Monthly Archives: December 2013

Polarization, the 1960s, and Today

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Arnold Kling

I have been thinking about this. During the era of Vietnam protests, politics was quite heated. I would describe it as confrontational, with traces of violence. The tactics today strike me as milder (or subtler). However, I think we were … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 11 Comments

And Yet They Stay in Yuma

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Arnold Kling

The WSJ reports, The October unemployment rate was a staggering 31.9% in the metro area of Yuma, Ariz., and 25.2% in El Centro, Calif., according to a Labor Department report released Thursday. They had the highest unemployment rates, which aren’t … Continue reading →

Posted in labor market | 20 Comments

The Confiscation Option

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Arnold Kling

Romain Hatchuel writes, As applied to the euro zone, the IMF claims that a 10% levy on households’ positive net worth would bring public debt levels back to pre-financial crisis levels. Such a tax sounds crazy, but recall what happened … Continue reading →

Posted in government debt crisis | 10 Comments

P(A|B) != P(B|A)

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Arnold Kling

Timothy Taylor writes, those in the top 1% are almost surely paying the top marginal tax rate of about 40% on the top dollar earned. But when all the income taxed at a lower marginal rate is included, together with … Continue reading →

Posted in income distribution-wealth-poverty, statistical methods, Timothy Taylor is my Favorite Blogger | 6 Comments

Think Tank or Narrative Tank?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Arnold Kling

The WSJ blog reports, The Brookings Institution is bringing a new player into Washington’s think tank arena, launching a center to study fiscal and monetary policy that will be led by The Wall Street Journal’s David Wessel. In recent weeks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 3 Comments

Does QE Steal from Savers?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Arnold Kling

This issue seems to come up a lot. For example, Timothy Taylor writes, Of course, lower interest rates help borrowers pay less, while those who are receiving interest payments get less. Thus, the big winner from ultra-low interest rates is … Continue reading →

Posted in Monetary Economics, Timothy Taylor is my Favorite Blogger | 1 Comment

Brad DeLong on Stagnation

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Arnold Kling

A lengthy, interesting essay. A brief quote: In the future we are going to want to spend a greater share of our incomes and attention in areas where the market system works less well: information goods, public goods, increasing-returns goods, … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth Causes and Consequences, PSST and Macro | 4 Comments

Are $20 Bills Getting Picked Up?

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Arnold Kling

Don Peck writes, I spoke with managers at a lot of companies who are using advanced analytics to reevaluate and reshape their hiring, and nearly all of them told me that their research is leading them toward pools of candidates … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education, Information Goods, labor market | 1 Comment

Self-Promotion

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Arnold Kling

1. I am quoted by Caroline Baum. 2. I will soon be sharing a stage with George Gilder. You can watch (see the link to Cato live).

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Dean Baker on Housing Finance Policy

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Arnold Kling

He writes, Way back in the last decade we had a huge housing bubble which was propelled in large part by junk loans that were packaged into mortgage backed securities (MBS) by Wall Street investment banks and sold all around … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing and housing finance, Mark Thoma is Indispensable, public choice | 1 Comment