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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Have Labour Will Trave
Why the pendulum has swung from labor to capital.
"Many commentators about globalisation said that it would create an imbalance between labour and capital, for the simple reason that capital is free to move wherever it wants, and labour, except at the very top end, is not. And so it is turning out, with the middle classes of much of the developed world under extreme pressure, and shrinking."
"Many commentators about globalisation said that it would create an imbalance between labour and capital, for the simple reason that capital is free to move wherever it wants, and labour, except at the very top end, is not. And so it is turning out, with the middle classes of much of the developed world under extreme pressure, and shrinking."
Saturday, February 25, 2012
When (and Where) Work Disappears
The impact of low cost Chinese imports on U.S. cities.
Friday, February 24, 2012
On GE, Just Say "No"
The debate over tax rates hides the fact that much of income inequality is a pre tax problem. Insiders get deals like these. Average small businesses cannot get access to these terms.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Iran, Echoes of Iraq War
The same dopes who got us into the Iraq war now want us to strike Iran. Why do Americans not learn? Only 30% oppose an attack on Iran.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Corporations will call for both a lower rate and continued deductions. This should surprise no one.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Mitt Romney's Wingman
Mitt Romney's Wingman:
... here's the essence of [Ron Paul's] attack: Rick Santorum was a Republican US senator when George W. Bush was president!
It just shows how far things have come in the GOP, when supporting Dubya means you weren't a real conservative.
It just shows how far things have come in the GOP, when supporting Dubya means you weren't a real conservative.
More Evidence of the Tilt between Capital & Labor
Companies complain that they cannot find good workers. Manufacturing unit labor costs have declined 10 percent since 2002. But the price mark up over unit labor costs has increased dramatically.
Restraining unit labor costs is a right-wing conspiracy
This is one of the important points to remember when debating income inequality. The scales have been tilted between labor and capital. It is about more than productivity. It is certainly much more than a debate about levels of taxation.
interfluidity � Restraining unit labor costs is a right-wing conspiracy
interfluidity � Restraining unit labor costs is a right-wing conspiracy
Monday, February 20, 2012
Inventing on Principle
Not sure what can be learned listening to this lecture, except the fact that this guy is really smart. Like watching a Michael Jordan video on how to dunk.
Bret Victor: Inventing on Principle | The Big Picture
Bret Victor: Inventing on Principle | The Big Picture
Why doesn’t right favor looser monetary policy?
The implications of this are stunning. They do not because it just doesn't sound right.
Why doesn’t the right-wing favor looser monetary policy? — Marginal Revolution
Maybe Too Much Money is not a Problem.
Given the size of the stakes, there could arguably be more money in politics. On the other hand, lobbying is really cheap and efficient.
RealClearPolitics - The Super PAC Confusion
RealClearPolitics - The Super PAC Confusion
Manufacturing shortage of skilled workers
This is because companies are unwilling to spend money to train their workers. They are lobbying the government to do this for free. Contrast this with the recent posts about Ivy League and banking. Investment banks are willing to spend a lot of money training workers even though they only expect them to stay for two years.
Beat the Press elaborates on the incompetence of the managers interviewed in the article.
Santorum Is Not Funny
This is another case where Republicans convince people by rhetoric to vote against their own best interests. Republican platforms will all spend less money on disability services. Yet Santorum uses claims that liberals want to "cull the ranks of disabled" as attempt to drive a cultural wedge between middle class and democratic candidates.
Is This the End of Market Democracy?
Inequality has become one theme of the 2012 election. Differences in tax policy are the most recognizable. Each side represents contrasting solutions to the "weakening of social fabric associated with contemporary economic trends and the damage that can be inflicted by market forces."
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Ivy League and Basketball
Will try not to blog too much about Lin.
Can't resist the Onion
Ivy League and Investment Banking
Investment Banking and Ivy League liberal arts majors are made for each other.
And the original Klein piece with retorts.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Chinese Labor, Cheap No More
NYT wishful thinking.
Where are the editors?
Hourly rate has gone up, but still one of cheapest in Asia.
Hourly rate has gone up, but still one of cheapest in Asia.
Internet and Cognitive Inequality
The Internet is a Major Driver of the Growth of Cognitive Inequality | Mother Jones:
Moral of the story: the internet makes dumb people dumber and smart people smarter. If you don't know how to use it, or don't have the background to ask the right questions, you'll end up with a head full of nonsense. But if you do know how to use it, it's an endless wealth of information. Just as globalization and de-unionization have been major drivers of the growth of income inequality over the past few decades, the internet is now a major driver of the growth of cognitive inequality. Caveat emptor.
Manufacturing Illusions
Unions are an integral element in addressing income inequality.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Is America More Conservative?
On social issues, one could argue that America is actually much more liberal than in 1960.
The Politics of the Super Rich
The impact of wealthy givers on this election is dramatically different.
" In a recent segment of his show, Stephen Colbert noted that half of the money ($67 million) raised by super PACs in 2011 had come from just 22 people. “That’s 7 one-millionths of 1 percent," or roughly .000000071%, Colbert said while spraying a fire extinguisher on his fuming calculator.�“So Occupy Wall Street, you’re going to want to change those signs.”
Iran Unlikely to Strike First
Duh.
Of course not. Containment works. All this talk of first strike is crazy.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Walmart Should Pay Its Employees More
Why strong unions are needed:
"Low-wage service jobs are not low-paid because they are low-skilled. They're low-paid because they're low-paid. Companies don't have to pay their employees more, so they don't."
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Norway Investment Model
Norway vs Ivy Model.
I remember one of the Norway PM's visiting Tokyo. He would accept nothing from brokers. Even lunch was prohibited.
The Norway Model by David Chambers, Elroy Dimson, Antti Ilmanen :: SSRN
I remember one of the Norway PM's visiting Tokyo. He would accept nothing from brokers. Even lunch was prohibited.
The Norway Model by David Chambers, Elroy Dimson, Antti Ilmanen :: SSRN
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
An American budget for the rich and powerful
The debate centers around tax rates. Pre tax and budget actions also favor the rich.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Rent Control,
Economic fairy tales. Things are not always what models predict they would be.
Labor's Declining Share of Total Income
CONVERSABLE ECONOMIST: Labor's Declining Share of Total Income:
"Economists have identified three long-term factors that can explain why the wage-productivity gap has widened and the share of income accruing to labor has declined. The first is the decrease in the bargaining power of labor, due to changing labor market policies and a decline of the more unionized sectors. Another factor is increased globalization and trade openness, with the resulting migration of relatively more labor-intensive sectors from advanced economies to emerging economies. As a consequence, the sectors remaining in the advanced economies are relatively less labor-intensive, and the average share of labor income is lower. The third factor is technological change connected with improvements in information and communication technologies, which has raised the marginal productivity and return to capital relative to labor."
The 2012 Question
Only 9% of benefits go to those who might be demeaned as "slackers". Most benefits go to over 65 and disabled.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A Proposal for Penn Station
This guy needs to get out more.
Quarter of the workforce dropouts go on disability
Disability drives one quarter of the loss of labor force participation.
Bernanke, Housing Markets in Transition
No easy solution to the housing market. We have bottomed but whether there will be a rebound is unclear.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Uselessness of learning foreign languages?
Larry Summers is wrong again. Will he really end up leading the World Bank?
On the uselessness of learning foreign languages | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists
On the uselessness of learning foreign languages | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists
How America made its children crazy
Asia Times Online :: How America made its children crazy:
The most successful people are not the cleverest in terms of sheer processing power, but those who multiply cleverness with persistence.
Whitewash of Foxconn
Are companies for the benefit of shareholders or stakeholders?
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
On Unions
Who says the Ivy League is a bastion of liberalism?
What is the fiscal multiplier?
It depends.
What does this literature tell policymakers and others trying to assess the impact of fiscal policy changes? It is an inconvenient reality that this literature provides an enormous range of multiplier estimates, ranging from –1 to 3. However, this range is not so much a reflection of disagreement over an underlying parameter as it is a reflection of one of the key lessons of this research—that there is no single multiplier that can be applied mechanically to all situations
Truth, lies and Afghanistan
The strategy is "Declare Victory and Leave".
Truth, lies and Afghanistan - February 2012 - Armed Forces Journal - Military Strategy, Global Defense Strategy
Truth, lies and Afghanistan - February 2012 - Armed Forces Journal - Military Strategy, Global Defense Strategy
Monday, February 06, 2012
Sunday, February 05, 2012
The West Rt. 50-Gallows feed
The ethics of merging. Are you an ethical or an unethical merger?
Saturday, February 04, 2012
An odd question
An illustrative example of the problem of our government; no grownups.
The problem is that the other half of our policy regime is not run by grown-ups.� So Bernanke is forced to talk to Congress in much the same way I used to talk to my daughter about the tooth fairy.� He can’t simply go to Congress and lay “the facts of life” out on the table, because they can’t handle the truth.� They aren’t mentally equipped to deal with the reality that fiscal and monetary stimulus are two ways to boost AD, and if they do more the Fed will probably do less.�
Tax Expenditures & Federal Budget
Good summary of types and relative size of tax expenditures.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Bernanke to Savers: We don't owe you a living
A Dash of Insight: Bernanke to Savers: We don't owe you a living:
Bernanke is a Republican, with a conservative background.� This is typical for Fed Chairs.
If President Bush had been re-elected, the current GOP fiscal argument would be different.� There would be support for stimulus, including both tax cuts or spending.� If you do not believe this, look back in history to the end of the Bush administration.
If President Bush had been re-elected, the GOP monetary story would be different.� They would be screaming for easy money, as both parties have always done, including past GOP administrations, and including Bush senior.
Paul Ryan is an ambitious and aspiring VP candidate who has a theme that resonates --- balancing the budget.� It is an effective political argument -- for the party out of power.
If President Bush had been re-elected, the current GOP fiscal argument would be different.� There would be support for stimulus, including both tax cuts or spending.� If you do not believe this, look back in history to the end of the Bush administration.
If President Bush had been re-elected, the GOP monetary story would be different.� They would be screaming for easy money, as both parties have always done, including past GOP administrations, and including Bush senior.
Paul Ryan is an ambitious and aspiring VP candidate who has a theme that resonates --- balancing the budget.� It is an effective political argument -- for the party out of power.