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Monday, May 28, 2012

Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? Yes, New York Times, I Am Looking at You Department

NYT opinion column reaches a new low.



Brad DeLong: Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? Yes, New York Times, I Am Looking at You Department

A Fast Food Burger Is 3 Times Larger Now Than in the 1950s

Or why Americans spend more on healthcare.

Health - Brian Fung - Infographic: A Fast Food Burger Is 3 Times Larger Now Than in the 1950s - The Atlantic

More Comments on Principles-Based Regulation,

Great post. For more on the topic, click thru the links.
Regulation is important to protect the weak and uninformed.

Kling's line is very simple:

  1. Ideal regulatory systems can be modeled as games.
  2. Regulators *try* to solve problem by creating regulations.
  3. The regulated participants *try* to circumvent regulations by following the letter of the law, avoiding the intent.
  4. In any system where there is enough money involved, there is no contest...the regulated participants necessarily win.
  5. Letter-of-the-law regulation is therefore *guaranteed* to fail in high $ industries like finance.
  6. This is a big problem, insofar as we can agree that an unregulated finance industry is undesireable.
Seems all true and obviously so.  

The difficult part is that Kling continues:
  1. Therefore we should try a different form of regulation: PBR


More Comments on Principles-Based Regulation, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

A China Video

A China Video — Marginal Revolution

At West Point, Asking if a War Doctrine Was Worth It

Does counterinsurgency work? “Yes,” he said. “Is it worth what you paid for it? That’s an entirely different question.”


At West Point, Asking if a War Doctrine Was Worth It - NYTimes.com:

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Paper Tigers

Paper Tigers

With friends like these...

With friends like these... - FT.com:

Making a relationship Facebook Official, or “Facebook Real”, is like making the relationship itself real, as though it wouldn’t be if it weren’t declared so on a platform where hundreds – if not thousands – of friends could see it, and add their own comments. It’s a commitment. The love notes and photos from dates provide ongoing, continuous evidence of togetherness – and send a clear message to other potential suitors to back off. “Relationship status on Facebook has an aura about it,” Michael says. “You can see it all the time; people comment on it, they Like it. There’s a pressure to it [a pressure on the people in the relationship].”

Friday, May 18, 2012

What Makes Countries Rich or Poor? by Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond of "Guns, Germs and Steel" defends his thesis that geography and microbes matter. Geography and microbes contribute to the foundations of institutions.

What Makes Countries Rich or Poor? by Jared Diamond | The New York Review of Books


Money quote, for countries and for ourselves:

" The factors are multiple and diverse. We all know, from our personal experience, that there isn’t one simple answer to the question why each of us becomes richer or poorer: it depends on inheritance, education, ambition, talent, health, personal connections, opportunities, and luck, just to mention some factors. Hence we shouldn’t be surprised that the question of why whole societies become richer or poorer also cannot be given one simple answer."

The Dog That Didn't Bark:

Robert Reich (The Dog That Didn't Bark: Obama on JPMorgan)

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Speaks of Military Option for Iran

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Speaks of Military Option for Iran - NYTimes.com:

What are these guys thinking about?

“There’s an irony in the situation, because a hawkish position on Iran probably makes a peaceful diplomatic outcome more likely, and that could be what he was trying to do,” he said.

‘Princelings’ in China Use Family Ties to Gain Riches

Stories like these really need to mention that there is not much difference between China and the U.S. in this regard.

‘Princelings’ in China Use Family Ties to Gain Riches - NYTimes.com

Saturday, May 12, 2012

In JPMorgan Chase Trading Bet, Its Confidence Yields to Loss

Overconfidence, in trading and in life, can lead to spectacular losses.

In JPMorgan Chase Trading Bet, Its Confidence Yields to Loss - NYTimes.com:

Money quote:

"Mr. Dimon knew about the expansion of the unit, whose increasing risks didn’t raise concerns presumably because its profits were rising."

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Mitt Romney's Partner in Crime:

Mitt Romney's Partner in Crime: Ed Conard's Unintended Consequences | MyFDL:

"Conard portrays a fantasy world. We are not fighting over capitalism versus socialism. The battle is over the crony capitalism of which both he and Romney have been major beneficiaries. We’ll leave it to his shrink to determine whether the problem is that Conard is deluded or dishonest, but the rest of us should view this book as a serious warning about the world view of his business partner."

Two Hundred Years of Surgery —

Two Hundred Years of Surgery — NEJM

"Friends," By Which He Means Not Really Friends

Politics is creepy. From Fox.

"Friends," By Which He Means Not Really Friends

"We Did Not Choose This War" and Other Hypocrisies

"We Did Not Choose This War" and Other Hypocrisies | MyFDL

The Fault for a Trade Deficit is by Definition the Value of the Currency

A strong dollar does not equal a strong America.

The Fault for a Trade Deficit is by Definition the Value of the Currency | Beat the Press

Behind Richard Grenell’s Departure, a Right-Wing Storm

Prejudice in 2012

Behind Richard Grenell’s Departure, a Right-Wing Storm - NYTimes.com

The Endless Arrogance of Wall Street

Unfortunately this is a good example of how many in finance think.

The Endless Arrogance of Wall Street

And a retort. 

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

The Legendary Paul Ryan

Not sure that legendary is the correct word.

The Legendary Paul Ryan

Forward

BarackObamadotcom - YouTube

Re-Capturing the Friedmans

"Here, too, the Friedmans’ hopes have been disappointed. The end of American preeminence in education, the collapse of private-sector unions, the emergence of a winner-take-all information-age economy, and the return of Gilded Age-style high finance have produced an extraordinarily unequal pre-tax distribution of income, which will burden the next generation and make a mockery of equality of opportunity.
It would have been nice if the political program laid out a generation ago in Free to Choose had lived up to the Friedmans’ billing. It would have been nice if a relatively equal and prosperous society with full employment and equal opportunity had followed from a government that stood back from the economy and provided nothing but a minimal safety net, courts, and a constantly growing money supply.
Alas, that did not happen. And it did not happen because the world described by the Friedmans is not the world in which we live."


Brad DeLong: Re-Capturing the Friedmans

Crony Capitalism

Things white guys say...


Ties to Romney ’08 Helped Fuel Equity Firm - NYTimes.com:

"The Romneys’ $10 million investment in Solamere came through Ann Romney’s blind trust, which was set up when Mr. Romney became governor.

Brad Malt, a Boston lawyer who administers the trust, said he invested in Solamere without consulting Mitt Romney. Mr. Malt said he liked Solamere’s diversified approach and while he could have invested in more-established funds, his decision came down to knowing the founders. “I had confidence in their talents, integrity and intellect,” he said."