  Highlights: MG almost fights Dane Cook, Josh and I have our sport coats stolen (but not my camera!), I tell off some drunken chick in the parking lot for no reason and Hawkins doesn't show up until Colony has shut down. 


MCIV Thursday

Another year, another Mancation.  This one was very memorable with Rick rejoining the crew and Josh coming back from his rookie season last year.  The roadtrip took us south from LA to San Diego stopping to watch the Dodgers, Angels and Padres games along the way.


On Thursday we got into LAX and fought traffic up to Hollywood to check in to the hotel.  We had dinner of hotdogs and nacho cheese in the all-you-can-eat pavilion at Dodgers Stadium.  After the game, we celebrated the reunion of the MC Five with table service at The Skybar at The Mondrian Hotel, followed by Club 210.  Big shout-out to my boy Hawkins who helped out with door at 210. 

EPI: Putting Public Debt In Context

I have been reading some papers from the Economic Policy Institute today after watching an EPI video of Paul Krugman, Jan Hatzius from Goldman, and some conservative dude arguing in a panel discussion whether Congress should extend the Bush tax cuts for the households earning > $250k.

I (of course) ardently oppose using our deficit to reduce the tax burden of the wealthiest 2% of Americans.  The economy is short about 11.5 million jobs.  We must use that fiscal deficit to generate enough demand to stimulate business investment.  And as this graph from EPI shows, we can totally afford to.  

Smash Putt!

A few weeks ago, my old roommate/landlord Griz took me to Smash Putt! with his good buddy Thomas.  This self-proclaimed Minature Golf Apocalypse is staged in the old Immigration & Naturalization Services building in the SoDo (south of downtown) district of Seattle.

As you can hopefully tell from the photos, it was truly awesome.  There are lots of creative holes, like the golf ball airguns which I don't think even had a hole.  After 4 or 9 drinks, it starts getting real interesting. 

If you live in Seattle I recommend you check it out.  I think there are 3 more weekends left.

Oh My God!

I have been listening to this over and over...

It is from the Its Kind Of A Funny Story trailer.

Meanwhile across San Francisco, my girlfriend has been watching this a lot...

July 2010 = Biggest Driving Month Ever

270 billion miles - we have never driven more.  Of course, driving is heavily seasonal and Americans drive more in July and August than any other month.

On the bright side, this probably means the economy is recovering.  Also, growth in miles driven has slowed markedly over the last decade, probably due to higher gas prices.  Households are now averaging (just?) 69 miles a day which they first reached in 1997.  Problem is there are about 15 million more households now and the exurbs we built for them are exceedingly automobile dependent.

Doh!