Los Angeles bureaucrats are going to ban the opening of new fast food joints within a 32-square-mile area of the city. Of course, that will promote healthier eating! Surely, that will have people shopping for fresh food, cooking at home, and eating veggies and lean meats as opposed to processed junk. The city council's measure will:

...will be accompanied by moves to encourage more grocery chains and fresh food stores to open for business.

"If people want to eat at a restaurant or go shopping at a neighborhood grocery store, these are choices that are not readily available to them at this time," said councilwoman Jan Perry, who spearheaded the measure.

Of course, "restaurant" eating is no better than fast food. Bad food choices can be made anywhere, as well as "better" food choices. Somehow, government bureaucrats believe that a burger and onion rings at Jill's Diner is better than a chicken sandwich at Burger King? Additionally, the choices for restaurants and grocery stores are not available because it is not profitable to do so, otherwise profit-seeking entrepreneurs would have captured the market and opened the grocery stores that sell fresh food. Thus, people in that area demand junk food.

Eating out (consistently) is the choice of those who are too lazy to cook. The behavior of people has been forged by years of habitual laziness and/or not caring about the consequences of their choices. Obesity and the non-upkeep of one's body and/or health is the preference for immediate satisfaction as opposed to long-term maintenance, good looks, and good health. It is a choice. Greasy burger now .... umm good .... consequences later. "Later" means one can assign the ill effects of a choice to some point out in the future and convince themselves that later will never really come (or they won't really notice it), because it's not right now. Obesity is a time preference issue. The greasy burger tastes good now, and people with high time preferences care about right now - not later.

The health effects of obesity are easily seen (see mirror, see scale) , and are, at some point, measurable via issues that indicate declining health. No one can be chubby, fat, or obese, and not be consistently aware if it. But they have made the choice to choose what makes them fat. No government policies, central planning, or bans on food items can change that reality. Thanks to Lance Connelly for the link.

A great concept for primary care physicians and patients alike: concierge medicine. This doctor in Arizona is building his concierge practice, which will give patients an alternative to assembly-line, quasi-government-managed care. It's fee-based, and gives patients access rights to the doctor and medical records via email, web, and cell phone.

When doctors don't accept "private" (emphasis mine) insurance plans, they shed loads of administrative costs, paperwork, overhead, time, and trouble. Thus the doctor can do what he does best: practice medicine and understand the patient's needs. Individuals with high-maintenance health issues (the elderly) make out well with a flat-fee pay system. Others may not need as much care, but may see the expenditures for concierge medicine to be worth the potential rewards.

Of course, since the pay-for-service agreement is private between doctor and patient, there are going to be those who criticize this practice because it's the exact opposite of government-bureaucratic managed care, and it excludes those (except charity cases) who can't or don't want to pay. The below excerpt from the article is the typical response from the welfare-fed American.

Jack Brami, 64, of Glendale, recently learned that he would have to switch doctors. Brami said he cannot afford to pay Sapin's annual fee, so he must quickly find another doctor to help manage his chronic health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure and lymphodema (swelling of the legs).

"For a guy like me who lives strictly on a government check, this is an inconvenience of getting another doctor," said Brami, a Vietnam veteran. "This is what medicine has come to?"

An iced latte is now a "ghetto coffee." One coffee house refuses to ghettoize its coffee. One Time Warner executive got very upset.

The owner, Nick Cho, also said his coffee shop is basically known for its anal policies, including some serious sadistic BS like "no modifications to the Classic Cappuccino," whatever that's about, and, bizarrely, "no questions will be answered about the $5 Hot Chocolate" (emphasis added).

Stick-up-the-ass snobbery and treating customers like morons will get you nothing in the long run. This shop will be empty and up for sale before you can spell i-n-f-l-a-t-i-o-n or D-e-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n. Thanks to Bruce Korol for the tip.

After I posted this blog on the kiddie pool police, I received this email from my friend Ken, who lives in Eastpointe, a community just north of Detroit.

Last year my mother bought Miles and Rosalia (his two youngest children) an inflatable pool - a tiny tot pool - and we got a warning notice that we had to get a lock for the gate, move it X amount of feet from the house, make sure no power lines were overhead, and pay for a permit to even put it up! And this is a pool for little kids - not even remotely big enough for adults!

Next, will we be fined for letting our kids run under a power line or play baseball under a power line? Those power lines could fall down, you know.

This article is pretty amazing. It seems that coffee house retailers/owners are refusing to acknowledge that expensive coffee (lattes, expresso, etc.) is a highly discretionary item, and not a dire need.

"Unfortunately for us coffeehouses, this is the first thing you cut out," said Jim Butt, owner of Grab a Java in Grosse Pointe Park. "When the economy first tightens, people get nervous and start to save money."

Quite obvious.

Coffee industry representatives said their beverage is unfairly targeted as a symbol of excess, and that for most, foregoing coffee for a 401k isn't practical.

Isn't practical to whom? Lest we forget that an individual's spending and the ensuing level of practicality is subjective to them.

"For people who drink coffee on a daily basis, it's not an optional thing," said Ric Rhinehart, executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. "You don't suddenly quit coffee because the economy is bad. Coffee is one of those wonderful pleasures in life that's relatively inexpensive and guilt-free."

You don't quit $5 coffees because of inflation, lower real wages, higher taxes, a foreclosure and/or bankruptcy, and less cash flow? That guy must own stock in Mastercard. Lastly, this clown invokes the labor theory of value to remind us that we really just don't get it.

Some coffee purveyors say the drink is a relative bargain.

..."If one looks at the amount of labor and the amount of hands who handle it every step of the way, coffee is one of the great values in the market right now," said Allen Leibowitz, president of Zingerman's Coffee Co., a wholesale roaster based in Ann Arbor. "I still can't believe coffee is as inexpensive as it is."

I can't believe someone said that.

Thank goodness government bureaucrats are there to protect us from ourselves. Imagine having an inflatable pool with 2 feet of water and without a 4-foot fence and an idiot alarm. I can't even imagine such a thing.

Massena Code Enforcement Officer Gregory Fregoe has been busy this summer checking for violators.

“The quick-set blue pools, which we call them, are a menace to the villages. They’re a danger because because people erect them with no concern about the code requirements,” said Fregoe.

It's not only good for you - healthy fats - but it's also the anti-spoiler at your picnic ... not the spoiler. Mayo is one of my favorite foods of all time. Light or regular, but never fat-free.

Well, just a bit. The title of this opinion piece got my attention: "Stupidity and the State." Just a few snippets I did not expect from the Journal.

In a classic case of government working against itself, other more powerful government actions, including the Fed's extraordinarily loose monetary policy, have boosted inflation and caused families to restrict purchases, especially in the case of higher-priced consumer durables.

...None mentioned the government's low interest rates which touched off the housing bubble that's led to the economic turndown, or the inflation that's undermined the very expensive remedy that hasn't worked as planned. But that didn't stop Ms. Pelosi from proposing another $50 billion "stimulus" package on Thursday.

...On net, members of Congress seem to be the only beneficiaries of the stimulus. They got to posture and pose, and send out to voters untold millions of press releases and mailings extolling themselves and the stimulus checks.

How did that pass 'neath some editor's nose?

Al Gore says we must end the carbon age within ten years, and the EPA has laid out the procedures for doing just that. In the Wall Street Journal:

In a huge document released last Friday, the EPA lays out the thousands of carbon controls with which they'd like to shackle the whole economy. Central planning is too artful a term for the EPA's nanomanagement. Thankfully none of it has the force of law -- yet.

For those of you who don't subscribe to the WSJ, the functionally retarded folks at the EPA propose such nonsense as controls on lawn and garden equipment, farm tractors, snowmobiles, and dirt bikes. It is proposing specific guidelines for the design of boat hulls and propellers, as well as how airplanes will be allowed to taxi on the runway. And still - old news - it wants to levy a carbon tax. And there's still the matter of the agency's concern over cow flatulence.

None of this is new or shocking. However, one thing we haven't had before is a President who is an extreme global waring alarmist. Barack Obama will be that guy should he be elected. Something about "serving a common purpose, a larger cause."

That guy will be the end, I tell ya.

These bozos.

Greektown Casino today will begin the process of hiring some 400 full-time workers for its permanent hotel, scheduled to open in January.

"We're seeking high-caliber applicants from the city of Detroit and elsewhere to staff what will be a world-class hotel resort," said Craig Ghelfi, Greektown's CEO.

Detroit. One ghetto, three insolvent auto manufacturers, three casinos, and another one (Caesar's Windsor) just across the river in Canada. The Greektown Casino is laughable because it is in the process of building a very ritzy hotel (with 400 luxury rooms), a new parking garage, and an expanded gaming floor. But oops ... wait. The Greektown Casino filed for bankruptcy in May. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation - near 10% (government's figures) - and the nation, as a whole, is diving into a Depression. The casino files for bankruptcy as revenues go poof, yet management continues along with its plan to expand, including extreme luxury accommodations. The funny part is this: the casino is just down the street from my office, and it's been under remodeling/construction. No big deal; it's not that bad that you can't pardon the dust. But casino officials claim the reason that gaming revenues have tanked in recent months is because .... the construction turned away customers who thought the casino was closed. How's that for a snookered tilt from reality?

With MGM, Motor City Casino, and Greektown all building massive luxury projects after the boom has busted (hello?), I guarantee these ritzy casinos, along with their upscale lodging and dining, will be bankrupt and vacant in a very short time.

Oh well. Join all the other vacant buildings in the city, I guess.

The pilots union for U.S. Airways said Wednesday the airline is pressuring pilots to use less fuel than they feel is safe in order to save money.

U.S. Airways Captain James Ray, a spokesman for the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, which represents the airline's 5,200 pilots, said eight senior pilots and the union have filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration.

While no fan of the FAA, I hate the airlines even more than I do their government overseer. Rotten service, rotten treatment, poorly-operated businesses ... they can take their high-priced tickets and stick it. I have come to loathe flying - between the TSA and the quasi-government-owned airlines like Northworst, it's unpleasant as hell. I cheer each time one of them falls into the bankruptcy chute.

Scott Coles, CEO of Mortgages LTD., is dead at 48. From the Times Online:

Mr Coles sought to inject new capital into his business to offset the defaults, but he tried to raise fresh money in terms that undermined his existing investors. When some investors sought to withdraw their funds in April, they were refused by Mr Coles because of lack of capital.

In the weeks leading up to Mr Coles's death, the company was sued by a number of investors, some of whom alleged fraud, racketeering and breach of fiduciary duty in lawsuits filed at the Arizona Superior Court. At the time, the company denied the allegations. Laura Martini, president of Mortgages Ltd, failed to return calls yesterday. On June 24, three weeks after Mr Coles's death, Mortgages Ltd filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, 45 years after it was founded by Mr Coles's father, Charles.

I'm sure if I were to research this, I'd find that Jim Bunning's voting record does not uphold the words he spoke during his question-and-answer session with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. I listened to this on Bloomberg, and found a short transcript at the Wall Street Journal.

[L]et me say a few words about the GSE bailout plan. When I picked up my newspaper yesterday, I thought I woke up in France. But no, it turns out socialism is alive and well in America. The Treasury Secretary is asking for a blank check to buy as much Fannie and Freddie debt or equity as he wants. The Fed's purchase of Bear Stearns' assets was amateur socialism compared to this.

And he even used the "s" word ... twice!

And they're not fat because they don't eat processed, packaged, sugary, refined foods and garbage beverages disguised as "energy drinks" or "healthy" drinks. From Nikoley comes this bit on oils. Lard is heroic. I love lard, and I love fat. This morning, I had the wicked combination of italian sausage and leftover ruby red rainbow trout for breakfast. And of course, two cups of Kona coffee, with sugar-free caramel syrup, straight from my Barista. And my scale just slipped under 112 lbs. again...

The 9/11 attacks caused an upsurge in demand for flags -- the demand was covered by importing more flags from China. So now lawmakers, who realize they can't possibly enforce a ban on Chinese-made flags, want to prevent those horrifying imports from being flown on federal property. Make another law! Meanwhile, there are state laws popping up that ban non-US-made flags, and fines or jail time are the course of punishment. (See Minnesota.)

I've got an idea ... why can't Congress create a government-owned corporation that is subsidized by taxpayer dollars to manufacture flags in the good old US of A? Congress can, at the touch of a legislative button, ramp up production to meet the needs of the masses each time they are feeling their patriotic oats and buying up the flag supply. Then, by legislative decree, they can expand the manufacturing plants to other states to provide more jobs and secure re-election for congressmen. The government can put unions in the plants and pay unskilled factory workers UAW-like wages. But they can't hire illegals in the plants, because we'd be taking away good-paying American jobs making American flags. And in the case that demand for flags ceases, taxpayers can subsidize these flag manufacturing plants to not produce flags so a surplus isn't created. Or, better yet, the government can use its media outlets to spread propaganda to promote more patriotism and convince the masses that they need to buy flags in order to be good, patriotic citizens. They can even employ celebrities to sell "patriotism" to the masses, like the old savings bond schemes. Next, the government can provide washed-up ex-bureaucrats with good management jobs by paying them big $$$ to run this business. Of course, the business - we'll call it Patriot's Pride - will not be subjected to Sarbanes-Oxley, or any other silly rules. If we're really lucky, some government hack at the top of Patriot's Pride management team will engage in derivatives investing and/or trading and bring in huge profits, and we, the taxpayers, can recoup all of our tax dollars and get massive "rebate" checks from the government (but only if we fall within certain income guidelines, of course). Oh, and don't worry that "the party's over," 'cuz the Fed has our backs and the financial crisis is "contained." And lastly, if Obama is elected, anyone who spends money on those high-quality flags made by Patriot's Pride - flags made by Americans and for Americans - will receive a very American tax credit for said purchases on their tax return.

Competition for flag-making won't be allowed, but we'll all be insured that the finest quality materials and labor will go into each and every flag made by our own Patriot's Pride. Lee Greenwood, you are back in business, baby.

How about it taxpayer?

As a Dolphins fan (shhh, don't tell anyone) who loves the Steelers and their legacy, I've been following this topic with interest for some time, and here's an excellent, excellent (short) commentary in the Wall Street Journal. In the most simple sense, the author explains that:

With the team's value estimated at $700 million or more, the 45% federal death tax rate could put each brother on the hook to the IRS for tens of millions of dollars.

That may be more than they can afford. NFL franchises have appreciated quickly in the past decade, and the more a franchise goes up in value, the greater the challenge for estate planning. While a given brother's share of the team may be worth more than $100 million on paper, that doesn't mean he or his heirs have half again that much in cash to fork over to the IRS.

Government authoritarians have always insisted that the rich get richer without estate taxes, and the middle class and poor only get poorer. But the poor can't get any poorer by not sharing in something that was not their own in the first place. Government social engineers and welfarists intend to redistribute to the waiting masses via taxing a wealthy individual's death, but all they do is open up the sweet pot to those who have the resources to access it - individuals or groups with political power and/or financial clout.

The reality is that family-owned businesses and their living owners - sons and daughters and grandkids - get punished for inheriting and running a business, and oftentimes have to bail out of the business in order to cover the taxes. So then, who are the beneficiaries of these draconian taxes? As the author points out, this oppressive taxation has been good for the rich, especially concerning cash cow media conglomerates and hedge funds.

Of course, the estate tax is also what has forced the sale of so many family-owned local newspapers to the "media giants" that liberals who love the estate tax now deplore. Those rare papers that are still family owned know the death tax is a threat to their longevity. Seattle Times owner Frank Blethen has made the issue a personal crusade as his paper competes with the Hearst-owned Post-Intelligencer (which unsurprisingly favors the estate tax in editorials).

So the rich not only benefit directly from the fire sales of inheritors unable to pay taxes, but they also have the power and money to lobby for the continuance of the government policies that make them wealthier. The author also notes that hedge-fund billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller is sniffing around in Pittsburgh, hoping that he can snatch up the Steelers because the Rooney brothers will be financially unable to maintain ownership of the great team built by their father.

Art Rooney, born and raised in Pennsylvania, spent decades using his wealth to directly benefit his community, his college, and the NFL, but now the "unintended consequences" of the government's social engineering will likely take the team he built away from his family, and put it into the hands of vultures waiting in the wings. The notion of unintended consequences, by the way, is BS. Every action, every power grab, every diktat on the part of government power brokers is fully intended to do what it does: take responsibility, decision-making, wealth, and choice away from the individual and families, and hand it over to chosen recipients so that they can all benefit at the expense of those who are taxed in order to fund the enduring system of corruption and theft. But those who are stolen from don't have the wealth, power, or political position to fight back and keep what is theirs. What they do have is strength in numbers, and the promise of Revolution (think Ron Paul) to take back their lives and their property.

Leave it to The Onion to mimic reality with its usual humor. To tell you just how fantasy-like things have become, on a private email list to which I belong, a financial Austrian (who was not previously aware of The Onion) actually queried the list about this article, asking about whether or not the article was true.

I suppose, five or ten years ago, you would have thought all the recent government hearings and crisis control meetings held by the Feds were episodes of Saturday Night Live. They ain't.

Roads, airports, bridges, fuel -- a good patriot sacrifices his time, his pay, his consumption, his life, so that others can have what he earns....apparently, oppressive tax rates on savings, investments, and earnings just aren't good enough.

This is actually amusing. Here is a version for non-Wall Street Journal subscribers. Steve and Barry's discount clothing chain is an exemplar of a credit bubble-induced failure.

The 276-store chain, regarded just weeks ago as one of America's fastest-growing retailers, now qualifies as one of the industry's most unusual blowups. Its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Wednesday is likely to lead to its liquidation, people involved in the case say.

...The company was relying increasingly on the all-important upfront payments from mall owners, along with periodic bursts of sales from store openings, according to employees and people involved with the bankruptcy.

But when the mall bubble burst and the credit crunch meant empty stores and/or mall owners running out of cash, the cash payments ceased, and Steve and Barry's spun into the pooper. The company's "I want it now" business model failed to produce reliable, long-term revenue streams (or sustainable margins) built on a solid business philosophy, and instead, the company relied on the "party" that was development, consumption, and easy credit. It is an awful company which failed to make profits on its retail face, and the owners didn't have a backup plan when the cash bonanza came to an end.

Here she is again, daring to offend the rest of the media nitwits with her truth-seeking journalism. She writes about the expansion of the FHA homeowner welfare program that will enable more people to qualify for FHA-insured mortgages. Government interventionist policies are only concerned with short-term remedies, especially in an election year where politicians are looking to make quick impressions by pandering to the "poor me/victim" class.

Why should responsible homeowners have to foot the bill for the irresponsible behavior of others in a capitalist system? (No, the folks buying homes they couldn't afford weren't all hoodwinked by mortgage lenders.)

The answer: A higher power has decided that the anticipated future cost -- the risky behavior it encourages tomorrow by rewarding it today -- is less than the more easily measured current cost.

The housing market is a mess. Sales and prices are still falling, competition from distressed sales (of foreclosed properties or short sales by the bank) is mounting, lenders are tightening credit standards and employment is falling. Policy makers have decided that short-term pain is intolerable, especially in an election year, with constituents badgering their representatives to ``do something'' about high gas prices and a lousy economy.

She also quotes Brian Montgomery, U.S. Housing and Urban Development assistant secretary, when he says that "no insurance company can sustain that amount of additional costs year after year and still survive. Unless we take action to mitigate these losses, FHA will soon either have to shut down or rely on appropriations to operate." (Bold emphasis mine.)

Will the government eventually smash free thought and free Internet? Canada has some plans for censorship. Also see this article in the Globe & Mail.

I've been following Fannie closely over the last five years. I am glad that Eric Englund and I wrote this article when we did. We noted the insolvency of Fannie Mae; its inability to file a timely audited financial statement; the accounting scandals; the overwhelming number of "Buy" recommendations from brokerage houses; and its bizarre stock price appreciation.

In listening to the constant chatter about the Fannie-Freddie crisis, one thing struck me as funny -- Bloomberg analysts appeared to be perplexed that both companies are ranked Aaa by the credit-rating oligopoly, yet derivatives traders were trading both at levels that implied a credit rating at least five levels lower.

Credit ratings by the government-granted oligopolists are not the market; trading actions based on actual knowledge and/or informed interpretations of known events are the market. The act of trading credit-default swaps (tied to debt sold by Fannie and Freddie) does not hinge on implied promises on the part of the government. Sure, implied government backing has caused the security prices to be skewed for Fannie and Freddie. But what's happening here is that the market participants, in spite of an implicit government guarantee, are coming to their senses and realizing the insolvency of both Fannie and Freddie.

I also found it amusing to listen to the Big Government Pow-Wow on Bloomberg radio all day Thursday. Federal officials were scrambling to keep the real (bigger) issues under wraps while they were claiming that no real crisis was at hand. Journalists in the media consistently noted that the Feds were scrambling to put together a plan for containing the fallout from a possible financial implosion (a monetary 9/11, if you will), but, they always followed up with the propaganda put forth by the government's publicists, stating "......even though that (the failure of Fannie and Freddie) is highly unlikely to happen." All the fear, the massive coverage, the alarmist reporting, the in-depth analysis of all the what-ifs and what is - yet "it's really unlikely to happen."

Remember that it was only a year ago when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the subprime fallout was "contained," due to the real growth in the economy. Lastly, there's Jim Cramer on the Fed's role in containing the mess: "the Fed has got your back."