Saturday, December 08, 2012

Data may be skewed...

So I was monitoring enemy radio transmissions in the car the other day, and they had a financial program on the radio. Listening to collectivists discuss business is usually amusing, so I turned it up so as not to miss the good parts.

They were chattering about how the government had given all this free money to bail out the big banks and then the big banks weren't loaning it out to small businesses. To prove this, they had opened a discussion on their Facebook page, asking small business owners (or prospective small business owners, I suppose) if they were having difficulty getting loans.

You gotta wonder what kind of small business owners will be commenting on an NPR program's Facebook page...
"Uh, yeah, my name's Joe Wilson, and I have a store called 'Tees For The People' that specializes in organically-grown Fair Trade hemp T-shirts with ironic slogans for riders of fixie bikes, and I couldn't get approved for a loan..."
or
"This is Tiffani from Racine, and even though I had a business plan and everything for my combination used book store and feral cat spay & neuter clinic..."
There's nothing like a couple hours of NPR to remind one of that classic Thomas Sowell quote: "Asking liberals where wages and prices come from is like asking six-year-olds where babies come from."

39 comments:

treefroggy said...

Babies come from government subsidized hospitals silly.

Anonymous said...

I have no doubt they were holding onto a fair amount of their bailout money to try to repair their bottom line. They were spending irresponsibly before and when they got a reprieve from Uncle Sugar they tried to get out of debt more than before.

The funny thing is that the liberals are criticizing them for doing this, which sounds responsible to me. When the government gives direct assistance payments to the people for "stimulus", by and large it gets used to pay off debt (it did in my case). Then the collectivists get all huffy because we were all supposed to go by TVs and shit we dont really need.

They never learn.

RabidAlien said...

Gotta agree with Anon 10:42. The responsible thing, when one comes into some money, is to hack a huge chunk off whatever debt one has accrued. Once debt is gone, drop a huge chunk into savings. What one does with whatever is left over, after that, is up to the individual. Libs and NPR-types have no say in what one does with one's finances, any more than they have the right to say what one says, does in the bedroom, or carries on their hip.

Unknown said...

I find it intriguing that so many--including OWSies--complain about it, but the solutions always seem to be "more government". That's what's put us into this mess to begin with.

I've attempted to explain this to a retired liberal newspaper editor (who calls Krugman the world's greatest living economist) and a retired PoliSci prof. Epic fail.

Steve Skubinna said...

Yeah, they caused a huge financial meltdown by lending irresponsibly. So now that they're not lending irresponsibly it's not faaaaaaiiiirrrrr....

These people really think the US cannot default because the government can print as much money as it wants. It sounds like a joke, and it's the sort of thing I'd say to parody them, except that these people really, seriously, I shichu not believe this.

Anonymous said...

And yet after 30 minutes with Sean Hannity and his guests, the lady with the Bookstore/Cat Clinic sounds calm and rational.

Lord I miss my XM radio.

Tam said...

bygoneblog,

Sean who, now?

Anonymous said...

Tam, you know, the guy from Fox. He miraculously crams a half hr. radio talk show into 3 hrs.

Tam said...

I was being sardonic. ;) Apparently the fame of Rush Limbaugh convinced broadcasters that the key to success in the conservative radio pundit market is to hire only sanctimonious jackholes.

Anonymous said...

Dear NPR: I was able to bypass bankers by having my biz bankrolled by my (gasp) customers!

I searched for the market segment where demand exceeded local supply and entry costs were very low. So I got a business license and ordered $10,000 in opening inventory. Within a month I had sold all the initial product and used the proceeds to order $15,000 more. Rinse and repeat for about four years and I now have 200,000 in rotating inventory and am making a nice living...and having fun to boot!

My banker did end up giving me support; he's now a regular customer, having bought several of my best products, which ranged from $300 to nearly $1000 each...and right now my main problem is finding enough product to keep my shelves and cases full.

Hey NPR listeners! Guess my business! (hint: see "four years" above)

Shrimp said...

"Asking liberals where wages and prices come from is like asking six-year-olds where babies come from."

As a father of four, (three of whom have been six years old) the six-year-olds might have actually have a clue, though, so they would have the advantage in that scenario.

It's really sad that my ten year old can understand the nature of an economy and can explain why soaking the rich is a generally bad idea, while my neighbor up the street who voted for the Zero cannot.

By the by, how do you listen to CNNPR without blowing up? I tried, on more than one occasion, and I could actually feel the aneurysm forming in my brain as my blood pressure rocketed past 590/310.

John said...

Just tell'm that AS feral cats are edible, they will be included in any free future lunches. It'll keep there brains fizzing, until you are out of radio/earshot

PG said...

The whole purpose of the bailout was to keep the banks liquid so that they can lend. Irresponsible lending is obviously bad, but our economy requires credit to work.

"Hey guys I was listening to NPR but only ironically. They were talking about how the banks weren't doing the one thing that the bailout was designed to allow them to do. Then they had the audacity to solicit feedback from their audience! Let me close with some cartoonish stereotypes of liberals that have nothing to do with anything."

Stick to writing about guns.

Tam said...

PG,

"Stick to writing about guns."

This ain't a gun blog, lackwit.

Old NFO said...

And sadly, I 'know' youre pretty much repeating them verbatim... sigh...

Kristophr said...

Hey PG: What right do you think you have ordering people to not say things on their own property, you little fascist.

Why are leftists such little fascist shits? They seem to think it is OK to tell some other person what to say.

If you little fascist dislike free use of the first amendment so much, then it shouldn't surprise you that we are going to keep stomping on your attempts to screw with the second as well.

Most folks around here value the entire bill of rights.

Matthew said...

With apologies to Dire Straits...

That little fascist he's a censor and a lackwit.
He wants life to just be "fair"
That little fascist likes to play the race card
That little fascist taxes millionaires

NAVIGATOR said...

FOR SHRIMP
SOME YEARS AGO I STOPPED READING THE NEWYORK TIMES THE WALL STREET JOURMAL THE WASHINGTON PEST TURNED OFF NPR AND
DONT HAVE AN OPERATIONAL TV MY BLOOD PRESSURE IS 120/78 THAT PLUS A HEALTHY
DIET VITAMINS AND PUTTING A STRING OR
TWO OF .45 AND .30-06 DOWNRANGE HELPS!

Anonymous said...

I listen to NPR especially when I'm in DC. It's like the Onion News Network only funnier.

Gerry

Steve Skubinna said...

Forget about PC, the asswipe just did a driveby. Won't be back.

PG said...

I read this blog because I enjoy the gun content. I thought this particular post was silly and I said why.

I haven't replied because I was out shooting and because blog comment pissing contests are dumb. I left the name calling on the schoolbus.

And Kristophr...you've left me speechless, I'll give you that much.

Peter B said...

Is that the NPR business show that always said "The dollar and other foreign currencies" in its reporting?

Tam said...

PG,

This is my blog. I write what I want. There is some gun content; a thumbnail review seems to indicate that something less than a third of the posts on the front page are at least parenthetically related to firearms.

Regarding Kristophr's comment, I have no control over what commenters type.

Similarly, you have no control over what I type. If the free ice cream tastes icky to you, you always have the option of not licking the cone.

B said...

A significant number of banks were "strongly encouraged" to take the bailout money. Many didn't want it, but were essentially forced to take it. The rates that the money was given to them was high enough that they couldn't lend it at a market rate.

A lot of them used it to buy other banks, with the encouragement (and enthusiastic collusion) of the FDIC.

Besides, lending money to marginal borrowers in a down economy doesn't do much good to the bottom line.

Joe in PNG said...

But PG is THE GAWD!, by god. So snap to and do what he wants. Or he'll, like, not read you any more...which will, in his sophilistic little universe, cause you to not exist.

PG said...

OK I'll bite.

First, I don't know where people are getting "censorship" from. I said "stick to writing about guns" in the same way that you tell an unfunny comedian not to quit their day job.

I know you have no control over your commentors. I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to him.

Finally, I'm not trying to control what you type (seriously, where are people getting this?). You made a post that was, I thought, dumb. If you don't want people calling you on stupid posts then...disable your comments I guess?

I'll let you all circlejerk about how I'm a fascist poopyhead now.

Tam said...

PG,

Didn't say you were a fascist poopyhead or a censor, so you'll have to find someone else for your circle-jerk.

I merely pointed out that:

A) While I sometimes write about guns, this isn't, technically, a "gun blog", but rather a "whatever shit Tamara feels like writing about blog" and

B) If you get all butthurt and surprised by me making fun of collectivists, you must have started reading here, like, yesterday.

Borepatch said...

"Fascist poopyhead" is an outstanding term to appear in a comment thread.

But let me put in a vote for "whatever shit Tamara feels like writing about" - that's been a bit of all right for about as long as I've been stopping by.

Kristophr said...

PG: If I left you speechless, you wouldn't be posting replies.

Seriously ... where do you get off with a "Shut up and sing" spew?

You aren't even paying for this.

If the political stuff offends you, too bad. It isn't our fault that damned near all of the politically correct little fascists out there that you agree with hate firearms.

Take it up with them.

Kristophr said...

I mean, geeze ... Tam won't even censor my lunatic crap, and you expect her to self-censor to suit you?

( I think the only person she ever really stepped on here was some neo-nazi loon who actually had an internet shrine set up to her, including that old Firing Line forum bikini pic. )

SewerDweller said...

@PG -

(gonna shamelessly rip someone off here, feel free to guess who!)

Dear Sir. I confess to using 'dear' and 'sir' gratuitously, as I strongly suspect you fail to meet the qualifications for either. As a long term, shameless fanboy of Ms. Tam, I cordially invite you to kneel down between my feet, shove your obnoxious face deep between my buttocks, and give my taint a good healthy snort. Dont be shy, give it a good hefty whiff...

Firehand said...

Have a friend who righteously insists NPR is 'the really unbiased news source'; point out the things they seem to have missed, or, ah, 'slantingly' reported, and he changes the subject. Or tries to.

Yeah, I gave up.

perlhaqr said...

Yeah, I think that Sowell quote may be dated. These days, I'd expect a six year old to give me a better accounting of where babies come from than a liberal to explain wages and prices.

Ed said...

'A) While I sometimes write about guns, this isn't, technically, a "gun blog", but rather a "whatever shit Tamara feels like writing about blog" and

B) If you get all butthurt and surprised by me making fun of collectivists, you must have started reading here, like, yesterday."

Ah, freedom.
Freedom to read it,
or not.
Your choice.
Be free.
Feels good,
don't it?

Ed Foster said...

I don't have the slightest clue what a "Fixie Bike" is. Color me far over the top of the hill.

Should I ask my grandson?

Kristophr said...

Ed: A Fixie is a bicycle without a ratchet mechanism in the hub. A fad amongst trendoid bicyclists.

If the bike is moving, the pedals are turning. Period.

Stupidly dangerous, and only useful for unusual bicycle stunts, IMO.

Gerry N. said...

I had a fixie for a while back in about '58 or '59. I was coasting down the 45th St. Viaduct from the "U" District to Sand Point when something in the rear hub forked up. The damn pedals tried to pound my ankles into hamburger and I went down the viaduct gainting speed until I went through the red light at the bottom going about 50mph. Blind luck is the only reason I didn't have a face to face with something weighing two or three tons more than my old Schwinn. That afternoon was a defining moment in my edumacation about the importance of maintainance concerining mechanical things. I also learned about laundry.

Gerry N.

Panamared said...

It has taken me most of my life too realize that liberalism is a religion, as such trying to change a liberals mind about anything is like converting a fundamentalist Christian to Catholicism. All of there beliefs are just that, they don't have too think, just follow the leader, it's easier that way. If you can ever get one to think, it's fun to watch the confusion that develops. Bottom line take a liberal shooting, it will completely mess with their per-concieved notions when they find out that it is fun.

Kristophr said...

Gerry N.: Doing that and living through it counts as an unusual bike stunt.