Anti-taxers love to haul out the legendary napkin-inscribed Laffer curve to demonstrate that lower taxes would yield more government revenue. But this ploy only works because they assume that we’re at or past the high point — that higher taxes would move us down the right slope. (Note the cross-marks-the-spot in the image here?) But […]
Modern Macroeconomic Methodology Seems to be quite the topic yesterday. I wrote this about a week ago and maybe it’s time to post it. Modern Macroeconomic Methodology (MMM) rests on two pillars: Milton Friedman’s methodology of positive economics and the Lucas critique. The problem is that an alternative possible title for “Econometric Policy Evaluation: A […]
Highlights from the transcript of Rush Limbaugh’s uber-viral Wednesday diatribe against Sandra Fluke (in case y’all missed it): What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a […]
Barry Ritholtz, who generally knows better, blew a gasket at ISDA for yesterday’s ruling that Greek bonds are not yet in default. Specifically, “The International Swaps and Derivatives Association said on Thursday that based on current evidence the Greek bailout would not prompt payments on the credit default swaps.” > Here is a question for […]
Health Care Thoughts: Assaults on Nurses – Celebrity Edition by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt(updated author to clarify) Assaults on nurses are a growing problem, with emergency department nurses in the most danger, followed closely by nurses caring for the mentally ill, substance abusers and elderly patients with dementia problems. It takes a Kennedy though to assault […]
I did a couple of posts a while back asking (and concluding) what would result from the Fed ending their interest on reserves policies. (Not suggesting they do so — just wondering what the effects of that one change would be.) I got a lot of good answers and discussion, but nobody mentioned the very […]
Today’s personal income data release was interesting. Overwhelming, everyone is reaching the conclusion that the economy is strengthening and that stronger consumer spending is a major factor behind this conclusion. But today’s report shows that we now have three consecutive months of zero growth in real personal consumption expenditures( PCE ) — the single largest […]
The U.S. Election Atlas shows the Michigan county by county results for the general election in 2008. Note that they have inexplicably reversed the normal Red-Blue color coding. Contrast those results with the 2012 Republican primary results. In the Lower Peninsula, the counties that went for Romney in a big way generally went for Obama […]
by Linda Beale Comparisons of charitable giving among presidential candidates[Hat Tip to Tax Prof] Len Burman, now a professor at Syracuse but still affiliated with the Tax Policy Center, wrote a blurb for Forbes on Stingy Rich People, Santorum-Gingrich Edition, Forbes (Feb. 20, 2012), which was a followup to Caron’s comparison of presidential contender giving […]