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

Price elasticity, taxes and wages: Or, why I don’t take wingnut economics seriously

by Bruce Webb It is I think a truism that in any economic enterprise all costs ultimately have to come out of price, that in the end ‘the customer pays’. But what is not true is that price is infinitely elastic, at some point price in and of itself will restrain demand, and while you […]

Uncertain tax postions

by Linda Beale The IRS released its draft schedule and instructions for the new initiative (announced late in January by Commissioner Shulman and set forth in Ann. 2010-9) for disclosure on new Schedule UTP on uncertain tax positions for taxpayers with assets of $10 million or more. The release, Ann. 2010-30 [Download Ann.2010-30. uncertain tax […]

John McWhorter on James Patterson and Some Odd Numbers on Black Childhood Poverty

by cactus John McWhorter on James Patterson and Some Odd Numbers on Black Childhood Poverty I’m kinda in the home stretch for the fact checking on my book – we’ve revised and rewritten and rechecked so many times I’m ready to plotz, but even so, I’m willing to bet some mistakes will creep in. Its […]

Milken Global Conference

Just cactching up. Hat tip to Mark Thoma for the post on the Milken Global Conference. He mentions the panel on Geopolitics, Global Demand and the Quest for Energy Security”, and the video from the session Roubini and Milken Debate Where we’ve been-where we’re going

HOW MUCH MONEY DOES A MAN NEED

by Dale Coberly HOW MUCH MONEY DOES A MAN NEED A morality tale Leo Tolstoy tells a story about a Russian peasant who makes a deal with the Devil. The devil will give the man as much land as he can walk around in one day. But, the devil warns him (the devil always tells […]

Healthcare Reform Myths and Countering Facts

by run75441 Portions of this post originally appeared in HealthBeat Blog as written by Maggie Mahar; Myths & Facts About HealthCare Reform: Who Wins & Who Loses? and Myths & Facts about Health Care Reform Part 2: Doctors Who Take Medicare Healthcare Reform Myths and Countering Facts The media has fun chumming the airwaves with […]

CORE CPI

I have reported on this in previous years, but in the first quarter the increase in the not seasonally adjusted (NSA) core CPI was the smallest increase since the early 1960s. Moreover, the 2010 increase was only 0.5%, or less than half the average increase of 1.2% from 2000 to 2009.Why is this important? In […]

War reporting and discussion

It has been asked a number of times why Angry Bear has not posted on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for awhile now. William Pitt asks the same question for himself: William Pitt writes an op-ed about where the criticism in the press and blogs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have gone […]