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

Tubes !

Robert Waldmann Not the intertubes, 18 mile long tubes held up by helium baloons releasing S02 into the stratosphere. Daniel Davies writes if you find yourself writing, in all seriousness, as a practical proposal, the phrase “pumping large quantities of sulphur dioxide into the Earth’s stratosphere through an 18-mile-long hose, held up by helium balloons”, […]

The New Black Gold–will tax boondoggles never cease?

The tax code seems to foster one boondoggle after another. The ones getting my attention this week are the alternative fuel tax credits enacted in the 2005 highway bill. This was intended as a credit to encourage the development of alternative fuels for vehicles to cut our reliance on global warming-causing fossil fuels. See Natural […]

Wired for sterotypes and stereotypical responses?

rdan Stereotypes and the brain suggests that older folk (over 60-88) are more susceptible to stereotypical thinking than younger people (age 18-25). A decade ago, a research team led by William von Hippel of the University of Queensland challenged that assumption. The psychologists proposed that older people may exhibit greater prejudice because they have difficulty […]

WaPo Headline and Abstract III

Robert Waldmann I think that something has changed at www.washingtonpost.com, because I am infuriated by many headlines and abstracts of articles. I don’t know if the same headlines appear in the dead trees version. Today we get Record-High U.S. Deficit May Dash Obama Goals Budget gap of $1.4T, while an improvement over worst projections, means […]

Elinor Ostrom – An End to Homo Economicus?

by Gavin Kennedy (cross posted from Adam Smith’s Lost Legacy) Elinor Ostrom – An End to Homo Economicus? Mario Rizzo writes (13 Oct) in Wall Street Pit HERE and Here: “Elinor Ostrom and the Relevance of Economics” “In fact, I would venture the guess than most economists had not heard of her before the prize […]

In Which I Hope I’m Gettying Pranked

This cannot be true, can it? Louisiana Justice of the Peace Denies Marriage License to Interracial Couple: According to [Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish], he won’t support interracial marriages because he doesn’t feel that black or white society will accept the children of the couple once they are born. I […]

Scariest Irvine Foreclosure

Dr. Black had a link to foreclosures in Irvine, California. This one especially caught my eye: 5031 Alcorn Lane, Turtle RockAmount owed: $298,876.14Last sale: July 2001, $485,000Auction date & time: Nov. 5 at 10 a.m.Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.Trustee sale #: JPM-580Information: 714-573-1965 [emphasis mine] I […]

Rasmussen

Robert Waldmann The Rasmussen polling agency has two reputations. They have a good record predicting the vote in elections (which means especially primary elections give schduling and attention and stuff). On general public opinion, they ask questions which sure sound like Republican push polls. The theories are that they want to become Republican’s favorite pollster […]