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

Two stories about water use

rdan Bolinas goes from 400 gal./day household to 100 gal./day household use. Fresno has no meters. These are two anecdotal stories about water use that are interesting, revealing the variety of problems localities face. The stories reflect residential use only, which is about 12% of total water use in the US according to USGS.

I Remember When Mankiw was still a Neo-Keynesian

Cassander, writing at Steve Keen’s Debtwatch,* puts the hammer to those arguing that the death of the patient had nothing to do with the doctor: What a load of bollocks. The “principles of economics” that [N. Gregory] Mankiw champions, and the “More economic research (and teaching)” that [Doug] McTaggart et al are calling for, are […]

Hacktackular! Samuelson on Social Security

by Bruce Webb The following piece is so bad that I won’t even put any of it above the fold, nor will I waste my time critiquing it. But people should know that the battle over Social Security is not over, crap like this is routinely delivered via our major media voices. Robert Samuelson in […]

Contra General Theory Pro "The General Theory …"

Robert Waldmann In the post below, I totally humiliate myself by arguing that they way to appreciate “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money” is to totally reject the idea that economists should aim for general theories. So which is it ? Do I reject “The General Theory …” or do I accept general […]

Dr Keynes Prescription

Robert Waldmann Oddly I imagine debating Niall Ferguson and manage to make a fool of myself.This requires genius in reverse, so I will post my thoughts as an example of what not to say. Brad DeLong quotes a “friend” who notes that Ferguson, lacking any valid arguments, attempted unsuccessfully to bait Krugman into losing his […]

UnReal Business Cycle

Via Dr. Black, those RBC models may be missing a variable or two: In April, the rate in the United States rose to 8.9 percent. When the European figures are compiled, it seems likely that the American rate will be higher for the first time since Eurostat began compiling the numbers in 1993…. First, it […]

NW Plan: Combined OAS and DI Triggers

(Update: input numbers by Coberly the Office of the Actuary of SSA; calculations and output numbers by Coberly) Click to enlarge. This is what the result of implementing DI and OAS Triggers immediately would look like. 100% of scheduled benefits, no increase in retirement age, ending Trust Fund ratio of 123. This should be considered […]

Deficit from 12.9 to 3 per cent?

rdan Bloomberg reports on Timothy Geithner committed to cutting the budget deficit as concern about deteriorating U.S. creditworthiness deepened, and ascribed a sell-off in Treasuries to prospects for an economic recovery. “It’s very important that this Congress and this president put in place policies that will bring those deficits down to a sustainable level over […]

It Rarely Happens But What Goes Around Can, Potentially, Come Around

by cactus It Rarely Happens But What Goes Around Can, Potentially, Come Around Dear Mr. Obama, Incriminating information about a certain individual has come to my attention. In the 1980s, this individual praised and defended a small cabal that worked its way into the highest levels of government and then sold modern American military equipment […]