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

Children of Tragedy

Run75441 sends a note and this post: The Bell presents a good read at his blog giving a non-partisan perspective of the tragedy in Tucson AZ and how it may affect our future outlook: Children of Tragedy Which Face Will Be Our Face? Pundits and politicians from both sides of the ideological divide were quick […]

Health Care thoughts: The Best Jobs in Health Care

Health Care: The Best Jobs in Health Care Teaching seminars and advising college students headed for various health careers, I am often asked about the ‘best” health care careers. During a seminar many years ago I came up with a top five, and after some thought I think the list is still valid. Draw any […]

One Less Blog to Answer: No More "Girl Economist"

Between deadlines and strange website blockages, I missed this yesterday. Via Steve Randy Waldman (whose “Interfludity” is blocked) and Mark Thoma (whose isn’t) comes Really Bad News: To all Maxine Udall Girl Economist Readers: It is with great sadness that we bring you the news that Dr. Alison Snow Jones, aka Maxine Udall, Girl Economist, […]

Tax Rates v. Real GDP Growth Rates, a Scatter Plot

by Mike Kimel Tax Rates v. Real GDP Growth Rates, a Scatter PlotCross posted at the Presimetrics blog. This post was submitted by Kaleberg. In this post, I will look at the relationship between top marginal income tax rates and real GDP growth using a scatter plot. I am inordinately fond of scatter plots. The […]

If Troll Patrol was Just This Easy at AB

Norwegian boy fends off wolves with Creed song He was listening to “Overcome” by Creed, an arguably Christian rock band, and apparently, the wolves were not fans. (Initial reports indicated Walter shooed the wolves away with a Megadeth song,) Ah yes the old Creed vs Megadeath conundrum. Throw in some Black Sabbath and we could […]

Revisiting the Ryan Roadmap: Tax Freedom for Billionaires

The Ryan Roadmap was introduced and then dropped into obscurity as Republicans simply ignored it and appararantly its author, the House Budget Committee Ranking Member Paul Ryan. Well that was then, today that is CHAIRMAN Paul Ryan and the official respondee to the SOTU plus the man who has unilateral control over budget levels this […]

David Frum explains why friends don’t let friends vote for Republicans

He wrote The right kind of focused, temporary government spending can also be a powerful job creator. Over the next generation, we desperately need to improve our road, air, and rail networks and to modernize our systems for distributing electricity. We should be doing as much as possible of this work now, to spur recovery. […]

The Real State of the Union. Mr. President, I suggest for you: Flowers.

By: Daniel Becker Well, it’s that time of year again. The State of the Union. And the state of my business. So far, from what I’m reading regarding the expected content of the address by President Obama, I think I’ll just practice my playing as I usually do on Tuesday nights. Really? What’s the use […]

How Tax Rates Affect Investment and Consumption – A Look at the Data

by Mike Kimel How Tax Rates Affect Investment and Consumption – A Look at the DataCross posted at the Presimetrics blog This post looks at how changes in the top marginal tax rates affect peoples’ decisions on how much to consume and invest. Ask a libertarian or conservative economist and the answer is obvious – […]