A Few Good Bloggers

I am a big fan of quality economics bloggers.  You learn what the data really means, you'll get great explanations of economic ideas, and also learned a lot of stuff you never knew existed (which you can then find in the library)!  In addition, the best bloggers are not part of the mainstream media, so you will see a different perspective than you would in mainstream media.

In my opinion, this is what makes a good blocker:

1. Devotion to reason and citing sources and statistics.
2. Original thought pieces rather than linkfests.
3. Intellectual openness and willingness to consider other sides while treating then with respect.


Some of the best bloggers are (Their worldview is in parentheses) :

Naked Capitalism (left)
Zero Hedge (libertarian right)
Noahopinion (status quo)
Mish (libertarian right)
Jesse's Cafe Americain (centrist)

Bitcoin Criticism

Here's a pretty good summary of Bitcoin criticism from Naked Capitalism.

(Having some trouble linking through to the Financial Times article referenced - will get that going soon)

The growing criticism of Bitcoin basically boils down to:

1) Its value fluctuates wildly
2) It is even more opaque than current fiat of money  
3) It is not anonymous -each Bitcoin contains the complete record of every transaction it has ever been involved in! 

CIA World Factbook and Ranked Lists

Ever use the CIA World Factbook?

Look up data like purchasing power parity, growth, per capita GDP, investment, inflation, credit, etc... by individual country or generate lists of rankings.

The link to get rankings is here. Select economy and scroll down.

Films on Demand Database

If you are a visual learner, check out our Films on Demand database....This database features short educational films on a variety of subject, including business related topics.

Business law, management, marketing and technology are just some of your options. Go to the database and choose business and economics by subject.

Bailout: An Inside Account Of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street

This is a chilling tale of how our system favors powerful interests.

Bailout: An Inside Account Of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street

Here's a good review from the Economist:

excerpt:

"Mr Barofsky was asked to serve as the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by the outgoing Bush administration. He was an inspired choice, a tough New York prosecutor who had led fraud cases against futures brokers that hid losses and predatory mortgage lenders. Earlier in his career, Mr Barofsky charged dozens of Colombian Marxist guerrillas, narrowly avoiding assassination in Bogota. But he was not interested in leaving a job he loved to fight turf-obsessed bureaucrats. Mr Barofsky accepted the assignment only after his boss made an earthy appeal to his sense of patriotism: "Who else is going to protect the public from what could be a $700 billion clusterfuck of fraud?"

Indeed, Mr Barofsky reports that no one in the Treasury Department and almost nobody at the Federal Reserve seemed concerned that some might try to exploit the government's largesse. Whenever Mr Barofsky tried to ensure that banks were using TARP funds to make loans--the stated purpose of the programme--he was told that it would be impossible because "all money is green". Yet the bankers themselves had no problem telling journalists how they planned to use the cheap capital to buy competitors or hoard cash for a rainy day. Mr Barofsky's team was able to add safeguards to some of the Treasury's worst ideas only thanks to pressure from Congress and the media."

New Database: Import Genius Tracks Shipments

Import Genius

International trade database providing detailed information on ocean freight shipments entering the United States with names of American importers for almost any product, descriptions of what they're buying and the contact information for their suppliers overseas. Also includes shipping in and out of several Latin American countries and imports into India.

Search by product, country of origin, port, bill of lading and more.

 

Apartment Rents in San Marcos (or elsewhere)

The US Census Factfinder can break down the distribution of monthly apartment rents for you as well by city or zip code. For example, find the distribution of rents in San Marcos here.

You have to scroll down a fair amount of text and then you'll see it.