Quotes of the day

... if large oil producers did become much more democratic, the effects on their oil production is unclear. Would they encourage production and refinery of oil by international companies with much expertise at these activities, or would they, as in democratic Mexico and Brazil, reserve oil production and refinery for less efficient government-owned companies? Their oil production might well decline if government enterprises ran the oil industry. Democratic regimes might have a longer time horizon than the replaced autocratic regimes, especially if the latter governments feared being overthrown. Such governments tend to pump out oil (and other natural resources) at a faster pace since they would not expect to collect the oil revenues in the more distant future.--Gary Becker

The participation rate is the comparison of the "labor force," those looking for work or employed, and everyone else. That ratio is currently 64.2 percent seasonally adjusted, and 63.9 percent non-seasonally adjusted, the same level as last month. Both of those percentages are currently running at 27-year lows, meaning the percentage of Americans not working or even trying to join the work force is at a near three-decade high. The last time the participation rate was above 66 percent — the 10-year average — was in August 2008.--Rick Santelli

Republicans argue that President Obama’s original budget is a nonsensical baseline from which to begin since it was never enacted. What you have to do, Republicans say, is start from the current level of spending as represented in the original Continuing Resolution. This is why, House Republicans say, they only claimed to have cut spending by $61 billion, not $100 billion. They say to do otherwise is taking credit for $44 billion in cuts the White House never actually agreed to in any serious negotiation.--Jake Tapper

Our industry has a terrible, terrible reputation. I don’t care how many PR firms we hire. I don’t care how many lobbyists we hire. The only way we’re going to be able to change that is through our philanthropy.--Anthony Scaramucci

... no, I have not yet seen Inside Job. Nor has that film's anointing as the best documentary of the year by the Great and Good of that most rigorous, nonpartisan, and perceptive academy of sociological criticism—known as the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—encouraged me to correct my ignorance. I tend to find exercises led by the Smug and Self-righteous in persuading the Already Convinced and Credulous of something they already believe to be tiresome, tendentious, and not worth my time.--Epicurean Dealmaker

... it is an encouraging sign to finally see NFL players all standing on one side of the line with the owners on the other. Brady, Brees and Manning do not need the union. The union needs them.--Tony Massarroti

I’m one of the few people who went to Washington to get out of politics.--Larry Summers

You’re tweets do not complete me, they completely overwhelm me.--Jon Acuff

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