Bizzy’s AM Coffee Biz-Econ-Life Links (061906)

Free Links:

• The European Union is giving itself until the end of 2008 to resolve the problems with its proposed constitution that are causing it to fail in ratification votes in country after country. Given that many member countries don’t want an insulated, unaccountable superstate lording over them, I don’t expect that another two years will change people’s minds, and hope I’m right.
• I don’t want to see this rumored lawsuit win, but it would be cool to see it get filed just to see the reaction (HT Overlawyered) — “Barbra Streisand’s emergence from “retirement” has set off a buzz among longtime Streisand fans, who say they paid exorbitant amounts of money for her last “retirement” tour and may file a class-action suit against the legend for tricking them into thinking they were seeing her for the final time.” If I thought these kind of suits had merit (which I don’t), the people to really go after would be serial retirers like Elton John, or Sinatra when he was alive.
• Oh, is that all — “(Fannie Mae executives) Mudd and Ashley said they are in the midst of a total overhaul of the mortgage giant, which has pledged to complete by year’s end the SEC-ordered restatement of its earnings back to 2001. The anticipated $11 billion correction would be one of the largest restatements in U.S. corporate history.” Any other company doing this would have been put out of business by the SEC or the class-action lawyers by now.
• More ho-hum economic news:
  

  $5 billion coal plant to add 900 jobs to state

  BATON ROUGE - Gov. Kathleen Blanco on Thursday announced Synfuel Inc. is proposing to invest $5 billion in a new coal gasification plant south of Baton Rouge that will convert Northwest Louisiana lignite into other energy to fuel petrochemical plants.
  The plant, which has several sites under option near Geissmer on the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish, would generate 900 permanent jobs paying $55,000 to $65,000 in direct salary, before benefits.

• Reinforcing a previous BizzyBlog post (”This Swedish Model Is, on Balance, Not Attractive”) about Sweden’s stagnant social welfare state — Investors Business Daily weighs in:
  

  Sweden’s slope became most slippery from 1960 to 1980, when public spending increased from 31% of the economy to 60% in order to keep the Swedes rolling in the government payments they have become dependent on and to fund the bloated public sector.

  That was deadly to the private sector and contributed to an economic erosion, the effects of which are still being felt. Once thought to be the promised land, Sweden today ranks about equal with the fifth-poorest U.S. state in per capita income. Likewise, among the wealthy nations that make up the OECD, it slipped from fifth in income in 1970 to 15th in 2004.

  There’s not much optimism for a turnaround, frankly. ….. as “old attitudes about work and entrepreneurship” fade and dependence on the public sector grows, the country’s once-vibrant economy will continue to fall behind.

  The rot is alarming, not only for Sweden, but also for the U.S. If it’s not careful, the U.S. will take the same well-trod path to stagnation as Sweden. That’s especially true if it doesn’t rein its growth in entitlement spending, bureaucracy and regulations.

• Nobody is safe from the food police –
  

  Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) may be next on the target list of a consumer-health group that this week sued the operator of the KFC fried chicken restaurant chain for frying foods in oils high in harmful trans fat.

  The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it is planning to campaign against the global cafe chain because of the increased risk of obesity, heart disease and cancer associated with high-calorie, high-fat products it sells.

• I mean, NOBODY is safe from the food police (HT Interested-Participant) –
  

  Students in Forsyth County may be unable to bring homemade cookies to share with their friends in school if the county school board establishes a wellness policy that restricts such goodies.

  ….. Forsyth County appears to be the only metro Atlanta school system considering such a policy for now. Marietta and Fulton County school system officials said they will discuss the idea during the next school year.