1
Opinion
Antibiotics, Farm Animals and You
Readers respond to an Op-Ed article by David A. Kessler, a former F.D.A. commissioner.
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U.S.
Obama BudgetReviving Offerof CompromiseWith Cuts
President Obama will take the political risk next week of presenting a budget plan that proposes cuts to Social Security and Medicare, in an effort to compromise with Republicans.Desperately Seeking “Serious” Approval
Sigh. So Obama is going with the “chained CPI” thing
in his latest proposal — changing the price index used for Social
Security cost adjustments. This is, purely and simply, a benefit cut.
Does it make sense in policy terms? No. First of all, there is no reason to believe that the chained index is a better measure of inflation facing seniors than the standard CPI. It’s true that the standard measure arguably understates inflation for the typical household — but seniors have a different consumption basket from the young, one that includes more medical expenses, and probably face true inflation that’s higher, not lower, than the official measure.
Anyway, it’s not as if the current level of real benefits has any sacred significance. The truth — although you’ll never hear this in Serious circles — is that we really should be increasing SS benefits. Why? Because the shift from defined-benefit pensions to defined contribution, the rise of the 401(k), has been a bust, and many older Americans will soon find themselves in dire straits. SS is the last defined-benefit pension still standing — thank you, Nancy Pelosi, for standing up to Bush — and should be strengthened, not weakened.
So what’s this about? The answer, I fear, is that Obama is still trying to win over the Serious People, by showing that he’s willing to do what they consider Serious — which just about always means sticking it to the poor and the middle class. The idea is that they will finally drop the false equivalence, and admit that he’s reasonable while the GOP is mean-spirited and crazy.
But it won’t happen. Watch the Washington Post editorial page over the next few days. I hereby predict that it will damn Obama with faint praise, saying that while it’s a small step in the right direction, of course it’s inadequate — and anyway, Obama is to blame for Republican intransigence, because he could make them accept a Grand Bargain that includes major revenue increases if only he would show Leadership (TM).
Oh, and wanna bet that Republicans soon start running ads saying that Obama wants to cut your Social Security?"
Does it make sense in policy terms? No. First of all, there is no reason to believe that the chained index is a better measure of inflation facing seniors than the standard CPI. It’s true that the standard measure arguably understates inflation for the typical household — but seniors have a different consumption basket from the young, one that includes more medical expenses, and probably face true inflation that’s higher, not lower, than the official measure.
Anyway, it’s not as if the current level of real benefits has any sacred significance. The truth — although you’ll never hear this in Serious circles — is that we really should be increasing SS benefits. Why? Because the shift from defined-benefit pensions to defined contribution, the rise of the 401(k), has been a bust, and many older Americans will soon find themselves in dire straits. SS is the last defined-benefit pension still standing — thank you, Nancy Pelosi, for standing up to Bush — and should be strengthened, not weakened.
So what’s this about? The answer, I fear, is that Obama is still trying to win over the Serious People, by showing that he’s willing to do what they consider Serious — which just about always means sticking it to the poor and the middle class. The idea is that they will finally drop the false equivalence, and admit that he’s reasonable while the GOP is mean-spirited and crazy.
But it won’t happen. Watch the Washington Post editorial page over the next few days. I hereby predict that it will damn Obama with faint praise, saying that while it’s a small step in the right direction, of course it’s inadequate — and anyway, Obama is to blame for Republican intransigence, because he could make them accept a Grand Bargain that includes major revenue increases if only he would show Leadership (TM).
Oh, and wanna bet that Republicans soon start running ads saying that Obama wants to cut your Social Security?"
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Movies
500 Days in a Cave, the Safest Refuge
“No Place on Earth,” a documentary by Janet Tobias, recounts the experiences of Ukrainian Jews who literally went underground to escape the Nazis.- The Darkest Days - National Geographic Magazine article
- Ukrainian American Youth Caver Exchange Foundation coverage
- Holocaust Ukraine: Off the face of the earth it was the only refuge they had left from ArtUkraine.com
- The Secret of Priest's Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story - Kar-Ben Publishing
- NBC Today Show Video
- Off the Face of the Earth Story of the Jewish families who survived the war in Priest's Grotto
- Christos Nicola's Home Page - includes biographical information about Christos Nicola, and links to videos and information about the story of the survivors who hid in these caves during the Holocaust.
- No Place on Earth - documentary/feature film
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U.S.
Construction Groups Criticize Limits in Guest Worker Deal
The trade groups say proposed limits on the number of visas for low-skilled workers is “unrealistic” and “destined to fail.”
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Opinion
India’s Novartis Decision
India’s Supreme Court ruling should help protect the availability of cheap generic drugs for poor patients.
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Opinion
The Urge to Purge
The push to see depression as a necessary and somehow desirable punishment for past sins is as strong as ever.
"The bad news is that sin sells. Although the Mellonites have, as I said,
been wrong about everything, the notion of macroeconomics as morality
play has a visceral appeal that’s hard to fight. Disguise it with a bit
of political cross-dressing, and even liberals can fall for it.
But they shouldn’t. Mellon was dead wrong in the 1930s, and his avatars
are dead wrong today. Unemployment, not excessive money printing, is
what ails us now — and policy should be doing more, not less." P.K.
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World
Ethnic Rifts Strain Myanmar as It Moves Toward Democracy
A visit to the Kachin region is a sobering reminder of how much hatred and mistrust exist between the majority Burman and the ethnic minorities who live in the country's highlands.
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Business Day
Japan Initiates Bold Bid to End Years of Tumbling Prices
Japan’s central bank said that it would aggressively buy bonds, doubling the amount of money in circulation over two years.Depression, Not Ended
Lousy jobs report. OK, you don’t want to put too much stress on one month’s numbers, yada yada, but it doesn’t look at all good.
But is this really a surprise? I mean, it’s true that the incipient housing recovery has made many people somewhat optimistic — I’ve been one of them — but when all is said and done, we are following strongly contractionary fiscal policy in an economy in which monetary policy is still ineffective because of the zero lower bound. How contractionary? Look at CBO’s estimates of the cyclically adjusted budget deficit (third column):
That deficit has declined from 5.6 percent of potential GDP in 2011
to 2.5 percent in 2013 — that’s 3 percent of GDP, which is a lot of
austerity. Not all of that cut has even hit yet — the sequester isn’t in
the macro numbers yet — but the rise in the payroll tax is very clearly
driving the latest bad numbers, which show big declines in retail.
This is really stupid; as long as we’re at the zero lower bound, austerity is a huge mistake. Yet for what, the third time since 2009, all discussion in Washington has turned away from job creation to deficits (even though the debt problem has largely faded away) and the need for an early Fed exit from stimulus (even though unemployment remains high and inflation low).
Clearly, the answer is to cut Social Security!"
But is this really a surprise? I mean, it’s true that the incipient housing recovery has made many people somewhat optimistic — I’ve been one of them — but when all is said and done, we are following strongly contractionary fiscal policy in an economy in which monetary policy is still ineffective because of the zero lower bound. How contractionary? Look at CBO’s estimates of the cyclically adjusted budget deficit (third column):
This is really stupid; as long as we’re at the zero lower bound, austerity is a huge mistake. Yet for what, the third time since 2009, all discussion in Washington has turned away from job creation to deficits (even though the debt problem has largely faded away) and the need for an early Fed exit from stimulus (even though unemployment remains high and inflation low).
Clearly, the answer is to cut Social Security!"
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Education
Massachusetts: Harvard Admits Deeper Search
Harvard’s search of staff e-mail accounts went further than previously disclosed, administrators said Tuesday.
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U.S.
Turning Away Federal Dollars, Once Again
The expansion in Texas’ Medicaid program would bring an estimated $100 billion into the state over 10 years.
12
Opinion
Closing the Door on Hackers
Software makers need to bear responsibility for stopping cyberattacks.
13
U.S.
Deer Breeding Industry Looks to Lawmakers to Relax Rules
Breeders says current oversight is constraining the multimillion-dollar industry, but environmentalists say it has overstepped its bounds by shifting toward the commercial hunting industry.
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Business Day
Texas Refinery Is Saudi Foothold in U.S. Market
The Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, the largest in the United States, ensures a bigger market for Saudi crude and a stronger global voice for the kingdom.
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Business Day
Investments in Education May Be Misdirected
Some economists say the government should focus on programs for infants and toddlers, which may be better at reducing inequalities between the rich and the poor.
16
Opinion
The Practical University
The promise of online education lies in taking care of the technical knowledge so that universities can focus on transmitting practical knowledge.
17
Autos
Big Detroit Iron Meets Cosmic-Themed Dinosaur Art
Known for his colorful disco-pop art, Kenny Scharf has also made a name for himself customizing cars.
18
U.S.
West Virginia: Man Held in Sheriff’s Killing
A county sheriff was fatally shot in rural West Virginia on Wednesday, and a fleeing suspect was arrested after being shot by a deputy.
It is the other end of the state. About as far away as possible.
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Arts
Glories Restored, Rijksmuseum Is Reopening After 10 Years
The Rijksmuseum is poised to reopen on April 13, after a lengthy renovation that restored much of its 19th-century grandeur, and paired it with 21st-century lighting and technology.
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U.S.
Community Determined to Fight Power Plant
Far East El Paso Citizens United is leading a campaign to stop El Paso Electric’s plans to build a plant near fuel storage tanks in impoverished Montana Vista.
1
Opinion
The Sharp Rise in A.D.H.D. Diagnoses
Readers react to the growing use of stimulants to treat children.
Opinion
India’s Novartis Decision
6
Opinion
The Urge to Purge
The push to see depression as a necessary and somehow desirable punishment for past sins is as strong as ever.
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10
Opinion
Closing the Door on Hackers
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World
Fatal Landslide Draws Attention to the Toll of Mining on Tibet
A mining surge on the Tibetan plateau has provided valuable resources for China’s economy, but the environmental damage has stirred anger among people living there.
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World
Berlin Exhibition on Judaism Hits a Nerve
The show, at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, includes a Jewish person sitting in a box and answering questions. “How dare you!” one critic wrote.
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N.Y. / Region
Renovations and Hope on a Block Once Marked by Blight
Side Street: The transformation of five buildings on Kelly Street in the South Bronx is almost impossible to believe.
2
Business Day
Financial Lessons for American Expatriates
Bucks readers share their experiences in working overseas.
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5
Opinion
Closing the Door on Hackers
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9
12
Opinion
Diagnosis: Human
Is being human fast becoming a condition to be contained by prescription drugs?
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World
Fatal Landslide Draws Attention to the Toll of Mining on Tibet
A mining surge on the Tibetan plateau has provided valuable resources for China’s economy, but the environmental damage has stirred anger among people living there.
15
World
Berlin Exhibition on Judaism Hits a Nerve
The show, at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, includes a Jewish person sitting in a box and answering questions. “How dare you!” one critic wrote.
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Style
Everybody Loses in This Beauty Contest
There’s so much shame and idiocy attached to fashion nowadays, thanks in part to the pulverizing of women on the red carpet, that the attention on looks seems out of proportion to their other, more genuine achievements.
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U.S.
GTT ★
Our quirky, discerning picks for the most interesting things to do around the state this week.
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N.Y. / Region
Shopping and Anxiety
Metropolitan Diary: Waiting in a checkout line, a woman overhears a man who is not shy about his neuroses.
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Science
From the Negative 71th Parallel, (Near) End Transmission
“Antarctic time” can stretch out like taffy when you are stuck in a storm that hits right as you try to leave. But even when the hours pass their slowest, one can’t help but think how they will miss the place and its pace.“’I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless – it goes on forever inwardly, you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to be bored.”
–Louis C.K.
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