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@10:30
1
World
Gallows Humor, and Smog, Engulf China
As Beijing and large parts of the country suffer persistent, heavy smog, a former environment chief blamed chaotic economic growth, rooted in a "rule of men," not law, for the mess.
2
Opinion
It’s P.Q. and C.Q. as Much as I.Q.
The Great Inflection has transformed the world over the past decade. Each individual has to adapt.
3
Opinion
Invitation to a Dialogue: Forcing Treatment
A psychiatrist says mandated mental health care “may create more problems than it solves.” Readers are invited to respond.
4
N.Y. / Region
Man Arrested in Attacks on Asians in East Harlem
Jason Commisso, who was removed from a bus in New Jersey, had been identified as a suspect in a string of robberies over the past two weeks.
5
Opinion
Leading the Way Out of Debt
New York City's network of Financial Empowerment Centers, which help poor clients take control of their finances, is a model for the rest of the nation.
6
Science
Lost Actors in a Haunting Landscape
From tigers to wild cattle, many wild animals have faded from view in the forests and savannas of southern Laos.
7
Style
Does Championing Marriage Exclude Single Parents?
There's more to the story of what makes raising children more difficult as a single parent than just the lack of a partner.
8
N.Y. / Region
Still on Strike, a Bus Union Sees a Threat to Its Culture
Decades of job protections are threatened as New York City moves to end some seniority-based job guarantees, which has led to a strike.
9
World
Israel Girds for Attacks as Syria Falls Apart
At least one Iron Dome missile defense battery was deployed in northern Israel amid reports that Syria’s chemical weapons could possibly fall into Hezbollah’s hands.
10
Sports
For Former Kicker, the Price of Fearlessness
Tom Dempsey’s love of hitting people on the football field may very well be responsible for the dementia that is slowly depriving him of the hard-hitting memories he so delights in sharing.
11
Sunday Review
Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel
With President Obama declaring climate change a part of his second-term agenda, all eyes are on the United States on the matter of airlines’ carbon emissions.
12
Business Day
Boeing Battery Was a Concern Before Failure
Even before battery failures led to the grounding of all Boeing 787 jets, there were problems that raised questions about their reliability.
13
World
Catholics Mobilize to Defeat Philippine Politicians Who Backed Reproductive Law
After a stinging setback, Catholic groups hope to influence congressional elections in May that could put the church’s political power to the test.
14
U.S.
Scout Plan to Allow Gays Ignites Debates on Local Level
The Boy Scouts of America’s decision to move away from its national policy banning gays has elicited online responses from thousands — ranging from anguish to opprobrium and approval.
15
Business Day
It's Pensioners on the Side of Hedge Funds Making Their Case Against Argentina
Several holdouts from a debt swap who are pensioners traveled to New York, a month before an appeals court is to make an important decision on a legal case that has pitted the hedge fund manager Paul Singer against the government of Argentina.
16
Real Estate
Seeing Big Promise in Manhattan Corporate Apartments
Silverstein Properties, the developer of the World Trade Center complex, is converting the Beekman Tower Hotel into luxury corporate dwellings.
17
Business Day
Would You Pay $6.2 Million for This Business?
According to the broker, this company has strong profits, more than three times the industry average. I would be eager to look under the hood and find out how the company has produced those results.
18
Opinion
Paying Doctors for Performance
New York City’s public hospital system is moving away from cost-of-living increases.
19
U.S.
G.O.P.’s Cantor, Looking Past Politics of Debt
Representative Eric Cantor is reasserting himself in the House after Republican election losses, with plans to unveil softer proposals beyond reining in the debt.
20
World
Once More Unto the Breach for Britain
Prime Minister David Cameron's speech on the European Union, as well as the response to it, show the historical ambivalence between Britain and Continent is alive and well.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
@20:00
1
World
Gallows Humor, and Smog, Engulf China
As Beijing and large parts of the country suffer persistent, heavy smog, a former environment chief blamed chaotic economic growth, rooted in a "rule of men," not law, for the mess.
2
Opinion
It’s P.Q. and C.Q. as Much as I.Q.
The Great Inflection has transformed the world over the past decade. Each individual has to adapt.
3
Opinion
Invitation to a Dialogue: Forcing Treatment
A psychiatrist says mandated mental health care “may create more problems than it solves.” Readers are invited to respond.
4
N.Y. / Region
Man Arrested in Attacks on Asians in East Harlem
Jason Commisso, who was removed from a bus in New Jersey, had been identified as a suspect in a string of robberies over the past two weeks.
5
Opinion
Leading the Way Out of Debt
New York City's network of Financial Empowerment Centers, which help poor clients take control of their finances, is a model for the rest of the nation.
6
Science
Lost Actors in a Haunting Landscape
From tigers to wild cattle, many wild animals have faded from view in the forests and savannas of southern Laos.
7
Style
Does Championing Marriage Exclude Single Parents?
There's more to the story of what makes raising children more difficult as a single parent than just the lack of a partner.
8
N.Y. / Region
Still on Strike, a Bus Union Sees a Threat to Its Culture
Decades of job protections are threatened as New York City moves to end some seniority-based job guarantees, which has led to a strike.
9
World
Israel Girds for Attacks as Syria Falls Apart
At least one Iron Dome missile defense battery was deployed in northern Israel amid reports that Syria’s chemical weapons could possibly fall into Hezbollah’s hands.
10
Sports
For Former Kicker, the Price of Fearlessness
Tom Dempsey’s love of hitting people on the football field may very well be responsible for the dementia that is slowly depriving him of the hard-hitting memories he so delights in sharing.
11
Sunday Review
Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel
With President Obama declaring climate change a part of his second-term agenda, all eyes are on the United States on the matter of airlines’ carbon emissions.
"For many people reading this, air travel is their most serious
environmental sin. One round-trip flight from New York to Europe or to
San Francisco creates a warming effect equivalent to 2 or 3 tons of
carbon dioxide per person. The average American generates about 19 tons
of carbon dioxide a year; the average European, 10.
So if you take five long flights a year, they may well account for
three-quarters of the emissions you create. “For many people in New York
City, who don’t drive much and live in apartments, this is probably
going to be by far the largest part of their carbon footprint,” says Anja Kollmuss, a Zurich-based environmental consultant."
Elisabeth Rosenthal should take a refresher course in statistics.
19 tons of carbon is an average. From that I can't say anything about individual behavior.
The two to three tons is probably the fuel load for the airplane.
At $3 per gallon, $.375 per pound times 6,000 = $2,250.00 for fuel.
Divide by 100 passengers, $22.50 per passenger, or 60 pounds of carbon per passenger or 7.5 gallons of fuel. This is the right ballpark. Thirty years ago the marginal price of a filled seat was about ten bucks.
It is far better to fly.
12
Business Day
Boeing Battery Was a Concern Before Failure
Even before battery failures led to the grounding of all Boeing 787 jets, there were problems that raised questions about their reliability.
13
World
Catholics Mobilize to Defeat Philippine Politicians Who Backed Reproductive Law
After a stinging setback, Catholic groups hope to influence congressional elections in May that could put the church’s political power to the test.
14
U.S.
Scout Plan to Allow Gays Ignites Debates on Local Level
The Boy Scouts of America’s decision to move away from its national policy banning gays has elicited online responses from thousands — ranging from anguish to opprobrium and approval.
15
Business Day
It's Pensioners on the Side of Hedge Funds Making Their Case Against Argentina
Several holdouts from a debt swap who are pensioners traveled to New York, a month before an appeals court is to make an important decision on a legal case that has pitted the hedge fund manager Paul Singer against the government of Argentina.
16
Real Estate
Seeing Big Promise in Manhattan Corporate Apartments
Silverstein Properties, the developer of the World Trade Center complex, is converting the Beekman Tower Hotel into luxury corporate dwellings.
17
Business Day
Would You Pay $6.2 Million for This Business?
According to the broker, this company has strong profits, more than three times the industry average. I would be eager to look under the hood and find out how the company has produced those results.
18
Opinion
Paying Doctors for Performance
New York City’s public hospital system is moving away from cost-of-living increases.
19
U.S.
G.O.P.’s Cantor, Looking Past Politics of Debt
Representative Eric Cantor is reasserting himself in the House after Republican election losses, with plans to unveil softer proposals beyond reining in the debt.Incestuous Amplification, Economics Edition
Back
during the early days of the Iraq debacle, I learned that the military
has a term for how highly dubious ideas become not just accepted, but
viewed as certainties. “Incestuous amplification” happen when a closed
group of people repeat the same things to each other – and when
accepting the group’s preconceptions itself becomes a necessary ticket
to being in the in-group. A fundamentally flawed notion – say, that the
Germans can’t possibly attack though the Ardennes – becomes part of what
everyone knows, where “everyone” means by definition only people who
accept the flawed notion.
We saw that in the run-up to Iraq, where perfectly obvious propositions – the case for invading is very weak, the occupation may well be a nightmare – weren’t so much rejected as ruled out of discussion altogether; if you even considered those possibilities, you weren’t a serious person, no matter what your credentials.
Which brings me to the fiscal debate, characterized by the particular form of incestuous amplification Greg Sargent calls the Beltway Deficit Feedback Loop. I’ve already blogged about my Morning Joe appearance and Scarborough’s reaction, which was to insist that almost no mainstream economists share my view that deficit fear is vastly overblown. As Joe Weisenthal points out, the reality is that among those who have expressed views very similar to mine are the chief economist of Goldman Sachs; the former Treasury secretary and head of the National Economic Council; the former deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve; and the economics editor of the Financial Times. The point isn’t that these people are necessarily right (although they are), it is that Scarborough’s attempt at argument through authority is easily refuted by even a casual stroll through recent economic punditry.
But these people aren’t part of the in-group, and if they do make it into the in-group’s conversation at all, it’s only by blurring their message sufficiently that the in-group doesn’t understand it.
And at this point, of course, all the Very Serious People have committed their reputations so thoroughly to the official doctrine that they almost literally can’t hear any contrary evidence."
We saw that in the run-up to Iraq, where perfectly obvious propositions – the case for invading is very weak, the occupation may well be a nightmare – weren’t so much rejected as ruled out of discussion altogether; if you even considered those possibilities, you weren’t a serious person, no matter what your credentials.
Which brings me to the fiscal debate, characterized by the particular form of incestuous amplification Greg Sargent calls the Beltway Deficit Feedback Loop. I’ve already blogged about my Morning Joe appearance and Scarborough’s reaction, which was to insist that almost no mainstream economists share my view that deficit fear is vastly overblown. As Joe Weisenthal points out, the reality is that among those who have expressed views very similar to mine are the chief economist of Goldman Sachs; the former Treasury secretary and head of the National Economic Council; the former deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve; and the economics editor of the Financial Times. The point isn’t that these people are necessarily right (although they are), it is that Scarborough’s attempt at argument through authority is easily refuted by even a casual stroll through recent economic punditry.
But these people aren’t part of the in-group, and if they do make it into the in-group’s conversation at all, it’s only by blurring their message sufficiently that the in-group doesn’t understand it.
And at this point, of course, all the Very Serious People have committed their reputations so thoroughly to the official doctrine that they almost literally can’t hear any contrary evidence."
From Welfare Queens to Disabled Deadbeats
If
you want to understand the trouble Republicans are in, one good place
to start is with the obsession the right has lately developed with the
rising disability rolls. The growing number of Americans receiving
disability payments has, for many on the right, become a symbol of our
economic and moral decay; we’re becoming a nation of malingerers.
As Jared Bernstein points out, there’s a factual problem here: a large part of the rise in the disability rolls reflects simple demographics, because aging baby boomers are a lot more likely to have real ailments than those same workers did when they were in their 20s and 30s. The Social Security Administration does a formal adjustment for this reality, and as Jared says, it looks like this:
It looks a lot less dramatic, doesn’t it?
And as for the rest of what’s going on, CBO — which also concludes (pdf) that a lot of it is demographics — adds this description of policy changes:
What strikes me, however, isn’t just the way the right is trying to turn a reasonable development into some kind of outrage; it’s the political tone-deafness.
I mean, when Reagan ranted about welfare queens driving Cadillacs, he was inventing a fake problem — but his rant resonated with angry white voters, who understood perfectly well who Reagan was targeting. But Americans on disability as moochers? That isn’t, as far as I can tell, an especially nonwhite group — and it’s a group that is surely as likely to elicit sympathy as disdain. There’s just no way it can serve the kind of political purpose the old welfare-kicking rhetoric used to perform.
The same goes, more broadly, for the whole nation of takers thing. First of all, a lot of the “taking” involves Social Security and Medicare. And even the growth in means-tested programs is largely accounted for by the Earned Income Tax Credit — which requires and rewards work — and the expansion of Medicaid/CHIP to cover more children. Again, not the greatest of political targets.
The point, I think, is that right-wing intellectuals and politicians live in a bubble in which denunciations of those bums on disability and those greedy children getting free health care are greeted with shouts of approval — but now have to deal with a country where the same remarks come across as greedy and heartless (because they are).
And I don’t think this is a problem that can be solved with a slight change in the rhetoric."
As Jared Bernstein points out, there’s a factual problem here: a large part of the rise in the disability rolls reflects simple demographics, because aging baby boomers are a lot more likely to have real ailments than those same workers did when they were in their 20s and 30s. The Social Security Administration does a formal adjustment for this reality, and as Jared says, it looks like this:
And as for the rest of what’s going on, CBO — which also concludes (pdf) that a lot of it is demographics — adds this description of policy changes:
In 1984, lawmakers enacted the Disability Benefits Reform Act, which expanded the ways in which people could qualify for the DI program. That legislation, in addition to reversing several of the cost-containment measures enacted as part of the 1980 Social Security Disability Amendments, shifted the criteria for DI eligibility from a list of specific impairments to a more general consideration of a person’s medical condition and ability to work. The legislation allowed applicants to qualify for benefits on the basis of the combined effect of multiple medical conditions, each of which taken alone might not have met the criteria. It also allowed symptoms of mental illness and pain to be considered in assessing whether a person qualified for admission to the DI program, even in the absence of a clear-cut medical diagnosis.So yes, there has been some liberalization of the criteria — if you have multiple interacting conditions or mental illness, you may qualify in ways you didn’t before — but that liberalization is pretty reasonable. It’s still quite hard to qualify for DI.
What strikes me, however, isn’t just the way the right is trying to turn a reasonable development into some kind of outrage; it’s the political tone-deafness.
I mean, when Reagan ranted about welfare queens driving Cadillacs, he was inventing a fake problem — but his rant resonated with angry white voters, who understood perfectly well who Reagan was targeting. But Americans on disability as moochers? That isn’t, as far as I can tell, an especially nonwhite group — and it’s a group that is surely as likely to elicit sympathy as disdain. There’s just no way it can serve the kind of political purpose the old welfare-kicking rhetoric used to perform.
The same goes, more broadly, for the whole nation of takers thing. First of all, a lot of the “taking” involves Social Security and Medicare. And even the growth in means-tested programs is largely accounted for by the Earned Income Tax Credit — which requires and rewards work — and the expansion of Medicaid/CHIP to cover more children. Again, not the greatest of political targets.
The point, I think, is that right-wing intellectuals and politicians live in a bubble in which denunciations of those bums on disability and those greedy children getting free health care are greeted with shouts of approval — but now have to deal with a country where the same remarks come across as greedy and heartless (because they are).
And I don’t think this is a problem that can be solved with a slight change in the rhetoric."
20
World
Once More Unto the Breach for Britain
Prime Minister David Cameron's speech on the European Union, as well as the response to it, show the historical ambivalence between Britain and Continent is alive and well.
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1
Business Day
Renewable Energy Industries Push for New Financing Options
With government approval, investment structures more commonly used by the oil, gas and real estate industries could make wind and solar companies more appealing to investors.
2
Opinion
It’s P.Q. and C.Q. as Much as I.Q.
The Great Inflection has transformed the world over the past decade. Each individual has to adapt.
3
Business Day
A Warning to Wall Street About Misleading Clients
The charges against Jesse Litvak, a former securities trader at Jefferies & Company, serve as a warning to Wall Street that misleading customers - including sophisticated ones - can result in criminal action, even for a broker who does not owe a fiduciary duty to clients.
4
Sunday Review
Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel
With President Obama declaring climate change a part of his second-term agenda, all eyes are on the United States on the matter of airlines’ carbon emissions.
5
Business Day
Boeing Battery Was a Concern Before Failure
Even before battery failures led to the grounding of all Boeing 787 jets, there were problems that raised questions about their reliability.
6
World
Catholics Mobilize to Defeat Philippine Politicians Who Backed Reproductive Law
After a stinging setback, Catholic groups hope to influence congressional elections in May that could put the church’s political power to the test.
7
U.S.
Scout Plan to Allow Gays Ignites Debates on Local Level
The Boy Scouts of America’s decision to move away from its national policy banning gays has elicited online responses from thousands — ranging from anguish to opprobrium and approval.
8
Health
Myths of Weight Loss Are Plentiful, Researcher Says
A study tries to set the record straight on unproven assumptions that have been repeated so often that even scientists have tended to believe them.
9
Real Estate
Seeing Big Promise in Manhattan Corporate Apartments
Silverstein Properties, the developer of the World Trade Center complex, is converting the Beekman Tower Hotel into luxury corporate dwellings.
10
Business Day
It's Pensioners on the Side of Hedge Funds Making Their Case Against Argentina
Several holdouts from a debt swap who are pensioners traveled to New York, a month before an appeals court is to make an important decision on a legal case that has pitted the hedge fund manager Paul Singer against the government of Argentina.
11
U.S.
G.O.P.’s Cantor, Looking Past Politics of Debt
Representative Eric Cantor is reasserting himself in the House after Republican election losses, with plans to unveil softer proposals beyond reining in the debt.
12
World
Once More Unto the Breach for Britain
Prime Minister David Cameron's speech on the European Union, as well as the response to it, show the historical ambivalence between Britain and Continent is alive and well.
13
Business Day
India Lowers Benchmark Interest Rate to Fuel Growth
The cut was its first in nine months, but worries about inflation may prevent further policy easing, the central bank warns.
14
Opinion
Paying Doctors for Performance
New York City’s public hospital system is moving away from cost-of-living increases.
15
Business Day
Would You Pay $6.2 Million for This Business?
According to the broker, this company has strong profits, more than three times the industry average. I would be eager to look under the hood and find out how the company has produced those results.
16
Technology
Dickens, Austen and Twain, Through a Digital Lens
Big Data is pushing into the humanities, as evidenced by new, illuminating computer analyses of literary history.
17
Health
For Some Caregivers, the Trauma Lingers
Some caregivers struggle with intrusive thoughts and memories months and even years after a loved one has died.
18
Opinion
When Jim Crow Drank Coke
Behind the N.A.A.C.P. brief against Mayor Bloomberg’s soda restriction is a tangled history of race and prohibition.
19
Opinion
Why Palestine Should Take Israel to Court in The Hague
Palestinians should ask the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israeli war crimes.
20
N.Y. / Region
Congress Approves $51 Billion in Aid for Hurricane Victims
The $51 billion package comes on top of nearly $10 billion that Congress approved this month to support the recovery efforts in states that were battered by Hurricane Sandy.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
Opinion
It’s P.Q. And C.Q. as Much as I.Q.
The Great Inflection has transformed the world over the past decade. Each individual has to adapt.
2
Opinion
Invitation to a Dialogue: Forcing Treatment
A psychiatrist says mandated mental health care “may create more problems than it solves.” Readers are invited to respond.
3
N.Y. / Region
Man Arrested in East Harlem Attacks on Asians
Jason Commisso, who was removed from a bus in New Jersey, had been identified as a suspect in a string of robberies over the past two weeks.
4
Sports
For Former Kicker, the Price of Fearlessness
Tom Dempsey’s love of hitting people on the football field may very well be responsible for the dementia that is slowly depriving him of the hard-hitting memories he so delights in sharing.
5
N.Y. / Region
Still on Strike, a Bus Union Sees a Threat to Its Culture
Decades of job protections are threatened as New York City moves to end some seniority-based job guarantees, which has led to a strike.
6
Style
Does Championing Marriage Exclude Single Parents?
There's more to the story of what makes raising children more difficult as a single parent than just the lack of a partner.
7
World
Israel Girds for Attacks as Syria Falls Apart
At least one Iron Dome missile defense battery was deployed in northern Israel amid reports that Syria’s chemical weapons could possibly fall into Hezbollah’s hands.
8
Business Day
It's Pensioners on the Side of Hedge Funds Making Their Case Against Argentina
Several holdouts who are pensioners traveled to New York this week, a month before an appeals court is scheduled to make an important decision on a legal case that has pitted the hedge fund manager Paul Singer against the government of Argentina.
9
Sunday Review
Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel
With President Obama declaring climate change a part of his second-term agenda, all eyes are on the United States on the matter of airlines’ carbon emissions.
10
Business Day
Boeing Aware of Battery Ills Before the Fires
Even before battery failures led to the grounding of all Boeing 787 jets, there were problems that raised questions about their reliability.
11
U.S.
Proposed Policy Shift on Gays Divides Scout Community
The Boy Scouts of America’s decision to move away from its national policy banning gays has elicited online responses from thousands — ranging from anguish to opprobrium and approval.
12
World
Catholics Mobilize After Setback Over Philippines Reproductive Law
Catholic groups hope to influence congressional elections in May by unseating members of Congress who supported a reproductive health law passed in December.
13
Opinion
Paying Doctors for Performance
New York City’s public hospital system is moving away from cost-of-living increases.
14
World
Israeli Secularists Appear to Find Their Voice
The stunning success of Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid Party in last week’s election is being viewed as a victory for the secular mainstream in the identity battle gripping Israel.
15
Real Estate
Seeing Big Promise in Manhattan Corporate Apartments
Silverstein Properties, the developer of the World Trade Center complex, is converting the Beekman Tower Hotel into luxury corporate dwellings.
16
N.Y. / Region
Congress Approves $51 Billion in Aid for Hurricane Victims
The $51 billion aid package comes on top of nearly $10 billion that Congress approved this month to support the recovery efforts in states that were battered by Hurricane Sandy.
17
U.S.
G.O.P.’s Cantor, Looking Past Politics of Debt
Representative Eric Cantor is reasserting himself in the House after Republican election losses, with plans to unveil softer proposals beyond reining in the debt.
18
Technology
Dickens, Austen and Twain, Through a Digital Lens
Big Data is pushing into the humanities, as evidenced by new, illuminating computer analyses of literary history.
19
World
Once More Unto the Breach for Britain
Prime Minister David Cameron's speech on the European Union, as well as the response to it, show the historical ambivalence between Britain and Continent is alive and well.
20
Business Day
India Lowers Benchmark Interest Rate to Fuel Growth
The cut was its first in nine months, but worries about inflation may prevent further policy easing, the central bank warns.The twenty eighth is a good day.
Sooner is better. As soon as you can is best.
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