“A recent petition by over 600 economists, including 5 Nobel Laureates in Economics, advocated a phased-in rise in the federal minimum wage to a much higher $7.25 per hour from the present $5.15 per hour. This petition received much attention, and the number of economists signing is impressive (and depressing). Still, the American Economic Association […]
Archive for December, 2006
Dec15th2006
Marginal Revolution: Alan Reynolds on *Income and Wealth*
Over the debate on income inequality, “Alan Reynolds is stating that it’s all down to a misunderstanding of the figures. At least in part due to not noting the way in which business income became personal income given some tax changes”
(tags: inequality economics sidebar)
Greg Mankiw’s Blog: Inequality Wars
More […]
Dec14th2006
In Praise Of Guatemalan Manuel Ayau
Published by in Economics, General, Hispanics (Minority Issues), LatinAmerica and Poverty. 3 CommentsThe Washington Times writes about this remarkable man:
More than a half-century ago, after returning from the U.S. with his engineering degree in hand, a young Guatemalan named Manuel Ayau wondered why there was little demand for his engineering services in his home country. Rather than just fret about the sorry Guatemalan economy, he decided to […]
Dec14th2006
“In this essay, the second in a series on entrepreneurship and the economy, I am going to argue that marital choices interact with trends in entrepreneurship to tend to increase inequality of income. Since World War II, our economy has evolved in ways that reinforce the financial differences between strong families and weak families. As […]
Dec14th2006
Marginal Revolution: How to read fast
On speed readers.
(tags: misc)
Asymmetrical Information: Overheard on NPR
The economics of tipping.
(tags: misc)
Augusto Pinochet | The passing of a tyrant | Economist.com
The economist on the death of Pinochet.
(tags: Chile History communist capitalism Friedman)
USNews.com: Opinion: Michael Barone: Barone Blog: Augusto Pinochet
Michael Barone on Pinochet.
(tags: Chile History communist capitalism latinamerica)
blackprof.com: A New Paradigm […]
Dec13th2006
Micro Persuasion: Ten Blogging Hacks
Cool blogging hacks.
(tags: blogging hacks internet)
El Oso, El Moreno, and El Abogado » Blog Archive » You’re the Extra Ton of Cash in my Sinking Life Raft
My Cuba Che vs. Chile Pinochet discussion on Oso’s blog.
(tags: cuba Chile latinamerica Socialism communist capitalism discussion)
Dec13th2006
The Difference A Dictator Makes
Published by in Capitalism, Communism, Economics, General, Hispanics (Minority Issues) and LatinAmerica. 15 CommentsWith the recent death of Pinochet, Chile’s former dictator, it is a good time to stop and compare two ideologically opposed dictators - Chile’s Pinochet vs Cuba’s Castro/Che.
The Washington Post writes:
A Dictator’s Double Standard
Augusto Pinochet tortured and murdered. His legacy is Latin America’s most successful country.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006; Page A26
AUGUSTO PINOCHET, who […]
Dec13th2006
Quote Of The Day
Published by in (modern day) Liberalism, Economics, General, Minimum Wage, Poverty and Unions. 0 Comments“As a means of raising people from poverty or near poverty, the minimum wage is distinctly inferior to the Earned Income Tax Credit, which compensates for low wages without interfering with the labor market…So why are the Democrats pushing to increase the minimum wage rather than to make EITC more generous? Three reasons can be […]
Dec12th2006
Why Worry So Much About Affirmative Action?
Published by in General, Hispanics (Minority Issues) and affirmative action. 0 CommentsShavar Jeffries, writing in the Black Professors blog, makes sense on affirmative action:
This brings me to what I think is a more important point: the pragmatics of affirmative action. The Black community, like all communities, has limited political, economic, and cultural resources. We currently allocate a disproportionate amount of these resources to affirmative-action […]
Dec12th2006
Quote Of The Day
Published by in (modern day) Liberalism, Capitalism, Economics and General. 0 Comments“Much of what is wrong with popular attitudes to capitalism comes down to one thing: a lack of wonder at what uncoordinated markets can achieve. Going to a grocery store for the hundredth or thousandth time is a pretty humdrum experience. As a rule it isn’t going to elicit much of an intellectual response — […]
Dec11th2006
Quote Of The Day
Published by in (modern day) Liberalism, Economics, Education, General, Hispanics (Minority Issues), Poverty and Vouchers. 0 Comments“The main opponents of school choice are the teachers unions and white liberal politicians who receive their campaign contributions. They mostly send their children and grandchildren to private schools, while condemning minority children to poorly performing government schools. How’s that for “compassion” and a commitment to helping the poor? The poor are helped to escape […]
Dec9th2006
“If the Japanese had never attacked Pearl Harbor it is likely that America might have never entered WWII or might have done so bitterly divided. The events of December 7th 1941 so united the country that ever afterward we forgot just how viciously divided we truly were. We Americans like to think that we heroically […]
Dec8th2006
Quote Of The Day
Published by in Education, General, Hispanics (Minority Issues) and Vouchers. 0 Comments“School choice works for the benefit of students, who ought to be the focus of education. Research shows that prior to receiving a voucher, the majority of participating students score well below the national average on standardized tests. Statisticians and educational researchers from Harvard and the University of Houston conducted a re-analysis of the raw […]
Dec7th2006
Would Hillary Make A Good President?
Published by in (modern day) Liberalism, Economics, General, HealthCare and ModernPolitics. 13 CommentsHere is what an economist wrote of her:
My two cents’ worth–and I think it is the two cents’ worth of everybody who worked for the Clinton Administration health care reform effort of 1993-1994–is that Hillary Rodham Clinton needs to be kept very far away from the White House for the rest […]
Dec7th2006
“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. We all know a famous road that is paved with good intentions. The people who go around talking about their soft heart — I share their — I admire them for the softness of their heart, but […]
Dec6th2006
“The great virtue of a free market is that it enables people who hate each other, or who are from vastly different religious or ethnic backgrounds, to cooperate economically. Government intervention can’t do that. Politics exacerbates and magnifies differences.”–Milton Friedman
