by cactus The End of the Recession – A Follow-Up In December, I wrote a post (which through a mixup went up in early January) about the end of the recession, stating this: Specifically, I expect it before the second half of next year. I’m actually hedging my bets here – my gut tells me […]

rdan Texas Observer carries commentary that is revealing. Editor’s note: These remarks were delivered to a meeting of the Texas Lyceum in Austin on April 3, at a debate between University of Texas professor James Galbraith, an Observer contributing writer, and former Majority Leader Richard Armey, chief instigator of the recent Astroturf “tea party” protests. […]

by cactus The Greenspan Fed, the 2000 Election, and the 2001 Recession In the past, I’ve had a few posts on the Greenspan era Fed. I’ve noted that some of its behavior seemed somewhat, er, biased, almost as if it the money supply was contracted a bit too much around election time when Democrats held […]

by David Zetland, post from Aguanomics Right to Water01 May 2009 I frequently say that was should be allocated on a “some for free, pay for more basis.” I borrowed this idea from South Africa, where water as a human right has been written into the constitution. Here’s an update [in french] on the right […]

rdan PEW Research Center has a small (724) sample of opinions among US citizens on the use of torture to gain important information. I believe it is too small to generate reliable data on differences among cohorts, class, and religiosity, but can be useful for discussions if the split is about 50/50.

rdan Changing fresh water patterns Some of the developing world’s largest rivers are drying up because of climate change, threatening water supplies in some of the most populous places on Earth, say scientists. Researchers from the US-based National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) analysed data combined with computer models to assess flow in 925 rivers […]

by Linda Beale, A cross-post from ataxingmatter Misunderstandings about Tax Today I was skimming the Washington Post, a newspaper that I don’t read as regularly as the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times, but find especially useful in providing insight into both Beltway thinking and beyond-the-Beltway thinking. I read a random mix of […]

rdan Bear vs. Bulls at Skeptical Capitalist. Good for a smile during the pain.

rdan May 1st, International Workers’ Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in many countries (66?) but not the United States, Canada, and (*******). This despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the United States, with the fight for an eight-hour work day. Update: […]