Typically interest rates get cut during bad economic times, like a recession.  It is a bit of a mystery to me why interest rates are being cut during a “good” economy.  This is classically a recipe for a bubble, such as the real estate bubble that led to the crash of 2008.  So where is the bubble today? The Conversation says: corporate debt.

Why the Fed has no choice but to keep cutting interest rates – if it wants to avoid a financial crisis

I think the ultimate flaw in liberal democracy is a tolerance of intolerance.  This seems a bit slippery but it isn’t really.  Some things shouldn’t be tolerated, no matter how tolerant you want to be.  A good read that goes down this road starting with John Stuart Mill and freedom on speech and ends with today’s modern fascist strongmen around the world (for lack of a better term).  And yes, it is all about the internet and the breakdown of traditional communication channels.  I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but get ready for some rough road ahead.  And as my Mom used to say: don’t believe everything you read.  From the Boston Review:

What John Stuart Mill Got Wrong about Freedom of Speech

One problem with modern web commerce and social media is anonymity which leaves the door open for fake accounts and scammers.  Most platforms don’t seem to mind since it boosts their numbers and perhaps even revenues.  Sites like Ashley Madison took this to an extreme with something like 99% of it’s (female) users being fakes.  Twitter regularly purges millions of fake accounts.  These are mostly harmless (I have never had a use for Twitter myself) but sometimes it can lead to actual rip offs, with the platform not helping, or even abetting the scammers. A long but good one from Vox on AirBnb.

I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

While searching for the person who grifted me in Chicago, I discovered just how easy it is for users of the short-term rental platform to get exploited.