My friend, Lauren Hillquist, sent me this postcard via email today: 1928 CAR REPAIR MAILER. AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR ADVERTISEMENT IN 1928… SENT ON A PENNY POSTCARD (click on image for full size) He also included this text: May 31, 1927, the…
U.S. Debt, Illustrated
Things, especially things about numbers, and especially things about big numbers, are often very hard to both explain and comprehend. Pictures help a lot. Along those lines, this is the best illustration I’ve seen yet on what the U.S. debt…
U.S. states compared to countries’ GDP and Population
This is an interesting graphic from The Economist magazine. It compares U.S. states’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and population to their closest match among the countries of the world. [swfobj src=”http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/media/2011InfoG/Interactive/US_equivalents_7/main.swf” width=”595″ height=”630″ align=”none” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always”]
How to Reduce Taxes by 40%
There’s a lot of heated political rhetoric about taxes these days, particularly U.S. federal taxes. Some people want to abolish federal taxes. Just about everybody would like to pay less federal taxes. I think it’s safe to say that everyone…
Complexity, its burdens and its risks
I read a good article on the radical re-making of the advertising market today: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/mayhem-on-madison-avenue.html The article referenced a classic post by Clay Shirky that I’d read before, but was worth revisiting: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/04/the-collapse-of-complex-business-models/ Clay, in turn, referenced a book by Joseph…
Facing the Future
I compiled my thoughts on the primary challenges the United States faces in the coming decade, and ways to overcome them, here: http://www.hackneys.com/docs/facingthefuture.pdf The primary focus in this collection is on domestic challenges, although some geopolitical issues are addressed. .
Steph Hits The News Again – Twice In One Day
Steph is in the news again. This time twice in the same day. First, in a story in MSN Money: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/FindDealsOnline/big-discounts-on-little-pleasures.aspx Second, in a story on FoxNews: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/04/16/rv-travel-beginners/ The Fox story included a link to our Travel web site, www.HackneysTravel.com,…
Ranking America
The United States of America enjoys many riches, inherent capabilities and positive attributes, as well as shortcomings, unresolved issues and a converging set of existential threats. The challenge is to be aware of the upsides of the United States without…
A Perfect Storm
“…our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are … testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so…
Ever Bigger Boxes
In the posts Show Me Your Budget and Buying Boxes I addressed the components and priorities of the United States government budget and how we as a nation pay for that budget. What I did not address are the components…