Author: smartistone

Stocks keep going up as Wall St., predictably, ignores tensions in Iraq. Seeing some potentially good news for the economy and stock market: oil and gas prices are surging, tensions are rising in the Middle East, and Obama’s polls are falling to new lows. The former is probably contributing to the later because voters will… Continue reading Stocks Rise, Ignoring Iraq Tensons

In response to a post supporting more high-tech immgration, Derb replies: Nobody “deserves” admission to anyone else’s country. Immigration has nothing to do with morality. It is the business of deciding whether we need any more people; and if so, from where, with what characteristics, taking into account all social and cultural factors, not merely… Continue reading Immigration, Millennials, and the Smartist Era

Radio Derb 6/14/2014 Not surprising, many conservatives – with few exceptions such as this blog – are elated over the defeat of Eric Cantor. This is kinda funny because in 2009 and 2010, he worked with the Tea Party in his district and now they want nothing to do with him. He was even on… Continue reading Eric Cantor’s Loss – A Sign of the Times

It’s a common misconception by some conservatives that only liberals are pro-college. The reality seems to be the opposite. Liberals such as Elizabeth Warren are leading the charge against higher education, laying blame on the overpaid faculty, the student loan lenders, and the colleges for failing to guarantee good job prospects for students. While the… Continue reading Some Much Needed Perspective in the Student Loan Debate

Day two of the David Brat sell-off as the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls over 100 points in addition to the selling esterday. CNBC’s Jim Cramer: Cantor’s Exit Brings Back Fear of Washington Much more important than immigration reform, David Brat being the house majority leader may imperil future debt ceiling negations. This probably the… Continue reading David Brat Sell-Off Day 2

From the WSJ: Eric Cantor Defeat Imperils Prospects for Immigration Overhaul : Mr. Cantor’s defeat is likely to be seen as confirmation immigration politics are too dicey for this election year and may spook rank-and-file members who advocates have been pressing for support. In response to a questionnaire from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, David Brat wrote:… Continue reading Did David Brat Cause the Market to Fall Today?

I support the free market because it makes my stocks and real estate go up, but it makes too many utopian assumptions – specifically how competition is supposed to lead to better products. Maybe better in terms of new features and more advanced technology, but not reliability or perceived speed. Wirth’s Law, a computing adage… Continue reading Planned Obsolescence

Google finally discloses its diversity record, and it’s not good Some people on isteve and elsewhere like to criticize Facebook and Google, but these companies are meritocracies in that they only hire the best and the brightest out of very large application pools, actively screening for high-g candidates. The left wants just the opposite: promotion… Continue reading The Daily View: China, Debt and Why We Need More Millionaires In Congress

[this was part of an earlier post on tax cuts but it deserves its own post] The S&P 500 has closed at another record high. Wealth creation is unstoppable. People are getting richer than ever. America’s position as an economic superpower has only been solidified post-2008 – the exact opposite of what the left predicted… Continue reading The Post-2008 Economic Reality