Daily Archives: January 9, 2014


The One Crucial Detail That Could Sink Legal Pot in Colorado

Alternet has a very interesting article The One Crucial Detail That Could Sink Legal Pot in Colorado.

Weed may be legal now in Colorado, but one key detail threatens to boost crime, raise costs and sink the business.

In looking through the comments on the article I saw a couple of mentions of this idea already, but what a boost to bitcoin this is.  If nothing else, bitcoin does produce some competition for the government for creation of money.  If the government does not want bitcoin to succeed, then they had better fix the rules they thought they were free to make when there was no competition for creating money.

I wonder if Ron and Rand Paul will use this example as another reason to get rid of the FED?

I wonder what the MMT people and Paul Krugman would have to say about this.

What a case  for the aphorism about politics making for strange bedfellows.


Meet Martha Coakley in Sturbridge on January 26

Martha Coakley, a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, will be coming to Sturbridge on January 26th, 2014.  The house party (not at my house) begins at 7:30PM. This will be a great opportunity to speak to her in person.  This is an opportunity to find out what kind of a person she is without the filter of the media between you and her.   If you are already a Coakley supporter, I am sure  you would not want to miss this event.  If you are not sure if you want to be a supporter, this is an excellent chance to find out what she is  really like.

Another thing to consider, if you live in the area, is our attempt to get candidates to pay attention to us. When we finally manage to get candidates to visit, if they are greeted by a large turnout, then they and the other candidates are more likely to pay continued attention to Sturbridge and the surrounding area.

Since there will be limited space, I want to extend an invitation to you “in person”.  So contact me by email by clicking on the previous link, and I will call you back on the phone with the details of the visit.

If you want to find out more about Martha Coakley before you come to the house party, visit the Coakley campaign website.


Warren and Coburn: Truth in Settlements Act

Naked Capitalism has an article David Dayen: Elizabeth Warren, Tom Coburn Introduce “Naked Capitalism Was Right About the Corruption of Financial Regulators Act” (Not Actually Called That) that discusses the Truth in Settlements Act sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Coburn.

I particularly liked David Dayen’s postscript.

P.S. I asked Warren on the call about something I was tipped to in the Justice Department’s year-end IG report. It appears that after announcing these fines, the MO of the Justice Department is to “take in stride” the fact that they go unpaid:

But securing a financial judgment is not enough. The Department must also use all available tools to recover money owed to it, and it must ensure that the recovered money is wisely spent. In FY 2012, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAO) collected $13.2 billion in criminal and civil actions, more than double the amount collected in FY 2011. However, at the end of FY 2012, an additional $23 billion was owed to the United States, including $18 billion in criminal fines and $5 billion in civil debts.

So I said to Sen. Warren, does your bill include something on the timeliness of payment? Her answer: “This one is about the disclosure. You have identified another problem, and one that’s worth talking about… we’ll see what kind of effect we get from sunlight.”