This is a transcript of the Freakonomics Radio podcast “Why America’s Economic Growth May Be (Shh!) Over.”
Kai RYSSDAL: It’s that’s moment every couple of weeks, we talk to Stephen Dubner. He is the co-author of the books and blog of the same name. It is the hidden side of everything. Dubner, welcome back, man. I missed ya.
Stephen J. DUBNER: I missed you, too, Kai. Thanks for having me. I’m guessing you’re going to be in front of your TV tonight for the debate?
RYSSDAL: I am, yes. Of course I am. In point of fact, also live tweeting and it’s on marketplace.org. So, if you’re lonely, you know where you can go.
DUBNER: Very good. You know the focus of this first presidential debate as you know is domestic policy. So I am assuming we’re going to hear an awful lot about the economy. Yes?
RYSSDAL: One would certainly hope, right? That’s what we’re waiting for – for these two men, who want to be the most powerful man in the world, to help us fix the American economy, right?
DUBNER: So, Kai, let me say two things about this. The first, which I have said on your program before — and will probably say again – is that the U.S. President has much less influence over the economy than we actually think.
RYSSDAL: Yeah, but we have to pretend. Right? Come on.
DUBNER: We have to pretend. My second point is actually more heretical than that. My second point is this: There are people out in the world, who will argue with you that that the Great Age of American Economic Growth is … just … over. Here’s Robert Gordon, an economist at Northwestern:
Robert J. GORDON: We had a century of relatively rapid productivity growth between, say, 1870 and 1970. And then it slowed down. And a major puzzle for the economics profession was to figure out: why did it slow down?
RYSSDAL: OK. A) Did they figure it out? And B) what about computers and automation and technology and increased productivity? Hello?
DUBNER: Excellent question. So here’s the way Robert Gordon explains it. There have been three Industrial Revolutions over the past couple of centuries. The first one was steam power and railroads.
RYSSDAL: Yeah, that was the Industrial Revolution.
DUBNER: That was a big one. But the second one, that we’re most thankful for, included electricity, the internal combustion engine and the fuels to run it; clean water. And his argument is that the computer revolution is just not as potent as the ones that came before it.
RYSSDAL: Hello! Has this man never heard of the iPhone? That changed my life, and there are people who will be amazed to hear me say that.
DUBNER: I’m glad it changed your life. It has changed my life, too. But his argument is this: what a lot of technology does is make things that already existed more portable and more flexible – our entertainment, our communication. Obviously, we’re all thankful for that, but when you compare that to things like mass transportation and electricity, heating and air conditioning, the computer era does not produce those kind of gains.
RYSSDAL: OK, so not to get all downer on you here, but if the iPhone and all that it represents is what we have now to propel us forward, are we fundamentally doomed?
DUBNER: No. And nobody’s saying that. What you are starting to hear, is that America’s Golden Age of Growth may have been exactly that – a Golden Age. Which, by its nature, cannot last forever. OK? Tyler Cowen, an economist that you’ve had on this program before, has coined a name for the current U.S. economy. He calls it “The Great Stagnation.” That said, Cowen is a big believer that new technology — artificial intelligence, for instance — will lead to further growth. He thinks that Robert Gordon’s prediction therefore is probably a little bit too grim:
Tyler COWEN: I think our ability to forecast future growth has never been all that great. So, about the future I’m actually fairly optimistic.
RYSSDAL: Which is great. But what if, Dubner, right? What if Gordon’s right? And what if you’re right? And the greatest growth is behind us?
DUBNER: Well, look — it may be. Again, these are predictions. And you know how I feel about predictions – they’re mostly worthless. It may be, however, time to start thinking about the U.S. economy not so much in terms of never-ending growth, which we’ve been trained to do. But in terms of a different word – which is sustainability, essentially. Which isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world.
RYSSDAL: And of course that’s what we’re going to hear the president and Governor Romney talking about tonight, right? Not about growth at all?
DUBNER: Are you kidding me? No. First of all, they both need to preserve this fiction that the President controls the economy. But, beyond that, to get on TV and say, “My fellow Americans, our Great Age of Growth was wonderful. And it’s over; welcome to the new Season of Sustainability.” I do not see that as a big vote-getter. They will do what politicians always do — they will promise a bigger and brighter economic future. Because if there’s one thing politicians are really good at, it’s making promises that they have absolutely no ability to keep.
RYSSDAL: Stephen Dubner. Freakonomics.com is the web site. We will talk to you again in a couple of weeks.
This is a transcript of the Freakonomics Radio podcast “Why America’s Economic Growth May Be (Shh!) Over.”
Sex tips can help good girls go naughty and your man will LOVE it! Are you bad enough to try these kinky sex tips?
Every good girl knows that bad girls have the best sex ever. Every man loves a bad girl, just like girls love bad boys. But the reality of being with one or being one isn’t as good as the fantasy. So if you’re a good girl, what can you take from bad girls to spice up your life? I’ve got some bad girl only sex moves, but can you handle them? Are you ready to get that naughty?
So many times men have to make the first move. And while many men enjoy being dominant and taking charge, there is definitely a downside to this as well. It makes men feel like they are in a position to beg or be rejected. If he makes a move and you’re not into it for any reason, he’ll be depressed, hurt, angry, confused, or just feel plain unappreciated.
Now you can see why making the first move can get old for men. Every guy secretly wants a woman to not only initiate sex, but demand it. Nothing’s hotter to a guy than a woman who says “we are having sex. Right here, right now. Don’t say no.” That’s just plain hot, and it makes men feel wanted, which is just as important to us as it is to you, we just may not say it or even be aware of it, but it’s true. Take him, often. The more you randomly screw your man like a bad girl would, the more he’ll be your man forever or for as long as you want.
Bad girls don’t expect the man to give them an orgasm. They take it. They just happen to use him as a human dildo. The man is simply along for the ride. She’s just using him for sex.
This is pretty awesome for the guy too. So many men feel so much pressure from women to produce sexually. It’s like they just disrobe, lay there naked and say “okay, begin dispensing the multiple orgasms!” Last time I checked, it takes two to tango.
A bad girl doesn’t depend on a man for great sex. She knows she’s an amazing lover. She is so good at sex, porn stars come to her for sex advice. Since she is capable of performing sexually at such a high level, she does so. Always. And not only does she fuck like a rock star, she demands that her partner do so as well. She brings her lover or lovers up to her high level of sexual performance. Not only does that make sure she is way more likely to have intense, incredible orgasms, it makes sure her men become putty in her hands, mouth, vagina or anus.
Ever meet a bad girl? Ever see her when she isn’t turned on? No. A bad girl is hornier than a teenager on Viagra. Now, I understand you might not always be sexually aroused, but you should always be sexually aroused around him. Don’t depend on him to make you feel sexy. Make yourself feel sexy. Wear sexy underwear (or don’t wear any at all), masturbate at work. Look at porn, read erotica, do whatever it takes to get to feeling sexy and stay there.
Bad girls are down with having sex anywhere, any place, any time. Bathroom stalls, backseats, department store dressing rooms, office break rooms, you name it. Take a page from their location book. Screw places you only would if you knew you wouldn’t get caught or if you were on vacation and didn’t care. Screw like teenagers. Be loud. Talk dirty, leaving no stone unturned and put everything on the table.
Bad girls have no qualms about their bodies. They are comfortable in their own skin yes, but they love using sex toys on themselves and on their partners. They love to dress up in sexy costumes. They’re all about the role play. They love to live out their deepest, darkest, wildest sex fantasies.
Bad girls have no issue about anything. IF they like to have anal sex, they live to have anal sex. They will have sex with women if they choose, have ten lovers in one day if they feel like it, and they will enjoy every second of it.
You can’t do any of that if you are sexually repressed or inhibited in any way. If you are, a guy will pick up on it in a second, and that’s a huge turn off for us. Now we know that not every woman enjoys giving blowjobs for example, but if you’re not into it, that’s one thing. If you want to, but don’t have the guts to, that’s another.
Directed by Dro Victorious.
Featuring Reesa Renee as his leading lady.
So some 18 million of us in the greater L.A. area can’t be wrong about the famed In-n-Out burger. Food and Wine just named it one of the best burgers in the country. The only “chain” to make the list.
For my daughter and Son-in-law no trip “home” is complete without a trip to In-n-Out. There is much discussion on which version we prefer, I’m a purest and go for the regular cheese burger as does my daughter, the SIL likes it animal style. What’s your preference?
Photo: Via Fashionista
Once upon time, Kelly Osbourne was the Queen of the Feuds, with Christina Aguilera as #1 victim in the burn book. But now, she’s cleaned up her act, dyed her hair purple, and has a new gig on the (E!) runway. One sign of the changing times? Her girl-code loyalty. Not only did she reportedly recently kick Kim Kardashians’s ex-beau Kris out of a bar in L.A., but last night, she also slammed the Kim Kritics while were chatting her up at the Samsung GALAXY Party in NYC, slamming critics who questioned Kardashian's validity in the fashion industry following New York Magazine’s recent article. Squeezed into a sexy little Vivienne Westwood number and accessorized with her signature rinse, Ms. O — true to form — had no problem sharing her words of girl power with us.