We’ve been chatting it up about barter and trade and revolutionary economics lately, so this caught my eye:

The Economics of Free Beer  Read more 

I just lurv the tagline in this post:

Average American Owes Average Chinese $4000

It sums up everything that is problematic about “our” economy. Did you sign a promisary to Yueh T’en-Chih, resident of south side Beijing? I sure didn’t. And yet, you and I will pay, and pay, and pay…and Ms. Yueh is unlikely to see that money, if she’s a Bad Han and reads Chinese blogs.

Seriously, what’s going on here? How did we get to the point where you and I “owe” people on the other side of the planet four grand, and rising? Um, does that include my 3 year old nephew? Cause I’m fairly sure he isn’t legally resposible for any debt yet. We buy him toys without lead, usually made in the US or Yurp.

Sometimes, I just can’t wrap my brain around it- why do people accept this? I’m not trying to be racist and pick on the Chinese, this same sort of post could be made for any of the larger foreign debt-holders who’ve propped up the Bush regime’s irresponsible spending habits these last eight years. Still, I do wonder- what is the breaking point? What will “we” sacrifice, in order to make good on promises made by people who have essentially run this country into the ground…for nothing?  Read more 

I’m not even going to quote any excerpts out of this superb piece from the San Jose Mercury News, (oops, originally WaPo) in large part because people’s eating schedules are often irregular on Sundays and you don’t want to read this either before OR after eating anything you didn’t grow yourself or know who did. Well, okay, I’ll just use the least-nausea-inducing graf I can find:

For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small portion of those products they caught - many of which turned up at U.S. borders again, making a second or third attempt at entry.

Yum! I mean really, wouldn’t you rather eat one of Lambert’s zucchini than this Chinese stuff? Go read the story; the Tale of the Wandering Chickens is enough to send you out into the woods to gather nuts, berries and grubs rather than go to KFC again.  Read more