Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Elinor Ostrom – An End to Homo Economicus?

by Gavin Kennedy (cross posted from Adam Smith’s Lost Legacy) Elinor Ostrom – An End to Homo Economicus? Mario Rizzo writes (13 Oct) in Wall Street Pit HERE and Here: “Elinor Ostrom and the Relevance of Economics” “In fact, I would venture the guess than most economists had not heard of her before the prize […]

In Which I Hope I’m Gettying Pranked

This cannot be true, can it? Louisiana Justice of the Peace Denies Marriage License to Interracial Couple: According to [Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish], he won’t support interracial marriages because he doesn’t feel that black or white society will accept the children of the couple once they are born. I […]

Scariest Irvine Foreclosure

Dr. Black had a link to foreclosures in Irvine, California. This one especially caught my eye: 5031 Alcorn Lane, Turtle RockAmount owed: $298,876.14Last sale: July 2001, $485,000Auction date & time: Nov. 5 at 10 a.m.Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.Trustee sale #: JPM-580Information: 714-573-1965 [emphasis mine] I […]

Rasmussen

Robert Waldmann The Rasmussen polling agency has two reputations. They have a good record predicting the vote in elections (which means especially primary elections give schduling and attention and stuff). On general public opinion, they ask questions which sure sound like Republican push polls. The theories are that they want to become Republican’s favorite pollster […]

Talking Point vs Reality: Health Care Reform’s Effect on Medicare

by Bruce Webb The latest Republican talking point, promoted among others by Chuck Grassley this morning, is that proposed cuts to Medicare make its financial situation more precarious. Why cut $500 billion if Medicare is already in trouble? This is totally backwards and shows a total unawareness of how Medicare is financed. So lets review: […]

Just Kill Me

Robert Waldmann Don’t kill the guy who writes headlines for www.washingtonpost.com. Nonviolence. First amendment. Free press. Don’t do it. I have already complained about another headline today, but I must admit that “Stagnant Prices Prevent Social Security Increase” totally leaves “Cap-and-Trade Would Slow Economy, CBO Chief Says” in the dust. OK so now the inflation […]

Globalized medicare vouchers

rdan Dean Baker suggests an intriguing innovation to competition in healthcare: While health care may at first blush not seem suitable for international trade, since the delivery is place specific, on closer inspection there are ways that the United States could benefit from the more efficient health care systems of other countries. The most obvious […]

Identify the Invisible Hand!

by Gavin Kennedy(cross posted from Adam Smith’s Lost Legacy) Identify the Invisible Hand! Alex Tabarrok writes on the Nobel Prize for Oliver Williamson in an article on the Marginal Revolution Blog “Oliver Williamson and the pin factory”, which is fine but it contains the following paragraph: “Transaction cost economics is all about applying these ideas […]

What Caused the Financial Crisis ?

Robert Waldmann has definitely not been spending enough time in bars. Nation food correspondent Calvin Trillin met a guy in a bar who explained why the financial system collapsed.I nominate some guy in a bar for the Nobel memorial prize in economics. The explanation ? “The financial system nearly collapsed,” he said, “because smart guys […]