this is the first time in the history of exit polling that moderates were not the largest ideological voting block. They were trumped by conservatives. Instead of moving toward the middle, we are drifting toward the extremes. From The Great American Cleaving The problem is that ideology is easy and policy is hard. Partisan media… Continue reading The Great American Cleaving
A Mechanical Manifesto
it’s conservative economists who insist that people are always rational and utility-maximizing; liberal economists are the ones willing to invoke bounded rationality, animal spirits, etc.. The whole salt-water fresh-water split was about which you were going to believe: the assumption of perfect maximization, or your own lying eyes. And the Keynesians were the ones who… Continue reading A Mechanical Manifesto
The Politics of Erskine-Bowles
I think that this is a blueprint that conservatives should regard favorably, all things considered. But let’s be clear: The cuts it proposes don’t even remotely “slash the size of government”; they merely slow its future growth. By my back-of-the-envelope calculations, federal revenue has hovered around 18.3 percent of G.D.P. since 1980, breaking 20 percent… Continue reading The Politics of Erskine-Bowles
A thought about Charlie Rangel
The same demagogic blow hards like Rush and Hannity who are calling the dems racists for backing the ethics investigations of Charlie Rangel would be decrying reverse-racism if the charges were dropped.
GOP Economic Nihilism watch
Republicans would oppose anything that might help the economy on Obama’s watch. That is, they’re opposing QE not on the grounds that it won’t work, but because they’re afraid that it will. From GOP Economic Nihilism watch So much for bipartisanship policy making.
The Triumph Of Reagan Over Friedman
this is a point I think conservatives who believe they can remain reasonable about macro fail to grasp — this is about philosophy of government. If your bedrock faith is that government is always the problem, never the solution, then you’re not, ultimately, going to be willing to draw a line around the central bank… Continue reading The Triumph Of Reagan Over Friedman
Will America Fall Prey To A British Disease?
[Britain] failed to develop a coherent policy response to the financial crisis of the 1930’s. Its political parties, rather than working together to address pressing economic problems, remained at each other’s throats. The country turned inward. Its politics grew fractious, its policies erratic, and its finances increasingly unstable. In short, Britain’s was a political, not… Continue reading Will America Fall Prey To A British Disease?
Outside the Bubble
A new CBS poll says virtually no one thinks the deficit or the national debt are the top problems facing the country. From Talking Points Memo Not surprised one bit. I’d be willing to bet that the tea-party folks most vocal about debt, deficit and taxes are no more knowledgeable on those topics then a sampling of… Continue reading Outside the Bubble
Anis Shivani: Bush’s ‘Decision Points’ Is A Terrifying Journey Into the Authoritarian Mind
The beauty of the Bush philosophy of governance is that it creates and accelerates those very conditions of stress (radical economic inequality promoted by tax cuts for the wealthy and concomitant cuts in public services for the less well-off) that then provide fertile ground for popular acceptance of measures intended to further worsen conditions for… Continue reading Anis Shivani: Bush’s ‘Decision Points’ Is A Terrifying Journey Into the Authoritarian Mind
Has the TSA ever stopped an act of terror?
Is there any evidence that TSA procedures have thwarted or prevented an act of terror? I’m serious here. Any evidence?