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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Myth of American Meritocracy

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-myth-of-american-meritocracy/

19 Signs You’re Doing Better than You Think

19 Signs You’re Doing Better than You Think

Carnegie on the School Ethic

Carnegie on the School Ethic, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty:

Carnegie on education:

 Men have wasted their precious years, trying to extract education from an ignorant past whose chief province is to teach us, not what to adopt, but what to avoid.� Men have sent their sons to colleges to waste their energies upon obtaining a knowledge of such languages as Greek and Latin, which are of no more practical use to them than Choctaw... They have been crammed with the details of petty and insignificant skirmishes between savages, and taught to exalt a band of ruffians into heroes; and we have called them "educated."� They have been "educated" as if they were destined for life upon some other planet than this... What they have obtained has served to imbue them with false ideas and to give them a distaste for practical life... Had they gone into active work during the years spent at college they would have been better educated men in every true sense of that term.� The fire and energy have been stamped out of them, and how to so manage as to live a life of idleness and not a life of usefulness has become the chief question with them.

Obama's Drone Problem

Obama's Drone Problem : The New Yorker

Corporate tax should be fair and shared

Corporate tax should be fair and shared - FT.com:

A better solution to international tax evasion:

Instead of attempting to estimate what fraction of a company’s total profit was earned in California and what amount in Wyoming, apportionment states taxed corporations on a share of their aggregate US profits corresponding to the share of their total US activity that took place in the state. The most common basis of apportionment is the “Massachusetts formula”, which gives equal weight to sales, payroll and assets.

Corporate tax should be fair and shared

Corporate tax should be fair and shared - FT.com:

A better solution to international tax evasion:

Instead of attempting to estimate what fraction of a company’s total profit was earned in California and what amount in Wyoming, apportionment states taxed corporations on a share of their aggregate US profits corresponding to the share of their total US activity that took place in the state. The most common basis of apportionment is the “Massachusetts formula”, which gives equal weight to sales, payroll and assets.

Bruce Bartlett: Tax Cuts, Tax Rates and Tax Shares

Bruce Bartlett: Tax Cuts, Tax Rates and Tax Shares - NYTimes.com

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Harvard Doctor Turned Morgan Stanley Felon Was Lured By Riches

Harvard Doctor Turned Morgan Stanley Felon Was Lured By Riches

Taxes and Transfers Have Become Less Effective at Reducing Inequality | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy

Inequality is not about taxes and transfers:


  • Regressive tax changes
  • Shift from labor to capital incomes
  • Deregulate financial markets
  • Privatize social insurance
  • Eroding labor standards (min wage, labor protections)
  • Diminished unionization; opposition to collective bargaining
  • Pro outsourcing
  • Monetary policy favoring low inflation over full employment
  • Diminished gov’t commitment to education
  • Eroding safety net
  • Anti-Keynesianism; pro austerity
  • Let-it-rip campaign finance
  • Smaller gov’t outlays as share of GDP

Taxes and Transfers Have Become Less Effective at Reducing Inequality | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy

Coach Tim O’Shea Leads Bryant Past Boston College

Coach Tim O’Shea Leads Bryant Past Boston College - NYTimes.com

Firing Season Claims Auburn's Chizik, Two Years from Championship - NYTimes.com


What have you done for me lately?

Firing Season Claims Auburn's Chizik, Two Years from Championship - NYTimes.com

Monday, November 26, 2012

10 Things Facebook Has Taught Me | Thought Catalog

10 Things Facebook Has Taught Me | Thought Catalog

Schapiro, Head of S.E.C., Announces Departure

Schapiro, Head of S.E.C., Announces Departure - NYTimes.com:

Harvey Pitt has a great sense of irony:

“The S.E.C. came back from the brink,” said Harvey L. Pitt, a former chairman of the agency under President George W. Bush.

BBC News - Meet the 'tutor kings and queens'

BBC News - Meet the 'tutor kings and queens'

TED Blog | 8 TED Talks on the importance of listening

TED Blog | 8 TED Talks on the importance of listening

How Hillary Clinton’s choices predict her future - The Washington Post

How Hillary Clinton’s choices predict her future - The Washington Post

Online Courses and the Future of Higher Education-Becker -

Online Courses and the Future of Higher Education-Becker - The Becker-Posner Blog

MOOCs—Implications for Higher Education—Posner

MOOCs—Implications for Higher Education—Posner - The Becker-Posner Blog

The Fox News and MSNBC of Lincoln's day

The .Plan: A Quasi-Blog: The Fox News and MSNBC of Lincoln's day

Deirdre McCloskey: editorials

What Money Can't Buy

Deirdre McCloskey: editorials

I Can Has Shared Sacrifice?

Lower the retirement age

I Can Has Shared Sacrifice? � naked capitalism

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Online Courses and the Future of Higher Education-Becker - The Becker-Posner Blog

Online Courses and the Future of Higher Education-Becker - The Becker-Posner Blog

The decade of Xi Jinping

The decade of Xi Jinping | Gavyn Davies

Psychotherapy’s Image Problem Pushes Some Therapists to Become ‘Brands’ - NYTimes.com

Psychotherapy’s Image Problem Pushes Some Therapists to Become ‘Brands’ - NYTimes.com

Tens of Thousands of Egyptians Protest Morsi’s Power Grab

Tens of Thousands of Egyptians Protest Morsi’s Power Grab � naked capitalism:

Important insight:

"I’ve seen this again and again with Japanese in particular, but in general with foreign nationals working for US companies in overseas offices. Americans who haven’t worked in a foreign country tend not to recognize how easily they are seduced by nationals who are Americanized, and gravitate towards them over more talented but less bicultural professionals."

Selected Passages from Nassim Nicholas Taleb's 'Antifragile'

A bit of piling on, but funny.

Selected Passages from Nassim Nicholas Taleb's 'Antifragile' - The Reformed Broker | The Reformed Broker

Peter Suderman drops a truth-bomb on Walmart critics

Peter Suderman drops a truth-bomb on Walmart critics (with tweets) � lachlanmarkay3 � Storify

As drug industry’s influence over research grows, so does the potential for bias - The Washington Post

As drug industry’s influence over research grows, so does the potential for bias - The Washington Post

Teaching After The Test: An argument for a national school schedule – Greg Laden's Blog

Teaching After The Test: An argument for a national school schedule – Greg Laden's Blog

M.I.T. Lab Hatches Ideas, and Companies, by the Dozens

M.I.T. Lab Hatches Ideas, and Companies, by the Dozens - NYTimes.com

Saturday, November 24, 2012

If these guys are right - We are screwed

Slow Growth Will Clobber Government Budget Deficits - Business Insider

Deep thoughts, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Housing wealth effect, Baker, Goldfarb and Waldmann |

Housing wealth effect, Baker, Goldfarb and Waldmann | Angry Bear - Financial and Economic Commentary

Organic Food Purists Worry About Big Companies’ Influence

Organic Food Purists Worry About Big Companies’ Influence - NYTimes.com

Guns or Butter

Guns or Butter | MyFDL

20,000 Sacrificed In Annual Blood Offering To Corporate America

20,000 Sacrificed In Annual Blood Offering To Corporate America | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

The Fractalist

Book Review: The Fractalist - WSJ.com

Skills Don’t Pay the Bills

Good article. Wrong title. There is no skills gap. There is a wage gap.

Skills Don’t Pay the Bills - NYTimes.com

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Steven Cohen Implicated in Alleged Insider-Trading Scheme

They finally got him.  I have been waiting 10 years for this to come. Sorry to have missed the wave and all that money, but glad I got out of that business before I succumbed to the temptation.Healthcare sector offers too much chance of insider trading.

Steven Cohen Implicated in Alleged Insider-Trading Scheme - WSJ.com

Twitter / Search - #KrugmanBondfilms

I think I finally understand why twitter exists.

(2) Twitter / Search - #KrugmanBondfilms

The Economically Out-of-Date Nation-State

A must read for Republicans when they talk about job creators.
Obama should think about this as well before he sells out for more.

  "What CEO would last five minutes if he announced that the company will be taking a loss to help out the unemployed of Buffalo, New York by creating 1000 new jobs? What CFO could survive informing the board that he neglected to use international tax havens because, gosh, somebody has to help out America's deficit? What would be the business case behind "shared value" in service to America, when the daily grind will be spent in service to meeting earnings forecasts on the Street?

The Economically Out-of-Date Nation-State - Eric Garland - Harvard Business Review

Economist Sinn Warns Against Current Euro Crisis Course - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Great cover shot of Petraeus


Economist Sinn Warns Against Current Euro Crisis Course - SPIEGEL ONLINE

American manufacturing is coming back. Manufacturing jobs aren’t.

American manufacturing is coming back. Manufacturing jobs aren’t.

Daily Kos: Inside the Hostess Bankery

Hostess; from the side of the worker.

Daily Kos: Inside the Hostess Bankery

The Cost Disease: Chapter 4 | The Incidental Economist

The Cost Disease: Chapter 4 | The Incidental Economist

Maryland, Rutgers: The Big Ten's Big Land Grab - WSJ.com

Football conferences are no longer about football. Why are donations to athletic programs still tax deductable?

Maryland, Rutgers: The Big Ten's Big Land Grab - WSJ.com:


And so the Big Ten, the benevolent conquistador, snapped up two schools with thin football pedigrees at a time when football is more important than ever. That is because conferences' TV properties and markets are in some ways more important than the on-field product. The evolution is reflected in how fans who once talked about national rankings and conference standings are now talking media-market rankings and conference-network footprints. As Delany said of Maryland: "They're in a great population area."

Private Equity and Hostess Stumbling Together

Even a defense of Ripplewood comes across as pretty lame. Sure they will lose some equity, but most of that is client money. Meanwhile they took out "millions in fees" and exorbitant salaries for board members. The breakeven analysis for Ripplewood management (not the fund itself which includes clients) would be interesting to see.  

Private Equity and Hostess Stumbling Together - NYTimes.com

Tainted-Drug Deaths Spawn Heated Debate Over F.D.A.’s Powers

After the fact: is the issue regulation or the willingness of the regulator to use it?

Tainted-Drug Deaths Spawn Heated Debate Over F.D.A.’s Powers - NYTimes.com

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

� Napster, Udacity, and the Academy Clay Shirky

� Napster, Udacity, and the Academy Clay Shirky

My Secret Strategy™ for Avoiding Petraeus-Style Email Pitfalls - Politics - The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/print/2012/11/my-secret-strategy-for-avoiding-petraeus-style-email-pitfalls/265117/

The Sins Of General David Petraeus

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mhastings/the-sins-of-general-david-petraeus

2012 Japan Yearly Box Office Results

http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/japan/yearly/


Mark O'Friel
C: 914-907-7144
O: 617-903-0251
F : 419-710-3449

Financiers Still Aren’t Rocket Scientists – Uncertain Principles

Not by a long shot.


http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2012/11/12/financiers-still-arent-rocket-scientists/

Massachusetts Corruption Dwarfs Afghan Corruption - Kabul Press | Afghanistan Press | کابل پرس | افغانستان پرس

http://kabulpress.org/my/spip.php?article120954

Why Online Education Works

http://www.cato-unbound.org/2012/11/12/alex-tabarrok/why-online-education-works/

The Grumpy Economist: Gas price contest

The Grumpy Economist: Gas price contest