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You've got to see this!
2007-11-02 03:09:00
The United Nations as a great flash animation on world income distribution. It is undoubtely one of the greatest, esiest and user friendly animations I have yet to find on the subject.Here's the link: http://78.136.31.142/external/gapminder/2 005/2005.html

Monetarism made simple
2007-11-02 01:22:00
I found the following quote the New York Times review of Greenspan's most recent book. I find it to give a great explanation of how monetarism was employed during the early 1980s:"A wonderful thing about monetary policy is the way it disguises political or even moral decisions as theoretical or technical ones. You could describe what Volcker did as officially accepting the theory of monetarism, or as contracting the supply of M1. Whatever. But put bluntly, what he did was to purposely engineer the deepest decline since the Great Depression in order to wring inflation — and the expectation of future inflation — out of the economy. This set the stage for the generation of prosperity that Greenspan presided over."- Micheal Kinsley, Time columnistNew York Times, October 14, 2007 Click here to read the book review click here (for an actual discussion of the book that is).
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Kulturkampf within
2007-10-30 02:26:00
As an upper middle class white male progressive, I find two attributes of my culture that oppose one another. One on hand, bourgeoisie European-American male culture emphasizes power: it stresses decisiveness, directness, clarity and active rather than passive participation in group projects, etc... On the other hand, progressive ideology and the cultural norms and assumptions that ensue value balance and see power as a necessary evil. We advocate government regulation of the economy in order to counter the power of big business and we support strong civil liberties in order to limit the power of government. According to progressive culture power must always be balanced and limited, yet according to European bourgeoisie culture, the very place on society from which social liberalism has sprung, values power as one of the most desirable cultural commodities.
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Culture of balance
2007-10-30 02:26:00
If I had to describe center-left progressivism (or social liberalism as it is called in Europe) in one phrase, such would ultimately include the word “balance.” Everything must be balanced: power, regulation, well-fare programs, individualism and communalism. Too little regulation and big business will oppress and exploit the public, too much regulation and the economy will stagnate. Too few well-fare state programs and the opportunity cost of forging spending on social services become to enormous to bear, too many and the political-economy may be overburdened. Too much individualism and mind numbing exploitation and oppression by the strong of the weak will ensure, too little and life will become unbearable.Of course, one may argue that all ideological standpoints aside from the extremes strike a balance. The question, therefore, is how much is too much and how little is too little. Questions, that will need to be answered on a one-by-one basis.
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A Tale of Ignorance
2007-10-28 22:48:00
In a recent article by Die Zeit (a center-left, high-end German newspaper) described the preassure on German women to procreate, driven by fear of western Europeans that the age pyramid is too unbalanced, that is that there is a lack of young people - workers to support the economy and the growing number of retirees. Yet, the problem is self-made and the solution is painfully simply: immigration. Millions of brigth, young and indoustrious people are more than willing to come to Western Europe. There is no need for German, French or British women to produce more off-spring, as there are millions waiting in what sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein called the economic semi-periphery of the global economy. As is the case with the U.S., immigration into Western Europe would be a win-win. Immigrants would get the chance to actualize their potentional - an opportunity denied to them in developing world, while Western countries enjoy the return of a balanced age pyramid and economic growth. Pl...
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An excellent proposal
2007-10-25 20:21:00
After nearly a decade of mindless fiscal recklessness, Rep. Rangel has finally produced a sensible tax reform bill. He would abolish the AMT which is now hitting upper middle class households, but compensate by increasing the tax burden on the top 2%. Taxes for corporations, those agents who actually produce economic growth, would be decreased from 35% to 30%. Reducing the tax burden on middle class families while increase the amount of taxes paid by the rich is obviously an excellent proposal. The Bush tax cuts, opposed by economists almost uninamously, have already wasted $1.2 trillion; growth remains below average with increased inequality. This propsal would help fight inequality and bring some much needed funds back to the treasury. It indeed would result in a more efficient allocation of resources.Read the entire report by Reuters on the proposal here:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071025/ pl_nm/usa_taxes_dc_2
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Mesopotamian Anarchy
2007-10-25 00:58:00
The UN conducted its first count of civilian Iraqi deaths from January to November 2006. Aside from an article in the New York Times the estimate did not create a large news stir when it was released in January. In the 11 month period 34,452 Iraqi civilians were killed, an average of 94 a day or 1 every 15 minutes. This is the first body count by the UN and places the figure of civilian casualties considerably above pervious estimates which showed a total of 75,000 civilian deaths so far. The body count for Iraqi security forces alone is at 12,000. According to the New York Times, "the first comprehensive annual count of civilian deaths and a vivid measure of the failure of the Iraqi government and American military to provide security." I agree. What I find perhaps equally as distrubing is the indifference our mass media shows for Iraqi civlian deaths. Not including the Iraqi body count is unacceptable. Surely all lives are equal, no matter nationality. Thus, an innocent Iraqi life...
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Myth of the rational agent
2007-10-24 06:13:00
Why doesn't laissez faire capitalism work? (At least that is what the vast majority of economics believe.) One reason - though not the only reason - is the erroneous assumption that people (called agents in econ-lingo) always acts rationally. According to this myth consumers are capable of and do always do what is best for them. Why this idea is flawed should be obvious.People are not always able to make optimal decisions. People may lack information, especially since making an informed decision can be a time-consuming science in many areas - making it outright impossible for consumer to make ideal decisions. Moreover, consumer are manipulated by advertising, simply act in a stupid manner people sometimes do (unless you believe that purchasing cocaine constitutes a wise choice, for example) or act in accordance with certain cultural norms that may prevent them from making an optimal decision. The decisions people make are influenced by advertising, sometimes irrational feelings and...
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The Virtue of Flip-flopping
2007-10-20 00:36:00
Flip-flopping, that is changing one's mind, has become a slur in contemporary American political discourse. Too many people seem to be under the erroneous impression that changing one's mind, changing course, changing views and changing one's agenda is weakness that makes an individual ill-suited for the task of leadership.A true leader is not someone who "stays the course" at all times and under all circumstances, i.e. being stubborn. A true leader changes his views and strategies as new information becomes available. A true leader listens to his or her advisers and is willing to adapt his or her own beleifs based on new evidence.If President Bush, for example, was a true leader he would admit that the Iraq War was a grave mistake. If President Bush was a true leader he would reverse his tax cuts which have failed to product extra economic growth, increased inequality and cost us $1.2 trillion - though if he was a true leader he would have listened to the majority of economists,...
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Military getting liberal?
2007-10-17 08:44:00
The military and academia are commonly seen and according to most studies are polar opposites in terms of ideology; acadmia is staunchly progressive while the military industrial complex is conservative. Yet, the military is becoming less Republican. According to Rosa Brooks of the Los Angeles Times: "The drop in Republican Party identification among active-duty personnel is a sharp reversal of a 30-year trend toward the "Republicanization" of the U.S. military, and it could mark a sea change in the nature of the military." Here are the percentages of Republicans among active military personell according to the annually conducted Military Times poll:2006: 46%2005: 56%2004: 60%Indeed, "The partial de-Republicanization of the military is a hopeful sign — and not just for Democrats. A politicized military presents a threat to democratic ideals of civilian control."Source:Brooks, R. (January 5, 2007). Weaning the military from the GOP. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from The Los Angeles T...
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Why care what the majority of experts thinks?
2007-10-17 03:55:00
I am in the habit of making posts regarding the opinion of experts (see What do economists say? under "Must Reads"). But why care about the majority opinion? After all is there not the chance that the majority is mistaken and the minority correct? Is it not dissent from the intellectual status quo that drives forth scientific progress? True, it is essential that one must always examine the evidence in both sides of an argument and not trust one side merely because that group has a built a greater fellowship. It is also essential that people question scientific consensus, disprove dominant ways of thinking to establish a new consensus. Yet, one must also recognize the ideas that are dominant among experts in a given field. If an idea is supported by the majority, its wide-spread support should serve as an additional supporting argument in public discourse. Once an idea or ideology has become dominant among experts in a given field, it has undergone more scrutiny, survives more attem...
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An American Proposal for California
2007-10-14 02:42:00
At lest in Calif ornia . The state is now 36% Latino and 42% Anglo. By the next Census, Spanish will roughly as prevalent as English, undoubtedly one of the state’s official languages. In order to adapt to our changing demographics we need to insure that every high school student has attained command of the English and Spanish languages by the time he or she graduates. We need to put California on the list of prosperous multilingual regions, along with Canada, Switzerland and Belgium. Let me emphasize that this does not mean replacing English with Spanish; English is going to stay in place as an official language. We are simply going to make sure that the next generation of Californian knows Spanish as well, so no one will be excluded from public discourse.If need to make certain that the next generation is able to communicate in both, English and Spanish, in order to have a society in which people are able to communicate with another and no one gets left behind. Anglos, with little...
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Fiscally reckless
2007-10-12 22:33:00
Recently the Bush administration announced that the Budget deficit has hit a four year low. Hopefully the public will remember that in 2001, after four balanced budgets, the Congressional Budget Committee predicted $5.6 trillion in surpluses for the time span between 2003 and 2014. Yet, the Bush administration has ignored the majority of economists, including the ten Nobel price laureates who sent a letter to the Mr. Bush urging him to abstain from cutting taxes (see my post called economist's statement opposing Bush tax cuts in order to read the letter). The fiscal recklessness of this administration is amazing, especially when considering the opportunity cost. The $1.2 trillion spent on cutting taxes of the very rich is just the latest example.The tax cuts were supposed to spur growth but haven't. As a matter of fact, a recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (a centrist think tank) showed that economic growth for the 2001 to 2005 business cycle remained well below the ...
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Mill's Harm Principle
2007-10-10 03:57:00
In order to understand where we progressives come from and why we advocate the legalization of marijuana, prostitution and open-door immigration it may be helpful the read John Stuart Mill's description from On Liberty, so here is a brief excerpt that may shed light on the progressive ideas:The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. - John Stuart Mill, 1859Of course "preventing harm to others" may co...
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Time to laugh 2
2007-10-09 08:52:00
Jay Leno on Columbus Day:Columbus Day... or as the Native Americans call it: illegal immigrant day.
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We can't ignore scientific consensus
2007-10-08 03:48:00
I published to following in the Salinas Californian newspaper on October 4, 2007:Has scientific consensus become meaningless? Unfortunately, there are more and more signs that we are heading in this direction. Too often do we consider and enact policies in disagreement with scientific consensus. Too often do right-wing think tanks create a faux debate. Three of the most controversial issues in this country serve as examples: global warming, income inequality and immigration. Scientific consensus has been found on all three.Regarding global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported there is a 90 percent chance that human activity is significantly altering the world's climate. Another 2004 study found that 75 percent of 530 relevant scientific papers from 27 countries supported the idea of anthropogenic climate change.On income inequality, a study by the Southern Economic Journal found that 71 percent of economists believe income inequality is too great, and 81 ...
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Time to laugh
2007-10-07 09:16:00
I have to credit Seth Myers of SNL with this excellent piece of satire - it goes something like this:...Bush has declared a war on Science. Though, if this war is like any of his other wars, it will just end up creating more scientists.
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"Economists' Statement Opposing the Bush Tax Cuts"
2007-10-06 03:27:00
Before the 2003 Bush tax cuts were signed into law, ten Nobel Price Laureates, George Akerlof, Kenneth J. Arrow, Franco Modigliani, Paul A. Samuelson, Douglas C. North, Lawrance R. Klein, Robert M. Sollow, William F. Sharpe, Daniel L. McFadden, and Joseph Stiglitz signed the “Economists ’ Statement Opposing The Bush Tax Cuts ,” reading:Economic growth, though positive, has not been sufficient to generate jobs and prevent unemployment from rising. In fact, there are now more than two million fewer private sector jobs than at the start of the current recession. Overcapacity, corporate scandals, and uncertainty have and will continue to weigh down the economy.The tax cut plan proposed by President Bush is not the answer to these problems. Regardless of how one views the specifics of the Bush plan, there is wide agreement that its purpose is a permanent change in the tax structure and not the creation of jobs and growth in the near-term. The permanent dividend tax cut, in particular...

Expand SCHIP
2007-10-04 07:19:00
Expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP ) to include households making more than $34,000 is a good idea! The program would provide better insurance to more children. No wonder, the American people - that is their representatives - have approved of the idea. The costs, $35 billion are less than we spend in one week of the Iraq war. Yet, the benefits are enormous: healthy children make health adults and a health country. The higher tobacco tax would simultaneously discourage the smoking and lessen strain on the health care system. If tobacco consumption was reduced to the extent that the tobacco tax would no longer pay for the program (an unfortunately unlikely scenario) we can always tax the rich slightly more, which according to the vast majority of economists would have no significant effects on the economy.Yet, Conservatives have been quick to respond. According to the Washington Post, "The administration argues that providing coverage above this level -- $3...

Regulated Greed.
2007-10-03 06:00:00
I recently read a statement by conservative blogger who stated that while he admires charity, self-interest has done more for the advancement of humankind, than charity. True, the self-interest is a driving force behind innovation. Our high standard of living can largely be attributed to agents acting out of self-interest. Yet, self-interest also has the power to harm us. Corporations who satisfy customers and advance technology out of self interest would and do exploit and act inhumanely. Child labor, slavery and discrimination were all motivated by self-interest. Nike acted out of self-interest when it worked to make more comfortable shoes, but also when it forced 12 year old children to work 15 hours a day to make them.That is why government intervention in the economy is needed. While all agents, mostly individuals but also some corporations, are able to act motivated by self-interest in such a manner as to retain a high-regard of the well-fare of others, corporations are often ...
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Does money make you happy?
2007-10-01 05:06:00
To some extend: yes. Income inequality, however, can make people unhappy, depending on cultural peculiarities. In the U.S., money has a significant effect on an individual’s happiness until the reach the approximate average: roughly $30,000 to $40,000 a year for an average household. From then on the effect on standard of living diminished progressively. The most important variable deciding whether or not an individual is happy is, according to social psychologists, social integration. Social integration in turn, may be hampered by excessive income inequality. Income inequality divides a society, disenfranchises those who feel as though they can’t compete and creates class tensions. The extend to which quality of life, that is largely the extent to which an individual feels integrated into society, is hurt by inequality depends on culture. American culture, which often includes the idea that hard-work alone can propel an individual to the highest of heights, has a greater tolera...
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When will we learn?
2007-09-28 21:14:00
Ever since the dawn of civilization human beings have tried to defy nature. The more unnatural their idea, the more devastating the results. The key to having a prosperous and successful civilization is to work with the forces of nature, not against them.Two historical societies serve as examples: ancient Egypt and the Puritans. Ancient Egyptians build an advanced society that lasted over two millennia, using the floods of the Nile River to their advantage. They worked with nature, with the river Nile. Puritans, on the other hand, attempted to defy nature by abolishing sexual pleasure. The results were perverse. Teenage girls, for example, were customarily forced into playing the roles of servants and rape victims. Puritan society was eventually swallowed up by contemporary, and more progressive, American society. While some cultural elements of the Puritans have become part of mainstream American culture, it is fair to say that Puritan society came to an end with people literally k...
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Divided & Confused; Haves & Have-nots?
2007-09-27 00:25:00
The question whether or not the U.S. is country divided between Have’s and Have nots has long divided Americans, but never before so evenly. According to the Pew Research Center the percentage of Americans who believe that we live in a nation divided between the propertied and non-propertied has increased steadily, as has the percentage of Americans who identify as Have-nots. In 2007, for the first time, Americans were split 48% agreeing with the two-Americas notion and 48% disagreeing, compared to 44% to 53% in 2001 and 26% to 71% in 1988, respectively. The division cuts across economic divides. Among “Upper income Americans,” here the upper third of society, a group including myself, 44% now agree that America is a country divided, compared to 54% among “Middle income Americans” and 52% among “Lower income Americans.”While I agree with the statement that “the country is increasingly divided along economic lines,” I believe the notion of "Two Americas" is a vast o...
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A win for the good guys!
2007-09-26 07:21:00
I just found some interesting info on the pay scale of the CSU (California State University) system pay scale. Professors are the most underpaid profession in our society (well, perhaps grade-school teachers are yet even more underpaid). The route to becoming a tenured professor is arduous. Not only are professors required to teach, they need to publish numerous articles in journals, which commonly reject upwards of 70% of entries, and often write several books throughout their careers. They widen the horizons of society and are, along with all educators, the noblest profession in the land.With my high admiration of educators, I am very glad to see that CSU professors are on their way to getting somewhat just wages. According to the CSU web-site "the average salary for a tenure track faculty member [will increase] from $74,000 to $90,749 and the average salary for a full time, full professor with tenure from $86,000 to $105,465 by the end of the contract period." While all professor...
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Taxing the rich doesn't stunt growth
2007-09-21 21:48:00
Conservatives like to claim that cutting the taxes of the rich spurs economic growth. Yet, as most economists are aware, the tax rate of the very rich does not have any substantial impact on economic growth. Inspired by the Chait article in the TNR, which I mention in my post below, I have created the following graph to show that high top tax rates do not have a significant impact on economic growth.Legend: (click on the image to enlarge it)The blue line shows the top tax rate clocked every three years from 1945 to 2005.The pink line shows the change (growth) of real GDP for every three years betwen 1945 and 2005. From the graph one makes the following observations:The economy has grown significantly during the 1950s, 1960s despite a top tax rate in excess of 70%. The large tax cuts of the Reagan administration did not propel economic growth to unprecedented heights.The tax increase on the rich during the 1990s (from 28% to 39.5%) did not stunt economic growth.Conclusion: Taxing the...
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Economic Hacks
2007-09-21 07:26:00
The new issue of The New Republic is largely devoted to the manner in which "Economic crackpots" (CATO, Hoover, AEI) have come to be a dominant force in Washington D.C. These "experts" are in disagreement with the vast majority of economists. Most economists are progressives; they embrace the mixed economy, progressive taxation, single-payer health care and safety regulations. Yet, these few rouge economists dominate much of our nation's political process. They provide those on the right-wing with ideological support. It is possible to find an expert to support nearly any idea; not matter how flawed, there is a Ph.D. somewhere who will agree. The "economic crackpots" of which the TNR speaks have done precisely that: provide Randian right-wingers with ideological support that defies the knowledge of most experts.The intro from "Feast of the Wingnuts: How economic crackpots devoured American politics" by Jonathan Chait gives an excellent overview:American politics has been hijacked b...
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The legacy of Greenspan
2007-09-21 00:51:00
Alan Greenspan , now 81, is featured on the cover of Newsweek. One of the questions by Newsweek struck my eye. What is the legacy of Greenspan? Clearly there will be a variety of answers, each with its own merits. For me, the legacy of Greenspan, is one of a man able to escape his ideological prison often enough to conduct great economic policy.At the beginning of his career, Greenspan was a progressive. In the 1970s, however, he made a hard turn to the right and became a member of Ayn Rand's inner circle. Rand wanted to limit government to crime fighting. According to her, public education, basic health care, environmental protection laws would be nonexistent; the EPA, the Department of Education would have to be abolished. Greenspan, however, has endorsed many progressive Third Way policies during the Clinton years. Though he has repeatedly reaffirmed his commitment to free markets, he supports public education, believes that too many top corporate executives are driven by greed a...
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"The Drugs I Need"
2007-09-17 20:14:00
Laissez faire capitalists like to claim that consumers always act rationally in their best interest. Yet, as most economists will tell anyone willing to listen, consumers can be manipulated and do may make irrational choices - this video by the Austin Lounge Lizards is the most entertaining explanation.
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Overzealous censors at Fox
2007-09-17 08:01:00
Sally Fields used her winning Emmy award speech to make an anti-war statement. She stated that "...if the mothers ruled the war, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place." (Associated Press) Fox chose to mute the entire phrase instead of just the expletive. Muting the entire speech not just the explicative is indicative of the strong conservative bias of the Fox network. Revealing its intolerance for non-conservative opinion, Fox went too far in muting the entire phrase.Source:Associated Press. (16 September, 2007). Field Has Another Memorable Award Speech. Retrived 16 September, 2007 from http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFeiXK wcMM-AgMVN1HZAPMkVleIg.

School uniforms
2007-09-17 07:24:00
Today, 20% of elementary schools and 12% of middle and high schools have enacted strict dress codes. Whether or not the benefits out weight the costs will depend on each school. Those who advocate such measures commonly site less materialistic competition among students, better academic performance and a decrease in crime while those who oppose these policies describe them as excessive infringements on the individual freedom of students. For schools who have an economically diverse students body, where students may be teased for wearing "cheap" clothing, or those which have problems with street gangs, the benefits of a stringent dress code may very well outweigh the costs of infringing upon the freedom of students. In schools where academic performance is outstanding, students of equal economic standing and crime is not a problem, however, a stringent dress code will pose an excessive infringement on the freedom of students.This topic is often the sight of what I like to call the "...
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