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David from Chicago

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May 16 David from Chicago commented on Morning News: KFC, Pot, Dog Attacks, and Smart Rifles.

@7 Your comment is awesome.

May 16 David from Chicago commented on Morning News: KFC, Pot, Dog Attacks, and Smart Rifles.

"Waltzed"? Would you use that word if six people in Seattle were killed?

Apr 11 David from Chicago commented on "ACCOUNTANTS ARE COWBOYS OF INFORMATION".

@3 In the example, my guess is that the supplies were something like office supplies. As long as you don't use them, they are an asset. After you take them from the supply cabinet and your employees use them up, then they are no longer a future benefit, so you expense them, which means you subtract the amount from whatever profit you make in that period. In fact, I believe you use a temporary account to keep track, discussed on page 2. If the supplies are being turned into something else, then they would still be assets. Their accounting value would go up by the amount of labor you spend on them to turn them into finished goods. Only when you sell them are they expensed as a cost of goods sold. It's cool. Yes, accounting scams occur but most accountants do good important work.

Apr 11 David from Chicago commented on "ACCOUNTANTS ARE COWBOYS OF INFORMATION".

This is cool. I love that Wallace took an accounting class as research for a novel. My interpretation of the cowboys metaphor is that numbers are like cattle. They move around and need tending to. One little thing: Wallace misunderstood or was taught wrong about supplies. They are not balanced by Cash, because Cash is also an Asset. He got it right that they can be balanced by Accounts Payable, of course. My accounting professor drilled into us that Assets are future benefits. Supplies are a future benefit. Cash is a future benefit. I fond accounting to be surprisingly interesting.

Apr 2 David from Chicago commented on Maddow: Republican Party a Mess On Marriage Equality.

A second Republican senator just declared his support for gay marriage. Of course it's not so hard for a Republican from a blue state to do the right thing, but still.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local…

Mar 28 David from Chicago commented on Rethinking the US Economy: Part 3.

I can't really agree with your bottom line here, but I like your thinking. And I like that you're pulling in Becker and Thaler. The way I see it, the economist collaborates with or becomes the social engineer. That is, the tools and knowledge gained from studying economics can be used to help form a more perfect society--but with an understanding of trade-offs and reliance on data. Economists do a lot besides dreaming up asset pricing models.

Mar 28 David from Chicago commented on Morning News: Popes, Privates, and New Pot Clubs.

Missing "for" in first blurb. As is: "a special place in Hell her."

Mar 26 David from Chicago commented on Rethinking the US Economy: Part 2.

I have to say I like the idea that society can somehow provide so much that we no longer have to worry about meeting basic needs. I kind of remember that Star Trek's original series was set in a post-greed society, and it would be nifty if we could get there. I'm skeptical that it actually happened back in the 20th century, though. And 2030 seems a bit optimistic. Nice choice of a cover with Michael Douglas. Mr Greed is Good himself.

Mar 26 David from Chicago commented on Rethinking the US Economy: Part 1.

And now that we have airplanes why do we need aeronautical engineers? Ever heard of Thaler? Levitt? Chicago economists go well beyond Black-Scholes (although Black-Scholes is pretty freakin' cool).

Mar 22 David from Chicago commented on HBO Might One Day Allow Me to Purchase a Subscription to HBO.

I'm with you, but you actually state the good reason the paragraph before you say "There's no good reason." You want to cut out the cable companies and they don't want to be cut out. Right now HBO has made the calculation that getting billions from just a few customers, such as Time Warner and Dish TV, is easier than getting billions from millions of customers.