The Gallup poll has discovered (HT: Catherine Rampell) that Saturday is the day of the week that consumers spend the most money. In a brilliant policy innovation, President Obama has decreed that from now on, every day of the week will be called Saturday. The ap reports:
“This will not cost the American people a dime,” the President said at a press conference announcing the change. “There are no budgetary costs. The stimulus effects will he huge. Not only will Americans spend more than they did before, but there will be a new demand for calendars. The surge in calendar production will increase employment in the publishing and printing industry. This is a win-win for the American people.”
He also outlined some important psychological benefits:
“No more Monday morning quarterbacking. Every day is a weekend. And no more Sunday night blues for people dreading Monday morning.”
The President also announced that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the 25th Saturday in November.
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If that brilliant parody doesn’t capture the fallacious economic thinking of so many in Washington, and particularly in this administration, then I don’t know what does.
Here here!
Parody? Parody sir? When you are God you can do anything. I believe!
Identifying spurious or highly misleading determinants of economic activity?!?!? It sounds like the President is an Austrian now! Congratulations, you guys!
I was wondering where Daniel’s humorless self was.
So it’s humor if Russ pokes fun at Obama but it’s not humor if I poke back at you guys? Come on – lighten up!
Humorless would be if I took great offense at Russ taking such an irreverent and meanspirited tone to the president. As I thought my two sentences indicated, that wasn’t exactly a huge concern for me
Sorry, Dan. I made the mistake of responding to your comment. I don’t have the patience to take this thread to such a narrow space that it will potentially spill over into the margins. Your word is final as always. Peace!
Haha – what a buzz-kill. It was a joke. But since you passive-aggressively gave me the final word I’ll at least literally take it now and keep you from looking weird complaining about me getting the final word in your own “final word”.And if you respond to THIS post, thereby invalidating your own passive-aggressive statements about the “final word” for a second time, you’re on your own – I won’t rescue you from that one.
“So it’s humor if Russ pokes fun at Obama but it’s not humor if I poke back at you guys? Come on – lighten up!”
Oh, wait, you were making a joke! Hahahahahah! Wow! That was funny! Hahahahahaha! OMG Hahahahahaha!
Dan, you’re a stitch!
Hahahahahahahahaha!
Seriously, you should do standup! Hahahahahahah!
Hahahahahaha!
Kuehn brothers ( both Dan and Evan ) don’t post after 5:30PM ET.
What I’m really not getting about this thread is why there’s such a pile-up, such criticism and disagreement. And all in response to a two-line retort from Daniel, made in the same spirit is the original joke.
I can understand getting into a heated debate and questioning our credibility, experience, etc., in a serious thread on a serious discussion, but what’s the point of doing it here?
Ya’ll strike me as way too high-strung over all of this. Re: sandre’s comment below about us ceasing to post later in the evening… consider the fact that we may be making a genre distinction here, and directing our energies to conversations that didn’t start as jokes and end as a big awkward kerfuffles.
This is sadly close to the real argument made for Daylight Savings Time.
I read this to my wife, and she said,
“This is a joke, right? I wouldn’t put it past him.”
I read this to my wife, and she said,
“This is a joke, right? I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Looks like Seventh-Day Adventists will never get anything done anymore.
No shit, and the Jews will have to go into retirement! LOL!
This is good, but I also like it when Russ pretends he’s an AP editor. I thought I’d try combining the two forms of satire with a jaw-dropping Obama quote I read this morning:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/11/interview-with-the-president-jail-time-for-those-without-health-care-insurance.html
“I think the [basic] general broad principle is simply that people who are paying for their health insurance [suckers] aren’t subsidizing folks who simply [respond to gov't interference in the marketplace and] choose not to until they get sick and then suddenly they expect free health insurance [and by insurance, I mean the new official U.S. Government definition of the word: taxpayer-subsidized, prepaid health care]. That’s — that’s basic concept of responsibility that I think most Americans [will have no choice, but to] abide by,” Mr. Obama said, “penalties are appropriate for people [such as illegals, welfare queens, medicare recipients, rent-seeking special interests, only if they all choose not to "play ball" and contribute in some way to my party] who try to free ride the system and force others [healthy, productive, responsible, honest taxpayers (aka suckers who have been falling for our schemes since WWI)] to pay for their health insurance.”
C’mon, you know that’s going through his head while he’s saying it!
Has anyone read Amity Shlaes’ piece in Bloomberg today?
No mention of Russ, just Don. Overall it was a decent piece. I don’t agree with her that Hayek was ever “lost.” He was hiding behind the couch the whole time!
Very nice background on Hayek. Makes Don B that much more interesting. I see I have no original thoughts on how government will jump into vacuums of fear either. Hayekian it is.
This would also solve the crisis noted by the point-haired boss of Dilbert fame: 40% of sick leave is taken on Monday or Friday! Now, all sick leave would be taken on Saturday.
As long as we’re at it, why not enact a minimum wage.
That way the government can set the bottom price that anyone will be paid and will eradicate the problem of poverty in one fell swoop!
Don’t give up your day job R.R.
Russ could you make sure the Saturdays involved are during the NHL’s season!
Russ could you make sure the Saturdays involved are during the NHL’s season! I wouldn’t want to miss hockey.
I’d rather have more Sundays. More Sundays, mean more football.
Hm…Jim Morrissey said every day was like Sunday.
Finally some innovation coming from the Obama White House!
Does this mean the Monday holiday rule will be changed to the Saturday holiday rule? Every day will be like Mardis Gras!
Surely someone has come up with a sociological law whereby a movement that is unable to use humor against others except in a rhetorically serious sense or unable to find humor in itself is most likely on the decline.
Oh my gosh! I didn’t know there were two! I popped over to their blog and threw up a little in my mouth when I saw their smirky faces together.
I’m feeling a little sick now.
They only reply to posts while at work, I see.
OMG, you mean like the Roman Empire thingy, Evan?
Someone please check and find out if Obama has recently bought a fiddle.
Surely someone has come up with a pathosociosobrietical law that says that two brothers who aren’t old enough to muster a single experience between them can comment so authoritively on so many subjects….with authority no less, and in an authoritive manner.
I am for 6 Saturdays a week because I want to spend more to do more for my country!
Oh dear. I’m not claiming any authority here. Daniel is the one with more experience and training. I pop in when he sends me a link to an interesting conversation. I think you’ll find that my comments are, while overtly partisan in Daniel’s favor, merely rhetorical spice and nothing claiming any sort of authority.
In any case, this post was satire. I don’t see what authority or experience has to do with the current situation.
They’re on to us!
In our defense, we need to build up all that valuable life experience and authority in our off-hours.
Actually, in MY defense, I’m not an economist and when I’m not here it’s because I’m visiting more interesting blogs in my own fields.
Thanks for stopping by the blog. Do feel free to comment, we welcome the conversation– even critical (so long as it’s to the point and well justified).
And this time, by “interesting conversation”, he means me saying “look at this Evan – you wouldn’t believe what they’re getting melodramatic about this time”.
Evan – for your enlightenment, they all have different schticks. Vidyohs’s is that he’s older than everybody else so he is much wiser and therefore able to dismiss everyone because of their inexperience.
No! No! No! You young pup.Only older and wiser than you.
You are the one that transports that one into the “everyone else” category.
But, it is true that from my VHVP most here are older and wiser than you.
Now, put your hand down, you’re cute and you’ve been recognized.
Given the treacherous business of blog conversations with folks one doesn’t tend to know from Adam, my general rule of thumb is to not take “I’m older and wiser than you” as an argument, but rather to look for justifications, links to documents and data, and sustained on-topic criticisms.
The fact that you’ve claimed to be older and wiser is duly noted, vidyohs. But it doesn’t constitute an argument in itself against anyone’s position on anything.
Why of course you are right. However you also have to take into consideration as to how one is perceived in the general flow of comments.
I thereby rest my case vis-a-vis Duplicitous Kuehn aka DK, aka Disingenuous Kuehn, if you want to be considered as a re-run of the original DK, be my guest. you have a tough audience here.