The Atlantic: Household Debt Shrunk at Fastest Rate on Record in 2009.

“Household debt shrunk by 1.7% in 2009. That might not sound like much, but it’s the largest decline since the Federal Reserve began keeping track in 1946. In fact, it’s the only annual decline in household debt over that period—even in 2008 household debt increased slightly by 0.1%.” That is indeed incredible.

Reuters: Big majority wants Wall Street regulation.

”The findings suggest that 82 percent of Americans want the government to clamp down more strongly on Wall Street excesses, with a particular emphasis on bonus schemes that have rewarded employees at loss-making companies such as American International Group.” I could care less about the bonus schemes ... they’re a drop in the bucket compared to the other ‘excesses.’

The Atlantic: The Fall of the Internet and the Rise of the ‘Splinternet’.

“Today to reach the universe of new mobile browsers, you can’t assume that your audience is using only a laptop to access the same version of your content. So it won’t be enough to have just a magazine website. Instead you’ll need a website and a Kindle App and an iPhone/iPad app and another app for another device that has a distinct audience and requires a specific template.” Some will celebrate this, but all I see is more sour businesspeople getting grouchy over more overhead costs.

CNN: The no-budget diners’ guide.

“Crickets and grasshoppers: First, pluck off the barbed legs, because they can chafe your digestive tract. Then, roast the body for a snack that’s both crunchy and nutritious.” Also, don’t miss the tips on munching your shoes.

Independent.UK: Congratulations on your Oscar (but don’t expect the money to flood in).

“Yet for all their extravagant frocks and jewellery, many of the stars who will toddle up that red carpet tomorrow afternoon have a guilty secret: they are missing out on their traditional share of the industry’s spoils.  A-list actors, who in years gone by could expect to bank anything from $20-$30m [£13.3-£20m] a film, are still waiting for salaries to return to anything like pre-slump levels. Fewer studio movies are being made, and a troubled independent film sector is so far unable to pick up the slack.” From double digit millions to single digit millions? Tough.

NY Times: New Jersey Transit Seeks Higher Fares.

25%?!!! Only linked because I used to buy monthlies from Princeton Junction to NYC. And it cost over $300/month back in the early ‘90’s!  25%.  I feel for ya, Joisians.

Atlantic, McArdle: Toyota Drags Rivals Down With It.

“Toyota is a sort of desperate company right now. So it’s not surprising that they’ve rolled out 0% financing on many of its most popular models.  Nor is it surprising that this has forced American automakers to follow suit.” Too bad they didn’t unlatch the financial coffers earlier. Perhaps their dip wouldn’t have been so precipitous. 

Atlantic, McArdle: Jim Bunning Plays Chicken with Unemployment Benefits.

“If Bunning wants to hold up something, how about finding some useless defense appropriations to complain about?”

The Atlantic: Paying Taxes: So Easy, a Caveman Can Do It.

”What if paying taxes were as easy as paying your credit card statement? That would be ... well, much easier!  And it would be the future if Congress took up Sens. Ron Wyden and Judd Gregg’s new tax reform plan, which in addition to dramatically changing the tax code by eliminating subsidies and tripling the standard deduction, would also give the IRS the ability the send taxpayers a one-page statement to review and sign — just like you get in the mail from your credit card company.”

The Atlantic: The Great Grocery Smackdown.

“In the grocery section of the Raynham supercenter, 45 minutes south of Boston, I had trouble believing I was in a Walmart. [snip] The first thing I saw, McIntosh apples, came from the same local orchard whose apples I’d just seen in the same bags at Whole Foods. The bunched beets were from Muranaka Farm, whose beets I often buy at other markets — but these looked much fresher. The service people I could find (it wasn’t hard) were unfailingly enthusiastic, though I did wonder whether they got let out at night.” In this economy, the grocery that synchs high quality with low price will win out.

I’ll also make a plug for groceries that keep their produce ‘freshened.’ Too many times I walk into Whole Foods to spoiled or rotting veg — or, going off on a tangent, Trader Joe’s to find short-dated meats. [I live 20 minutes outside of town; having to return things ends up being a time-consuming, gas-consuming pain in the arse.]

NY Times: Bernanke Reaffirms ‘Extended Period’ of Low Rates.

“Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, signaled on Wednesday that he did not plan to begin raising interest rates anytime soon, saying the economic recovery would remain halting for months to come.”

CJR: When Government Acts Like Private Industry.

“Calpers was a big part of the notorious Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village purchase, which has the distinction not only of being one of the worst real estate deals of all time, but also one whose business plan was to aggressively dump middle-class tenants out of its apartments and raise rents sharply. Again, this is a government entity doing this, even if not to its own people.” As we know, when governmental bodies get desperate for money, ethics get hidden under a convenient trash bin.

And, Mashable: Google Adds Facebook Pages to Real-time Search. Note on this one, see last paragraph: “Still, Google’s stream doesn’t include public Facebook profiles, something only rival search engine Bingcan access.” Check your privacy settings, kiddies.

Lessons of Failure: Five Pervasive Myths About Older Software Developers.

“Keep your teams a vibrant mix of age and experience–where diversity exists, learning can take place.  But if you’re the person looking to hire someone, don’t write off the dude with the gray hair sitting across from you.  Let go of your age prejudice and see if they can impress you.” Amen, brother.

Atlantic/Business: What You Need to Know About Today’s Credit Card Rule Changes.

“Remember way back last spring when Congress changed the rules that credit card companies must follow? Most of those changes take effect today.”

Reuters: Bad economies in states to worsen: governors.

“What we’re finding out from a fiscal standpoint is that the worst is yet to come.” Oh, that’s cheery.

Salon: Healthcare Reform.

“It won’t take a lot of investigating for members of Congress to see that these outrageous rate increases are common, and that the WellPoint increase in California is nothing more than business as usual for this industry, which values profits far more than the health and well-being of its customers. If everyone who has received a rate increase notice lets their members of Congress know about it, it just might give lawmakers the motivation they need to get reform passed.”

Atlantic, McArdle: Did the Stimulus Save Us?

“Of course, if you listen to someone like Robert Barro, you’d use a multiplier of more like 0.6 or 0.7, implying that the administration has probably so far boosted GDP by maybe $150 billion, or about 1%.  1% is not nothing.  But it’s not the difference between us and a band of desperate Okies hoping that the old Model T will make it all the way to California.” Did a lot for highway repairs, though.  Still not enough.

Atlantic Business: How Afraid Should We Be of the Debt?

“Large deficits should be thought of less like synchronized pantaloon-upkeep and more like a serious pain killer. After major surgery, doctors prescribe Vicodin because otherwise the pain could be unbearable. But the Vicodin supply is limited to a pill bottle, and it doesn’t come with the option to refill infinitely.”

Yahoo Finance: 79.9% interest rate?

“A national bank charging 79.9 percent interest on a credit card is legal — as long as the issuer fully discloses the terms as required by the federal Truth in Lending Act.” The Federal Government should set a limit, and usury such as this should be illegal.

CNet: For ads, social media still a niche buy.

Local firms using Facebook haven’t had a lot of ROI using their ad program. Yet.  (It seems to just about always be ‘yet’, with social media, doesn’t it?)

Chicago Tribune: Glen Ellyn artist plays finders-keepers with his paintings.

“A year and a half ago, Skoff, 32, began to leave his artwork around Chicago for others to take home because he realized how easy it was to ignore his artwork. He was not getting noticed. And now he is.”

SF New Mexican: New studies cast doubt on film incentives.

One of the best things we’ve had going in NM in years, and some fools want to kill it. Here’s the narrow mindset: “So a hairdresser, instead of doing the average New Mexican’s hair, is doing the movie star’s hair, which may be an increase in income, but is not a job created.”

Atlantic/Business: How Information is Actually Getting More Expensive.

“Every year the average American spends $1000 a year on services like cable, Internet and video games. Add another $1000 for cell phone services, writes NYT’s Jenna Wortham, and ‘the average family is spending as much on entertainment over devices as they are on dining out or buying gasoline.’ Actually, $2000 a year to carry the world in your laptop and your phone could be the low end for real tech junkies.” Add the hardware upgrades (new TVs, new cellphones, new computers, new ... whatevers), and you have quite a bit more than that.

Bloomberg: Stocks Drop on Debt Concern; Dollar Falls, Commodities Gain.

”Stocks fell amid concern that some European governments will struggle to fund budget deficits, while industrial metals rallied from last week’s rout and currencies of commodity producers gained.” Start of the double-dip?

NY Times: In a Message to Democrats, Wall St. Sends Cash to G.O.P.

“Just two years after Mr. Obama helped his party pull in record Wall Street contributions — $89 million from the securities and investment business, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics — some of his biggest supporters, like Mr. Dimon, have become the industry’s chief lobbyists against his regulatory agenda. Republicans are rushing to capitalize on what they call Wall Street’s ‘buyer’s remorse’ with the Democrats.”