Links: 9-21-10 + The Hendersons

My morning read has been (temporarily?) replaced with the use of a laptop with WiFi.  Hence, a post during my morning commute.  And with that, the links that caught my eye yesterday.


The Best
1) Ever consider buying a term paper, instead of writing it yourself.  Very bad idea.  Plus, it won't even work. (Dan Ariely)

The Rest
> Is the 'Tea Party' movement a net positive or negative for the GOP? (FiveThirtyEight)
> Let's say you believe lying is always wrong.  Do you think you'd turn in Anne Frank to the Nazis if they showed up at your door? (James Downie)
> How to eat a muffin while walking (The Incidental Economist)
> Of course, Palin can win (A plain blog about politics)

The Hendersons
There were a number of posts yesterday from bloggers on "The Hendersons", a Law Professor's family living in Chicago.  The whole thing is in reaction to a post which Mr. Henderson wrote for his own blog over the weekend, where he complains about his taxes going up.  He's taken the post down, likely due to the attention it received.  But, here's the full post (link) due to the magic of google's cache.  And here's reaction from Ezra Klein (link), The Reality Based Community (link), and Bradford DeLong (link).  There is much more written on this.  I love the issue.  Income/wealth is a positional good for those with means.  You can feel the dismay that Mr. Henderson is feeling at his perceived shrinking (relative) position to his peers. Here's a great quote from his piece:

We pay about $15,000 in property taxes, about half of which goes to fund public education in Chicago. Since we care the education of our three children, this means we also have to pay to send them to private school. My wife has school loans of nearly $250,000 and I do too, although becoming a lawyer is significantly cheaper. We try to invest in our retirement by putting some money in the stock market, something that these days sounds like a patriotic act. Our account isn’t worth much, and is worth a lot less than it used to be.

Boy, life can be tough.  Despite his economic situation, he's also in the top 1% of households in the US, which his critics do a great job of calling out.

Just because it's my blog, I'll give Paul Krugman the final word (link) on the matter.

Links: 9-20-10

Just a quick post before entering the usual grind of the day.

The Best:
1) Dog poop never felt so good (Wired Science)

The Rest:
> Oops, we didn't want that to get out (Techdirt)
> Rally to Restore Sanity (Jon Stewart)
> March to Keep Fear Alive (Stephen Colbert)
> They really do want to take your money (Jonathan Chait)
> More deflation indicators (Calculated Risk)
> My favorite reason: pampering of the 'stinking rich' (The Daily Dish)
> Who cares about the deficit when we're talking about tax policy? (FireDogLake)

9/16/10 Links

I'm completely psyched to writing this from my new laptop.  I'm sure this thing will feel old in about 6 months, but I'm going to enjoy the 'Brand New' feeling while it lasts.  I took a few days away from blogging to deal with work, which continues at its usual grinding fall pace, a little earlier than usual.  But with a 'share on twitter' button on my googlebar, I'm having no trouble grabbing and keeping links.  Hope there a few in here that you find interesting.  Enjoy!

The Best:
3) Because where I come from $250k a year is a lot of money (Modeled Behavior)
2) Contraceptives increase the value of "Erotic Capital" (Prospect)
1) Palin's staff thinks she's in it to win it (Jonathan Chait)


The Rest:
> Value is an over-rated strategy (Felix Salmon)
> A few stats to remind you that things aren't good yet (The Big Picture)
> Consistency doesn't really matter in political arguments (Paul Krugman) 
> Why do they hate Keynes? Most of their policy up until now has been justified by using his thinking (Dana Milbank) 
> Who thinks we should 'make permanent' the Bush tax cuts (The Big Picture)
> 2/3 chance of house takeover (FiveThirtyEight)
> Housing usually comes to the rescue.  Not this time. (Calculated Risk) 
> US corporations don't really need a healthy US to be profitable (Robert Reich)
> Is Forbes mainstream? (Kevin Drum)
> Is a compromise on tax policy a good thing? (Ezra Klein)
> Nice chart on how the US is viewed in the Middle East (The League of Ordinary Gentlemen)
> This year's 'excited' voter makes sure to get their daily dose of Fox News - nice chart (Kevin Drum)
> Corn syrup has a branding issue, but I guess sugar is a-ok. (Yahoo News)
> There have been times when deflation wasn't so bad - not now (Macro and Other Market Musings)
> Rep. John Boehner is full of nonsense on spending cuts (Kevin Drum)
> The winner-take-all economy (Marginal Revolution)
> Nice time-series chart showing what's keeping small business owners up at night (Paul Krugman)
> Saying you are serious about the deficit is not the same as being serious about the deficit (Ezra Klein)
> Seeing a little Palin in O'Donnell (Jonathan Chait)
> Brian Williams defines 'risk-averse' (The Daily Dish)
> Sentences where there should never be a 'but': Our goal is not to shut down the government... (TPM)
> ... but, we have to do, what we have to do (Capital Gains and Games)
> Cook's senate scorecard (The Cook Political Report)

9/10/10 Links

Horribly busy day in the office today.  Many more to follow.  Ah, the joys of budget season.  Here are the links that caught my attention today.  Enjoy!

The best:

2. Link to survey on morality for Dan Ariely, a prominent behaviorial economist, with request that the link be sent to as many people from different countries as possible (Qualtrics)
1. A new low.  Actually running on shutting down the government.  I mean who needs government services anyway? (Weigel)

The rest:
> Income inequality doesn't appear to have been caused by skill-biased technological change (Kevin Drum)
> Calculated Risk sees unemployment rising to double digits in the near-term (Calculated Risk)
> Men, your waist size may be bigger than you think (The Daily Dish)
> As Jon Stewart would say, "Ahh yeah" (TPM) Note: I haven't seen the video yet
> Health care spending is supposed to go up with the ACHA? (Health Affairs)
> No, not really (Ezra Klein)
> USA USA USA (kottke.org)

Long awaited link post - 9/9/10

I think I'm beginning to find these posts boring.  I haven't done one in about 10 days.  That said, here are the links you have been so anxiously awaiting.  Enjoy!

Top Three
3. Airline prices do go up (NYT) 
2. Did you know that social networks (Like Facebook) can be used to fight crime? (The Economist)
1. A great graphic showing the real danger of deflation - timely (The Big Picture)

The Rest (Most recent links at the bottom)
> Krugman trusts the writings of the ancients (NYT)
> Thank the heavens.  The like her; they just don't want her to do anything. (PPP)
> I never liked Gary Bauer (The Daily Dish)
> Don't worry, things will be better when we take over (FrumForum)
> Krugman does not think the stimulus package was represented Keynesian policies (NYT)
> It's a fair expectation that the temporary Bush tax cuts will be extended (McClatchy)
> Ron Paul is very conspiracy-minded (Bruce Bartlett)
> Mixed drinks are not IP, for now... (Liquidity Preference)
> Sabato sees good things for the GOP this fall (Larry J. Sabato)
> A decade of GOP policy implementation... In ONE chart (Ezra Klein)
> What do you call using language to mask conflict: Corporate-speak (Marginal Revolution)
> The NAR is a propaganda outlet (The Big Picture)
> Krugman wants some inflation now, and doesn't see it coming (NYT)
> Some great economics blogs that you need to bookmark (Bruce Bartlett) 
> So Beck and Palin are going to help us remember the lessons of 9/11.  Yea, that seems on the level. (Weigel)
> Student loan debt is larger than credit card debt with fewer protections for the borrower (The Big Picture)
> Krugman argues against the idea that stimulus policies has been proven ineffective (NYT)
> The best charts and initial reaction to the August employment numbers are here (Calculated Risk)
> It's not about federal budget policy, it's about economic policy (FrumForum)
> Is Krugman saying that we'll need WWIII in order to get out of the economic slump? (NYT)
> A community college professor talks about his students (The Daily Dish)
> Inflation would really hit elderly savers hard (Seeking Alpha)
> Singing as a way to get voters to the polls (The Daily Dish)
> Belgian content owners open up a front against the DVR (ARS Technica)
> My bet is the that the GOP plan wins.  Maybe we should call it the "like deficits" plan or the "pretend I care about deficits" plan (TPM)
> Pictures from random places in the world - Thanks Rob! - (Globe Genie)
> Deconstructing a class warfare propaganda piece (Kid Dynamite)
> The writer of the original 'Jump the Shark' episode defends himself (LAT)
> The growth of income inequality makes the more tax brackets argument seem pretty reasonable.   (Kevin Drum)
> Andrew Sullivan asks what good are checks and balances when they paralyze. Strange that he would forget the role of tyranny in shaping our system of government. (The Daily Dish) 
> When they say 'It's ObamaCare', remember that rates have pretty much been doing this all along (Kevin Drum)
> Another reason to believe that it has absolutely nothing to do with the deficit (Kevin Drum)

8/31/10 Links

It's the end of August (As we know it) and I feel fine. (R.E.M.) Here's today's links:

Do you believe that "this guy" is awful?  Yes.  Yes, I do.  (Sam Stein)

Another really bad poll for the Democrats.  (FiveThirtyEight)

Who's afraid of the big bad immigrant? (Felix Salmon)

If 'nobody' saw it coming, and it came, then the people who saw it coming are 'nobody'. (Calculated Risk)

No.  Unemployment would not have fallen if unemployment benefits hadn't been extended. (Media Matters)

You know that scene in the horror movie, right before the villian comes back alive for one last unexpected shot at our hero.  We're there. (The Big Picture)

Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessup: You can't handle the truth!
A Few Good Men

8/30/10 Links

Is that an impending sense of doom I'm feeling?  Or, have I been reading too much on fundamentalist ideology in my attempt to understand today's GOP? Probably both.

Do people who have DVRs really watch ads?  When do advertisers give up on TV?  (Tech Crunch)

10,000 hours, right. But not too much competition, OK. (Wired)

You should always vote for the person, except for when the party matters most.  And it always matters most.  (Ezra Klein)

I'd agree, except for the fact that there is no easy stuff when the only thing you ever want to do is cut taxes.  (Ezra Klein)

Representing a fundamental misunderstanding of the liquidity trap (Megan McArdle)

"Dey tuk er jerbs!" (Economist's View) - Quote from Season 8, Episode 6 "Goobacks"

Eating local is not as energy efficient as advertised by local businesses.  File under, "Not surprising".  (Stephen Budiansky - NYT Op-Ed)

Week away links 8-29-10

OK, most of these are from the last day or so.  I don't really feel back yet (Week away with the family), because I haven't logged into the work email address yet.  But hey, Mondays are all about unpleasant experiences.  I'll add lots of work emails to the list.  Until then, here's what caught my eye over the past week (end):

Just buying some books might be worth more than you think (Evidence Based Mummy)

Going green kinda sucks (Scott Adams)

Because, really, if you don't need 'em, you don't need 'em (The Big Picture)

Cheap, "virtual" assistants, living in India, may be able to improve your dating life (Brad Ideas)

Some twitter feeds I need to add (Real Time Economics - WSJ)

Did you know that the third-person plural is a tell? (Farnam Street)

If I didn't agree, I wouldn't be posting this link (Paul Krugman)

Are you prepared for the death of the public sector? (TPM)

When in Rome (The Big Picture)

I'd post the video directly, but it doesn't seem appropriate to the blog.  But... I'll go with... cool.  Very cool.  (The Daily Dish)

That's it on my end.  If you have any fun links, send them my way.

8/20/10 Links

I'm taking a break for the next week.  Call it a swimming trip.  Here's a few links to hold you over until I get back.

Obama's doing OK.  Really.  No really.  He is. I swear. (Kevin Drum)

Shockingly, e-dating isn't terribly effective (Mind Hacks)

Hey look, we didn't bankrupt the country with the AHCA (Bruce Bartlett)

Excellent interactive map of the recession and where its hit hardest (AP)

And so, that puts 13 democratic seats in play for the US senate (Cook)

Video Killed The Radio Song - Chart on internet usage (Barry Ritholtz)

Apparently, doing more housework means getting more action (Freakonomics Blog)

"Getting information off the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant" (Ezra Klein)

8/19/10 Links

Hope a few of these catch your eye.  Kevin Drum seems to be my passing fancy of the day.  Enjoy!

Outrage, across mainstream America - humor (The Daily Mash)

American Airlines, messing with you for profit (Kevin Drum)

1964.  A stereo cost $379.95 and a year's tuition at the University of Michigan cost $140.  Which would you rather have today?  (Jonathan Chait)

Copyright protection exists to encourage the creation of content.  No more, no less.  (The Daily Dish)

Did you know that we are W.E.I.R.D? (Social Science Research Network)

Only half of US citizens understand the first amendment to the constitution (Kevin Drum)

Explain to me the deal with social security and who's trying to weasel their way out if it (Kevin Drum)

Mmm....  Burger (Daily Fork)

Question: Do "Cougars" really exist?  Answer: No.  (Yahoo)

Nice chart showing total trend in consumer debt (Infectious Greed)

8/18/10 Links

Here are today links:

Great set of charts showing damage caused by the financial meltdown (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) (My post on this earlier today)

Refusing to submit to the U.S. News and World Report rankings results in improved performance (The Atlantic)

The two mosques that already exist near ground zero - 4 and 12 blocks away (NYT) (My post on this earlier today)

That's right, we pretty much disapprove of everybody (PPP)

How not to write news analysis (Jonathan Bernstein)

The problem with the deficit hawk - funny (Economist's View)

How UBS made out with Walmart using satellite technology - cool (CNBC)

8/17/10 Links

This is a light link day.  I just didn't have the information grazing need that usually carries me through the day.  That said, here are a few goodies...

Barry Ritholtz on how we should have rescued the financial system (The Big Picture)

Policy positions are largely irrelevant in US elections (Ezra Klein)

Why sometimes it doesn't make sense to buy and hold (Pragmatic Capitalism)

I'm getting old (Beloit College)

8/16/10 Links

Here's what I'm into today.

Palin supporters must be high (PPP)

One of the rare moments I find myself agreeing with an NRO blogger (The Agenda)

How long do you think the jobs recession will last? (Robert Reich)

Having a dog makes you more cooperative (Economist)

How to keep a politically useful story alive (David Weigel)

Can the GOP keep the lid on? (Mark Halperin)

The NYT isn't satisfied with the internet (Media Decoder)

Don't you just love a good burger? (DCist)

No conflict of interest to see here (Think Progress)

Story of a video game virgin (kottke.org)

When the end of world was here, was Bush or Obama president? Seriously. (PewResearchCenter)

Worst news of the day.  Stupid.  (Washington Post)

Today's Links

This is really just a reaction to posting 42 links yesterday.  I'm pretty sure that there is no way anybody hit even one of those links.  This is a much smaller set so maybe you'll find one or two things here that you find promising.

My toddler isn't a bully.  Your's is just a whimpering little social parasite.


Repeat after me: There are only two parties that matter, there are only two parties that matter


Being against the mosque, you know, because of the holy war


Why the Biden/Hillary talk represents journalistic laziness


Paul Ryan is not being persecuted by the MSM


Perhaps the Senate does suck


I'm in the minority (nothing new)


Next, I think we'll move from the water to sparkling water


Have a great weekend! 

Friday Linkage - On Thursday!

My twitter feed went crazy this week so I'm doing this post a day earlier than last week.  I'm considering doing a link post like this every time I have between 10 and 15 links.  Otherwise, the list gets way too long.  (I know, 42 links is too many). 

With that said, Links:

Men, you should wear red

Where Krugman explains how to read a report from the CBO

Crist benefited from the oil spill

A conservative evaluating his position against same-sex marriage

A political blog recommended by Chuck Todd

Mark Thoma on the weakness in last Friday's (8-6-10) job report

Part of the reason the administration didn't push for a larger stimulus package in 2009


It's been hot this year

A thawing glacier

Yuck.  Just yuck.

How many chargers do you have?


Economists call each other names, too

Where Coke says that no reasonable person would think that vitamin water is a healthy beverage

Where Nate Silver agrees with Paul Krugman that Paul Ryan is full of it

How large is the beauty premium for prostitutes?

A poll that asks if the oil spill was a good thing

Obama phones? Bush phones?

Fiscal enemy number one:  Public employees

Great chart showing how incomes dropped in 2009

Convincing secular arguments against same-sex marriage are hard to make

Bell. The purest case of government employee theft from the taxpayers that I have ever read.

Palin's eye-roll (old news, admit-ably)

Video games - from geek to jock


What kind of unemployment do we have, structural, frictional, or cyclical?  Does it matter?

Conservapedia is the best!

Mmm, state fair food (check out the pictures)

The origin of Mexico's drug war

Should government do more or less? What do independent voters think today?

Maybe, Palin pissed off the people of Alaska when she stepped down

When reality becomes unhinged, who will even notice?


The pension crisis is the fault of overly-optimistic economists (So much for the dismal science)

When the trade deficit ends, how much will it suck?


Political considerations in the recently passed $26 billion aid package to states.

How do you spell, shcool?

Being 'concerned' about social security, improves your credibility

Where we learn that the U.S. is bankrupt

Negative TIPS yields.  Whoa.

Car shopping in the internet age

Without this jobs program, unemployment wouldn't be 9.5%, it would be 11.5%

Where Paul Krugman 'solves' the deficit problem

Same-sex couples should be able to marry again next Wednesday


Paul Ryan is entirely clear despite what his critics say

This Week's Twitter Links

Maybe I can make this into a weekly habit.  Below are this week's links (beginning on August 3rd):

Not the best way to run a race

I may not like Ryan's plan, but at least he's talking

Being the head of the federal reserve doesn't make you correct

Do you like Palin's chances?

I said Brown

"Some miracle"

Not the best time to be a homebuilder

Learning from Jose Canseco

Those damned liberal activist judges!

If anything I do makes me unpopular, shouldn't I just do nothing?

Is scientific research wasteful government spending?

Is Iran reaching out?

Because government spending is wasteful.  By definition. Right.

Limbaugh says stupid things

Evidence?  Who needs evidence when you control the media?

Being for a larger deficit means being against health care policy

Remember those carefree college days?

Some readings from July

Sometime ambition gets the best of me.  Weekly just fell away huh?  OK...  Here's some housekeeping:

A new toy around the house.  And yes, it's sweet.

Elizabeth Warren, the debate continues (even now)

Tax cuts do not automatically increase revenue

What are conservatives, now?

Making money by giving it away

The latest, greatest, board games

Long term, this is bad

Getting Krugman to stick a pencil in his eye

Improving GOP outlook in the senate

The shutdown won't happen

Where Kevin Drum reads my mind

How do people in the media keep up with the information flow?

"I'm not aware of any agency with the authority, responsibility or a process in place to coordinate all these interagency and commercial activities. The complexity of this system defies description."

What does BS look like?

Erick Erickson is a blowhard

Making decisions on the margin


If you tell lies often enough, you begin to believe them

The tea party pisses people off

The filibuster is here to stay

Sullivan loves Palin

27,000 abandoned wells not checked for leaks

The pain of Palin

Playing pretend with tax charts

How being liar makes you popular

The economics of Romneycare

Does anybody really care about the deficit?

How to shrink government services

Being on both sides of an argument

If the economy determines electoral outcomes, why was 2000 so close?

But... Does crazy win?

Another Facebook debacle

In case you were wondering, Krugman thinks he's right


I don't like FOX "News"

Great pictures from the war in Afghanistan

GDP.  It's worse then we thought

How much does that hurt?


The structure of the conflict matters more than the players

Identifying propaganda (Regarding Bush's tax cuts)

Open source textbooks.  What's not to like?


Spin, spin, spin, spin, spin...

How to piss off monkeys

This Week's Notable Readings

So here's the idea.  I have begun tweeting links to articles I found interesting.  This page is designed to be a sum up of what I those tweets. I'm not sure if I'll make this a weekly of a daily feature, but for the time being it'll be weekly.

So here's what I liked this week:

Clever needs to be kind

What kind of bias does reality have?

Coming Soon - Deflation 

Who cares about deficits?

Do tax cuts generate additional tax revenue? (No)

What spending should we cut exactly?

Incentives matter

No one ever is to blame

Who will be our next POTUS?

Leaders of the next congress?

Consistently Greenspan

Current Contenders

He's down but he's not out


Got any links I should take a look at?  Feel free to post them in the comments.