Author Archive for joeglab
According to the Independent UK, enrollment for science is going up presumably to meet demand for an increasingly technical world.
Results day statistics released by the Joint Council for Qualifications showed physics, biology and chemistry are increasingly popular, and the proportion of students getting higher grades is also rising.
But the academic purists, alas, are left with dwindling populations in their language classrooms.
But today’s figures showed a failure to halt the slide in those choosing to study French and German.
French candidates fell 3.4% to 13,850 and just 5,548 students took German, down 3.7%.
Spanish continued to rise in popularity with candidates up 4% to 7,629, but the rise could not prevent overall modern language entries dropping 2.7% to 34,397 this year, equivalent to around 955 fewer candidates.
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, described it as a "disastrous decline".
Oh, boo-hoo. Maybe a good dose of American-style teacher unionism can cure that. Maybe then those pesky parents will stop trying to influence their own kids to be over-achievers.
I thought this was pretty hot until I read the caption. Shame.
Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010, wears a costume inspired by the Seal of the President of the United States as a tribute to Barack Obama. She apparently drew a basic design, and then Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show designer Martin Izquierdo came up with the final creation. We haven’t heard what Mr Obama thinks of the tribute.
Thanks to Telegraph UK.
That’s right! Your favorite anarcho-capitalist blog is now available for smart phones. Just access libertyguys.org from your iPhone, Android or whatever and you’ll see it in our smart, new small-screen format.
23
Mar
Um, Price Signals, Perhaps?
What are price signals? You may want to get started at Mises.org.
18
Nov
The Miracle of 1955
This is an incredible video. It was produced in 1955 and shows what an economic powerhouse Philadelphia was 10 years after the end of World War II. Entrepreneurs flourished as did everyone in the area who wanted a job. This was a time before taxpayers funded stadiums for billionaire team owners, the welfare state and its myriad fiefdoms that promote it and labor’s powerful stranglehold over commerce. Indeed, the narrator goes on to describe Philadelphia’s bustling port:
“… with less man-hours lost because of labor disputes than any other port in the country.”
Philadelphia, in a time before ruthless politicians destroyed it, was truly an example of what capitalism had to offer. It’s very sad to see what it has become.
26
Aug
Real Women Need Not Apply
Forbes just threw together their list of the World’s Most Powerful Women. It’s amazing what passes for “power” these days.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, who remains in the No. 2 spot, has presided over the orderly takeover of 77 banks so far this year. In fighting for more power for her agency, she has butted heads with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
“Orderly takeover?” Reminds me of the “orderly exterminations” of Jews in Hitler’s Germany. By, hey, as long as it’s orderly. Nice work if you can get it. It’s easy to play fast and loose when you’re dealing with other people’s money. Meanwhile, Forbes apparently weighted their metrics heavily in favor of those who live high atop Mt Olympus far from the rabble of risk-takers and producers.
Michelle Obama in her college days as a race baiter.
This year’s list includes several notable newcomers–from the U.S. and abroad. The recently approved Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor debuts at No. 55. She will be the third woman and the first Hispanic in the top court. First lady Michelle Obama, a champion for working women and the families of the U.S. military, appears at No. 40.
Among the female U.S. Cabinet secretaries, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius rank at No. 51 and No. 57, respectively. Meanwhile, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro (No. 56) is in the midst of a maelstrom, as Congress weighs new regulations of the financial services industry.
In all fairness to Forbes and to the truly powerful women on the list, some of the top 100 worked their way through to the top of the market the old-fashioned way – by producing a product that people actually want and are willing to pay for despite the fact that their present jobs leave them far from untouched by those in Washington who would co-opt their talents for their own personal ends.
Many of my neighbors are just learning that our school district has the esteemed distinction of employing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s most highly-paid school system bureaucrat: Garnet Valley School District Superintendent, Dr Anthony V Costello. I’m sure we’re a long way from getting such non-productive salaries in line with reality but at least we’re seeing the beginnings of the unraveling of this leviathan and it’s secret shroud.
Delaware County Taxpayers Coalition
GVSD Superintendent Compensation
August 13, 2025
This summary was prepared based on the information
provided by GVSD to Tony Santore in a letter dated July 27, 2025
Salary: The Annual Base Salary (ABS) for the 2008/09 fiscal year is $250,519. According to Pa. Dept of Ed, Costello’s salary is $277,022.
Issues:
· ABS for the 2025/10 fiscal year?
· 06/07 increase was 6.6%
· 07/08 increase was 6.6%
· Annual adjustments “used in the GVSD administrative salary plan. What is this plan?
· Option to work 13 days, paid at “per-diem rate for each extra day of work.” Amounts are included when determining Total Compensation
· Supplemental Compensation: What is this? How much has been paid?
Paid Time Off: Consist of holidays, vacation and sick leave days.
Holidays: Same as other twelve-month employees.
Vacation: 27 days per year, plus “one additional vacation day for each year of your service in the GVSD.” Per Pa. Dept of Ed, A. Costello has 17 years in GVSD. Thus, Mr. Costello has 44 days of annual vacation per year. The maximum accumulation is 40 days. At separation or retirement the value of accumulated vacation pay are paid as a nonelective[J1] GVSD contribution into 403(b). The value will be calculated based on ABS plus Supplemental Compensation. At option of Costello, he can transfer up to 10 vacation days to his sick leave bank.
Sick leave days: 12 days per year, unused days are cumulative and may be supplemented by the Board. At separation or retirement the value of accumulated sick leave will be paid as a nonelective GVSD contribution into 403(b).
Benefits: Receives any and all other fringe benefits and incentives scheduled for the GVSD administrative staff.
Disability Benefits: 66% of Total Compensation until age 65 after 61 day elimination period.
Health Benefits: For Costello and spouse health benefits provided by GVSD until death. GVSD pays full cost until 70th birthday. Benefit will be at least equal to plan in last year of employment.
Automobile: Provided a new every 3 years a GVSD owned automobile. GVSD pays insurance, routine maintenance, fuel and required repairs. Auto can be used for professional and personal use.
Deferred Compensation: GVSD has purchased a split dollar life insurance policy for Costello. What is the face amount of the policy and how much is the annual premium?
16
Jul
Great Artwork, Bad Idea
My friend, Don, did this awesome art for a lengthy and biting City Paper article about Chester’s soccer stadium. He here at LG have been early adopters of criticism concerning it on every level and we’re glad to see others are starting to see it for what it is.
The state legislature, though, resisted Rendell’s overtures, with some members arguing that building a soccer stadium with tax money was a bad investment. State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, who represents Chester, pointed out that Chester could use a grocery store more than it could a soccer stadium.
Around this time, the proposal changed. By September, The Team had begun to talk about the stadium as the mere "anchor" of a much larger project that would include retail, office and residential components — worth $300 million of investment in Chester. By January 2008, the project had grown more ambitious still: The investment figure had magically risen to $414 million, and The Team began dangling the ultimate prize: a supermarket.
The use of public money to build stadiums has become commonplace, despite evidence that taxpayers often don’t favor it, and despite a growing body of research by economists that says the stadiums are almost always — if not always — a bum deal.
At its core, we’re seeing Cargo Cult economics. Our Benevolent Overlords think that if they can make a Potemkin Village on a macro level with shiny buildings and enough bread and circuses, it will take root and magically become a viable community. Happy, obedient citizens will walk the streets (or take light rail) all hours of the day or night, stores will be full of shoppers swiping their plastic and dogs will cease to poop.
To you and I, this propped-up, subsidized economy is the definition of failure. However, to the ruling class, once the cardboard checks have been awarded and the booty divided amongst the unions, it is now time to don the flight suits and declare victory. Maybe they’re inhaling too much Viscose. Time to take the bars off the windows (if you are from around here, that last analogy would be really funny!).
