Paul Krugman's Blog, page 628
June 26, 2009
Equal representation in Congress
Ezra Klein wonders why we still have multiple agriculture committees when we hardly have any farmers, and proposed their abolition. But I'd propose the opposite solution: more committees to represent comparably-sized segments of the population.
We should, in particular, have several Congressional committees, plus a Cabinet-level department, representing Americans who play World of Warcraft, who [...:]
We should, in particular, have several Congressional committees, plus a Cabinet-level department, representing Americans who play World of Warcraft, who [...:]
Sex and the married politician
I think Joe Conason get this wrong:
If they looked honestly at themselves, religious conservatives might notice that they are morally lax, socially permissive and casually tolerant of moral deviancy - just like the liberals they despise.
Yes, conservatives sin just as much as liberals. But they aren't "socially permissive and casually tolerant" - at least [...:]
If they looked honestly at themselves, religious conservatives might notice that they are morally lax, socially permissive and casually tolerant of moral deviancy - just like the liberals they despise.
Yes, conservatives sin just as much as liberals. But they aren't "socially permissive and casually tolerant" - at least [...:]
The WTO is making sense
There was some question about how the WTO would handle cap-and-trade - whether it would accept the need for carbon tariffs, if some countries (cough China cough) drag their feet, or whether it would adopt a purist free-trade rule. The answer seems to be in - the WTO is going to treat cap-and-trade the same [...:]
Bar mitvah
Nice article in the Times about the 35th birthday of the humble bar code.
I've always loved stories of unglamorous technologies that made a bigger difference than you'd think. Daniel Boorstin's The Americans: The Democratic Experience has a lot about this - for example, about the importance of the flat-bottomed paper bag. And of course [...:]
I've always loved stories of unglamorous technologies that made a bigger difference than you'd think. Daniel Boorstin's The Americans: The Democratic Experience has a lot about this - for example, about the importance of the flat-bottomed paper bag. And of course [...:]
June 25, 2009
The virus is spreading
I just taped Fareed Zakaria with John Taylor, who is a fine economist. But if I understood John's position, it was that fiscal expansion is actually contractionary, because deficits drive up interest rates, unless the fiscal expansion takes the form of permanent tax cuts.
My struggle with temptation
No, it doesn't involve Argentina. It's the temptation to spend precious column inches on the former Permanent Majority Party.
Whether it's Rush Limbaugh saying that Gov. Sanford couldn't help himself - Obama drove him over the edge, or leading Senate Republicans trying to prevent Medicare from taking medical research into account, the people who were Building [...:]
Whether it's Rush Limbaugh saying that Gov. Sanford couldn't help himself - Obama drove him over the edge, or leading Senate Republicans trying to prevent Medicare from taking medical research into account, the people who were Building [...:]
Read Robert Reich
Just read. He's right.
I have nothing to say about the Sanford business
Except to wonder if I'm the only person who remembers the Argentine Firecracker and the fall of Wilbur Mills.
What I was afraid of
Back in March, when I was lamenting the inadequate size of the Obama stimulus, I made this prediction:
Republicans are now firmly committed to the view that we should do nothing to respond to the economic crisis, except cut taxes - which they always want to do regardless of circumstances. If Mr. Obama comes back for [...:]
Republicans are now firmly committed to the view that we should do nothing to respond to the economic crisis, except cut taxes - which they always want to do regardless of circumstances. If Mr. Obama comes back for [...:]
June 24, 2009
Weaponized Keynesianism
A great line from Barney Frank, about Republicans trying to preserve funding for the F-22:
These arguments will come from the very people who denied that the economic recovery plan created any jobs. We have a very odd economic philosophy in Washington: It's called weaponized Keynesianism. It is the view that the government does not create [...:]
These arguments will come from the very people who denied that the economic recovery plan created any jobs. We have a very odd economic philosophy in Washington: It's called weaponized Keynesianism. It is the view that the government does not create [...:]
