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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

This is your brain on behavioural economics - The Globe and Mail

This is your brain on behavioural economics - The Globe and Mail

Empiricism

Study math

http://t.ritholtz.com/bigpicture/#!/entry/rise-of-the-empiricists,5107bfced7fc7b56700b0b38


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

Personal Drivers and Blind Spots in Study on Poor Smart Kids and College Choice | Cedar's Digest

Personal Drivers and Blind Spots in Study on Poor Smart Kids and College Choice | Cedar's Digest

Head Start is Failing Its Test


Education is hard.

CONVERSABLE ECONOMIST: Head Start is Failing Its Test

One Investment that Can Reduce Our Long-Term Debt

One Investment that Can Reduce Our Long-Term Debt

Pharmaceutical Companies Lead the Fight Against the Free Market

This is a great example of how the rich rig rules to get all the money. Then they let the loser liberals run around saying that we need the government to help the poor. 

Pharmaceutical Companies Lead the Fight Against the Free Market | Beat the Press

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

'No US Peace Dividend after Afghanistan'

Economist's View: 'No US Peace Dividend after Afghanistan'

Research Heroes: Richard Thaler | :InDecision:

Research Heroes: Richard Thaler | :InDecision:

IBM Watson Caught using Swear Words like 'Bullshit' -

IBM Watson Caught using Swear Words like 'Bullshit' - ParityNews.com: ...Because Technology Matters

Lies, damn lies and Statistics

Internet Explorer vs Murder Rate Will Be Your Favorite Chart Today

Outsourcing tide is not likely to turn -

The in sourcing meme is just that. The fundamental factors still support outsourcing.

Outsourcing tide is not likely to turn - FT.com

Death Panels in Japan

Let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says Japanese minister | World news | guardian.co.uk

Do higher marginal tax rates lead superstar athletes to play less often?

Why marginal tax rates do not effect top earners. Higher rates do trickle down to accountants.

Richard's Real Estate and Urban Economics Blog: Do higher marginal tax rates lead superstar athletes to play less often?

Home Depot Syndrom, the Purple Squirrel, and America's Job Hunt Rabbit Hole

Companies are too cheap to groom and grow workers.


Penn Gazette | Home Depot Syndrom, the Purple Squirrel, and America's Job Hunt Rabbit Hole

Firms Keep Piles of 'Foreign' Cash in U.S.

Cannot say enough about how outrageous this is. The ability of companies to evade taxes and the hubris about it continues to stun.

Firms Keep Piles of 'Foreign' Cash in U.S. - WSJ.com

Algeria Attack Puts Focus on Worker Security

Once again, BP running things on the cheap, pays for it in it workers' lives.

Algeria Attack Puts Focus on Worker Security - NYTimes.com

Israeli PM Netanyahu Scrambles to Keep His Job

Israeli PM Netanyahu Scrambles to Keep His Job - NYTimes.com:

What passes for democracy in Israel.

 Netanyahu, who called early elections three months ago expecting easy victory, would be tapped to form the next government because the rival camp drew 12 of its 60 seats from Arab parties that traditionally are excluded from coalition building.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Two Views

West Point or the Onion?




Maybe the NRA is on to something

Prince Harry Compares War to PlayStation and Taliban Is Not Amused - NYTimes.com

Forecasting is hard, especially about the future

Jan 18

Is There Any Way to Defeat Venus and Serena Williams? - NYTimes.com

Jan 22

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/venus-and-serena-williams-lose-in-doubles/?ref=global-home


Compromise Requires Relationships (Not Friendships)

Compromise Requires Relationships (Not Friendships) - Ron Ashkenas - Harvard Business Review

Progressives and the Safety Net

Henry J. Aaron for Democracy Journal: Progressives and the Safety Net:


 Gradually raising the fraction of earnings subject to tax from the current 84 percent of earnings to the historical target of 90 percent of earnings, boosting the payroll-tax rate from 6.2 to 7 percent, and taxing currently exempt cash compensation would fully close Social Security’s projected long-term financing gap.


Fixes for both problems are straightforward. Protection against costs of very extended illnesses could be added to the standard Medicare benefit package and paid for with a small increase in premiums for upper-income enrollees, so that the burden on taxpayers is unchanged. Those Medicare enrollees who want to avoid facing deductibles and cost sharing could be offered a “super-Medicare” option that reduces or eliminates deductibles or cost sharing, priced to prevent any increase in the net cost of Medicare to taxpayers. Premiums could be set a bit below those of current Medigap coverage because of savings from eliminating one layer of administration.
Medicare’s defenders take pride in its low administrative costs. The truth is that Medicare spends too little on administration. The program could lower overall spending somewhat if it spent a bit more in certain areas. Each dollar spent on policing fraud would yield several dollars in savings. More program managers could do a better job of making sure that when new procedures are approved as safe and effective, Medicare pays only for approved cases, not for others where safety and efficacy are unproven. Tighter administration is not the financial magic bullet, but if ever the old saying “a billion here, a billion there; pretty soon you’re talking about real money” had bite, it would be here.
Third, some Medicare beneficiaries can afford higher premiums than they now pay. Individuals with incomes below $85,000 and couples with incomes below $170,000 currently pay no more than 25 percent of the cost of Medicare Parts B and D, which cover doctors, drugs, and medical devices. People with incomes above those thresholds pay premiums that cover 35 percent to 80 percent of the actuarial value of coverage. It is simply not credible to argue that couples with incomes of $100,000 to $170,000 cannot afford to pay more than one-fourth of the cost of Supplemental Medical Insurance.

What Is Driving Growth in Government Spending?

What Is Driving Growth in Government Spending? - NYTimes.com

Dell's Offshored Cash Hoard and Fair Taxes

Dell's Offshored Cash Hoard and Fair Taxes | Angry Bear - Financial and Economic Commentary

Cornell NYC Tech Will Foster Commerce Amid Education - NYTimes.com

Cornell NYC Tech Will Foster Commerce Amid Education - NYTimes.com:


 “The university has been at the forefront of big science since the 1940s and 1950s,” said Isaac Kramnick, a professor of government at Cornell’s main campus in Ithaca. “Now it’s entering an era in which it seems to be interested in for-profit science, and that does require some thinking as to what the fundamental purpose of a university is.”�

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Elliptical Answers to Why Winter Mornings Are So Long - NYTimes.com

Elliptical Answers to Why Winter Mornings Are So Long - NYTimes.com

Job Polarization in the 2000s?

Job Polarization in the 2000s? | CEPR Blog:

It is policy, not technology

 Our view is, instead, that other factors are actually driving inequality, overwhelmingly related to policy issues. But, even if you think technology is still the main culprit, the data for the 2000s clearly suggest that this particular version of the theory is not relevant to current conditions. Technology-driven job polarization is, at best, a story of the 1990s.

How California’s Online Education Pilot Will End College As We Know It

How California’s Online Education Pilot Will End College As We Know It | TechCrunch

Cognitive Biases that Prevent you From Being Rational - PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM

The Flu, Explained

The Flu, Explained | Mother Jones

Bernanke to Congress: Do your job, Pay the Bills

Calculated Risk: Bernanke to Congress: Do your job, Pay the Bills

NYTimes: Parents’ Financial Support May Not Help College Grades

From The New York Times:

Parents' Financial Support May Not Help College Grades

A new national study found that the more college money provided, the lower the student's grades.

http://nyti.ms/10vhmb3

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

A guide to the liquidity coverage ratio, for whingers


Great chart on the regulatory life cycle. Works for gun control as well.

A guide to the liquidity coverage ratio, for whingers | FT Alphaville

Secret Goldman Team Sidesteps Volcker

It's all about regulatory arbitrage.

Secret Goldman Team Sidesteps Volcker After Blankfein Vow - Bloomberg

The New Mandate on Defense

Major savings, trillions of dollars over a ten year period, can come from cutting the defense budget.

Barney Frank for Democracy Journal: The New Mandate on Defense

Gun Nuts

Watch this to understand how gun advocates really feel. Be sure to read the comments. These people believe that "citizen militias that are the last line of defense against a tyrannical government".


Creator of the 'Deport Piers Morgan' Petition Loses It on Piers Morgan's Show - Politics - The Atlantic Wire

US drone attacks 'counter-productive'

US drone attacks 'counter-productive', former Obama security adviser claims | World news | guardian.co.uk

Platinum Coin

How to avoid the debt ceiling limit.

PRAGMATIC CAPITALISMPhilip Diehl, Former Head of the US Mint Addresses Confusion Over the Platinum Coin Idea - PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM

It might not be constitutional:

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/01/no-1-trillion-platinum-coin-not-legal

And another view. 

Edward Lazear: Chinese 'Currency Manipulation' Is Not the Problem -

The interesting case where currency rates do not seem to impact trade.

Edward Lazear: Chinese 'Currency Manipulation' Is Not the Problem - WSJ.com

"the soil is different here"?

Some attitudes in Japan never change:

"“Even if a method works overseas, the soil in Japan is different, for example,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director at the environment ministry, who is in charge of the Fukushima cleanup. “And if we have foreigners roaming around Fukushima, they might scare the old grandmas and granddads there.”

Japan’s Cleanup After a Nuclear Accident Is Denounced - NYTimes.com

Monday, January 07, 2013

If we can’t kill farm subsidies, what can we kill?

When I owned a farm, I received government checks every year. The most represented zip code of checks is 10020, upper east side NYC.

Robert J. Samuelson: If we can’t kill farm subsidies, what can we kill? - The Washington Post

The Hoax of Entitlement Reform

Robert Reich (The Hoax of Entitlement Reform)

The Big Fail

An economy is not like a household:


For an economy is not like a household. A family can decide to spend less and try to earn more. But in the economy as a whole, spending and earning go together: my spending is your income; your spending is my income. If everyone tries to slash spending at the same time, incomes will fall — and unemployment will soar.


The Big Fail - NYTimes.com:

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Behavior Lessons for Leadership and Teamwork

Good advice: it is important to know when to play high (asset yourself) and when to play low (accept authority) in school, work and sports.

Behavior Lessons for Leadership and Teamwork | Stanford Graduate School of Business

Have We Lost the War on Drugs?

Have We Lost the War on Drugs? - WSJ.com

Chart of the day: U.S. health spending by service and age | The Incidental Economist

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/chart-of-the-day-u-s-health-spending-by-service-and-age/

The culture that is Japan

Japanese Buys $1.76 Million Tuna to Beat Hong Kong Rival Again - Bloomberg

White House weighs broad gun-control agenda in wake of Newtown shootings

Note the number and the tone of many of the comments. This shows how difficult passing significant laws on gun control will be.

White House weighs broad gun-control agenda in wake of Newtown shootings - The Washington Post

'Mint the coin': why the platinum coin campaign doesn't even work as satire

The debt ceiling, really  the default ceiling, must be raised. There is no other responsible course of action.


"A Congress like this doesn't need to be reminded of how ridiculous it is; it already knows that. It needs to be reminded of the nobility and dignity and importance of the offices they agreed to hold, and which they are now dragging through the mud."


'Mint the coin': why the platinum coin campaign doesn't even work as satire | Business | guardian.co.uk:



Wednesday, January 02, 2013