Cheney asks this question: “Would the United States and other free nations be better off or worse off with (Abu Musab al-) Zarqawi, (Osama) bin Laden and (Ayman al-) Zawahiri in control of Iraq?” he asked. “Would be we safer or less safe with Iraq ruled by men intent on the destruction of our country?” […]
I thought I’d follow up on the FT story from earlier this week which noted that manufacturers claim that, even though they are laying off large numbers of workers (generally their less-skilled workers, they say), they are still very interested in hiring more highly educated workers such as technicians, engineers, and so forth. Unsurprisingly (at […]
I guess we can give thanks as we headed out on our commutes to friends and relatives that gasoline prices were not as high as they were two months ago. Keeping in the spirit of the holidays – James Hamilton declares the windfall profits tax proposal a real turkey as he links to Arnold Kling […]
This has nothing to do with economics, nothing to do with politics, and only a little to do with Thanksgiving. But that slight connection is enough of an excuse for me to recycle this old Angry Bear post. After all, Thanksgiving makes me think about football season, and football season makes me think of… Friday […]
In today’s NYTimes, Cornell economist Robert Frank suggests that perhaps they didn’t. He argument consists of two primary elements: Since happiness seems to depend more on relative wealth (compared to one’s peers, for example) than absolute wealth, and since all of the wealthy are getting wealthier together thanks to the Bush tax cuts, having more […]
Mark Thoma notes that this piece from yesterday’s FT fits with his belief that “education is a key factor in our ability to compete in the emerging global marketplace.” I tend to agree. US manufacturing ‘undermined by skills gap’ More than three quarters of US manufacturers say that a scarcity of skilled workers is holding […]
Alas, the news is not about the House Republican leadership doing an about face and supporting an increase in the nominal minimum wage: WASHINGTON – The House on Tuesday agreed to a $3,100 pay raise for Congress next year to $165,200 after defeating an effort to roll it back. In a 263-152 vote, the House […]
John Tamny took some real heat for comments such as this: Despite clear evidence that the marginal rate cuts of the 1920s, ’60s, and ’80s (not to mention the 2003 tax cuts) led to higher revenues. In defense of Tamny, all he is doing is repeating claims from the likes of Art Laffer and his […]
Congressman Murtha was excellent on Meet the Press answering each question quite honestly: MR. RUSSERT: In hindsight, do you now believe your vote for the war in Iraq in 2002 was a mistake?REP. MURTHA: Obviously, it was a mistake. I mean, all of us were misled by the information that we had. But it was […]
Rumors of the housing market’s demise are probably premature. Yes, inventories are rising and price appreciation has slowed – and even some small price declines have been reported in Boston and anecdotally in San Diego. Also activity has slowed in some areas, like Northern California. But overall, inventories are still in line with a healthy […]