… where no government has gone before:

U.S. consumers have tightened their belts to the point where they could take on a lot more debt if they wanted it.
But they don’t.
The average credit score rose to 704 in July, a level not seen since the first quarter of 1998, according to data that Equifax [EFX 30.20 — UNCH (0) ], one of the largest U.S. credit bureaus, provided exclusively to Reuters.
That means lenders consider consumers to be improved credit risks and would be happy to have more of them as customers. Yet many consumers still seem to find debt too risky, said Dann Adams, an Equifax executive.

In a Guardian column titled “Since when was giving people a choice a good idea?” Catherine Bennett argues against the individual right to choose, not just in matters relating to health care and education but in a more general sense as well. To back up her anti-choice argument Bennett cites two studies, one by a University of Bristol sociologist named Harriet Bradley (“The last thing people want is having more choices thrust on them. They don’t want to be perpetually having to make decisions…I believe most people want the state to make these big decisions for them”) and one by US academic Sheena Lyengar, who found that “consumers were more than six times more likely to buy a pot (of jam) if they had to choose from six varieties rather than 24.”
British blogger Mr. Eugenides:

“It would perhaps be understandable if Catherine Bennett herself finds so much choice bewildering – as the former wife of Lord Sackville, whose stately home in Kent apparently boasts 365 rooms, it must have been hell deciding which wing of the mansion to have the butler serve her afternoon tea and scones in, let alone what type of jam to put on them…”

Incidentally, the press release – “A confused nation crippled by choice” – for the Harriet Bradley study notes that her findings “will inform a new website confused nation.co.uk aimed at providing real-life problem solving advice.” The psychologist who is providing the at-site advice, Dr. Peter Collett, states:

“Confusion is so severe that psychologists have recently upgraded confusion to a fully-fledged emotion. 80% of the UK suffers from confusion at some point…”

The site’s main page has a “Confusion map” (“not confused/slightly confused/very confused”) and provides links to the latest articles: “The Indeciders” (“We’re a country close to breaking point, with the UK admitting that too much choice is leaving them incapable of making decisions”), “What should I do?” (“All of us at some point will face difficult decisions. Whether you are facing life’s big choices such as a change in your career or the feeling a change of location is what your family needs….more and more of us are suffering indecision and confusion”) and – my favourite – Confusing regional accents:

“The Geordie accent came top with 82% saying they found it hard to comprehend. Following close behind this was the Scouse accent, which perplexes 81% of us, and then the Scottish accent which baffles three quarters of us…”

Life can be so cruel.
(h/t*)

… edible toilet paper!

Touring the United States and Europe this year, Sheryl Crow arrives at venues with an assortment of environmental demands certain to vex concert promoters, according to a review of the musician’s 2010 backstage rider.
The document, excerpted here, actually has a 2-1/2 page “environmental portion” to be “strictly followed and policed.” Seeking to “minimize the overall environmental impact of our tour,” Crow demands that only biodegradable cups and dinnerware be used by the caterer. Produce should be “organic and purchased from local suppliers as much as possible.” And for the five backstage “watering stations,” water “must be sourced from a local spring water vendor.”

… previous Crow.

Federal workers have been awarded bigger average pay and benefit increases than private employees for nine years in a row. The compensation gap between federal and private workers has doubled in the past decade.
Federal civil servants earned average pay and benefits of $123,049 in 2009 while private workers made $61,051 in total compensation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The data are the latest available. (click image for story)

Meanwhile, Ann helps us spot Democrats and in Saskatchewan, why be a GP?