what happened?

energy metric…

November 21, 2011

Energy Return on Energy Invested – A New Standard for Comparing Energy Sources

http://www.realclearenergy.org/charticles/2011/11/21/return_on_energy_invested_-_a_standard_for_comparing_energy_sources.html

future of carbon….

The Fate of All Carbon

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Anthony Watts

Guest post by David Archibald

The fate of all carbon is Davy Jones’ locker. Following the post on the imminent decline in world oil production and the effect that would have on agricultural operating costs at http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/10/27/peak-oil-now-for-the-downslope/,

let’s have a look at what total peak fossil fuel production looks like and the effect that will have on climate. It will look something like this:

by this measure, stocks are not cheap….

Hours of Work Needed to Buy the S&P500

Posted on November 11, 2011 by macromon

we are not alone…

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/9/wanted-10-million-skilled-workers/

MORRIS: Wanted: 10 million skilled workers

Nonpartisan campaign hopes to prepare next generation of nation builders

From the crews erecting the new World Trade Center in New York City to hospital technicians and aircraft mechanics, America relies on its skilled workers to provide essential services.

In our business, we couldn’t keep electricity flowing to our 5.3 million customers without skilled workers such as line mechanics and power plant operators. When a power plant needs maintenance, we call upon highly skilled individuals such as electricians, pipefitters, boilermakers and dozens of critical disciplines.

Particularly problematic is the fact that many of our nation’s skilled workers are members of the baby boom generation and are rapidly approaching retirement; some have retired already. According to a recent survey by Manpower, skilled trades rank No. 1 in the nation for “difficulty of filling jobs due to the lack of talent.”

no confidence….

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/11/global-business-barometer

Global business barometer

Collapsing confidence

Nov 10th 2011, 17:03 by The Economist online

income inequality increasing but… wealth not so much….

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/11/07/income-inequality-vs-wealth-inequality/

Income Inequality vs. Wealth Inequality

David Weinberger

November 7, 2011 at 11:51 am

It’s easy to get lost in the cacophony of numbers and statistics thrown around by all sides in the income inequality debate. Just remember that wealth concentration has declined among top earners, even according to the very economist the left generally cites to argue that income inequality has grown. That wealth data reflect a decline in concentration at the top over the past hundred years should indicate that reaching conclusions about inequality using income data is at best an incomplete assessment.

We don’t want federal investment going back to the low levels of the 1980s and 1990s.

http://innovationandgrowth.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/budget-categories/

Mandel on Innovation and Growth

Budget Categories

Posted in budget by Mike Mandel on October 27, 2011

Corporate tax rate too high….

http://blog.american.com/2011/11/why-the-tax-policy-center-is-wrong-the-us-can-slash-its-corporate-tax-rate/

Why the Tax Policy Center is wrong: The United States can slash its corporate tax rate

By James Pethokoukis

November 2, 2011, 3:28 pm

My advice to congressional tax cutters is to cut the corporate rate whether or not they can “pay” for it. And to at least 26 percent. There is good reason to believe that the U.S. rate—currently at 35 percent—is way, way on the wrong side of the Laffer Curve, as AEI’s Kevin Hassett and Alex Brill point out in a 2007 study:

blaming China….

http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2011/11/03/stop_blaming_china_for_the_loss_of_manufacturing_jobs_99345.html

November 3, 2011

Stop Blaming China For the Loss of Manufacturing Jobs

By John Tamny

Indeed, as a recent USA Today editorial noted, “American companies are making lots of stuff”, and in fact they’re producing “about 80% more than in 1979 with nearly 8 million fewer workers.” Some would like to blame China here, but in truth they should be cheering the very innovations that attract job creating investment by virtue of companies doing more with less.