This is interesting. Death & Taxes by wallstats.com is a graph representing Obama’s 2010 Federal Budget request. It contains over 500 programs that get over $200 million annually. Check wallstats.com to get into it. View high resolution

This is interesting. Death & Taxes by wallstats.com is a graph representing Obama’s 2010 Federal Budget request. It contains over 500 programs that get over $200 million annually. Check wallstats.com to get into it.

oh hello bureaucracy Though I have not read the 1,018 pages of the recently proposed House Health Plan, this org chart (prepared by GOP leaders, mind you) seems a bit convoluted!

oh hello bureaucracy

Though I have not read the 1,018 pages of the recently proposed House Health Plan, this org chart (prepared by GOP leaders, mind you) seems a bit convoluted!

Been to the High Line yet? The High Line was constructed in the 1930s to lift freight trains off the streets. It had since been abandoned and was just converted into a park, running from Gansevoort street up to 34th street. Only section 1 is currently open, running from Gansevoort to 20th. And it’s pretty spectacular.

The Economy is Even Worse Than You Think

Best article I read this morning: summary of unemployment and the economy by Mortimer Zuckerman

“It may have made him unpopular in parts of the Obama administration, but Vice President Joe Biden was right when he said a week ago that the administration misread how bad the economy was and how effective the stimulus would be. It was supposed to be about jobs but it wasn’t. The Recovery Act was a single piece of legislation but it included thousands of funding schemes for tens of thousands of projects, and those programs are stuck in the bureaucracy as the government releases the funds with typical inefficiency.”

How the Average US Consumer Spends Their Paycheck. via Visual Economics View high resolution

How the Average US Consumer Spends Their Paycheck. via Visual Economics

Manhattanhenge: A biannual occurrence during which the setting sun aligns with the Manhattan grid. View high resolution

Manhattanhenge: A biannual occurrence during which the setting sun aligns with the Manhattan grid.

i’m a mac

I got my first Apple computer yesterday, and I have to say I am quite impressed by its ease of use. From opening the box itself, to removing the plastic wrapping around the cords, to the welcome screen in twenty languages, to the automatic sync of my information - I get what all the fuss is about. 

the Obama effect

“Nearly 60% of Americans now say that they approve of the way the Supreme Court is doing its job. Before Mr. Obama’s election, Republicans approved and Democrats did not. In June, even though the make-up of the court had not altered, it was the other way around. That’s the Obama effect for you.”

- The Economist (here’s the Gallup poll)

California’s the worst..

..according to Fitch, one of the big three ratings agencies (S&P, Moody’s, & Fitch - the guys that rank businesses based on their ability to pay back loans), who has downgraded the state’s credit rating to a BBB. That’s only two steps above junk status.

California is now the only state with less than an A- rating, ranking it the lowest in the nation. That’s because it has a $26.3 billion budget deficit, they can’t agree on how to fix it, and they started issuing IOUs to pay the state’s bills. You can follow the efforts through Arnie’s twitter, where on July 1 he updated, “Instead of working on budget, the Legislature is about to debate whether cows can keep their tails while we’re in a fiscal crisis.” He was referring to a bill that was passed last week that prevents tail docking on cows. At least they can agree on that.

that’s about $5,200 per taxpayer.. (new interactive graphic from the wsj) View high resolution

that’s about $5,200 per taxpayer.. (new interactive graphic from the wsj)