Category: Politics
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Fareed Zakaria for President
I just came across Fareed Zakaria's The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad at my mother's house, read it, and came away wildly impressed. His basic thesis is that what we want is constitutional liberalism (classic sense of liberalism, as in Milton Friedman's usage, though not necessarily via his prescriptions)–not a priori,…
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I’m Patriotic: I Pay Taxes
Don Pedro says it better than anyone else I’ve heard, with this woulda-coulda-said-it response for Biden: “Governor Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If…
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Teddy Roosevelt on “the true conservative”
From his “New Nationalism” speech. 1910. The true friend of property, the true conservative, is he who insists that property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth; who insists that the creature of man’s making shall be the servant and not the master of the man who made it. The citizens…
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Seeking “Conservative Polling”
I am astounded–well actually, not really–that I'm now getting a bunch of visitors to my site who arrive after searching for some variation of "conservative polls." The frantic efforts at self-delusion out there really shouldn't surprise me, but they do. Related posts: Polling the Pollster Pollers: Obama Still Strong Everything Sez: “Obama Landslide.” What Gives?…
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“Pro-Growth” Republicans. Debunked. Again. Some More.
A while back I posted some comparative numbers for postwar economic indicators, Dems versus Pubs. Clear results for the clear-eyed. Brad Delong has even more. Just one here, for your delectation: How dare these people call themselves conservatives? Related posts: Conservative “Intellectual” “Ascendancy” Conservatives Love to Point Out that Personal Incentives Matter Pubs Don’t Cut…
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The Problem Was Not Deregulating. The Problem Was Not Regulating.
Most economists agree: deregulation is not what caused today’s problem. (The repeal of Glass-Steagal, for instance–the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act allowing commercial banks to act as investments banks, and vice-versa–wasn’t the cause. It might even be one of the reasons things aren’t worse than they are.) What’ they’re not saying: not regulating is what caused the problem.…
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Hiding the Bailout
Everyone has their two bits worth. Mine: Aside from the whole thing being incredibly vague and relying far too much on the Secretary's "discretion," this passage from the CBO's description is egregious. …the federal budget would not record the gross cash disbursements for purchases of troubled assets (or cash receipts for their eventual sale), but…
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Ahh, for European Stability…
If there’s one thing people would like more of these days, it’s stability. When the economy rockets up one year, then plummets or stagnates the next, it’s bad for everyone–especially those farther down the income scale, who have less recourse in face of national and global events that are completely beyond their control. This got…
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More on Equality and Growth
I just came across this graph that I created a while ago, and never got around to posting. Trickle-down theorists would have you believe that inequality is necessary for growth and prosperity, or even that inequality causes growth. But in the decades after their theories took sway, growth declined. It came after therefore it was…
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The Republican Alternative Rescue “Plan”
I think Arnold Kling's commentary pretty much says it all: As I say in my AP stats class, "I appreciate that you raised your hand and tried to answer, but no. Anyone else?" Now which political party is it, exactly, that's supposed to know something about finance and economics? To make sensible, judicious, reasoned judgments…
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Arch-Con National Review Abandons Palin
Kathleen Parker, to be precise: It was fun while it lasted. Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League. Related posts: Sullivan’s Surprised?? Why nominating Clinton would be a Very Bad Thing Everything Sez: “Obama Landslide.”…
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Bailout: Dems Have the Smart Solution (Again)
Very quickly here because I have to run out the door, you'll have to google for your own links: Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd has proposed an alternative to Hank Paulson's "just trust me" blank-check bailout proposal. Simply put: If Treasury (that means you and me) buys $1 worth of trash assets from a…
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Wall Street Journal Endorses Obama
Well not in so many words, but for all intents and purposes: In a crisis, voters want steady, calm leadership, not easy, misleading answers that will do nothing to help. Mr. McCain is sounding like a candidate searching for a political foil rather than a genuine solution. Here. Related posts: Hillary: The “one-woman solution to…
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McCain Biographer Now Sez: “not a principled man.”
Elizabeth Drew, who penned a rather adulatory McCain biography just a few years ago (Citizen McCain, 2002), says: … In retrospect, other once-hailed McCain efforts – his cultivation of the press (“my baseâ€) and even his fight for campaign finance reform (launched in the wake of his embarrassment over the Keating Five scandal) now seem…
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John McCain Pledges to Eradicate Government
John McCain has promised to balance the federal budget by 2013. He's also pledged to enact a tax plan that will deliver a budget deficit of $650 billion dollars in 2013. Just to give these numbers a little perspective: Agency 2013 Projected Outlays Agriculture $120 billion Commerce $9 billion Education $86 billion Energy $30 billion…
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The Republican Energy “Plan”?
Here's the best description I've seen of McCain's plan for American "energy independence": The image was produced by these guys, with data from the Energy Information Administration. HT to Gristmill and Mark Thoma. Related posts: The Villain of Building Energy Efficiency: Triple-Net Leases. Not Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit The Efficiency of De Ebil Gubmint Man…
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Chill
H/T: Ta-Nehisi Coates No related posts.