Silicon Spatula

Continue reading More blogging, coming soon.

I’d like to echo Ben’s assessment of college tuition prices at free- or inexpensive colleges, and I’d like to do so with an anecdote.  The other day, I was walking outside the Hunter College building and saw students with oaktag signs protesting $150/semester increases in tuition.  The following day, in the hallway, I saw several … Continue reading Seconding the Motion

I attempted to attend Cooper Union’s President, Jamshed Barucha’s speech,  last night.  He was speaking in a forum with the students and alumni regarding the dreadful fiscal picture in which the school currently lies.  There wasn’t any space left in the room because of an unexpected turnout so I cannot provide a play by play.  However, here … Continue reading Cooper Union’s Financial Ills

I came across this interesting idea by economist Steve Allen (via Greg Mankiw) and attempted to comment there.  Not sure if it worked so I will re-post here. He wrote, “My plan for zero unemployment: There were 14m unemployed workers in August.  The $447b stimulus package could be used to generate a check of almost $32,000 … Continue reading Stimulus Stupidity

Here at Ben & David, we’re die hard Stones fans and we always make sure to keep tabs on whatever Mick & Co are up to. But this summer is shaping up to be the July (okay, fine, August) of Jagger, with two songs released within weeks of each other, either performed by or riffing … Continue reading The Summer of Mick

El Goog picked up the handset maker – and its attractive patent portfolio – for a cool $12.5 Billion. Up until 2008, Motorola had languished in its failure to produce a viable iPhone competitor. But in ’09, Moto executed an effective turnaround and has found success on the Android platform with its attractive Droid series. … Continue reading Google Picks Up Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion

Lifehacker just put out a fairly standard post with some advice about personal finance.  As I was reading it, I couldn’t help but realize how relevant each point is to our government’s fiscal situation. It states 3 rules that no longer apply: 1.   “Save 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses in your emergency fund” … Continue reading Money Advice From Lifehacker

DJIA Down 300, 400 500 600 No one, save bears and gold bugs, were safe today. Only one stock in the S & P 500 was in the black, with everything else steeply in the red. If you’re confident that the market has bottomed out it’s a great buying opportunity. Continue reading Monday, Bloody Monday

Alex Tabarrok argues for an unbalanced budget amendment and gives a fairly insightful source from the Bible. “In the Bible, Joseph doesn’t advise the Pharaoh to balance the budget instead he tells the Pharaoh, save during the seven fat years so you are prepared for the seven lean. An unbalanced budget amendment reflects this simple and ancient wisdom.” The … Continue reading Wise Economic Advice From the Bible

Back in 2008-9 during the passage of TARP and other emergency liquidity injections my economics teacher at the time asked, “The banks are getting bailed out by the government, but who will bail out the government?” Now that the most recent liquidity crisis (as Keith Hennessey calls it) has been averted, many might say that … Continue reading Lets Talk Debt