Jan/091
End of the Oughts – Resolutions
Ought eight, ought nine, ten. Last year I can use the word and not sound old, wishy-washy, or presumptuous.
I’ve heard the best way to keep up on your resolutions is to tell them to as many people as possible, and in that light, I’m making this public:
- Read on average at least one book a week.
- Write on average at least one blog post a week.
- Start saving and investing, with a target of $1000/mo.
- Improve my networking – reply to emails, etc.
- Focus on my business skills, and how my technical skills can play in that direction.
- Make a decision on an MBA program by the end of the year.
- Eat Better – minimize fast food, cook more at home.
- Take better care of myself in general – go for walks, floss, etc.
- Finish what I start, or make a graceful exit – clean up after myself.
- Clean up after myself in general.
Only the reading and the blog posts are really quantifiable on here, but hopefully my internal barometer is strong enough to be able to work with this.
Happy Oh Nine, folks!
Dec/080
It’s the Enforcement, Stupid.
One man in this picture did his job properly.
Three months into the financial collapse, much of the debate is centering around the role of regulation in the crisis. Democrats are claiming the deregulatory atmosphere in Washington over the last 8 years caused much of the fraud and other criminal behavior that’s come to light. Republicans are arguing that the push for low-income home ownership and the expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused the subprime housing bubble. In the balance lies the layout of whatever eventual fiscal stimulus should pass: Will it be a market-centric solution, focusing on tax breaks and consumer spending, or an infrastructure-centric solution, focused on government spending and programs?
Ultimately, though, regulation was never the cause of the crisis. The question of “too much” or “too little” is moot – Nobody was enforcing the regulations left on the books. The three biggest culprits in the fiasco are the SEC, the Federal Reserve, and the Ratings Agencies.