Here’s a video just released by the Kauffman Foundation covering their economic bloggers conference from earlier this year. While I am one of the people in this video, I think it takes a very good look at the emerging role of economic bloggers in both the media and our culture. It’s also a delight to see such high production values, though I sure need a haircut.
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Bob,
This is a great video. I hope people take the time to watch it. Small business has always lead us out of recessions. This one will be no different.
Have you seen Michael Shedlocks economic blog?
We do not have capitalism. We have a perverted form of capitalism commonly called “socialism”. And lest you think more regulation the answer just ask yourself “why given the myriad rules we have are we having problems. Silly lefties. Its your wack job attempts to regulate everything that have gotten us here.
Good production. Great interviewees. The music is totally obnoxious, though.
S.
You remark that large existing industries ‘deserve to die’. Not to use too ghoulish a metaphor but don’t we need the large companies to feed off (as small entrepreneurial companies)?
When I was marketing for a large manufacturing company I could afford to hire a small shop to do projects for us, and especially since those projects tended to be more speculative, I could afford the higher risk that it might fail. This in some small way allowed entrepreneurial companies to get their feet under them. When I was marketing for a small ‘entrepreneurial company, I found it much harder to try for the more innovative solution (though perhaps that was more my weakness than anything structural).
Bob,
Interesting video – a list of the links to blogs mentioned would be a nice touch.
Who feeding whom? Brad, I think you have confused who is the parasite.
The first half of the video’s discussion about blogging sounds like the social/news counterpart to Eric Raymond’s “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” thesis on software development.
Regarding the second half’s discussion of economics I agree completely with the concept of creative destruction. What I don’t like are the references to establishing policy to promote economic growth. The narrator himself indicated that virtually all growth comes from companies that are less than 5 years old. If you think about that, then at any given time there are thousands of small companies around the country of which only a handful will generate truly transforming products or ideas. Establishing policies that “promote economic growth” leaves one with the impression that the policy makers can predict these winning technologies. I think simply refering to establishing policies that don’t “hinder entrepreneurial endeavours” would be an acknowledgement from the policy makers that they don’t know where the growth is going to come from, therefore they want to ensure that all endeavours have as much of a fighting chance as possible without having to worry about how the regulators are going to hinder them.
Video mentions bloggers have “unique insights” into economy – why ? – just opinions like any other moderately informed person ?
Why would bloggers publish “half-baked” ideas as stated? Just cuz they have to fill their blog ?
Why did these bloggers in video say “no one saw the economic crisis coming”… it was completely known to the folks that were making the money on every mortgage transaction – you cannot give away money to whoever asks for it forever (“But for the time being I will take my hefty share of the transaction and sock it away”…).
Seems like folks with lots of time on their hands. How about “Armchair Economists” ?
You’re way too quick to judge. Most of those folks are either professional or academic economists or people with years of experience in finance. As a group, they’re terrific. By calling them “armchair economists,” all you do is show that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Maybe so, but I think I can pull together an economic opinion just as valid as theirs.
Nobody’s stopping you
That’s what somebody said to Sarah Palin. Look what that bought us: birthers, Russia from the backyard, death panels, and assorted other mental tripe. Some people should just be quiet.
Which companies deserve to die? Those companies that are sucking the life blood out of the economy and/or don’t produce anything of value (except ill gotten gains to themselves).
You’ve described the Financial Services sector of the economy. Oh, you knew that!!
@Bob and @Brad
I am always concerned about the ‘deserves to ..’ in terms of a forced
catharsis. Arguments have been made that the great depression was made
worse, or at least its experience for ordinary people made worse, by an
argument that such a catharsis would cleanse the body economic of
its malaise and (hopefully) return us (more quickly) to normal times.
These arguments fail to consider the large number of ordinary people
who will have their lives, probably undeservedly, possibly permanently,
ruined by such policies. (I will not consider the role of executive decisions
and executive remuneration.)
I do not argue that we must prevent failures, or that people ‘deserve’ a job.
But I would caution that the main point of practical economics should be to
further a sustainable (essentially this implies capitalist) economy that spreads
its benefits as far as possible throughout the population.
The reason they “deserve” to die is because they’re unsustainable.
It is a shame how many companies do not work the numbers and do not do the things needed to keep the business “sustainable.” GM for example.
Then on the other hand there are many products that are mature, make a good profit, but are at the limit of their business growth. There is no more product to be sold, no more costs to cut. From a Wall Street point of view, these are loser investments. Yet they can turn in a consistent profit year after year. Companies discard good, proven money makers because they make their stock seem boring. It is a shame.
What is the biggest investment lesson in the last year? — diversification. Those boring products and services could have kept many companies out of trouble, if they hadn’t dumped them.
Boring – but, I did watch it.
As one of your other repliers mentioned – needs a written down list of the bloggers introduced – and a one sentence description of where they are in the whole scheme of things.
Entrepreneurial Activity stimulation was a more or less common theme. One of the easiest ways to help EA would be to fix the Health Insurance system – disconnect Health Insurance from employment and cut out the oligopoly of Health Insurance companies who are squeezing the life out of EA and America itself.
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[…] ran across this video from the Kaufmann Foundation about economics bloggers. It was an interesting watch so I thought […]
Dmitry Orlov says GM is not worth saving as we have enough cars to last us at least 30 years – see how well Cuba did without introducing any more carbon by making new cars
Cuba doesn’t have snow and road salt. If you go past the snow line in the US, you find lots more old cars than in the rust belt. Cars get junked due to rust than any other reason. No skeleton, no organs, no body.
Imagine America where being an entrepreneur didn’t mean you needed to gamble with your health plan nor your family’s health plan. This is why we need the public option.
Disclosure: I’m a friend of one of the participants in the video and I admire the work she does.
That said, the people in this video attempt to make a case that they never explore fully in its 20 minutes. Economic bloggers, because they’re outside the restrictions of mainstream media influence, stimulate entrepreneurship which will save our economy? How? I’m hoping the conference this video was made about made more substantive connections between assertions, conclusions, and forecasts.
Capitalism certainly isn’t dead. It’s very much alive, funneling enormous quantities of tax revenues into private offshore accounts.
It’s unregulated capitalism that *should* die, because it’s killing the majority of us who don’t have golden parachutes. We need more antitrust laws back on the books, and strictly enforced. Seat belts didn’t destroy Detroit; chasing nothing but short-term profits did.
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I had seen past articles that they have been caught doing the same thing before and of course they promised it would never happen again…. and they lie over and over. It is all propaganda
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Isn’t the 1st commenter telling the truth or what??
Thanks
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This is precisely the type of blog that answers my queries. Data is great and surely understandable. Please go on to write more about this topic.
That said, the people in this video attempt to make a case that they never explore fully in its 20 minutes. Economic bloggers, because they’re outside the restrictions of mainstream media influence, stimulate entrepreneurship which will save our economy? How? I’m hoping the conference this video was made about made more substantive connections between assertions, conclusions, and forecasts.
I like your idea. I suggest to take out for the general discussion.