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

Valuing "Women’s Work"

One of the hardest things in the world is to value that which is not otherwise measured. The old observation that a man who marries his housekeeper reduces GDP is both sexist and accurate. Still (via Erin), the salary.com estimate that being an at-home parent is worth $117,000 p.a. seems a bit high. And we […]

The WSJ version of History

An article on Che Guevara becomes surreal: For many Argentines, he evokes painful memories of the bloody 1970s, when young Che-wannabes took up arms in the name of revolution. The ensuing turmoil gave rise to a brutal right-wing military dictatorship. Yes, the families of the “desaparecidos” all consider Che the reason their family tree is […]

Defining "uprooted"

It rained and stormed a bit yesterday. After speaking with my insurance company, I am told the following: This is considered an “Act of G-d” (clearly, the OT version of same) Since the damage is almost all on my neighbor’s property (their fence, their swing set, their garage), it’s not covered under my policy. Since […]

A Quick One on Externalities of Foreign Trade

I won’t pretend this is part of the Vladimir Masch discussion, or one of the traditional thorough-analysis Angry Bear posts. Just a data point on which we may need to work later, and a report that will be of interest to many who read here. UPDATE: As rdan notes in comments, this “links to testing […]

How to Devalue Your Brand, Greg Mankiw Version

Greg Mankiw, clearly distracted by his former collaborator’s wife having been denied a tenured position at Harvard, quotes Fred Bergsten in the WSJ, Instapundit-style: By effectively killing “fast track” procedures that guarantee a yes-or-no vote on trade agreements within 90 days, lawmakers in Washington, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have destroyed the credibility of […]

Greg Mankiw Gives Us Another Reason to Scream "Yours!"

I think he may believe it’s good news that the S&P 500 forward valuation (what we believe we might make next year, having nothing necessarily to do with current earnings or actual sales) has returned, approximately, to the level of 1998.* The problem, as I noted more than two years ago, is that, even ignoring […]

Michelle Malkin Will Get the Vapors When She Sees This

As a direct result of the six-Republican, one Democrat California Supreme Court’s decision last week, people who have shared everything for 21 years now get to marry. Pull quote: As a Japanese American, I am keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I […]

Correlation is not Causation, but

J. C. Bradbury notes that early-season weather and home runs hit, while it is noted in comments that the decline is primarily in the American League and some suggestions on developing a model are made. (No, I’m not turning this into a baseball blog. There are purposes to these posts. All will be revealed.)

Just a distraction

25*30 = 750 104/750 = 13.9% For those more conversant in the “disincentives of enforcement” literature than I, can you back into the Rational Expectation of Enforcement Practices that would lead nearly 14% of a population to conclude it is maximizing utility? And, given your calculation, what would that say about the Management Practices of […]