We have had an excellent example this week of why balance of trade and national debt matter. Apparently the US has been pressuring China to allow their currency to float. China's response is basically, knock it off, otherwise we'll dump the $1 trillion in US Treasury Notes we own. Smart move, China, you are catching on to how capitalism works quickly.

Everyone is suddenly concerned about bridge safety after the disaster in Minneapolis last week. This is a tragedy emphasizing what neglected maintenance will do. Neglected maintenance causing safety problems is plenty bad enough--in our pulp and paper mills we lose productivity in a slow, insidious way when we neglect maintenance.

Further concerning the bridge collapse in Minneapolis: I heard one reporter attribute it to our heavier vehicles today, especially SUV's! Give me a break. When that bridge was designed (before the widespread use of computer aided design programs) structural engineers used a factor of safety of 10. It is this kind of junk science that makes some of us (especially me) skeptical every time a scientific matter is discussed in the popular media.