Here is a little light entertainment for your weekend.

While I am at it, I suppose I might as well include this cartoon sent to me by RichardH.

There is a lengthy description and praise for the book in the article America Beyond Capitalism: An “Evolutionary Reconstruction” of the System Is Necessary and Possible .

This is the first chapter in an exclusive Truthout series from political economist and author Gar Alperovitz. We will be publishing weekly installments of the new edition of “America Beyond Capitalism,” a visionary book, first published in 2005, whose time has come.

I guess it should not have come as a surprise that this article should praise the book’s foresight so much.  This article is written by the book’s author.  Nevertheless, it does offer insights into some tantalizing ideas for an “Evolutionary Reconstruction.”

Just keep in mind that no human enterprise is without problems.  As this new structure evolves, issues will arise and solutions will need to be found.  The lessons we learned from monocropping should teach us that we always need to have several alternative methods in operation so that we can adapt to changing circumstances.

The Real News has the story Gar Alperovitz: When it comes to banking and other critical sectors, public ownership is the only solution.

According to Gar Alperovitz, there was a time when even the most conservative economists in the Chicago School (where Milton Friedman later rose to infamy) advocated this approach.

The Elizabeth Warren campaign is holding an Ice Cream Social on Sunday, July 15.

Central MA Ice Cream Social

Date and Time:

Jul 15 2012, 2:30 to 4:30 pm

Location:

Teamsters Local 170 Hall
330 Southwest Cutoff, Route 20,
Worcester, MA 01604

Contact:

508-202-5276 centralmass@elizabethwarren.com

Click here to RSVP

However, do not believe the map or the address on the above web page.

Here is where Google thinks the actual address is. We just drove by it today and it is on the left side going east on Route 20.  That is because Google has the even and odd sides reversed.  It also has the location a little misplaced.

View Teamsters Union Local 170 in a larger map

If you trick Google by giving it the address 361 SW Cutoff, then it will put the pin in the correct place and on the correct side of the road. If you zoom in, where Google tells you United Rentals is, that is where the Teamsters Hall really is. The Teamsters Hall is actually across the street from United Rentals. If you look at the street view and find United Rentals, then swing the view to the other side of the street, you will see the driveway entrance to the Teamsters Local Hall.

View Larger Map

Here is the picture of the driveway entrance. In the background, the brick building is the Teamsters Hall.

The CBS web site has video and transcript for Obama: Romney not necessarily qualified to think about “economy as a whole”.

I feel like I could have written President Obama’s script. This is exactly the point I have been wanting him to make. Knowing how to run even a very large business is quite different from knowing how to run a country with an economy as large as the U.S. economy. Not only are the goals different as the President points out, but the feedback effects that national economic policies (as opposed to corporate policies) have on the economy itself are orders of magnitude larger than anything Romney has even thought about.