Daily Archives: September 9, 2010

So Fidel Castro himself notes that communism isn’t working so well in Cuba these days. Hard to argue with that.  It is nonetheless interesting that, by some measures, (specifically related to education and health care) Cuba has managed to do quite well for such a small and limited economy.  Here is a list of life-expectancies by country showing that Cuba actually edges out the US.

Having studied economics in university and sensed that a good portion of the theory was tinged with hubris, B.S., and intellectual wankery, it was refreshing to read this article from Todd Hirsch, admitting that, to a certain degree, economists haven’t the foggiest idea about how the economy will react; and that it is rather important to concern ourselves with those who are being left behind.

As time goes on I am increasingly aware of the interplay between psychology and the markets, and how sentiment seems to shift on anything other than a supposedly sound analysis of the fundamentals.

It doesn’t take much analysis to know that our societal “fundamentals” become unsound when the income disparity continues to widen.

On a slightly different note, although there might be more than meets the eye, this has an Orwellian feel to it.