Went through a site called the Frisky today and came across this interesting article today and it was about the best 30 places to have sex and well I am not sure what is the criteria they use to label "the best" so I took the liberty to give my thoughts on each of the places mentioned!

So lets begin....

1. The zoo - Hell yeah!!! You just can't denie the 'Me Tarzan, You Jane' mentality can you. Just don't do it near underfed wolves,lions and other predators.

2. Behind a waterfall - Might seem romantic at first but if your place is seriously large waterfall like Niagra Falls your just asking for trouble, like getting crush by tons of water type trouble.

3. Work utility closet - Damn unless your talking about a janitor size office room the ones in houses are usually so small and cram......wait a minute I am beginning to see the merit in it. =p

4. Ladies Lounge At Radio City Music Hall - "Yawn"....boring....Zzzzzzz

5. In the woods - As long as its not in a rain forest....the leeches will suck you dry...

6. Police mobile unit - Hahaha sounds kinky!

7. Kitchen (counter, floor, restaurant, against the refrigerator) - Made famous by lots of Hollywood shows and has lost its magic sigh...is pretty much a standard thing now...

8. On your desk at work - Shhh... not when the boss is around....unless he/she is in to it hahahahaha!

9. Public transportation (bus, subway, taxi, water taxi, ferry, trolley) - As long as its not in a bus in Ipoh. God those are death traps waiting to happen.

10. On the floor - Another yawn fest...

11. 11. On a grand piano (a la Pretty Woman) - And I might High School Musical 2 gave little hints about this as well especially when Zac lied down on the piano and singing a threesome song "Na Na Na Na Na You Are The Music In Me" LMAO...

12. On a roof - Wow its like on the floor but higher up...

13. Playground (note: not when kids are around, please!) - Ahhhh nothing beats getting it down in brightly colored plastic wonderland...extra points if the playground in mention is at a McDonalds.

14. On a boat/dingy/catamaran - Definitely not especially if your in the middle of a sun burnt exposed ocean in shark infested waters..

15. Golf course at night - I prefer a mini golf course...

16. In a room with mirrors - Nuff said

17. In an airplane restroom - Damn no wonder half time the air plane restroom is 'OCCUPIED'

18. On the beach - NOT RECOMMENDED due to four words "Sand in your bum"

19. On a bear skin rug (bonus: in front of a roaring fire) - It is a must in snowy winter lodge hahahaha!

20. In a tent - Cheap,simple and kinky

21. In your childhood bedroom - with your childhood sweetheart/crush =P

22. In a body of water (river, lake, creek, ocean, puddle) - Once again as long as its not shark infested or piranha infested and more importantly not in a protected pristine marine waters, water pollution is abig problem still......Save the ocean people!!

23. On the hood of a car - you gotta wash your car before and AFTER...

24. In a department store dressing room - Ladies would love to have it in the perfume department...

25. In an elevator - Now how is that discrete...

26. On a staircase - Ouch the back pain...and a few broken ribs...

27. On top of the washing machine while it’s running - 'Facepalm'.... i can never look at my washing machine again....

28. Bar bathroom - Ewww ever been to bar bathroom, it stinks and full of hangovers 'leftovers'

29. In your parent’s bed - 'Shock'!!!!!! I am now mentality scarred......jumps over a bridge.....X_X

30. In a field at sunset (bonus: a corn field or on a barrel of hay) - Awww sounds so corny....reminds of the show "A farmers wants a wife"..

*The article above is meant to be humorous and is not meant to be offensive. And no the author is not a self proclaim sex guru. =P

The faces of the various people layoff in Melbourne due to Pacific Brands scaling
back its operations in Australia. Picture courtesy of SMH.com.au

Pacific brands the scion of the Australian textile industry and the maker of a dozen iconic Australian and global garment brands such as King Gee, Bonds, Holeproof, Playtex, Wrangler, Hard Yakka, Slazenger, Sheridan Sheets, Hush Puppies and Julius Marlow has virtually dried up overnight in the troubled economic seas of Australia.

Directly more than 1800 jobs have been disappeared and indirectly many more jobs that depends on Pacific Brand for its work such as textile contractors are all standing on knife age. It is really a sad day for the Australian textile industry and its workers. In this tough economic times many more jobs seem likely to disappear. I really feel sad for the dozen of workers that lost their jobs and hope that they will weather the current economic storm. Also at the same time I am now wondering how a company that claims to produce 100% Australian made garments can now claim to be Australian at all when their manufacturing base has move to Asia.

However despite the difficulties face by the Australian economy, we should all examine the root of the problem and by doing that we can just summaries the fact that the Australian textile industry is not that viable within the borders of Australia. The current economic slowdown clearly reveals that textile manufacturing in Australia just can't compete with cheaper countries in Asia.

The facts says it all:

1. Weaker dollar myth - Despite the current weakness in the Australian dollar that is touted has made its products 40% cheaper, it is still not as cheap if one compares it relatively to other similar products manufactured in Asia specifically China.

2. Operating Costs - Even right now manufacturers in China has become very competitive and many layoffs has occurred. Many factories in China has either shut down or working at less than half capacity. So seriously if all this is happening in a "cheap" region of China, what chance does Australia really have in this department.

3. Market Dominance - The Australian market for garments is heavily dominated by either large garment shops or the supermarkets themselves. This scenario of market dominance of Coles, Woolworths, Target, etc makes the distribution of textile products in Australia very narrow and to centralized. Without a large number of independent outlets selling and marketing Australian made textile products, the consumers will be force to head to the large chains for their shirts,socks,underwear and other garments, essentially making the market very uncompetitive. Also the notion of putting all our eggs in one basket comes to mind.

4. Atmosphere of No confidence - Right now the general consumer is living in an environment where they have no confidence in the state of the economy. This in turn forces them consciously to spend less and only on very essential items such as food. many are resorting to keeping their old garments during this time of economic uncertainty.

5. Cheaper imports - Once again the contentious issue of cheaper imports is contributing factor in the abysmal state of the Australian textile industry. Cheaper products from Aisa, Africa even South America are going to be a lot cheaper and in turn consumers around the world will be more incline to purchase such products. Tough economic times = buying cheaper products, who can really blame them?

The outlook for the Australian economy may not be as bleak as the rest of the world but lets face it its textile industry is. All I can do right now is hope and pray for the thousands of workers affected by this crisis and wish that the silver lining will show itself soon.

The article above is written by Daniel Lim and it is his reflection and opinion on the state of the Australian textile industry. The author takes no responsibility for any loss that results from the article above, after all this article is base on the opinion of a 1st year undergraduate commerce student who wrote this article base on his opinion and the reading of various articles around the internet.

By now everybody has felt the financial repercussions of the economic slowdown has hit virtually every economy in the world. From the glorified companies on Wall Street to the financial capitals of Europe to the poor families on the streets. Everyone is facing hard and difficult times financially

In relation to this many of us are wondering how did this mess begin in the first place and more often then not the usual answer was GREED. Yes a human emotion of wants and needs is cited as THE cause for the crisis that we face today. A very simple answer for a very complicated problem which I still find it hard to believe or to even comprehend. After all it is very hard to comprehend how the vague concept of human greed can effect us all financially. However on a closer look on how greed affects the ACTIONS of individual's and companies, it is not such a far fetched idea after all. I do not claim to be an expert on how the the global economy work nor I claim that I am all knowing about the fundamental economic forces that govern the financial system of countries around the world. I however would like to give my two cents on what the green eye monster role in this mess.


1. Mortage lenders - Mortage lenders in the past and especially in the United States were being greedy and will willingly give out mortages to people that did not have the ability to pay back those loans that they use to pay for their property. To make thing worse the lenders charge high interest rates despite knowing that their clients can't pay for the loan consoling themselves with the fact if their clients can't pay for the loan they could just reposes the house or property. So basically the greed of mortage lenders lead to many people live in homes that they could never afford to live the first place and the seeds of the financial crisis were sown.


2. Complicated Financial Instruments - My uncle once jokingly said that in todays economic crsis is all caused to due to the MBA guys in Havard creating absurdly complicated fianancial instruments. He also add that finace industry today is a lot more mind bogling compared to the industry in 1980's etc. In a way it made a lot of sense, the "MBA guys in Havard" or any of the so call fiancial gurus, had been using complicated financial instruments base on speculative concept of paper money. After all at that time when they implement their financial acuemen during the years lead up to 2008, it seem that they were doing miracles. A $1000 investment can be easily turn in to $1 000 000 investment. All of this is done without any viable leverage. In affect when the first sign of an economic meltdown was spotted their mutimillion investments quickly evaporated back to their $1000 start up cost. Another case of greed in a fragile speculative environment.



3. Incompetent but greedy industry leaders - When the leaders of some of the biggest car companies in the US came to the senate to plead for a financial bailout for their precious car industry, they did it brazenly with personal jets and large private cars. That was just a glimpse of the greed that affects their woeful decision that lead up to the crisis. The culture of greed is not only limited to them as other such leaders from across all sectors and around the world are also at fault for falling to the green eye monster. After when CEO's are paid with multimillion dollars salaries we would expect some kind of results from them and not going to governments to ask for a bailout when they still maintain their culture of excessive of spending. Why should we reward people for failure?

In conclusion the causes stated above are all cause to the same underlying problem of greed or more specifically the actions cause by greed. The greed for money can be very addictive and dangerous indeed.

Weird isn't it that such a topic can ever come out in our lifetime. Pregnancy use to the realm of between two young adults,their medical practitioner ie. doctors,midwives,shamans,etc and their family. But with the advent of increase in teenage pregnancy where young girls and even younger boys becoming parents is well...DISTURBING!

Which brings me to the question that I saw being discuss on Dr Phil (man I love his shows) should maternity leave be given to school children?

Such a question has cause many people to feel uncomfortable with such a contentious issue. After all when you start hearing doctors,parents,priest,pastors,community advisers and teachers having different opinions on what initially seem like a very simple question, you know that this is one of those questions where there is no clearly drawn line between right and wrong. It will be very hard for any of us to say which is more important: the education of the young mother or the maternal bonds between a mother and a child.

Well my answer to this is a resounding 'YES' and here are my reasons:

1. Base on my knowledge on biology of pregnancy, a woman that has just given birth would often need some time to fully recover from pregnancy especially if it is their her first child and more so if the mother to be is too old or to young. After all a dilation of ten centimeters or more to me sounds incredible painful (I rather die man) despite what the medical doctors talk about how chemicals in the body such as estrogen help elevate the pain.

Excuse me as I take a moment to recover from my dizziness >_< style="font-weight: bold;">should be given by schools to young mothers and on the mother part thy must be willing to pick up the slack in school after giving birth.

However I would always advise other teenagers and younger kids to NEVER become pregnant at such a tender age, for heaven sakes they can't even support their child on their own yet! But once the deed is done the parents (now instant grandparents),the schools and the community should do their best to give their support,encouragement and love to the young parents. After all isn't that what all mother regardless of age should receive?

So if any of you guys have your own opinion on this issue leave a comment or feel free to discuss among yourselves! =)


The writing above is base on the opinion of the author and in no way should ever be use as replacement of the advise of doctors,shamans,witchdoctors or anybody involve in the industry of giving births!

Finally as this will be a milestone 100th post I have decided I will blog about something that has intrigue me for a long time and that is the very issue of teenage pregnancy.

Such an issue has been around for a long time and lets face it it is recurring problem no matter where anybody are. We can accuse the decadence or Western countries to the vaunted belief of of the conservativeness of Asian values to the hypocrisy of the so call 'Islamic States' regarding their stance on this issue but we all must remember the fact that it is a problem that has long been ignored, despised and even misread by many people. It is time we try to get some perspective on this contentious issue as we may soon find there are many unforeseen problem that come with this.

So lets begin from the very start, 'getting it young'. Below is a news report about the various cases of teenage pregnancy.

A baby-faced 13-year-old British schoolboy has fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend, making him one of the youngest parents ever in Britain, a report said on Friday.

Alfie Patten, whose voice has not yet broken, admitted he had not thought about how he and girlfriend Chantelle Steadman would support baby daughter Maisie Roxanne, as "I don't really get pocket money".

"When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble," said the teenager, pictured on the front page of the Sun tabloid with the baby, born in Eastbourne, southern England.

"We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react. I didn't know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it," he said.

But he admitted: "I didn't think about how we would afford it. I don't really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me STG10 ($A21.91)."

Alfie's dad Dennis, 45, said his son - who looks younger than his age and is just four feet (1.22 metres) tall - was fully committed to his new paternal role.

"He could have shrugged his shoulders and sat at home on his Playstation. But he has been at the hospital every day," he said.

The baby, who weighed in at seven pounds and three ounces (3.27kg) when she was born Monday, was conceived after just one night of unprotected sex, the paper said. Alfie was 12 years old at the time.

In theory, police could have brought a prosecution for under-age sex, but they said they would not be pressing charges.

"Sussex Police Child Protection Team were aware of a 14-year-old girl that had become pregnant as the result of a relationship with a 12-year-old boy," said a spokeswoman for Sussex Police.

"A joint agency investigation with East Sussex County Council Children's Services has taken place which has considered the needs of both individuals and there will be continued support for these two young people in the future."

Taken from the Brisbane times.

My first impression of this was well its not much a surprise is it. After all at that age most teenage boys and girls have been use to sexually oriented nature of today's society. Boys will be boys and will often be engrossed in the various heavily sensual content of of video games such as Grand theft Auto,God of War etc and for girls trends in magazines and by their favourite celebrities will be playing a very sub-conscious role in their psyche about how society perceive them and their bodies.

However it is in my opinion such third party or external influences is never enough to encourage a large majority to initiate copulation with opposite sex. It is often come down to plain sheer will power and education level (education as well as the wisdom) of the individual regarding such situations. How many times have the term 'in the heat of the moment' has been use by the dozens of instant overnight fathers and mothers around the world.

Lets face it no matter external sensual content is always just going to be just that external temptation it will be up to the individuals themselves to decide whether they want it or not. It does not matter what is one individual beliefs,religion or even personal moral beliefs, it will come down to the ability of the person to control their most primal instincts at a time when they are just discovering themselves.

A strong and caring family unit and circle of friends and mentors are really important in such times. As after all teenage pregnancy is a very contentious issue as it greatly affect's the health of the young mother,the mental health of the family involved and the financial pockets of many people. It will also lead to many other problems such as abortion, honour killing,abandonment of an infant and so on.

In my part two of Ramblings on teenage pregnancy i will write about my opinion on the SURPRISING issue {deep breath} on the question

Should Maternity Leave be given to school children?

This is a post which I had plan for a long time but never had the guts to do so. This was about a choice I made last year on why I decided to do a total turnaround on my degree choices and finally decide to pursue a degree in commerce. Its a decision I would come to question every time ever since I made that fateful decision and more importantly the question of doing commerce or more specifically accounting in university. I use to ask myself this question "Isn't it mundane". Well the answer i got for you is heck NO!!

Ever since I was little I always envisioned myself doing something on the science part of life. You know the traditional Asian prestige concept on being a doctor, dentist, scientist,etc. After all i had basically done science subjects my entire life,from toiling through PMR, to freaking out for SPM to finally ending at a climax when I did my VCE.

And it turns out I never did enjoy it. No its not the interesting fact and figures that do not interest me(Heck I read the entire encyclopedia collection about medicine from Reader Digest many times and loved it) but it is mostly the stuff people do before making the scientific gibberish accessible to common folks is what bores me. Also like all teenagers with a rebellious streak I once had this irrational mind to never follow in my father footsteps to become an accountant.

Fast forward to now I am on my first steps to become what my father was and forever shall be and I might add a very good one as well; an accountant.

It is now I begin to see the really "cool' side about commerce a degree or an accounting degree. Many people may not know it but the ancient (yes I said ancient) knowledge of accountancy date back when numbers were first discovered in ancient Mesopotamia. It was first use in the very simple calculations to record and ensure the numbers of sheep was done correctly. Then came along Luca Parcoli that finally made accountancy highly relevant.

Many people may say that crunching numbers everyday is hogwash and unimportant compared to the other more 'noble' professions such as medicine but have they really look at the real world and see how it functions.

Well if you did you will see accountants everywhere from large corporations to even hospitals, all of these organizations will need or at least require the services of an accountant. The role and function of good old number crunching is not only use as a mere book keeping but it is of vital importance in the planning,assessment and forecasting of product,services and performance of lots of organizations. From charities to hospitals to large corporations all of them require people with 'mad number crunching skills'. As long as commerce and trade is still a vital part of humanity culture accountants are going to be around for a long time.

Oh yeah, if you guys think that such people are the stereotypical men and women who lead boring and mundane lives well you are in for a big surprise. Heck many of them really do lead vibrant,exciting and colorful lives later in their career.

Now I do not feel so bad when people complain that having a degree in commerce is mundane,for in fact they have no idea what they are missing out on!

* The author is stoke that he is about to begin his degree at Deakin University for the Bachelor of Arts (International Studies)/Bachelor of Commerce. Hey I never did said I wanted to be fully like my dad hahaha! That's what the art degree is for!

Does this look like a mundane accountant to you?

This year I am entering the Chartered Accountant Student Challenge which is open to all open for university students from 1st years to 5th years but more targeted for students in Commerce or business students.

For your information this challenge is basically encouraging uni students in groups of one to four to help solve a business problem regarding participating non-governmental organizations (NGO). Winners of the challenge will not only get the chance some really cool Apple Laptops or an iPhone THE main prize is a designer suit from Farage to wear to the Ultimate Power Lunch at Sydney's exclusive Level 41 restaurant. Here they will present their submission to the CEO of Cancer Council Australia and a selection of senior managers from Mars, Woolworths, Qantas and BT Financial Group as well as partners from the big 4 accounting firms. And to make the prize even sweeter the winner gets to be flow overseas to major business capitals around the world! London,new York,Shanghai you name it.

So in other words this is an actual real life business challenge for uni students and I am so psyched. Though I know most students that join this challenge are usually in their second,third or even honour year students,I just hope my first year team would really help me get through this. Challenges and obstacles are abound and my first blow cam sooner then expected as Esther (the only person that had uni accounting experience) can't enter due to a technical legality of needing to be over 18. Sigh however I am more then confident that I and my remaining team can pull out something out of this.

Then again all I am looking for is to gain some experience on what it takes to be accountant. =)

This amusing picture says it all! =) After all what else can Perakians think about an illegitimate guy ruling a state!!

Just a few days ago when I had finally had the time to actually read some news online regarding my favorite country Malaysia, I was given the shock of my life when I read an article on Malaysia Today about some bullshit that Najib saying they will form the new government in Perak. I was appalled and shocked reading the title of the article and now feel sicken with the events enfolding in the Silver State. I even check on other sites and blogs hoping to hear that this was just a very ill conceived joke. sadly it is this turn into hopeless endeavor.

My first thoughts about this article WTF is is wrong with this idiots. I am sick of all this talk about defections from one party to another.Why can't the idiots get it right that any talk and actions regarding defections from either Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional would never go well with the people of Malaysia. I am now having the impression that the political leaders in Malaysia are all acting like small whining spoilt brats fighting over a half broken toy in the kindergarten playground.

Anwar and the rest of Pakatan Rakyat should never had resorted to to dirty underhanded tactics namely defections and giving promises that they were not able to deliver that were use by BN many times as lets face it the bastards and con artists in BN have perfected their disgusting art for many years. PR should have taken the most logical action when they won they did the impossible in the 2008 General Elections by getting their house in order and finally show all Malaysians that there is finally a true alternative (not as if BN has been ever been an ideal party EVER).

The people at BN should also begin to actually take a hard look at themselves to see the failures that they have become. The temporary relief they get in Perak is just plainly the final grave they are digging by themselves. Any result in Perak that climax with BN coming to power will finally push Malaysia to the brink. BN can now never hope to maintain power come next elections. No matter what Najib says about who started the defection game, the fact is PR still holds the popular support and the moral high ground (no matter how small that is). BN has made many mistakes in the past but this is going to be their biggest disaster ever in their sad unispiring history.

Both parties should and must reevaluate their standing and principles as fast as possible or Malaysia is now f*ucked up.

I just want to say to all the political leaders in Malaysia grow up you stupid spoilt bastards!

I recently read an interesting articles regarding the The New Deal. it gave me an interesting and deeper understanding about the Economic plan by Roosevelt that had unintended consequences on the worlds economy and how it relates o the current economic downturn face by us today and the parallels that President Obama faces with his own plan. Mind you the articles is long but if you can get bear it and get through it ,you'll be surprise how interesting the notion of a highly regarded and lauded plan may have done the opposite in what it was suppose to do.



THE New Deal is widely perceived to have ended the Great Depression. This has led many to support a "new" New Deal to address the current crisis. But the facts do not support the perception that Franklin Delano Roosevelt's policies shortened the Depression, or that similar policies will pull our nation out of its economic downturn.

The goal of the New Deal was to get Americans back to work. But the New Deal didn't restore employment. In fact, there was even less work on average during the New Deal than before FDR took office. Total hours worked per adult, including government employees, were 18 per cent below their 1929 level between 1930-32, but were 23 per cent lower on average during the New Deal (1933-39).

And it wasn't just work that remained scarce during the New Deal. Per capita consumption did not recover, remaining 25 per cent below its trend level throughout the New Deal, and per-capita non-residential investment averaged about 60 per cent below trend. The Great Depression clearly continued long after FDR took office.

Why wasn't the Depression followed by a vigorous recovery, like every other cycle? It should have been. Productivity grew rapidly after 1933, prices were stable, real interest rates were low and liquidity was plentiful. We calculated on the basis of just productivity growth that employment and investment should have been back to normal levels by 1936. Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas and Leonard Rapping calculated on the basis of just expansionary Federal Reserve policy that the economy should have been back to normal by 1935.

So what stopped a blockbuster recovery from starting? The New Deal. Some New Deal policies certainly benefited the economy by establishing a basic social safety net with social security and unemployment benefits, and by stabilising the financial system through deposit insurance and the Securities Exchange Commission. But others violated the most basic economic principles by suppressing competition, and setting prices and wages in many sectors well above their normal levels. These anti-market policies choked off powerful recovery forces that would have plausibly returned the economy back to trend by the mid-1930s.

The most damaging policies were those at the heart of the recovery plan, including the National Industrial Recovery Act, which tossed aside the nation's anti-trust acts and permitted industries to collusively raise prices provided they shared their newfound monopoly rents with workers by substantially raising wages well above underlying productivity growth. The NIRA covered more than 500 industries, ranging from automobile and steel, to ladies hosiery and poultry production. Each industry created a code of "fair competition" which spelled out what producers could and could not do, and which were designed to eliminate "excessive competition" that FDR believed to be the source of the Depression.

These codes distorted the economy by artificially raising wages and prices, restricting output and reducing productive capacity by placing quotas on industry investment in new plants and equipment. Following government approval of each industry code, industry prices and wages increased substantially, while prices and wages in sectors that weren't covered by the NIRA, such as agriculture, did not.

Manufacturing wages were as much as 25 per cent above the level that would have prevailed without the New Deal. And while the artificially high wages benefited the few that were fortunate to have a job in those industries, they significantly depressed production and employment, as the growth in wage costs far exceeded productivity growth.

These policies continued even after the NIRA was declared unconstitutional in 1935. There was no anti-trust activity after the NIRA, despite overwhelming evidence of price-fixing and production limits in many industries, and the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 gave unions substantial collective-bargaining power. While not permitted under federal law, the sit-down strike, was tolerated by governors in a number of states and was used with great success against major employers, including General Motors in 1937.

The downturn of 1937-38 was preceded by large wage hikes following the Supreme Court's 1937 decision that upheld the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Act. These wage hikes led to further job loss, particularly in manufacturing. The "recession in a depression" thus was not the result of a reversal of New Deal policies, as argued by some, but rather a deepening of New Deal policies that raised wages even further above their competitive levels. Indeed, New Deal labor and industrial policies prolonged the Depression by seven years.

By the late 1930s, New Deal policies began to reverse, which coincided with the beginning of the recovery. In a 1938 speech, FDR acknowledged that the American economy had become a "concealed cartel system like Europe", which led the Justice Department to reinitiate anti-trust prosecution. And union bargaining power was significantly reduced, first by the Supreme Court's ruling that the sit-down strike was illegal, and during World War II by the National War Labor Board, which limited large union wage settlements to cost-of-living increases. The wartime economic boom reflected not only the enormous resource drain of military spending, but the erosion of New Deal labor and industrial policies.

By 1947, through a combination of war-time wage restrictions and rapid productivity growth, the large gap between manufacturing wages and productivity had nearly been eliminated. Since then, wages have never been so distorted, nor has the country suffered such abysmally low employment.

The main lesson from the New Deal is that wholesale government intervention can - and does - deliver the most unintended of consequences. This was true in the 1930s, when artificially high wages and prices kept us depressed for more than a decade; it was true in the 1970s when price controls were used to combat inflation but only produced shortages. It is true today, when poorly designed regulation produced a banking system that took on too much risk.

President Obama and Congress have a great opportunity to produce reforms that return Americans to work and provide a foundation for sustained economic growth. These reforms should include specific plans that update banking regulations and address a manufacturing sector in which several large industries - including automobile and steel - are no longer internationally competitive. Tax reform that broadens rather than narrows the tax base and that increases incentives to work, save and invest is also needed.

We must also confront an education system that fails many of its constituents. A large fiscal stimulus plan that doesn't directly address the specific impediments our economy faces is unlikely to achieve either the country's short-term or long-term goals.

Harold L. Cole is professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Lee E. Ohanian is professor of economics and director of the Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research at UCLA.
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