Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
What are the side costs of trade with China? — Marginal Revolution
This is an important new paper which challenges trade theory.
Learning from Solyndra
Learning from Solyndra | Capital Gains and Games
It is better policy to have the government's involvement at the macro level -- setting the price -- rather than at the micro level -- picking the winners.� The Solyndra scandal is a good example of why.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The most powerful AD denier of all
TheMoneyIllusion � The most powerful AD denier of all:
So for 200 year rapid productivity growth didn’t cause any serious unemployment problems in America, but now, right after NGDP collapses, we are to believe it is producing mass unemployment, even though recent productivity gains have been rather low.� I’m at a loss for words.� We elected a Luddite as President of the United States.
The wisdom of crowds
It is all about designing the right game and the right question.
Res Politica versus Res Economica
Good piece for college students contemplating a major.
Cynical about Confidence
Overconfidence is a force so powerful that can be used for either good or evil.
This is not class warfare. It's math
A Few Important Views on the President’s Budget Plan | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy:
This is not class warfare.� It’s math.� The money is going to have to come from someplace.� And if we’re not willing to ask those who’ve done extraordinarily well to help America close the deficit and we are trying to reach that same target of $4 trillion, then the logic, the math says everybody else has to do a whole lot more:� We’ve got to put the entire burden on the middle class and the poor.� We’ve got to scale back on the investments that have always helped our economy grow.� We’ve got to settle for second-rate roads and second-rate bridges and second-rate airports, and schools that are crumbling.
The world must insist that Europe act - FT.com
The world must insist that Europe act - FT.com:
Great paragraph by Larry Summers. Also a good summary for his most recent term in office.
It was simply this: policymakers acted without illusion. At every juncture they made the minimum commitments necessary to avoid imminent disaster – offering optimistic rhetoric, but never taking the steps that even they believed could offer the prospect of decisive victory. They were tragically caught in a kind of no-man’s-land – unable to reverse a course to which they had committed so much, but also unable to generate the political will to take forward steps that gave any realistic prospect of success. Ultimately, after years of needless suffering, their policy collapsed around them.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Noahpinion: Great Stagnation...or Great Relocation?
Why is America stagnating? There is no great stagnation, just relocation of production to where the people are.
Noahpinion: Great Stagnation...or Great Relocation?
And a counter from the economist.
If transport costs are low, there is no need to be close to population to be a producer.
Noahpinion: Great Stagnation...or Great Relocation?
And a counter from the economist.
If transport costs are low, there is no need to be close to population to be a producer.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
End the Fed's Dual Mandate And Focus on Prices: John B. Taylor - Bloomberg
But the Fed already acts as if it only had one mandate.
The global tribe
A good point about the Ron Paul inspired health care debate;"Everyone agrees that we heroically help some and leave others to die. We only disagree on who falls into which category."
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Why Perry Might Win
Oh it’s going to be a “fun” year | Firedoglake: -Perry leads Romney only 27-23 among GOP voters opposed to ending Medicare. But with the 12% who do support eliminating it Perry leads Romney 43-5, accounting for much of his overall lead…
-Romney leads Perry 23-18 among GOP voters who believe in global warming…but that’s only 27% of them. With the 62% who don’t believe in it Perry’s up 38-14. One interesting note on those numbers- Perry’s favorability with Republicans who believe in global warming is 37/50. Are those folks going to vote for him in the general election if he ends up as the nominee?
-Romney leads Perry 23-18 among GOP voters who believe in global warming…but that’s only 27% of them. With the 62% who don’t believe in it Perry’s up 38-14. One interesting note on those numbers- Perry’s favorability with Republicans who believe in global warming is 37/50. Are those folks going to vote for him in the general election if he ends up as the nominee?
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The late American jobs machine
The late American jobs machine � Consider the Evidence:
The following paragraph sums up the problem. Management has more leverage versus employees.
What caused this collapse of the American jobs machine? I think the most convincing explanation is a shift in management’s incentives and in its leverage relative to employees. According to Robert Gordon, this has its origins in the 1980s and 1990s but emerged in full force in the early 2000s:
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The problem with Wall Street
These guys think that the laws do not apply to them.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
EconoSpeak: Political Economy and Financialization
An explanation of why corporations now act as they do. They do not act for the benefit of the country in which they reside. Nor do they act for the benefit of the corporation. They are driven for what benefits the personal portfolio of the CEO.
That is, the top tier of ownership and control is vested in individuals who act in their self interest and in accordance with their intellectual perspective—usually related. �General Electric, for instance, may benefit as a corporate entity from lower health care costs, but those who own and run it are not tied to that firm, or its current facilities, markets or organizational hierarchies, for life. �At the highest levels, individuals see their economic interest as that of maximizing the value of their personal portfolios.
American Exceptionalism |
American Exceptionalism | Truthout:
the highest poverty rate, both generally and for children;
�
the greatest inequality of incomes;
�
the lowest government spending as a percentage of GDP on social programs for the disadvantaged;
�
the lowest number of paid holiday, annual and maternity leaves;
�
the lowest score on the United Nations' index of "material well-being of children";
�
the worst score on the United Nations' gender inequality index;
�
the lowest social mobility;
�
the highest public and private expenditure on health care as a portion of GDP;
�
the highest infant mortality rate; prevalence of mental health problems; obesity rate; portion of people going without health care due to cost; low-birth-weight children per capita (except for Japan); consumption of antidepressants per capita;
�
the shortest life expectancy at birth (except for Denmark and Portugal);
�
the greatest inequality of incomes;
�
the lowest government spending as a percentage of GDP on social programs for the disadvantaged;
�
the lowest number of paid holiday, annual and maternity leaves;
�
the lowest score on the United Nations' index of "material well-being of children";
�
the worst score on the United Nations' gender inequality index;
�
the lowest social mobility;
�
the highest public and private expenditure on health care as a portion of GDP;
�
the highest infant mortality rate; prevalence of mental health problems; obesity rate; portion of people going without health care due to cost; low-birth-weight children per capita (except for Japan); consumption of antidepressants per capita;
�
the shortest life expectancy at birth (except for Denmark and Portugal);
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Perspective, Please
Perspective is one thing we do not have around 9/11.
Was Marx Right?
Some of the general themes of Marx were correct.
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
The Secrets of High Frequency Trading
Nothing new. No secrets, but a good summary.
Fears of America’s Decline Since 9/11 : The New Yorker
Conservatives and libertarians "hate fast trains and efficient airports for the same reason that seventeenth century Protestants hate the beautiful Baroque churches of Rome when they saw them: they were luxurious symbols of an earthly power that they despised... We don't have a better infrastructure or decent elementary education exactly because any people are willing to sacrifice faster movement between our great cities or better informed children, in support of their belief that the government should always be given as little money as possible."
Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, The Imperial Mentality and 9/11 | TomDispatch
As we think about 9-11, it is important to remember the havoc it caused in the rest of the world. Caused by US response to the act, not the act itself.
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
How Capital Crushed Labor
I cannot believe I find myself agreeing with Buchanan. This is a simplified look at the trade off that globalization demanded. Capital displaced labor. It is thought that lower prices for consumers would make up for the lack of jobs. Too soon to tell.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Saturday, September 03, 2011
At Burning Man, Air-Conditioning, RVs Make Inroads - WSJ.com
The air conditioner is not on all the time."
Thursday, September 01, 2011
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