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

The WSJ editorial page slams…John McCain

by Ken Houghton It was five degrees (C) warmer here this morning than the previous two days of taking the Eldest Daughter to her school bus. Presumably, this is balanced out in part by record-low temperatures in Hell, as the WSJ editorial page (well, Thomas Frank, but still…) summarizes the McCain Position: Last week, Republican […]

David Leonhardt needs to retire, having abdicated responsibility

by Ken Houghton I don’t believe David Leonhardt is an idiot, but that’s not based on the evidence at hand: There are really only two [questions]: What steps are most likely to solve the immediate crisis? And how can the long-term cost to taxpayers be minimized? Everything else — reducing executive pay on Wall Street, […]

Corporate CEOs May Want to Rethink Outsourcing

by Ken Houghton Via Glenn Greenwald, a riff that is going around (see orchidgrrl nyc for the faux-Fafblog version), has become reality—in India: Corporate India is in shock after a mob of sacked workers bludgeoned to death the chief executive who had dismissed them from a factory in a suburb of Delhi. The punchline, as […]

A Brief Interlude

Now I understand why McCain’s (mis)handlers are complaining about the NYTimes.* *Ignoring that they already know they’re not winning the election, and therefore want to keep the base motivated for the imminent Obama impeachment.

Chris Dodd knows how to play Chicken

by Ken Houghton I had the same reaction to his “we have to do something” comments on Sunday as Dr. Black. But we both, clearly, forgot the game that was being played. Monday is a day of work, and Dodd has clearly prepared well: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.Sec. 2. Authority to purchase […]

Never let an Economist use "Unintended Consequences" Again

by Ken Houghton It’s not been a Good Weekend for me to read Berkeley-based Economists. (Though DeLong is on fire, in a good way, and has been since that initial post.) Via Mark Thoma, this from Barry Eichengreen: In the United States, there were two key decisions. The first, in the 1970’s, deregulated commissions paid […]

In Which I Fail Basic Budget Math

CNN does some he-said, she-said, but throws in some data: The administration’s proposal also requests that Congress authorize an increase to the nation’s debt ceiling. Currently, it’s set to rise to $10.6 trillion for fiscal year 2009 – which runs from October 2008 through September 2009. But the proposal requests that limit be increased to […]

The Safest Senator

When calling Congresscritters tomorrow, especially for those in NY State, please feel free to remind Senator Schumer’s office that he and Barack Obama were the two people [in contested elections] who finished with the widest margin of victory in 20062004 [h/t to my Loyal Reader and Kohole in comments]—about a 50% margin in both cases. […]

The New Feminism: Nothing for Rape Prevention

Via The Good Roger Ailes, ABC News reports that rape kits aren’t the only thing Sarah Palin tried to leave the responsibility of the victim: Fighting back against allegations she may have fired her then-Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan, for refusing to go along with a personal vendetta, Palin on Monday argued in a legal […]