Why do these people still get credibility?
As if it weren’t bad enough that a March 2nd protest against global warming in DC will likely occur amidst a major snowstorm, we now hear from The National Resources Defense Council’s Allen Hershkowitz, who is attacking toilet paper. Really. He maintains that “People just don’t understand that softness equals ecological destruction.”
But before you switch from Charmin to sandpaper, let’s take a look at the facts.
According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, even with our insatiable demand for nice, soft toilet paper, forest area in the U.S. has remained almost unchanged over the last century: around 33% of total land area. And this was accomplished as the population tripled. Looks like sustainable toilet paper and yet another unfounded Greenie scare.
Even on a worldwide basis, the rate of deforestation is about 0.2% per year, and this rate appears to be declining.
As the CEI notes, if this is the most scary story the Greens can come up with, I guess we are doing pretty well.
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it” department
Some of us remember that FDR tried spending the country out of the Great Depression, and that the technique was an utter failure. Many sources have dug up this quote from FDR’s Treasury secretary and close friend, Henry Morganthau, speaking to Congressional Democrats in May 1939:
“We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong … somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises … I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started … And an enormous debt to boot!”
One interesting parallel between then and now is that in the late 1920s, money rates were cheap, and there was a stock market run-up preceding the big fall. Then, one of the causes was margin trading whereby an individual could purchase a share of a company’s stock and then use the promise of that share’s future earnings to buy more shares.
A semi-parallel, if you will, was that the 1920s saw a big boom in consumer spending, and this was a relatively new phenomenon. Again, credit was easy and defaults occurred, creating major problems for banks. In the recent past, we saw even more rampant consumer spending and debt formation, with even easier credit, especially in the mortgage market. The results are quite similar.
Albert Haynesworth signs seven-year $100 million deal with the Washington Redskins
Performance incentives could drive it up to $115 million. It would seem that this amount is quite a bit to pay for a defensive player. After all, a quarterback can ALMOST win a game by himself, but one superstar lineman can usually be stopped by a good double-team. There is a reason they refer to some elements of a football team as “skill” positions.
Evidently, this does not include the front office anymore.
Ridiculously high salaries for pro athletes are generally explained by the unique skill sets possessed by these men. True enough. However, another aspect in salaries is the marketability of these skills. Other than a few dozen pro football franchises, where else can such individuals attempt to sell their wares?
The fact is, high athlete salaries are based on the egos of the owners (I’VE just signed the top pick) and nothing more.
More signs to come…