An inquiry into living…
Jeffrey Sawyer writes [pdf] in S U N Magazine:
Starvation isn’t much of a concern in the West, but beneath the surface, at a very base level, is the fear that one will go hungry. We’re also afraid of losing our homes, our reputations, our loved ones. Ultimately, we fear death. These fears have us act in ways that, over time, burden us to the point where we live either a grave or a superficial life.
from Doc Searls
Sweat Equity is the Best Equity
Mark Cuban has been writing a series of essays on building a business. Today, he talks about sweat equity, and building a business the old fashioned way.
The reality is that for most businesses, they don?t need more cash, they need more brains.
So true….
Big Telco Stifling True Broadband
Dan Gillmor writes about Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg remarks on broadband consolidation at the current D conference.
But he reverted to form, pretty much insisting that Verizon would reserve the right to discriminate on what gets delivered, and at what speed, on the lines and networks it controls.
Residential internet users should, like those in Japan and Korea have much faster broadband connections at attractive prices. Current US dsl and cable options are quite slow compared to what’s readily available in other countries (speeds to 20mbps and beyond vs dsl at 768kbps).
Here’s an economic development issue, if there ever was one. I mentioned this issue to then candidate Jim Doyle some time ago……
The Free & The Unfree
Wired on intellectual property holders and IP outlaws:
On the one side are the intellectual property holders, predominantly citizens of Western nations. They’re squaring off against IP outlaws, who tend to live in developing countries. The propertied class loudly asserts its ownership and control. The insurgents cry for openness and exploit technological loopholes with abandon.
More Patriot Act Abuses
It seems odd to me that the defenders of the PATRIOT act urge us to look at the details of the Act and stop viewing it as Federal law enforcement’s ticket to do essentially whatever law enforcement wants, without procedural safeguards.
When you get into the trenches and watch how they are actually using PATRIOT, however, it becomes pretty clear that law enfocement has interpreted it as their ticket to do whatever they want.
Bio 2004
Bio 2004 is underway in San Francisco. Wisconsin, like many other states/government bodies, has a pavilion.
The exhibitor list is here. This list, with numerous government bodies illustrates the great temptation that states provide narrowly focused tax incentives, as discussed here recently.
In the end, these conferences can suffer from “increasing returns“, because the Kansas Biosciences Association, among many others are exhibiting (in the Kansas Pavilion), so too must the Illinois Farm Bureau, and many, many others.
The “Seamy Side” of State Tax Incentives
TaxProf points to a “brazen” Powerpoint (!) presentation by Big 4 Accounting firm Ernst & Young: Turning Your State Government Relations Department from a Money Pit into a Cash Cow.
Property Tax Assessments Going Down? – Silicon Valley
Kelly Zito writes that:
The Santa Clara County assessor has slashed the values of about 1, 200 office and industrial buildings by about $8 billion, further underscoring Silicon Valley’s protracted high-tech slump.
County officials boosted assessed values of about 9,500 homes and condos that had been cut last year, but more than 23,000 residential properties continued to receive reductions totaling about $1.7 billion, they said Thursday.
Madison’s property values have risen for years. Someday, there will be an adjustment, which will be painful for its tax base.
Hackworth on Consequence Day
Highly Decorated Army Vet and writer David Hackworth, pens his weekly column on the subject of Consequence Day.