The Limits of First Principles

You could have the government do nothing, which would mean there are no exclusive spectrum licenses and everything is wide open. Or you could have the government marketize everything, which would mean you auction everything off to exclusive owners. But either way, that would be a choice and in making the choice you’d be “managing”… Continue reading The Limits of First Principles

NPR’s Misleadingly Edited Version Of O’Keefe Interview

National Public Radio’s “On The Media” gave conservative provocateur James O’Keefe a taste of his own medicine by employing the “black arts of broadcast editing” to create an “utterly dishonest impression” of his views. From NPR O’Keefes James O’Keefe With Misleadingly Edited Version Of Interview (AUDIO) | TPMMuckraker Shout the lies, whisper the corrections. This… Continue reading NPR’s Misleadingly Edited Version Of O’Keefe Interview

The FED has a blog

The New York Fed’s Liberty Street Economics blog provides commentary on current economic topics relating to monetary policy, macroeconomic developments, financial stability issues, and regional trends in the Second Federal Reserve District. From Liberty Street Economics The FED has a blog. I’m giving it a week before the place is overrun by angry gold-bugs and… Continue reading The FED has a blog

James O’Keefe won’t let others videotape him

Hypocrisy, O’Keefe is thy middle name: Conservative activist James O’Keefe, who has gained notoriety for his hidden-camera stings of NPR executives, ACORN employees, teacher unions, and CNN reporters, gave a speech to a New Jersey Tea Party … From James O’Keefe won’t let others videotape him Of course he won’t let people tape him. He… Continue reading James O’Keefe won’t let others videotape him

Economics as a Science: A Bad Example

Yes, the old Keynesian Phillips curve was abandoned in the face of evidence. But while real business cycle theory has indeed been “invalidated by reality”, as far as I can tell it’s still going strong in freshwater departments. The point is that while economics certainly did have some of the characteristics of a science three… Continue reading Economics as a Science: A Bad Example

Triumph of the flat-earth Republicans

It is possible to understand how people might disagree that climate change is a threat to public health (we’ll all just start farming wheat in Siberia or northern Canada) or that humans are the main cause of rising temperatures (sunspots! natural variation!). But I still find it confounding that 31 Republicans are willing to deny,… Continue reading Triumph of the flat-earth Republicans

Is Thomas F. Steyer the anti-Koch?

For years, Mr. Steyer, a billionaire San Francisco hedge fund manager, assiduously maintained a low profile while becoming a major donor to Democratic candidates. That changed in 2010 when he led the successful fight to defeat Proposition 23, a California ballot measure backed by two Texas oil companies and a company controlled by Charles G.… Continue reading Is Thomas F. Steyer the anti-Koch?