The Wall Street Journal (a pretty good source of information if you avoid the editorial page) has an interesting breakdown of the economic policy changes proposed by both presidential candidates.

To respond to voters who want immediate economic help, both candidates have proposed specific plans on how to jump-start the economy in 2008 and 2009. Sen. Obama proposes a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to families ($500 for individuals) and penalty-free withdrawals of 15% from 401(k)s and IRAs up to $10,000. He also wants to temporarily suspend minimum distribution requirements for retirement accounts. Sen. McCain proposes cutting the capital-gains rate on stock held for more than a year to 7.5%. He also would increase the amount of stock loss that is deductible against ordinary income from $3,000 to $15,000, and would tax withdrawals by seniors from IRAs and 401(k)s no more than 10%.

Obama vs. McCain: It’s About Your Money — WSJ.com

So Obama will offset your energy bills by up to a grand, which will help working families a lot this winter, and allow you take up to 15% of your 401(k) out to keep in the bank for paying bills without penalty. Not bad.

McCain… really doesn’t suggest a damn thing for working people. All of his suggestions center around stocks and making owning stocks more lucrative. Well, that’s great for people who own stocks, but what about the rest of us, John?

I have to admit I watched the Wall Street implosion over the last few weeks with no small amount of schadenfreude. I don’t own a lick of stock, so beyond the overall impact to the economy, I really don’t care what the stock market does. I may have lost buying power due to the inflation we’re in for, but I personally didn’t lose a dime this month. Because I get 100% of my money from wages, the stock market doesn’t mean much to me.

That’s the key difference anymore between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats are the party of people who work for their money. Republicans are the party of people whose money works for them. If you get the majority of your income from wages, as most middle class families do, Democrats are the party for you. If you get most of your money from investments, then Republicans are more your speed.

So, “thanks but no thanks”, John. Cutting capital gains taxes doesn’t do a damn thing to put more money in my pocket. Your ideas don’t help me at all. I’m voting for “that one.”

Jason Perlow has an interesting article over on ZDnet about how the economic crisis might spur IT innovation to save costs. He’s focused mostly on a top-down, enterprise-focused “how the heck can we afford this datacenter” perspective, but it got me thinking about netbooks.

Before long y’all are going to be as tired as my RL friends of hearing about netbooks. I’ve recently purchased an HP 2133 Mini-note, and it has completely changed how I approach using a computer. I really think these small, cheap, “under-specced” laptops are going to change computing. And it occurs to me that they might have appeared at a historically perfect moment.

The thing about netbooks is that they can be so small and cheap precisely because they don’t do as much as a “real” laptop. Now over time the definition of a real laptop has changed to the point that my writing partner’s 15” laptop has more power and better gaming performance than my desktop, but that’s beside the point. Netbooks are good enough to do about 80% of what you’d want to do with a computer. They’re great at email, surfing, light media (for instance, as I write this in Windows Live Writer, I have Outlook and Firefox open as well as tunes in Windows Media Player; works fine). In other words, they’re the perfect second or kid’s PC for most families. As long as you’ve got one big desktop in the home for the other 20% work, why would you buy anything but netbooks from then on?

As we slowly stagger into the holiday shopping season, expect to see netbooks sales skyrocket while sales of desktop and larger laptops tapers off.

Economic crisis as a technology change agent | Tech Broiler | ZDNet.com

And sore losers, too, apparently. And the election hasn’t even happened yet.

DENVER (AP) — Democratic Party officials say a second brick has been thrown through a window at Democratic Party headquarters in Denver. Spokesman Matt Farrauto says the brick had the word “maverick” written on it.

9NEWS.com | Colorado’s Online News Leader | Dem headquarters vandalized by ‘maverick’ brick

It’s sad, really, that reactions like this (not to mention cries of “traitor!” and “kill him!” when Obama is mentioned at McCain rallies) is what passes for Republican “Joe Six-pack” commentary. It’s not surprising, but it is sad. It’s not surprising because it’s become increasingly obvious over the last decade or so that if you’re the kind of person who might throw a brick or drink anything that comes in a six-pack, you have absolutely no business being a Republican in the first place. The cognitive dissonance of anyone making under a million dollars a year who considers themselves a proud member of the GOP must be nearly crippling.

Newsflash for the anonymous brick thrower: John McCain and Sarah Palin don’t give a toasted damn about you. You’re nothing more than ignorant cannon fodder for their big money backers. Come to the Democrats. We’ll not only welcome you with open arms, but we’ll actually work for your own best interest. Think about it.