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

The Public Learns Disaster Relief Was Etched Out of the Sketch. Uh-Oh.

MITT ROMNEY: “Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut, […]

McMahon’s WWE has taken $36.7 million in Connecticut subsidies

 by Kenneth Thomas McMahon’s WWE has taken $36.7 million in Connecticut subsidies U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has received $36.7 million in Connecticut film tax credits in 20 separate deals since 2006, reports CTPost.com (thanks to Karin Richmond on the LinkedIn Public Incentives Forum). As in many states, what historically began […]

Mainstream and Semi-Mainstream Allegations Against Sitting Presidents

by Mike Kimel Mainstream and Semi-Mainstream Allegations Against Sitting Presidents I think back to each of the Presidents who was in office since Reagan,under whom I was old enough to start paying attention. And I wasthinking of the allegations that were made against each by theirpolitical enemies. I’m going to ignore the real fringe stuff, […]

Polling Obsession

The 2012 Presidential is so close just so close that not only do different polls show different results but different averages of polls do. OK it is clear that extremely fancy models such as the fivethirtyeight model which attempt to assign undecideds and use state data to estimate the national vote and vice versa are […]

Universities and ‘think tanks”

Via Naked Capitalism comes a heads up from reader Paul Tioxon: Propaganda on the Rise on the Health Care Policy FrontReader Paul Tioxon sent the following sighting by e-mail. By way of background, it’s important to keep in mind that pretty much every place that professes simply to read research and translate into stuff journalists […]

Water economics for beginners

From David Zetland (Aguanomics) comes this note… Marginal Revolution University [free, online] has released 14 lessons (2-7 min, each) on water economics as part of its development economics unit. They give a decent introduction to several issues. I am going to contribute a few lessons. The series has a point of view about an economic […]

Mark Thoma presses the issue of increasing income inequality

Mark Thoma  presses the issue of increasing income inequality: Via an email from Lane Kenworthy, here’s more research contradicting the claim made by Kevin Hassett and Aparna Mathur in the WSJ that consumption inequality has not increased (here’s my response summarizing additional work contradicting their claim, a claim that is really an attempt to blunt […]

Dean Baker ponders the lack of focus on Social Security

Dean Baker ponders the lack of focus on Social Security via Alternet: It is remarkable that social security hasn’t been a more issue in the presidential race. After all, Governor Romney has proposed a plan that would imply cuts of more than 40% for middle-class workers just entering the labor force . Since social security […]

Off-topic again: All dogs go to heaven

On Wednesday I posted here about Bella, my friend’s daughter’s three-year-old German shepherd/collie mix who suddenly started experiencing severe pain near the back of her spine last weekend and a day later became paraplegic.  A wonderful lady who’s active in animal shelter work took Bella this morning to see a highly-regarded vet who works closely […]