This Is How We Do It

The evolution of local police forces into paramilitary armor-clad storm troopers is nothing new. But I cannot fathom why this occurred. No doubt it was all done according to procedure.

Capitalism at Work

The key is "surplus value", the difference between what it costs to produce a good and the price it brings.

Here's how it works in one industry:

During his time there, [funeral home employee] Napper said, as many as 200 corpses were left on makeshift gurneys in the garage, in hallways and in a back room, unrefrigerated and leaking fluids onto the floor. Some were stored on cardboard boxes or were balanced on biohazard containers. At least half a dozen veterans destined for the hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery were left in their coffins on a garage rack, Napper said.

[...]

What was supposed to be a dignified end to thousands of lives had instead deteriorated into a haphazard operation, Napper said, more about money than honoring the dead. Part of the largest funeral services conglomerate in the world -- Houston-based Service Corporation International -- the company did not want to spend money to address the issues, Napper said supervisors told him. (emphasis added)

Any questions?

Spring News

Back in Olympia after a four day trip and it is quite obvious that spring is arriving. In just the time I was gone, my morning walk went from bare twilight to noticeably light. Looking through the bare tree branches I can see little silhouettes of budding foliage. Blossoms are beginning to show.

Life begins anew.

Going Mainstream

Joseph Stiglitz has taken the message he presented a few weeks ago in The Nation to a more prominent pulpit: the editorial page of the New York Times. The Times will certainly give him a wider audience. I wonder if anyone will actually pay attention to what he says.listen.

While I'm on the subject of economics, I heard a criticism of Obama's economic rescue plan as simply trying to recreate the economy as it was before the crash. Imagine, wanting to set up the same system that has created the latest panic. You'd think he would want to change things.