Akkam’s Razor

• YES WE CARVE | Barack O’Lantern or Jack O’Bama? -
• Can a President Tame the Business Cycle? - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com - Today, Americans save less and earn a lower minimum wage — in real, or inflation-adjusted, terms — than at nearly any other time since 1950. Can voters reasonably expect these and other indicators to change significantly after a new president takes office in January?

• The Real Great Depression - ChronicleReview.com - In fact, the current economic woes look a lot like what my 96-year-old grandmother still calls "the real Great Depression." She pinched pennies in the 1930s, but she says that times were not nearly so bad as the depression her grandparents went through. That crash came in 1873 and lasted more than four years. It looks much more like our current crisis.

A few days ago, I linked to an awesome infographic of the 2007 US Budget.  I sat down with one of my student staff and broke down how budgets are used as political tools by all politicians to garner support and votes.  I also indicated that this sometimes has disastrous effects for average Americans.  So here's an example, based on No Child Left Behind…

Benjamin Franklin once said:

Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. 

DeviantArt via Metafilter.  Project home page and high-resolution original can be found here.