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

Michigan

I just posted a comment in the Comments thread to Bill H’s post on Michigan from Tuesday, and on a whim, because these issues hit a nerve for me, I’m reposting my comment as a full post here: I love this post.  It hits upon a few of my obsessions, but especially these two: The lack […]

Warren Answers Obama

“’We cannot afford a trade deal that undermines the government’s ability to protect the American economy,’ Warren said in the letter, also signed by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).” In a later email to her supporters: “‘The government doesn’t want you to read this massive new trade agreement. It’s top secret,’ […]

Hughes on First?

Sandwichman cross post taken from Econospeak Have to admit, the spectre of mailman flying a gyrocopter onto the lawn of the Capitol building appeals to the Sandwichman’s weakness for eccentric idealists. From the Tampa Bay Times, here is the letter that Doug Hughes was delivering to 535 members of both houses of Congress. Dear ___________, […]

The Continued Demise of Detroit Under Governor Snyder and Michigan

Naked Capitalism has an article The Continuing Depopulation of Detroit on Detroit which I attempted to answer. No one cause can be assigned to answer what happened to Detroit since 1950 and well before the first black Mayor was elected. I attempted to put this into perspective. This is not an easy and nor will […]

Darwin Wept: Pyramid Schemes, Collusion, and Price-Fixing, the Modern American Way

The story hardly bears repeating: Pricing is the ultimate miracle of Darwinian markets. Competitors who produce goods at lower prices thrive, expand their operations, and produce more. Those who charge higher prices (for equivalent goods) are driven to extinction when sensible purchasers abandon them for their more-efficient competitors. This inexorable mechanism drives innovation, investment, and productivity, […]

A Fractal Case for Big Government

Brad DeLong made a case for big government and higher deficits. Paul Krugman wrote an exagerated pun of praise. The part he liked was the appeal to myopia and paternalistic proposal “The problem is that as we move into the twenty-first century, the commodities we will be producing are becoming … more subject to myopia […]

Epic Fail for the Postal Service: The Wrong Model and the Wrong BOG

Guest post by MARK JAMISON via Save the Post Office Epic Fail for the Postal Service: The wrong model and the wrong BOG In 2001 Postmaster General Bill Henderson submitted the first blueprints for a transformation of the Postal Service into a sleeker, more efficient business entity.  To justify the transformation, the rhetoric has repeated […]