J. Bradford DeLong's Blog, page 2211

Not Your Standard Labor Day...

The Contra Costa Times reports:

If you're into offbeat charm and energetic dancing that involves thousand-year-old antlers, join members of the California Revelers on Sept. 6.... [T:]he Bromliad, a mass dance of the Abbots Bromley Antler Dance featuring more people than ever before as dancers in both America and England do the ancient steps.

"In the village of Abbotts Bromley, England, on Wakes Monday, which happens to be Labor Day this year, residents dance the horn dance through...

The Size of the Long-Term Spending Growth Reductions in Medicare from the PPACA

Bruce Webb:

The Medicare Headline You Didn't See (and won't): For years we have been regaled with scary, scary numbers about how Medicare's projected unfunded liability was in the TENS OF TRILLIONS. And sure enough if you consulted the Medicare Report and examined the actuarial projections for Medicare Part A you would find that number. But a funny thing happened with the 2010 [Medicare Trustees':] Report and is shown in the data table above: the 75 year number is down to $6.9...

Google to the Rescue

logicielle twitters:

Twitter / mattyglesias: RT @logicielle: Glad Googl ...: RT @logicielle: Glad Google lets me make calls from inside my apartment, since AT&T seems undecided on the matter.

A Question I Can Answer: Why Is the Speed Limit on Deflation so Low?

Nick Rowe asks:

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative: Re-learning the New Keynesian IS curve: [A:]n empirical puzzle for New Keynesian macroeconomists. If macroeconomic black holes of deflationary spirals exist, and if bad monetary policy can cause economies to fall into one, why haven't we ever observed this happening? Does somebody up there like us? (At least, until now). Or is something wrong with the model?

The Akerlof-Yellen answer--which I think is correct--is that the expectational...

Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?: Duncan Black Would Make a Better Press Secretary

Duncan Black has a suggestion:

Eschaton: Here's An Idea: Maybe the message should be "we're going to do something about it" or "we'd do something about it if those bastards would let us."

And no more bank shot policies.

Jackie Calmes:

On Economy, Democrats Face a Lack of Unity and Time: Democrats are entering the fall sprint to the midterm elections lacking a unifying message to address the lackluster economy, scrambling to come up with further job-creating remedies and...

Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?: The Stimulus That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Jonathan Cohn:

The Sad Absurdity of Our Economic Debate: Is the Obama Administration planning another major initiative to boost the economy? That depends on who is talking. And when. On Thursday afternoon, press secretary Robert Gibbs announced at his daily briefing that "a big, new stimulus plan is not in the offing." A few hours later, the Washington Post reported that administration officials were talking about a second stimulus after all--that it would might include a payroll tax...

Harold Pollack on the Dog-Bone Economy: Dealing with Unemployment

Harold:

How Dog Bones Explain The Economy: An economist notes that the strongest dogs get the best bones... help the poodles through weight lifting and karate. A sociologist explains that... [c:]ollies cooperate and accomplish through collective action more than even one Doberman can do alone. She suggests an intervention to bolster social capital. A social psychologist identifies self-efficacy as the key variable. Poodles don’t think they have a chance... self-assertiveness training and...

links for 2010-09-03

The Employment Report: "We've Gone Essentially Nowhere in a Year" - CBS MoneyWatch.com







Books: Alan Furst: Dark Star: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal

DeLong: Books: Alan Furst: Dark Star: http://tinyurl.com/467ar #worthreading





Payroll Tax Holiday a Poor Stimulus Idea — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Chye-Ching Huang: Payroll Tax Holiday a Poor...

Berkeley Political Economy Seniors Writing Theses (and Juniors Thinking About Writing Theses) Should Apply

Research Support from the Institute for International Studies:

2010-2011 IIS Undergraduate Merit Scholarships

Description: The Institute of International Studies (IIS) at UC Berkeley is seeking to award a series of merit scholarships of up to $2000 each to support undergraduate research in any area on international studies. Research may be conducted while in EAP, or independently. The scholarship recipients will be called IIS Junior Scholars. All IIS Junior Scholars will...

Dave Weigel Livetwitters the Will Wilkinson/Brink Lindsey Purge Party...

Dave:

Twitter / daveweigel: Will Wilkinson/Brink Linds ...: Will Wilkinson/Brink Lindsey purge party undergoes surprise merger with bachelorette party