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

Globalization

The story of globalization from a US point of view continues. Here AB reader Denis Drew is highlighted at DeLong’s website: Paul Krugman on globalization Brad DeLong asks ‘what did PK miss?’ Comment of the Day: Dennis Drew: GLOBALIZATION: WHAT DID PAUL KRUGMAN MISS?: “I’m always the first to say that if today’s 10 dollars an hour […]

This Is Tax Simplification?

This Is Tax Simplification? I happen to support tax simplification that does not increase regressivity of the tax system, and I recognize that there are a few parts of the Trump tax change that do that.  But mostly it massively increases regressivity, along with massively increasing the budget deficit at a time when we are […]

LOLFF on TED

LOLFF on TED  In a TED talk, “3 myths about the future of work and why they are not true” from December 2017, Daniel Susskind channels Sandwichman: Now the third myth, what I call the superiority myth. It’s often said that those who forget about the helpful side of technological progress, those complementarities from before, […]

A note of caution about opinion surveys with voluntary associations

A thought for Sunday: a note of caution about opinion surveys with voluntary associations I read a Pew Research study a few days ago with a startling statistic: aside from self-identified Republicans, the single group most strongly approving of Trump was white evangelical Protestants (dark is approval, light is disapproval): This is mind-numbing, especially when […]

6 Minutes and 20 Seconds . . .

Needed to murder 17 high school students. A Congress to afraid to pass laws and oppose the NRA and its members, a minority of the population holding the majority hostage to it’s tyranny. And then there is this dirt bag, Republican Senator Rick Santorum suggesting students should learn CPR rather than becoming engaged in the […]

MMT and the Wealth of Nations, Revisited

by Steve Roth  (at Asymptosis) I just had occasion, in replying to a correspondent, to reiterate much of the thinking in my recent MMT Conference presentation. I thought it might be a useful and comprehensible form for some readers, so I’m reproducing it here. I’ve also explained this at somewhat painful length here. Correct me if I am […]

The Unsolved Riddle of Poverty Reduction

The Unsolved Riddle of Poverty Reduction A submission to the B.C. Poverty Reduction Strategy engagement process March 23. 2018 “What makes one poor is not the lack of means. The poor person, sociologically speaking, is the individual who receives assistance because of the lack of means.” – Georg Simmel “A tight labor market is important for all […]