Java Zen:Thinking Out Loud Monday, 2025.06.30 
It is often said that capitalism—that is, a market economy—is
morally obnoxious because its "trickle-down economics" inevitably creates
inequality of income and wealth. Now it is certainly true that "trickle-down
economics" has that effect. It is also true, however, that if you want economic
growth and greater affluence for all, there is simply no alternative to
"trickle-down economics," which is just another name for growth economics.

The world has yet to see a successful version of "trickle-up economics," an
egalitarian society in which the state ensures that the fruits of economic
growth are universally and equally shared. The trouble with this idea—it
is, of course, the socialist ideal—is that it does not produce those
fruits in the first place. Economic growth is promoted by entrepreneurs and
innovators, whose ambitions, when realized, create inequality. No one with any
knowledge of human nature can expect such people not to want to be relatively
rich, and if they are too long frustrated they will cease to be productive. Nor
can the state substitute for them, because the state simply cannot engage in the
"creative destruction" that is an essential aspect of innovation. The state
cannot and should not be a risk-taking institution, since it is politically
impossible for any state to cope with the inevitable bankruptcies associated
with economic risk taking.

		Irving Kristol, Income Inequality Without Class Conflict, Dec. 18, 1997

2008.06.02

Fire In The Sky

After some relaxing time spend mixing and pouring concrete (Seriously. It’s for a walkway in the back yard.), I was cleaning up the tools when I stopped and noticed a very strange light shining on me. The sun had already set and it was getting dark, or should have been. For a split second, I thought there was a search light pointed directly at me from up above. Turning around revealed a magnificent, brilliant thunderhead rising up in the East, high enough so the crown could catch the sun just beyond the horizon. The reflected light was nothing short of spectacular.

(Click on image for larger picture.)

Monday Morning Columbine

Man Bag…

…New York City style.

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