Category Archives: Business

Business, Economics, Political Commentary

Going Galt

11 Comments

He’s probably not the first, and he won’t be the last:

In a subsequent interview with Bloomberg News, Wynn said much of his desire to leave Las Vegas was because of the country’s economic direction set by Obama.

“The governmental policies in the United States of America are a damper, a wet blanket,” Wynn said. “They retard investment; they retard job formation; they retard the creation of a better life for the citizens in spite of the rhetoric of the president.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, speaking at a press conference on banking reform, was asked about Wynn’ comments on Obama’s policies.

“I’m not going to get into a dispute with Mr. Wynn, somebody who has done so much for Las Vegas, but I will say that taxes are at an all-time low. The tax picture he complained about is just not there.”

Even if it were true that taxes are at an “all-time low” (does anyone really believe that?), Wynn’s not as stupid as Harry wants him to be. He, and we, can see the taxes coming down the road as a result of the insane spending.

[Update a few minutes later]

“Millions face tax increases under Dem’s budget plan.”

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space

Simplifying The Job

28 Comments

I’m working on a piece along these lines for PM or PJM, but Jim Oberg beat me to the punch:

The plan to reshape the Orion spaceship as a standby rescue vehicle for station crews has profound implications for the requirements of the commercial taxi and its cost. This strategy means the taxis won’t have to last for six months “parked” in space, like Russia’s Soyuz spaceships. The simplification of the taxi’s mission will allow its hardware to be significantly less expensive to build and to validate.

The crucial systems for the taxis have mostly already been built and are available as off-the-shelf technology — which means the spaceships could be much cheaper, much smaller and much more reliable.

The FUD being spread by defenders of the status quo has been almost palpable, and it’s all unjustified.

[Update a few minutes later]

I should add that I doubt very much if the commercial contractors are going to use the Orion abort system. It’s overkill, in both weight and cost. In fact, for a much lighter vehicle, as a taxi would be, it would probably kill the occupants from the acceleration.

Business, Economics, Humor, Political Commentary

Iceland

19 Comments

Here’s a joke that’s been going around the Intertubes — it was the Icelandic economy’s last wish that its ashes be scattered over the EU.

Speaking of which, here’s some cheery news. There may be a bigger eruption coming.

[Update a while later]

Here are some more. I liked this one:

Iceland goes bankrupt, then it manages to set itself on fire. This has insurance scam written all over it.

Heh.

Business, Political Commentary, Space

Orbital Is On Board

31 Comments

Here’s the release from David Thompson in support of the new policy. Orbital was a loser, in that they were the subcontractor to Lockmart’s Orion contract for the Launch Abort System. If Orion isn’t going to carry crew into space (the new plan is for it to be a return vehicle only), then it doesn’t need one. I guess they’re just sucking it up and hoping that they’ll get a lot more cargo delivery business under the new plan.

Business, Economics

A Bleg For Corporate Accountants

10 Comments

Does anyone out there have any idea how much it costs to do the accounting necessary to complete a corporate return? That is, not the cost of preparing the return per se, but the costs of collecting and maintaining all of the needed data. Does having a corporate income tax impose additional costs on running a corporation that wouldn’t exist in its absence (that is, are some data tracked that the corporation wouldn’t care about in the absence of the need to file a return)? Also, how much do things like depreciation schedules skew capital purchase decisions?