The truth is that the United States doesn't need, and shouldn't have, a debt ceiling. Every other democratic country, with the exception of Denmark, does fine without one. James Surowiecki More Quotes by James Surowiecki More Quotes From James Surowiecki Companies often become victims of their own mythologies. James Surowiecki mythology company victim The business of America shouldn't be subsidizing business. James Surowiecki america Sometimes you have to destroy your business in order to save it. James Surowiecki sometimes order What an economy really wants, after all, is not more investment per se but better investment. It wants capital to flow to companies that will create value - not in the form of a rising stock price but in the form of more goods for less cost, more jobs, and rising wages - by enhancing productivity. James Surowiecki wages cost jobs What corporations fear is the phenomenon now known, rather inelegantly, as 'commoditization.' What the term means is simply the conversion of the market for a given product into a commodity market, which is characterized by declining prices and profit margins, increasing competition, and lowered barriers to entry. James Surowiecki profit-margin competition mean When all is said and done, cheap gas is an illusion, because our reliance on gas creates a whole series of costs that aren't factored in to the pump price - among them congestion, pollution, and increased risk of accidents. James Surowiecki cost risk done You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least if you value your time and money. James Surowiecki buying might thinking The history of the Internet is, in part, a series of opportunities missed. James Surowiecki series internet opportunity The profit motive, indecorous though it may seem, may represent the best chance the poor have to reap some of globalization's benefits. James Surowiecki benefits chance may Moviegoers love the intricacies of a crime all the more when it's for a good cause. James Surowiecki intricacy crime causes Companies, like people, don't much like to change. James Surowiecki company people In part because individual judgement is not accurate enough or consistent enough, cognitive diversity is essential to good decision making. James Surowiecki diversity judgement decision In the struggle between capital and labor, more often than not capital has won, because the real source of value for most companies has historically been the hard assets that they owned and controlled. James Surowiecki assets real struggle Besides great climates and lovely beaches, California and Greece share a fondness for dysfunctional politics and feckless budgeting. James Surowiecki lovely california beach Real politics is messy and morally ambiguous and doesn't make for a compelling thriller. James Surowiecki messy thrillers real The autocracies of the Arab world have been as economically destructive as they've been politically repressive. James Surowiecki autocracy has-beens world The fact that industries wax and wane is a reality of any economic system that wants to remain dynamic and responsive to people's changing tastes. James Surowiecki want reality people The oil market is especially sensitive even to a hint of expansion or contraction in supply. James Surowiecki expansion hints oil The stock market has an insidious effect on C.E.O.s' moods, because of its impact not just on their companies but on their own bank accounts. James Surowiecki bank-accounts impact mood Traditionally, tours were a means of promoting a record. Today, the record promotes the tour. James Surowiecki records today mean
