Superpacs are a threat to democracy. They give extra weight to those with money.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Questioning the Boomerang Generation - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com
Solid research disproves a meme now in the media; the number of singles living on their own (versus living with parents) is higher, despite poor economic conditions.
The Dumbest Idea In The World
“On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world. Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy… your main constituencies are your employees, your customers and your products.
N.Y.C. Traffic Deaths Set 100-Year Low, Mayor Says - NYTimes.com
Drivers of Our Better Nature.
Absolute number of traffic deaths is at a new low.
Fewer died than in 1910, before the age of autos.
Tax Breaks From Options a Windfall for Businesses - NYTimes.com
Another reason to eliminate tax accounting for business. Just use sec accounting and apply a tax rate.
U.S. Manufacturing Gains Jobs as Wages Retreat - NYTimes.com
Chinese wage advantage is disappearing as Chinese wages fall and U.S. wages and productivity rises.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
How to Fix Group Projects,
How school might work if it was set up to imitate work.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Notes From Mitt Romney’s 1978 Presentation - Document - NYTimes.com
Only at HBS. Not only the content of the presentation but the fact that someone took notes at a reunion.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Why Pilot Projects Fail
Not all pilot projects fail, but this is a summary of the risks.
Trials and Errors: Why Science Is Failing Us
This is not the failure of science. This is science.
And yet, we must never forget that our causal beliefs are defined by their limitations. For too long, we’ve pretended that the old problem of causality can be cured by our shiny new knowledge. If only we devote more resources to research or dissect the system at a more fundamental level or search for ever more subtle correlations, we can discover how it all works. But a cause is not a fact, and it never will be; the things we can see will always be bracketed by what we cannot. And this is why, even when we know everything about everything, we’ll still be telling stories about why it happened. It’s mystery all the way down.
Economic geography: Moving toward stagnation | The Economist
High land prices slow population growth, and productivity growth in the most productive geographies.
Economic geography: Moving toward stagnation | The Economist:
The picture that emerges is one in which employment growth in high productivity, tradable industries is constrained at the rate of housing supply growth in skilled cities. And that rate is slow; for much of the past decade, Houston approved about ten times more new housing each year than San Jose. Value creation in high productivity cities continues, but a lot of that value is siphoned off through taxes and transfered to residents of low productivity cities, who use it to buy non-tradable services. That dynamic would seem to be the main mechanism through which America has been generating net job growth over the past two decades.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
At Wal-Mart a Microcosm of U.S. Inequalities:
Six Waltons, none of whom work, are in the top ten of richest in US.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Romney-Gingrich Bid to Pin Crisis
Republican candidates refuse to accept the facts about the causes of the current crisis. How can they solve it if they refuse to face the reality?
Romney-Gingrich Bid to Pin Crisis on Gov’t - Bloomberg
Romney-Gingrich Bid to Pin Crisis on Gov’t - Bloomberg
Pathetic Plutocrats
One of the disadvantages of being very wealthy may be that you end up surrounded by sycophants, who will never, ever tell you what a fool you’re making of yourself.
Pathetic Plutocrats - NYTimes.com:
Pathetic Plutocrats - NYTimes.com:
Origins of the Tea Party
Tea Party reflects many of the principles of the old Confederacy.
Robert Reich (Why the Republican Crackup is Bad For America)
Robert Reich (Why the Republican Crackup is Bad For America)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Ron Paul And The Republican Future - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast
Ron Paul And The Republican Future - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast:
Ron Paul is wrong about a lot, but he is right about this:
We have to move back from a Department of Offense and Empire to a Department of Defense and Security. We need to let go of paranoia. The cycle of fear has already done immeasurable damage to the constitution, the economy and regional stability and security (watch Iraq and Afghanistan implode in the next few years).
Ron Paul is wrong about a lot, but he is right about this:
We have to move back from a Department of Offense and Empire to a Department of Defense and Security. We need to let go of paranoia. The cycle of fear has already done immeasurable damage to the constitution, the economy and regional stability and security (watch Iraq and Afghanistan implode in the next few years).
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
You Say You Want a Devolution?
Cultural history has ended?
My 20 year old Jeep does not stand out in the parking lot.
You Say You Want a Devolution? | Style | Vanity Fair
My 20 year old Jeep does not stand out in the parking lot.
You Say You Want a Devolution? | Style | Vanity Fair
John Cochrane's Talk at Hoover:
John Cochrane's Talk at Hoover: His Version, David Henderson | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty:
For nearly 100 years we have tried to stop runs with government guarantees--deposit insurance, generous lender of last resort, and bailouts. That patch leads to huge moral hazard. Giving a banker a bailout guarantee is like giving a teenager keys to the car and a case of whisky. So, we appoint regulators who are supposed to stop the banks from taking risks, in a hopeless arms race against smart MBAs, lawyers and lobbyists who try to get around the regulation, and though we allow-nay, we encourage and subsidize--expansion of run-prone assets.
For nearly 100 years we have tried to stop runs with government guarantees--deposit insurance, generous lender of last resort, and bailouts. That patch leads to huge moral hazard. Giving a banker a bailout guarantee is like giving a teenager keys to the car and a case of whisky. So, we appoint regulators who are supposed to stop the banks from taking risks, in a hopeless arms race against smart MBAs, lawyers and lobbyists who try to get around the regulation, and though we allow-nay, we encourage and subsidize--expansion of run-prone assets.
Friday, December 09, 2011
No. 9 UConn Beats No. 25 Harvard
No. 9 UConn Beats No. 25 Harvard - NYTimes.com:
Harvard was trying for its first 9-0 start to a season since winning the first 10 in 04-05, 1904-05
Harvard was trying for its first 9-0 start to a season since winning the first 10 in 04-05, 1904-05
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Calculated Risk: Labor Force Participation Rate by Age Group
Labor force participation is falling not within particular age buckets (except for the student age) but it is falling as more people, the baby boomers, move on to the next bucket.
Calculated Risk: Labor Force Participation Rate by Age Group
Calculated Risk: Labor Force Participation Rate by Age Group
$7.77 trillion in secret Federal Reserve loans to banks?
Why can't we have better comedians?
Econbrowser: $7.77 trillion in secret Federal Reserve loans to banks?
Econbrowser: $7.77 trillion in secret Federal Reserve loans to banks?
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Democrats Dare Not "Abandon" the White Working Class
RealClearPolitics - Democrats Dare Not "Abandon" the White Working Class:
The Great Recession provided Democrats a chance to reconnect with working and middle-class whites. But this chance was squandered by the end of 2009. Obama focused his first year on the Democratic issue of the age (universal health care) instead of the issue of the time (the dire economy). That mistake, like progressives’ over-reading of Obama’s 2008 victory, continues to distort Democrats’ understanding of the daunting electoral terrain before them.
The Great Recession provided Democrats a chance to reconnect with working and middle-class whites. But this chance was squandered by the end of 2009. Obama focused his first year on the Democratic issue of the age (universal health care) instead of the issue of the time (the dire economy). That mistake, like progressives’ over-reading of Obama’s 2008 victory, continues to distort Democrats’ understanding of the daunting electoral terrain before them.
More Public Sector Workers Are Retiring?
We need a better press corps. This paragraph, one of the only data points in the story, contradicts the premise of the entire article. Don't they use editors at the NYT?
But a broad survey of about 100 public retirement systems suggests a rate of retirement that has remained within a relatively steady range in recent years, said Keith Brainard, research director for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. “Before I would call this a trend, it would need to continue for another year or two,” he said.
More Public Sector Workers Are Retiring - NYTimes.com:
But a broad survey of about 100 public retirement systems suggests a rate of retirement that has remained within a relatively steady range in recent years, said Keith Brainard, research director for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. “Before I would call this a trend, it would need to continue for another year or two,” he said.
More Public Sector Workers Are Retiring - NYTimes.com:
Monday, December 05, 2011
Khan Academy Blends Its YouTube Approach With Classrooms
Khan is on to something. There are more classrooms than there are great teachers. This allows teachers to scale.
Khan Academy Blends Its YouTube Approach With Classrooms - NYTimes.com
Khan Academy Blends Its YouTube Approach With Classrooms - NYTimes.com
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Why do stocks trade so much?
There are many investors with different time horizons, different risk profiles and different estimates of their own alpha.
Noahpinion: Harrison & Kreps 1978: The power of irrational expectations
Noahpinion: Harrison & Kreps 1978: The power of irrational expectations
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Friday, December 02, 2011
Anyone but Mitt Romney
Cool graphical display of information.
Anyone but Mitt Romney graphic: The GOP nomination race so far | News | National Post
Anyone but Mitt Romney graphic: The GOP nomination race so far | News | National Post
Success and Morality in a Market Economy
EconoSpeak: Success and Morality in a Market Economy:
In a community regulated by laws of demand and supply, but protected from open violence, the persons who become rich are, generally speaking, industrious, resolute, proud, covetous, prompt, methodical, sensible, unimaginative, insensitive, and ignorant. �The persons who remain poor are the entirely foolish, the entirely wise, the idle, the reckless, the humble, the thoughtful, the dull, the imaginative, the sensitive, the well-informed, the improvident, the irregularly and impulsively wicked, the clumsy knave, the open thief, and the entirely merciful, just, and godly person.
In a community regulated by laws of demand and supply, but protected from open violence, the persons who become rich are, generally speaking, industrious, resolute, proud, covetous, prompt, methodical, sensible, unimaginative, insensitive, and ignorant. �The persons who remain poor are the entirely foolish, the entirely wise, the idle, the reckless, the humble, the thoughtful, the dull, the imaginative, the sensitive, the well-informed, the improvident, the irregularly and impulsively wicked, the clumsy knave, the open thief, and the entirely merciful, just, and godly person.
Drilling Down - Fighting Over Oil and Gas
Another example of why inequality grows in America. There is a large difference between the negotiating power of a large corporation and individuals. Without regulation, there is room for abuse.
Drilling Down - Fighting Over Oil and Gas Well Leases - NYTimes.com
Drilling Down - Fighting Over Oil and Gas Well Leases - NYTimes.com
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Lots of Questions for the Fed
Yesterday's action was good for the 1%.
"The action leaves some important matters unchanged. No government has brought its budget under control. No political impasse has been broken. No bank has become better capitalized. No wages within the euro zone have adjusted to address their misalignment. And yet the markets are in a state of euphoria. It is like watching Ben Bernanke play Peter Pan, the European banks as an ailing Tinkerbell, and the stock market as the audience, fervently proclaiming "We believe in fairies!""
Lots of Questions for the Fed - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com
"The action leaves some important matters unchanged. No government has brought its budget under control. No political impasse has been broken. No bank has become better capitalized. No wages within the euro zone have adjusted to address their misalignment. And yet the markets are in a state of euphoria. It is like watching Ben Bernanke play Peter Pan, the European banks as an ailing Tinkerbell, and the stock market as the audience, fervently proclaiming "We believe in fairies!""
Lots of Questions for the Fed - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com
Congress push to relax US securities laws
Incredible that some believe less regulation of securities business will result in better outcomes. Where were they in 2008?
Congress push to relax US securities laws - FT.com
Congress push to relax US securities laws - FT.com
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