Also, if you’re considering the outsourcing of lawn maintenance duties, there’s reason to mow it yourself beyond the cost considerations. Some, in fact, might argue that you should make the chore as exhaustive as possible.
Obama
President Obama Goes Backward on Energy
Crossposted from TIME’s Ecocentric blog:
Last March, President Barack Obama gave a speech on energy security at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. In it, Obama offered what might be called a “grand compromise” on energy—in exchange for expanded offshore drilling, including in previously untouched areas like north Alaska and …
Race & Recession: How Skin Color Affects One’s Perception of the Economy—and Its Recent Collapse
A new poll brings to light big differences in who whites, blacks, and Hispanics blame for the recession, whether the nation’s economic policies have us on the right track, and how optimistic (or not) they are that things will get better. Curiously enough, the groups who were hardest hit by recession, and who are the least likely to hold …
Is Obama Focused on the Right Strengths of the U.S. Economy?
Rana Foroohar, TIME Assistant Managing Editor in charge of economics and business, weighs in on the economic messages in the State of the Union address:
Factory jobs for life are gone. We should worry about China eating our lunch. Education is the way to a bigger paycheck. Clean energy is good; Big Oil is bad (so are greedy bankers). We
…
The G-20: This Time, It’s Different
Last week’s G-20 economic summit in South Korea was widely depicted as a failure for the Obama administration and a rebuff for the United States. In many respects, it was. Obama remarked that if the U.S. hadn’t tried to set the agenda, it would have had an easier time. “Part of the reason that sometimes it seems that the United …
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Barack Obama (on Teaching Kids about Money)
“So many of the problems that we see had to do with the fact that just basic calculations about compound interest and — and what that means, you know, kids aren’t taught that. And so what I’m doing now with Malia and Sasha is, you know, they’re getting an allowance. They’re starting to get old enough where they may be able to earn some …
The uncertainty excuse needs to come to an end
Health care reform passed. Now it looks like financial re-regulation will, too. For a long time, businesses have been complaining that they can’t hire and they can’t invest because of all the uncertainty the Obama Administration has injected into the system. Who can make plans when no one knows what the American health care system will …
Unemployment by the Numbers
Here are some stats of interest to people who are without jobs, who live or know people who are without jobs, or who could be without jobs in the near future. Does that cover everybody?
Do You ‘Need a Freakin’ Job’?
Lots of people do in Buffalo, where the President is discussing job creation programs today—and where a billboard has been put up to promote the “I Need a Freakin’ Job” movement.
SOTU by the Numbers: 107 Applause Breaks, 18 Minutes Wasted
Am I the only one driven nuts by how much time in the Presidents speech (or any president’s speech) is taken up by applause?
Let’s go create some jobs
This is not official Davos business, but I want to quickly weigh in on the State of the Union. I’ve written before about how it’s tough for the federal government to explicitly set out to create jobs.
Nonetheless, the President’s speech from last night had some decent ideas. Plus one really bad one.
Good idea No. 1: helping small …
A Nation of Haters
People obviously resent bankers and their big bonuses. And now, in another sphere, it’s hard to tell who the public hates more: government officials or government workers.
