I have no electric power and no dial tone. The cell tower seems to have been fixed.
Opinion
On Hurricanes, Presidents, Climate and One Clear Human Factor in the Sandy Disaster
As Mayor Bloomberg stresses climate change in endorsing President Obama, a fresh look at realistic approaches to curbing climate risks on a crowding, hazardous planet.
2
U.S.
‘Ex-Gay’ Men Fight Back Against View That Homosexuality Can’t Be Changed
Thousands of men believe they have changed their most basic sexual desires through therapy and prayer, something most scientists say has never been proved possible.
3
Business Day
A Keynesian Blind Spot
Government programs that ameliorate hardship also give people an incentive not to work, and Keynesians seem unable to acknowledge that, an economist writes.
4
Opinion
Two Candidates, One Foreign Policy
The U.S. presidential debate on foreign policy displayed a remarkable consensus on what to do (or not do) in the world beyond American shores.
5
N.Y. / Region
Long Lines Plague Commuters as a Transit System Slowly Recuperates
Drivers piled up behind bridge checkpoints, and riders waited for shuttle buses, sometimes for hours, on the way into Manhattan.
6
Opinion
Ideology Over Reality
Senate Republicans seem to have pressured the Congressional Research Service to withdraw a report debunking conservative economic orthodoxy.The Ultimate Zombie Idea
Zombie
ideas — a phrase I originally saw in the context of myths about
Canadian health care — are policy ideas that keep being killed by
evidence, but nonetheless shamble relentlessly forward, essentially
because they suit a political agenda.
The controversy over the withdrawal by the Congressional Research Service of a report showing no connection between tax cuts for the rich and economic growth is a reminder that in U.S. politics, at least, the tax cuts/growth notion is the ultimate zombie idea.
I mean, when the CRS report first came out I didn’t write about it because it was basically old news (which is not to criticize the report, which did a fine job of putting the evidence together). Nobody has ever been able to find clear evidence of a link between high-end tax cuts and growth. The raw fact, after all, is that the US economy did better in the first half of the post World War II era, with high top marginal rates, than it did in the second half: growth was both somewhat slower and much more unequal in the years after Reagan’s 1981 cut than before.
And the tax-cut faithful have delivered one forecasting debacle after another. I’m old enough to remember not just the predictions that the Bush tax cuts would unleash a huge economic boom, but the claims that Clinton’s 1993 tax hike would cause a deep depression.
Yet the tax-cut dogma remains politically intact, and it is at the core of Romney’s alleged plan for recovery.
There is, of course, no mystery here: just ask who benefits from the dogma that ever-lower taxes on the wealthy are just what we need, and you understand why there is always plenty of money for both economists and politicians who promote the dogma.
But it’s kind of sad to realize that our public discourse is so obviously, nakedly corrupt."
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/soup-kitchens-caused-the-great-depression/
"76 Comments
The controversy over the withdrawal by the Congressional Research Service of a report showing no connection between tax cuts for the rich and economic growth is a reminder that in U.S. politics, at least, the tax cuts/growth notion is the ultimate zombie idea.
I mean, when the CRS report first came out I didn’t write about it because it was basically old news (which is not to criticize the report, which did a fine job of putting the evidence together). Nobody has ever been able to find clear evidence of a link between high-end tax cuts and growth. The raw fact, after all, is that the US economy did better in the first half of the post World War II era, with high top marginal rates, than it did in the second half: growth was both somewhat slower and much more unequal in the years after Reagan’s 1981 cut than before.
And the tax-cut faithful have delivered one forecasting debacle after another. I’m old enough to remember not just the predictions that the Bush tax cuts would unleash a huge economic boom, but the claims that Clinton’s 1993 tax hike would cause a deep depression.
Yet the tax-cut dogma remains politically intact, and it is at the core of Romney’s alleged plan for recovery.
There is, of course, no mystery here: just ask who benefits from the dogma that ever-lower taxes on the wealthy are just what we need, and you understand why there is always plenty of money for both economists and politicians who promote the dogma.
But it’s kind of sad to realize that our public discourse is so obviously, nakedly corrupt."
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/soup-kitchens-caused-the-great-depression/
"76 Comments
Soup Kitchens Caused the Great Depression
Some
readers have been asking me to reply to Casey Mulligan’s latest attack
on my recent book. Um, no. Life is short, and if I spent my time
responding to every attack on yours truly — or indeed, every thing
Mulligan himself writes that I consider foolish — I would have no time
to do anything else. So let me just outsource this to John Quiggin.
Now, Quiggin’s post takes on both Mulligan’s specifics and the broader claim that increased use of the social safety net is a cause rather than a result of the depressed economy. As one of his commenters points out, this amounts to the claim that soup kitchens caused the Great Depression. Quiggin does an admirable job of refuting this claim. I would, however, add one more point. If you really believe that the problem is that excessive generosity to the downtrodden is reducing the incentive to work, so that what we really have is a supply problem rather than a demand problem, you should expect to see upward pressure on wages. What we actually see:
Oh, and feel the hyperinflation."
Now, Quiggin’s post takes on both Mulligan’s specifics and the broader claim that increased use of the social safety net is a cause rather than a result of the depressed economy. As one of his commenters points out, this amounts to the claim that soup kitchens caused the Great Depression. Quiggin does an admirable job of refuting this claim. I would, however, add one more point. If you really believe that the problem is that excessive generosity to the downtrodden is reducing the incentive to work, so that what we really have is a supply problem rather than a demand problem, you should expect to see upward pressure on wages. What we actually see:
7
World
Britain: Austerity May Force Move of London Police
London’s police force says it may move from its headquarters at New Scotland Yard to a smaller building.
8
World
Germany Discusses National Energy Plan
As energy prices rise and Chancellor Angela Merkel faces criticism, the country is working toward a unified effort to increase its reliance on renewable resources.
9
Business Day
Some Businesses Choose Not to Grow
Those owners who do want to grow have to develop the ability to create capital for growth. They also have to learn tools and techniques for running a larger company. It's not for everyone.
10
U.S.
Super PACs Provide Last-Minute Rush of Campaign Spending
New “super PACs” have sprung up in the last days of the race, buying up advertising and exploiting a loophole that keeps their donors anonymous until long after votes are counted.
11
U.S.
In Shift, Romney Campaign Approaches Pennsylvania With a New Urgency
Mitt Romney’s campaign and his supporters are investing millions of dollars in ads in a last-minute effort to sway voters in certain key demographics.
12
U.S.
In Swing States, Obama Leads on Handling of Medicare
In recent polls, President Obama continues to lead Mitt Romney on the question of who would better handle Medicare in the crucial swing states of Florida, Virginia and Ohio.
13
Health
Life, Interrupted: Hurricanes and Cancer
For cancer patients like me, and for others who suffer from chronic or life-threatening illnesses, natural disasters don't put health on the back burner. In fact, disasters like this one only add another layer of concern.
14
15
World
Citing Violence, Bahrain Bans All Protests in New Crackdown
The government said that opposition activists had abused its tolerance for freedom of expression by allowing protests to turn violent.
16
Health
Easing the Trauma After the Storm
Survivors of disasters like Hurricane Sandy frequently suffer post-traumatic stress symptoms like recurrent nightmares, flashbacks and a hair-trigger temper, but research has also revealed that we can mitigate the psychological fallout.
17
18
World
Arab Women Turn to Crafts as a Source of Employment
A growing number of Jordanian women are, for a few hours each day, escaping from family and social constraints into gainful, home-based activities.
19
N.Y. / Region
At Bellevue, a Desperate Fight to Ensure the Patients’ Safety
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, health care workers and patients were confronted by a new kind of disarray.
20
Health
Part D, Part 2
Why don't more Medicare beneficiaries pick the right drug plans? Complexity, experts say -- and here's a small example..
No comments:
Post a Comment