rdan I have been chasing information on the budget deficits and potential impacts, the US trade deficit, and the cap and trade arguments linked to HR 2454 Waxman-Markey bill of hundreds of pages. Mostly it was figuring out how assumptions in data and baselines (such as the CBO reports) made a difference in the shrillness […]

by reader ilsm The good and the bad (not ugly) analysis of the radically restructured US Army Future Combat System (FCS) if offered by GAO 09-793T: The testimony covers the lessons from the “restructure” of the US Army’s Boeing (Lead System Integrator, LSI, Bush administration non-ovation) FCS. The report lists “Good” things to do again, […]

by Cactus Iran and American Conservatives In Iran, protesters – a mostly young, college educated intellectual urban crowd – are getting their heads bashed in by the regime. Conservatives in the US are championing them and criticizing the administration for doing nothing. I’m curious – over the past few decades, how have conservatives in the […]

by cactus I was going through some old posts of mine looking for something I had written when I stumbled on a gem I had completely forgotten. A few years ago, I had a post that quoted a piece in the American Spectator. Sadly, it seems for some reason they’ve seen fit to take it […]

by reader Sammy Waxman-Markey: Intense Pain, No Environmental Gain I know you guys won’t like the source…. but try to deal with the issue. From this Editorial: If the pending Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill (HR 2454) becomes law, utility bills will soar. Farm and business energy costs will skyrocket — and be passed on […]

Robert Waldmann The unexpected increase in US productivity growth in the 90’s and naughties is an economic puzzle. At the time it was widely argued that investments in information and communications technology had finally finally paid off, that computers and the internet allowed vastly improved corporation wide inventory control and the increased output given inputs […]

rdan Barkley Rosser at Econospeak raises several economic points to consider in the current political turmoil in Iran, stagflation (inflation over 17.1%) and significant unemployment (16.3%) among the whole population and perhaps double among the young (2006 data suggests the median age at 24/25 years). …There are various numbers out there, but after digging around […]

Robert Waldmann The Washington Post just fired Dan Froomkin. This has caused considerable outrage on the web. Interestingly, my personal reaction was that Froomkin doesn’t need the Post — he will get high traffic with a new affiliation or with an independent blog. After the jump a recollection about how Froomkin has been getting in […]

lifted from comments, by reader vtcodger Vtcodger says: You’re right that Single Payer is probably the best answer for the US. And it is probably where we will end up. But apparently, we have to beat ourselves up some more before the Washington-NewYork elite are willing to face up to reality. So, we’re going to […]