Saturday, November 30, 2013
Modest Proposal
Instead of paying to force everybody to do military service, how about we offer free tuition at public colleges. I suppose that would be coddling a bunch of takers.
Every Villager Pundit Upon Hitting A Certain Age
Decides that what the country really needs is mandatory military service for people younger than them.
Mandatory "service and sacrifice." In the military. For other people.
Mandatory "service and sacrifice." In the military. For other people.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Game Birds
They're expensive here because of restrictions on selling hunted birds, but in the UK game birds are actually quite cheap in season, and sold in major supermarkets complete with bird shot.
SUPERTRAIN
Paris to Barcelona in 6.5 hours. Not bad.
Spain's tracks were built with a different gauge, which they're slowly remedying.
Spain's tracks were built with a different gauge, which they're slowly remedying.
Black Friday Crass Commercialism
Who am I to stand in the way of America's proudest tradition?
Buy yourself a new teevee! 40 inch tv for $377. Not bad.
Buy yourself a new teevee! 40 inch tv for $377. Not bad.
Hacks
Krauthammer.
versus Krauthammer.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist seems intent on passing a procedural ruling to prevent judicial filibusters.
...
The Democrats have unilaterally shattered one of the longest-running traditions in parliamentary history worldwide. They are not to be rewarded with a deal. They must either stop or be stopped by a simple change of Senate procedure that would do nothing more than take a 200-year-old unwritten rule and make it written.
What the Democrats have done is radical. What Frist is proposing is a restoration.
versus Krauthammer.
The violence to political norms here consisted in how that change was executed. By brute force — a near party-line vote of 52 to 48 . This was a disgraceful violation of more than two centuries of precedent. If a bare majority can change the fundamental rules that govern an institution, then there are no rules. Senate rules today are whatever the majority decides they are that morning.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Inside Jokes From 10 Years Ago Can Be A Bit Too Inside
A reminder of the source of the traditional turkee day post.
Nothing to Do
For many, many years the Atrios household has been the Thanksgiving home for all of the area orphans with nowhere else to go, which usually meant about 16 people and multiple turkeys (one in the oven, one on the grill). I mentally associate the holiday with days of shopping, prep, and cooking. Other people are doing the work this year. Much more relaxing.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Progress
Hopefully more locations get on board with raising the minimum wage.
Federal action would be good, too, of course, but it obviously isn't too likely at the moment.
Federal action would be good, too, of course, but it obviously isn't too likely at the moment.
Holiday Schedule
Fortunately Eschaton World Industries has a fairly generous holiday vacation policy, so light blogging through the rest of the week, depending on my mood.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Pope On A Rope
I'm not catholic and the guy doesn't represent me, but christianity - including catholicism - seems to have been reduced "abortion, contraception, and gay people are evil" over the past several decades. If the dude manages to adjust the balance on those things - even if he thinks those things are still bad - I'll applaud. Supposedly we're all sinners, it just hasn't been clear why some sins have been more important than others lately.
Lost the Plot
Fortunately the conservative moment has been taken over by rich assholes who live in a bubble and young dudebros who are more interested in high fiveing each other than accomplishing anything.
Um, Good?
Is there any reason "we" want to stay in Afghanistan other than our general desire to be everywhere? I don't understand it.
Efforts by the United States and Afghanistan to finalize a long-term security arrangement appeared on the brink of collapse Monday as Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a new set of demands, and the Obama administration said it would be forced to begin planning for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of 2014.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Can San Francisco Build Its Way To Lower Rents?
I generally lean towards "build more" as an answer to housing price woes. It's a nice simple story - increase supply of housing units, and prices should fall.
But it's actually too simple of a story. The character of neighborhoods and cities is affected by the number and characteristics of its inhabitants. As demand for San Francisco living from relatively rich people increases, increasingly San Francisco is filled with rich people who are driving up rents/house prices. They're also creating demand for things - shops and services - that rich people like. So a few more Whole Foods and pricey restaurants open up, making it even more desirable for rich people. And, frankly, rich people like to live near other rich people, so simply the presence of more rich people makes the area more attractive. Driving out the poors is a feature. More rich people leads to more neighborhood amenities that rich people like which boosts demand for housing by rich people. Since they're rich, their willingness/ability to pay for housing vastly exceeds that of mere mortals.
Building more in San Francisco will mean that there are more spots for people to live in San Francisco, but it doesn't necessarily mean that rents will actually fall.
This is because San Francisco is fairly small and unique. Massive infill throughout the Bay Area would surely lower rents.* But it isn't clear that San Francisco proper can realistically build its way to lower rents.
*Not clear to me the transportation network is anything close to adequate, but I don't have deep knowledge...
But it's actually too simple of a story. The character of neighborhoods and cities is affected by the number and characteristics of its inhabitants. As demand for San Francisco living from relatively rich people increases, increasingly San Francisco is filled with rich people who are driving up rents/house prices. They're also creating demand for things - shops and services - that rich people like. So a few more Whole Foods and pricey restaurants open up, making it even more desirable for rich people. And, frankly, rich people like to live near other rich people, so simply the presence of more rich people makes the area more attractive. Driving out the poors is a feature. More rich people leads to more neighborhood amenities that rich people like which boosts demand for housing by rich people. Since they're rich, their willingness/ability to pay for housing vastly exceeds that of mere mortals.
Building more in San Francisco will mean that there are more spots for people to live in San Francisco, but it doesn't necessarily mean that rents will actually fall.
This is because San Francisco is fairly small and unique. Massive infill throughout the Bay Area would surely lower rents.* But it isn't clear that San Francisco proper can realistically build its way to lower rents.
*Not clear to me the transportation network is anything close to adequate, but I don't have deep knowledge...
That Loud Noise Only Exists To Annoy Me
Why are car alarms still legal? I have a hard time believing they ever did much to prevent theft, but decades later we have newer fancier technology. I'm sure it'd be trivial for an "alarm" to simply shutdown the ignition or lock the wheels or whatever. They can activate cheap cameras to take pictures of the perp and send an alert to your phone. I guess people get their GPS systems ripped off, but my ability to remain asleep at 3:30 in the morning really should be more important than your ability to leave unattended valuables in your car.
Think Of The Children
The disconnect between our rhetoric about children and how our society often treats them is stunning.
Perfectly Safe
It's not the prettiest spot and there are parcels that should be better developed,but if hotels and convention center staff want guests to return to Philadelphia perhaps they should stop scaring them?
The area is as safe as any. And, frankly, to the extent that the stretch between 8th st. and the Independence Hall area is unappealing it's because of blocks of office buildings without street level retail creating a bit of a dead zone, not the "blighted" bits.
But, seriously, if hotel staff are telling their guests they should take cabs for the 5 blocks instead of a) walking or b) taking the subway then they shouldn't be too puzzled about why they don't plan to return.
Market East represents one of the city's "biggest challenges," according to a Center City District report, an area of "obsolete and underperforming low-scale structures, unattractive storefronts, neglected historic assets and large, vacant parcels at key locations."
That report, issued in 2007, remains true today.
"It's the last frontier of our city," said Ed Grose, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, who said hotel staff frequently recommended that guests take taxis the few blighted blocks to historic sites.
"If people don't come here because of safety and security, this means fewer good jobs for Philadelphians," he said. "It's a shame what it costs us in dollars. We want this area to be clean, safe, and attractive."
The area is as safe as any. And, frankly, to the extent that the stretch between 8th st. and the Independence Hall area is unappealing it's because of blocks of office buildings without street level retail creating a bit of a dead zone, not the "blighted" bits.
But, seriously, if hotel staff are telling their guests they should take cabs for the 5 blocks instead of a) walking or b) taking the subway then they shouldn't be too puzzled about why they don't plan to return.
Think Of The Residents
Generally, cities should stop focusing on big projects with the goal of attracting tourists and suburbanites. Focus on quality of life issues for people who do - or might - actually live in them. Requires less parking, too.
I Learn Nothing
I know almost nothing about Iran, nothing about what our current sanctions policy actually is, nothing about about what sanctions are being lifted in this current deal. I have read many articles on the subject over the past couple of days and have learned very little. I know we had "tough" sanctions (yay!) and apparently now we're going to have wimpier sanctions (boo!).
I doubt most of the people bloviating about Iran know any more than I do. Some of them, however, seem to think SMASH BAD GUY is only smart policy option ever.
I doubt most of the people bloviating about Iran know any more than I do. Some of them, however, seem to think SMASH BAD GUY is only smart policy option ever.
The Kids Today Have It So Easy
I'm not going to link it, but Bruni has a piece in the times about how resistance to Common Core is all about parents wanting their precious little flowers to have easy pressure free lives, and not grow up with the character building Common Core-less brutal regime that Bruni and his peers did. Or something.
Those stupid white suburban mothers.
Those stupid white suburban mothers.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
"Eligible For Medicaid"
Hopefully it will be a better deal even for people who aren't, but certainly the Medicaid expansion is one of the best things about Obamacare. I think there's a lesson there but maybe I'm a bit stupid and can't quite figure out what it is...
The Dick Whisperer
I like wine and have bought a few not quite cheap bottles over the course of my life, but unlike Dana Milbank I don't think I'd ever refer to a $48 bottle of wine as a "steal."
Saturday, November 23, 2013
NUKES!
I'm personally far more relaxed about Iran having nukes than about, say, Texas having nukes. The Iranians are lots less crazy or religiously fanatical, and not overall so broadly stupid.
I will say this about Texas though -- you could be Oklahoma!
Anyway whatever.
Revenge of the Nerds
When I was young, only nerds liked nerd stuff and you were better off just not admitting it to anyone. Scifi, fantasy... hell, even video games were borderline nerdstuff. Sure Star Wars was the obvious massive mainstream exception, but Star Wars didn't make Star Trek cool.
I suppose things started to change with Star Trek: TNG and then the X-Files, followed by the success of Harry Potter (books and films), the Lord of the Rings, superhero movies, etc. Teenage me would be quite shocked to be informed that 50 years after the start of Doctor Who, adults are not at all embarrassed to admit that they are fans.
Off to watch the anniversary episode.
I suppose things started to change with Star Trek: TNG and then the X-Files, followed by the success of Harry Potter (books and films), the Lord of the Rings, superhero movies, etc. Teenage me would be quite shocked to be informed that 50 years after the start of Doctor Who, adults are not at all embarrassed to admit that they are fans.
Off to watch the anniversary episode.
Saturday Crass Commercialism
I haven't read it yet because my unread book stack just seems to grow, but Rob Delaney is a funny guy on twitter. He also has good politics and is generous in his support of other good people and their projects. So buy his book!
Incompetence
I know that the fate of Obamacare, and whether or not it's mostly an improvement to the system, has little to do with the messed up roll out, but as a liberal who is invested in the notion that the government is capable of doing things well, I'm pretty pissed off. Especially because one supposed selling point of wonky technocratic centrism is that it's Very Serious and Competent. Adults in charge kinda stuff.
They screwed up.
They screwed up.
Up or Down
I talked to KagroX and McJoan about the filibuster yesterday. It left me thinking about all the things I'd like to see in the Senate with an up or down vote.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Things That Probably Won't Happen And Probably Shouldn't
This just seems like a full time lobbying gig for elder statesmen (Ed Rendell! Tom Daschle! George Pataki! Christine Todd Whitman!) who don't know anything about trains. The cost of building something like this has little to do with the cost of the stuff the Japanese have offered to pay for. It's assembling necessary property and rights of way, and grading and tunneling where necessary, that's expensive.
Obviously it could happen, which is why you assemble a team of Washington Superfriends to help make it happen, but I'm pretty sure the most that will come out of this is a bunch of money wasted on lobbyists and consultants and reports and then nothing ever happens because it would be extremely difficult and expensive.
I'm not against shiny new technologies, but if you want to build something like this you build it between two cities that don't have much in between them. Also, too, flat helps. The NE corridor is extremely dense, so any project like this that can't make use of an exist ROW will be extremely complicated, expensive, and disruptive.
Obviously it could happen, which is why you assemble a team of Washington Superfriends to help make it happen, but I'm pretty sure the most that will come out of this is a bunch of money wasted on lobbyists and consultants and reports and then nothing ever happens because it would be extremely difficult and expensive.
I'm not against shiny new technologies, but if you want to build something like this you build it between two cities that don't have much in between them. Also, too, flat helps. The NE corridor is extremely dense, so any project like this that can't make use of an exist ROW will be extremely complicated, expensive, and disruptive.
Oh Noez
The official Republican/WaPo response seems to be "if you get rid of the filibuster the Republicans will keep successfully appointing right wing nuts to the bench as they have been for decades."
ok
ok
Thursday, November 21, 2013
It Shouldn't Have Been That Way
The worst (well, a bad bit anyway) part of American politics is the fetishization of bipartisanship. Outside of naming post offices or declaring that puppies are cute, bipartisanship is bad. Politics is a competition. Politicians and political parties offer competing ideas and visions to the public, and this allows voters to make a semi-informed choice about who to vote for.
Bipartisanship is just another way of saying "let elites sort this stuff behind closed doors, don't you worry your pretty little heads about these things." Also, too, the Chamber of Commerce rocks!
Bipartisanship is just another way of saying "let elites sort this stuff behind closed doors, don't you worry your pretty little heads about these things." Also, too, the Chamber of Commerce rocks!
It Was Never About Cutting Costs
I know krgthulu knows this, but to put it more directly, "Entitlement Reform" is only awesome if it causes more suffering. Pundits always lump together SocialSecurityAndMedicare because it's only the latter that has been projected to be a real problem. They still want to cut Social Security, and if it turns out the Medicare bill is no big deal, they'll still want to cut benefits. Because other people must suffer.
Majority Rules (Some of the Time)
It's worth remembering that changing rules and violating the comity and traditions of The World's Greatest Deliberative Body ™ was once supported only by crazy liberal bloggers and a few rogue senators.
And, yes, before that by a bunch of Republicans.
And, yes, before that by a bunch of Republicans.
Extreme Left Judge
I've been trying to think of some notable extremely liberal law professor or similar who Obama could appoint as a judge (for a joke, not that it would happen) and I can't actually think of any.
Judicial Nominations
Looks like Reid really might be bringing the vote threshold down to 50 this time.
...actually, I think it's all non-SCOTUS nominations.
...actually, I think it's all non-SCOTUS nominations.
Full
Fears of inflation are absolutely bizarre when we have a Fed that has been sociopathically concerned with "fighting inflation" for decades. And fighting inflation is extremely easy! It isn't a difficult problem to solve if the people in charge, for better or for worse, want to solve it. There shouldn't be any worries about a too low unemployment rate because if inflation ever does start to rise the Fed can always jam on the brakes.
The Fed is overly committed to preventing high inflation, and preventing high inflation is extremely easy for it to do. It's not something anyone should ever worry about.
The Fed is overly committed to preventing high inflation, and preventing high inflation is extremely easy for it to do. It's not something anyone should ever worry about.
Keep Your Subway Turnstile Off My Bank Card
One mystery to me is why the powers that be think that paying for your transit travel with your bank card is an awesome idea. As an option...maybe, but I certainly don't want to pull out my ATM card every time I need to get on a bus. A separate pass or declining balance card limits potential losses due to glitches. Also, too, kids and teens tend not to have bank cards.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Oh Dear
Time for another blogger ethics panel.
...adding, the blogger ethics panel joke is probably a bit dated. Back in the early days of blogging, when the Vikings roamed the seas and Steve Simels was a wee lad, many journalists were obsessed with trying to impose "ethical standards" on bloggers which didn't exist, even in theory, in mainstream journalism.
...adding, the blogger ethics panel joke is probably a bit dated. Back in the early days of blogging, when the Vikings roamed the seas and Steve Simels was a wee lad, many journalists were obsessed with trying to impose "ethical standards" on bloggers which didn't exist, even in theory, in mainstream journalism.
Driving That Train
I oddly don't know much of anything about the system of train signals and switches, but I don't remember hearing about one getting lost before.
...adding, green is where it went, red is where it should have gone.
...adding, green is where it went, red is where it should have gone.
Team Ryan
Is Lori Montgomery stupid or evil?
Democrats, except the bold noble "centrist" ones who hates democrats, never get this kind of hagiography.
Paul Ryan's plan to help the poor is: cut their benefits and give the money to rich people. That's it.
Democrats, except the bold noble "centrist" ones who hates democrats, never get this kind of hagiography.
Paul Ryan's plan to help the poor is: cut their benefits and give the money to rich people. That's it.
Team Bush
For whatever reason - ideological affinity, post-Clinton hangover, cunning political operatives, 9/11 - during the Bush years, many in the press seemed to see themselves as members of Team Bush, perhaps all fighting noble wars together. I don't think the Obama administration gets horrible press coverage - there are some on Team Obama, too, I think - but there's still a desire to kick him when there's a chance.
Area Gentrifier Hates Gentrifiers
A companion to this is urban gentrifiers who lament all the gentrification that's going on. This is a good example.
Doomsday Averted
It isn't quite enough money, but at least it's more than a short term fix. My local transit authority will survive.
Actual Good News
It's been a long time since I've been in that area, but because my mom grew up in Los Alamos I spent a lot of time around there when I was a kid. Good for them.
(CNN) -- Voters rejected a ban on late-term abortions in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a proposal believed to be a first on a city level.
Bullshit Jobs
The "service economy" has always been weirdly circular. Ian Welsh put it this way last Thursday:
Trouble maker David Graeber puts it differently:
It's crazy....(R)adical is saying why do we distribute surplus through jobs? All right, why do you need a job in order to survive, right? I mean the fact of the matter is 80% of the population could stop doing what they do tomorrow and all the food would still get produced, and all of the goods would still get produced. About 60% of the population does nothing but shuffle numbers at this point. What they're doing is keeping track of who owns what, right? The actual productive labor in the economy is remarkably little.
Trouble maker David Graeber puts it differently:
Yes, we have witnessed the creation of an endless variety of new jobs and industries since the ‘20s, but very few have anything to do with the production and distribution of sushi, iPhones, or fancy sneakers.
So what are these new jobs, precisely? A recent report comparing employment in the US between 1910 and 2000 gives us a clear picture (and I note, one pretty much exactly echoed in the UK). Over the course of the last century, the number of workers employed as domestic servants, in industry, and in the farm sector has collapsed dramatically. At the same time, “professional, managerial, clerical, sales, and service workers” tripled, growing “from one-quarter to three-quarters of total employment.”
In other words, productive jobs have, just as predicted, been largely automated away (even if you count industrial workers globally, including the toiling masses in India and China, such workers are still not nearly so large a percentage of the world population as they used to be).
But rather than allowing a massive reduction of working hours to free the world’s population to pursue their own projects, pleasures, visions, and ideas, we have seen the ballooning not even so much of the “service” sector as of the administrative sector, up to and including the creation of whole new industries like financial services or telemarketing, or the unprecedented expansion of sectors like corporate law, academic and health administration, human resources, and public relations.As far as I'm concerned there are plenty of productive things to do, like fixing bridges, pulling fiber to post offices and libraries, building high school science labs, even, yes, repairing water mains and making Supertrains. But that's not what we do.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Doing Versus Buying
Obligatory statement that addiction is real and serious, and most drug use should be decriminalized if not necessarily entirely legalized, but 'the alcoholism made me do it' works for doing some of your buddy's coke at a party after a bender, it doesn't really work for 'having a dealer.'
A Drug Enforcement Administration official said Radel bought cocaine from an undercover agent in the city's Dupont Circle neighborhood on Oct. 29. Later that night, federal authorities went to his apartment and informed him that he would be facing criminal charges related to his purchase of cocaine.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details of the case in his own name, said Radel was identified to authorities as a cocaine buyer by his suspected dealer. The dealer had been previously arrested as part of a separate drug investigation led by a federal task force.
Doomsday
For transit map nerds, here's what will happen to my local transit authority by 2023 if capital spending doesn't come through from the state.
Taking Aim At The City
The transit portion of the transportation bill isn't nearly as generous as it needs to be, but it would prolong the "twine and chewing gum" system that has kept my local transit authority alive. Unless they don't pass the damn thing, of course.
Absent a functioning mass transit system, our urban highways would basically be useless. Might as well just shut down the Schuylkill Expressway, as it'll be a parking lot anyway.
Absent a functioning mass transit system, our urban highways would basically be useless. Might as well just shut down the Schuylkill Expressway, as it'll be a parking lot anyway.
They Started With The Blah People
I'm no mind reader, but the only way I've been able to interpret Arne Duncan's remarks about being surprised about white suburban mothers opposing his agenda is that opposition from the blah people, whose districts they've been destroying for years, was to be expected because blah people just don't understand. White people should be smart enough to love it!
Bring On The de Blasio Apocalypse
I imagine plenty of New Yorkers would be thrilled rich people got a bit askeered and started fleeing the city in droves. Squats for everyone!
We Need To Ruin It Our Way
One weird idea that seems to infect the minds of Democratic policy wonks is that we need to "fix" a problem in order to take it off the table politically. Basically, we'll do a friendlier "welfare reform" than the Republicans will and then the issue will go away and we can get on to other things. That's what motivates some people with Social Security. We'll do a friendlier fix - Chained CPI+maybe some sweeteners for the truly poor - and then Fred Hiatt will stop talking about and it goes away. If not, who knows what those dastardly Republicans will do when they're in power!
Now I think this was wrong - if not crazy - with respect to "welfare" because welfare, especially the super secret welfare system that only blah people have access to, wasn't popular. So trying to take it off the table for awhile made some sense. Of course the problem is that it still won't stop them from trying to gut anything resembling help for the poor when they get a chance.
But Social Security is popular! There's no way they're going to have much luck gutting it. We saw "them" try, but "them" was really just the Bush administration. Republican members of Congress weren't even really on board.
The only thing a Social Security "fix" takes off the table is nasty notes from Fred Hiatt, but it won't even do that. Any "fix" will never be enough.
Now I think this was wrong - if not crazy - with respect to "welfare" because welfare, especially the super secret welfare system that only blah people have access to, wasn't popular. So trying to take it off the table for awhile made some sense. Of course the problem is that it still won't stop them from trying to gut anything resembling help for the poor when they get a chance.
But Social Security is popular! There's no way they're going to have much luck gutting it. We saw "them" try, but "them" was really just the Bush administration. Republican members of Congress weren't even really on board.
The only thing a Social Security "fix" takes off the table is nasty notes from Fred Hiatt, but it won't even do that. Any "fix" will never be enough.
Monday, November 18, 2013
And The Rest Of The Candidates, Too
As I've written a million times, it's bizarre to me that "give more money to the elderly" isn't a standard Dem (or, hell, Republican) campaign promise. Even if it's a lie in that they won't bother to follow through on it, I'm certain that it's a vote winner. The elderly vote!
If Only There Was A Wealthy Company With A Large Selection Of Canned Goods Somewhere Nearby
I know I'm late to this in blog time - had stuff to do today - but this really is pretty amazing.
Crazy Ideas
My hope is that any Dem who seriously wants a shot at the 2016 nomination gets on board with this. It's only bed bad politics if you think Fred Hiatt is the median Dem primary voter.
The Last Bit Of Farmland Is Mine
When I was a teen I lived in what we'd now call exurbia, though then we just called it a suburb, and due to increased development since then, suburbia would be a more appropriate description currently. But at the time I knew plenty of families who moved to recently gobbled up farmland - gobbled up to make way for their houses - and then proceeded to do anything they could to prevent further development. Essentially, they wanted to feel they lived somewhere "rural" and didn't want the next acre of farmland gobbled up for the next family to move in.
To the extent that this was just selfish NIMBYISM - my neighborhood is like this and I want to keep it that way - that's fine for what it is. But it was always cloaked in high minded rhetoric about rural preservation. Think of nature! Think of the farmers (who are probably thrilled to cash out)!
If you care about those things, and you move to the edge of the ever expanding development zone, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.
To the extent that this was just selfish NIMBYISM - my neighborhood is like this and I want to keep it that way - that's fine for what it is. But it was always cloaked in high minded rhetoric about rural preservation. Think of nature! Think of the farmers (who are probably thrilled to cash out)!
If you care about those things, and you move to the edge of the ever expanding development zone, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Obviously We Need To Cut Social Security
Fred Hiatt's rich friends need to be able to steal more of your money.
Family
I briefly entertained the notion that this was all some sort of cunning plan by Liz Cheney, but it's hard to see how family squabbles, even ones involving anti-gay bigotry, really help any politician, especially when we're talking about an attempt at setting up a political dynasty. Your thing is your family name, so don't dis your family.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
ATMs
If we're gonna talk crazy, how about giving everyone a bank account at the Fed. ATMs at post offices. Competition for the paycheck usury business.
Sunday Crass Commercialism
I'm sure there's somebody on your holiday shopping list whose life will not be complete without the latest video game console.
Helicopter Drops
They might not be legally allowed to, but really all the Fed has to do is start giving people free money. All our problems would be solved. I didn't listen to the speech so it might be in there, but helicopter drops really need to be on the menu of serious things that serious people, like Summers, propose. What could boost demand more simply and easily than giving people money?
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Dead of Night
Always amusing to remember that we could have great healthcare and lots more jobs tomorrow, except for ruling class battiness taken as Divine Wisdom.
Think Of How Bad He Must Have Felt
I know we hit this yesterday, but the spectacle of elites being horrified by the prospect that one of their own might go to jail for child molestation is quite stunning.
How To Kill And Get Away With It
This has been bubbling on NYC transit nerd blogs for a few years. Basically automobile drivers are almost never charged for anything when they kill pedestrians, even if they're speeding or jumping sidewalks.
Doomed
Things aren't that great for the kids today here, but it's nothing compared to parts of Yurp. The people who rule the world are horrible.
Faster Food
As I don't drive much anymore, the "drive through" concept sounds alien and bizarre now. Not being snobbish - I'm sure if I did drive I'd quickly remember the sweet sweet attraction of pulling in and grabbing a burger.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Charlie Gibson Is A Horrible And Stupid Human
Yes the focus is on Starr, but I want Gibson to get his props, too.
Assholes
I don't know much about the Boeing situation, but after years of observing management/labor issues I do know that a big reason management kicks labor is... because they can. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with actually cutting costs. Bosses are very important people and labor are not and it's management's job to kick their asses as much as possible.
Finally
It really shouldn't be ok to shoot blah people just because you claim to be askeered of them.
Just Make It Work
I'm pretty sure the latest Obamacare kerfluffle and the "fix" is just the Washington bubble at work. Yes I'm sure there are people whose lives are going to be made a bit worse by Obamacare because their existing not totally shitty policy gets cancelled and whatever is available to replace it isn't better value for money. But there are so few of these people it's hard to imagine that it's actually a real political issue.
And if a "fix" is needed make it a real one. Propose letting these people buy into Medicare. Problem solved.
Also, too, propose letting us all buy into Medicare.
And if a "fix" is needed make it a real one. Propose letting these people buy into Medicare. Problem solved.
Also, too, propose letting us all buy into Medicare.
"Fix the Web Site"
It's not like the PPACA enrollment process was ever going to work or not work. There are too many moving parts, most of which don't work all that well and have never been meshed with each other. A significant number of people were always going to be hard to enroll. The ultimate end to integrate all this with a wide variety of vendors who have made an industry out of opacity, if not consumer fraud was also....optimistic. So no surprise that it's gone badly, so far, although going THIS badly is a pretty serious management failure that can only be laid at the door of the Oval Office.
You can only hope they are beginning to realize that it would be easier to expand Medicare and Medicaid eligibility than it will be to "fix the web site." No matter what, there will be a lot of people who can't enroll. At the very least, they shouldn't be subject to the individual mandate sanctions. In practice, of course, that means suspension of the mandate for this enrollment period. Might as well let people sign up for something that works.
You can only hope they are beginning to realize that it would be easier to expand Medicare and Medicaid eligibility than it will be to "fix the web site." No matter what, there will be a lot of people who can't enroll. At the very least, they shouldn't be subject to the individual mandate sanctions. In practice, of course, that means suspension of the mandate for this enrollment period. Might as well let people sign up for something that works.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Inspired By Cats
I succumbed to their bad influences and napped all afternoon. In my defense, I didn't sleep much last night.
Richard Cohen Is A Funny Guy
I bet Colbert had fun with this one.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive
Theatre Nerdery
People in and around NYC should go see the Rylance productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III. Strangely, Richard III (the tragedy) is actually funnier than Twelfth Night (the comedy).
The Sky Is Falling
My non-scientific survey tells me that, oddly, the more supportive people are of Obamacare the more they're freaking out about the current problems. People less inclined to love the legislation are rolling their eyes a bit but don't actually think that it dooms either the politics or the policy.
I don't think it's the end of the world, but people should lose their jobs. I don't know who is to blame, but they had a long time to implement this and they screwed it up. Occasionally people in power should take responsibility for things they're responsible for.
I don't think it's the end of the world, but people should lose their jobs. I don't know who is to blame, but they had a long time to implement this and they screwed it up. Occasionally people in power should take responsibility for things they're responsible for.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
The Rob Ford Of Toronto Show
Canadia has its own version of The West Wing, called the Rob Ford Of Toronto Show. I've never seen an episode, but I do quite enjoy reading the recaps even if it's ludicrously unbelievable.
Wednesday Crass Commercialism
Never was a big fan, though there's an episode in the last season that's pretty good, but extra cheap West Wing available now.
Fortress
Subjecting users of public streets to perpetual and largely pointless security is troubling. The kind of thing that spreads.
It's Always So
Whatever the merits of ACA, it is now something the Dems own. For decades I've watched Dems try to run away from things which have been surgically implanted on any politician with a D next to their name. It's always bizarre and pointless. You're the party of gay marriage, abortion, and Obamacare whether you like it or not, and it's better to convince your constituents that you're going to do good things for them than to try to convince them that you're not a real Democrat.
They can already vote for someone who isn't a real Democrat. He or she is called a Republican.
They can already vote for someone who isn't a real Democrat. He or she is called a Republican.
tl;dr
Marcy has been doing her usual yeowoman effort on NSA and security issues. Here she steps back to discuss the damage done to US post Cold War hegemony and to American Hypocrisy Exceptionalism.
US hegemony rests on a lot of things: the dollar exchange, our superlative military, our ideological lip service to democracy and human rights.
But for the moment, it also rests on the globalized communication system in which we have a huge competitive advantage. That is, one reason we are the world’s hegemon is because the rest of the world communicates through us — literally, in terms of telecommunications infrastructure, linguistically, in English, and in terms of telecommunications governance.
Aggressively hacking the rest of the world endangers that, both because of what it does to our ideological claims, but just as importantly, because it provides rivals with the concrete incentive to dismantle that global infrastructure.
The liberal project has always been, for better and worse, about a managed claim to free exchange. In goods (though we wrote the rules to limit the terms of exchange, which until recently guaranteed that the US got the most benefit of it). And in information (again, we wrote the rules and laid the wires, protecting our advantage).
But we won’t have any advantage if the vehicle of exchange, the Internet, gets balkanized in response to our abuse of our own power on it.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Less Driving
I don't discount the impact of the recession on driving entirely, but I do think that, especially here in the urban hellhole, it can be overstated. I don't think the recession can explain 30%+ drops in traffic on major city thoroughfares.
In Center City, the decline in vehicle travel can be seen on local streets. Even the busiest local street, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which has 31,657 vehicles per day (vpd), saw a 28.6 percent decline in vpd between 2005 and 2010. Vehicle travel on South Broad Street dropped 28.8 percent, from 24,575 vpd to 17,504 vpd, and Columbus Boulevard saw a 39.7 percent decrease in vehicle travel.
Conventional Views
Please make Richard Cohen stop.
"not racist" "must repress a gag reflex"
Today’s GOP is not racist, as Harry Belafonte alleged about the tea party, but it is deeply troubled — about the expansion of government, about immigration, about secularism, about the mainstreaming of what used to be the avant-garde. People with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children.
"not racist" "must repress a gag reflex"
Vigilante Dreams
I don't claim to know what happened here, but as I've written before, every "gun nut" I've ever known has had a fantasy of using it to kill an "intruder" or a "mugger" or whatever. I don't mean all gun owners, I mean the ones who obsess about them. The armed vigilante fantasy is a major thing in this country.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Capacity
I don't have deep knowledge of the Bay Area, but as the urban and semi-urban highway networks hit capacity there really isn't much that can be done. Even with fantasy budgets, ultimately there are going to be choke points and bottlenecks that make it really really hard to build your way out of the problem. Infill development and more mass transit are the only real solutions.
Monday Crass Commercialism
And speaking of the teevees, Amazon has some good deals for all of your holiday teevee buying needs.
Know Nothings
The "funny" thing is that Wal-Mart does offer 50" (not 52 I admit) LED TV for the low low price of $418.
Christie's Economic Development Successes
Gambling his way to prosperity.
reminder:
ATLANTIC CITY — Six months after exiting bankruptcy court, Atlantic City's newest casino may be up for sale — or headed back to bankruptcy.
reminder:
Kevin DeSanctis, Revel’s chief executive, was unable to secure new financing until the state stepped in last Feb. 1 with a $261 million tax credit and a pledge from Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, to invest in the flailing tourism industry.
Within days, investors got in line behind the project and delivered $1.1 billion needed to finish it.
Go To The Exchanges
"Obamacare is causing me one more minor hassle" - having to, once again, shop for insurance - is a valid complaint. I'm not sure why our Galtian overlords insists that we spend all of our time shopping for things like insurance, electricity suppliers, etc... It isn't cost free. It's an additional nuisance, and an additional opportunity to be scammed. But no responsible media outlets should publish complaints about insurance rate increases due to Obamacare from people who haven't actually shopped for Obamacare.
Some people probably will be paying more for insurance that isn't really any better. Find them!
Some people probably will be paying more for insurance that isn't really any better. Find them!
BENGHAZI
CBS thinks it's going to get away with "oopsie, let's move along."
Might be right, because journalism.
Might be right, because journalism.
Obviously The Problem Is That We Overpay Teachers
Or maybe it's that Charter Schools have an unlimited License to Grift.
But Education Department spokesman Timothy Eller said the state had no choice. According to the 1997 state charter law and several recent Commonwealth Court decisions, the department has a "mandatory duty" to pay charter bills - regardless of the reason for the dispute, Eller said.
...
The situation was especially galling because district officials believe they had already overpaid Solomon by more than $437,000, Gallard said. He said advance payments the district sent to the charter in July and August had included tuition for the elementary students. As a result, Solomon has received nearly $750,000 in district funds for elementary students it was not authorized to have.
Great Wealthy Men
I wish him luck, but, uh...
Mr. Zients, who will turn 47 on Tuesday, made a fortune reported to be close to $200 million building two consultancies and taking them public. His wife, Mary, is from a prominent South African mining family — Nelson Mandela attended their wedding — and they live with their four children in Northwest Washington, where an Aston Martin is in the garage. A onetime high school wrestler at the capital’s elite St. Albans School, he is often described as ultracompetitive.
Now he works without pay “on a full-time, trust me, around-the-clock basis,” he told reporters in a conference call on Friday. Mr. Zients shuttles between a health care command center in suburban Herndon, Va., the White House and an office near the coffee machines on the third floor of the hulking Department of Health and Human Services building here, overseeing an effort that includes dozens of tech experts. They include Todd Park, the White House chief technology officer, who is under subpoena by House Republicans to testify at a hearing this week, and Michael Dickerson, an engineer on leave from Google who lists “herding cats” as a skill on his LinkedIn profile.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Well At Least There Wasn't Any Inflation
Time does fly. I am going to make the incredibly insightful observation that it is about mid-November, which means that 2014 is almost here. We'll probably have the now-standard "positive enough" jobs reports in the early part of the year, everyone will declare victory, and then, once again, the reality will sink in (though it never quite sinks in enough).
It doesn't take geniuses to imagine the effects of long term high unemployment on the long term economy.
It doesn't take geniuses to imagine the effects of long term high unemployment on the long term economy.
Eveing/Afternoon Thread
Depending on your location.
Just had a spectacular Pizza Napolatana and a shared bottle of wine. Doesn't get much better. Hic.
Just had a spectacular Pizza Napolatana and a shared bottle of wine. Doesn't get much better. Hic.
Horrors
Been away from the the news and missed when the typhoon reality went from "not as bad as we thought" to "totally horrible."
Saturday, November 09, 2013
Think Of The Guilty
Not said enough in discussions of the deliberate incarceration of innocent people is the fact that when you put an innocent person behind bars, it means you've let the guilty party go free. One would think "law and order" types would care about that, but oddly they often don't seem to.
Afternoon Thread
I'm in a coffee shop and people are debating the 2000 Florida recount. Make it stop.
Big Hospital
Some chance that there will be industry pressure to get the money, but...
Now, in a perverse twist, many of the poor people who rely on safety-net hospitals like Memorial will be doubly unlucky. A government subsidy, little known outside health policy circles but critical to the hospitals’ survival, is being sharply reduced under the new health law.
The subsidy, which for years has helped defray the cost of uncompensated and undercompensated care, was cut substantially on the assumption that the hospitals would replace much of the lost income with payments for patients newly covered by Medicaid or private insurance. But now the hospitals in states like Georgia will get neither the new Medicaid patients nor most of the old subsidies, which many say are crucial to the mission of care for the poor.
Friday, November 08, 2013
BENGHAZI
Usually when the right decides to champion a "story" it enters a fact-free and consequence-free zone. You can say anything because it's out there. A rare walkback.
Reforming "Obamacare"
Here's Stuart Zechman outlining the problems with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (text) and what we need to do to fix them, and here's Stuart expanding on the issues, with Jay Ackroyd on Virtually Speaking.
For two decades we've been hearing all sorts of "wonkery" from people who, when you get right down to it, make no sense, and then some guitar-player comes along and actually looks at the documents and figures out what's really going on. Everyone should read and listen to this if they actually give a damn.
Thursday, November 07, 2013
Assholes
I've never been much of a dude's dude, but I did spend 4 years in a college fraternity so dude culture is not alien to me. Even leaving aside the specific issue of formal or semi-formal hazing practices between old-timers and newbies, dudes can be fucking cruel to each other. While it might not make all that much sense, the flip side is that dude culture includes loyalty and support. You can be cruel to each other because the loyalty is understood. It's like family. You might harass the crap out of someone, but you come to his defense when he needs it. There are boundaries which shouldn't be crossed. There's a difference between messing with someone and bullying them.
Concussion Game
I've never been a big football fan, but my earliest memory of it was watching the Cowboys-Broncos Superbowl game in 1978. Tony Dorsett was my favorite player, probably because I thought he had a cool sounding name. It's sad what the game is doing to players. At least the pros get decent compensation. The NCAA needs to be destroyed.
And In The Rob Ford Of Toronto Story
I thought they'd already aired the season finale, but apparently not.
Grifters Gonna Grift
Hey a proposal for a company built high speed train line. Exciting!!
Oh, wait...
As long as there's profit for the grifters, federal money is justified.
Spearheaded by The Northeast Maglev, the project has backing so far from U.S. and Japanese investors and boasts a high-powered advisory board that is headed by former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and includes former Transportation Department secretaries from Republican and Democratic administrations — Mary Peters and Rodney Slater — as well as former Govs. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey.
Oh, wait...
Wayne Rogers, TNEM’s chairman and former head of Maryland’s Democratic Party, said the line will be as expensive as it is transformative and acknowledged that it will need a lot of federal support.
As long as there's profit for the grifters, federal money is justified.
Margarine - The Healthy Alternative
Things change.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed measures that would all but eliminate artificial trans fats, the artery clogging substance that is a major contributor to heart disease in the United States, from the food supply.
Wednesday, November 06, 2013
Area Columnist Watches Movie, Discovers Slavery Wasn't Nice
It's the kind of thing you read and then your brain releases some amnesia drugs so you can unlearn it, just like Richard Cohen unlearned that slavery wasn't really all that bad.
You'll need to unlearn this, too.
You'll need to unlearn this, too.
Litigation Reserves
I like that it's just understood that they're going to need to hoard some cash to pay out for inevitable legal judgments.
It's A Holly Jolly Eschaton Christmas
Thanks to all who actually click the amazon links. All new advertising companies are into the annoying intrusive popover and hover and auto-audio on ads and I just can't stomach putting them on the site. If you click amazon links and buy stuff you where going to buy anyway it just takes money from Jeff Bezos and gives it to me, which seems like a pretty good deal. Best way to fund my little endeavor here.
The Great Fail
Policymakers are more to blame than academic economists, but not enough academic economists stepped up to make the case for what really needed to be done to fix the economy. And, of course, plenty stepped up to tell us about inflation fears and confidence fairies and to punch the dirty hippies.
The impact on the economy, and human welfare, will be long lasting.
heckuva job.
The impact on the economy, and human welfare, will be long lasting.
heckuva job.
PAYGO
Put Democrats in power, and they rush to prove to teacher (Fred Hiatt) that they're the very bestest and most behaved students in the class.
Sure, some are just bad, but some really believe in the Washington talk about Serious Responsible Centrism.
Sure, some are just bad, but some really believe in the Washington talk about Serious Responsible Centrism.
Urban Dystopia
There was a time when the future of New York City was seen as the ultimate urban dystopia, but that future is unlikely to materialize, even if there's a reduction in the degree to which that city's police force treats young black men as presumptive criminals.
Without Video Stores
I doubt too many of us are crying over their loss, but I do wonder what the final model will be. Will just about everything be available for reasonably priced streaming or purchase, or will everything be in fractured subscription services, such that one company has one set of titles and another company has a different set.
The Ten Point Rule
I don't think the Virginia election means much of anything other than voters thought Cuccinelli was sufficiently creepy, but of course in the Village, Democrats only win if they win by a lot. Otherwise it's a loss, see?
...oops. reader R reminds me that's a parody account. I got taken.
...oops. reader R reminds me that's a parody account. I got taken.
Really, That Guy?
I understand that for right wing media figures it's all tribal, and whoever pisses of liberals the most sends thrills up their legs, but Cuccinelli's obsession with sexytime made him, you know, really creepy.
Didn't It Occur To Anybody To Just Say No?
Well it did to one doctor, apparently. I've been mulling this situation over since yesterday and am just flabbergasted by all of the people who had to be involved and who just went along with it.
I'm wondering if asset forfeiture was the ultimate motive here. It isn't something I know enough about, but if police forces are essentially paying their salaries by taking stuff from drug dealers then they obviously have huge incentives to make busts. Aside from other problems with asset forfeiture, there really shouldn't be such incentives for cops.
I'm wondering if asset forfeiture was the ultimate motive here. It isn't something I know enough about, but if police forces are essentially paying their salaries by taking stuff from drug dealers then they obviously have huge incentives to make busts. Aside from other problems with asset forfeiture, there really shouldn't be such incentives for cops.
Affordable
I've taken a look at the Bronze plans in New York State. This one has a premium for an individual of $348 per month.
What you get for your $4,176 per year is the requirement that you pay $3000 out of pocket before qualifying for a 50% copay on most services. The well care visits, checkups and so forth, have no copays, but you're still out of pocket for the first $3,000.
Of course there are subsidies for the bottom quintile. But who will buy this without those subsidies? Participating DOES get you in network pricing (h/t Richard Mayhew for the reminder) which is a big deal as a practical matter. Sorta like Mafia shakedowns. $4200 for the right to pay $3000 out of pocket in network is a little steep.
RAWWRRRRR
I started composing a more complicated thing but, you know, fuck that. Most of my friends are queer. So that's where we are.
Morning Thread
There was an election last night. Sex will remain legal in Virginia. That is a good thing.
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
Rerun
This isn't the most important thing in the piece about Terry Mac, but it is perhaps an incredibly important thing about the behavior of journalists at the Washington Post.
Perhaps it's even deserving of a blogger ethics panel.
And when the Washington Post hired me to continue working on McAuliffe stories, he continued to threaten my editors with veiled libel threats. He even came in for a meeting with Len Downie, then the paper’s executive editor. It was eerie how much he knew about what I was doing at the paper. It turned out that McAuliffe was a good source for some of my colleagues, and they were feeding him information that he was using to try to kill the investigation.
Perhaps it's even deserving of a blogger ethics panel.
Election Season
A bit early, perhaps, but dday just tweeted this.
This should be the goal. This should be the 2014 Dem litmus test, not just because it's what crazy hippies want but because it's smart politics.
David Dayen @ddayen
Every Dem candidate for federal office next year should be asked: How much should we expand Social Security?
This should be the goal. This should be the 2014 Dem litmus test, not just because it's what crazy hippies want but because it's smart politics.
"Serious People"
Except for Friedman Unit I don't think I ever take credit for coining a term because I can never remember what I've borrowed/stolen/copied from elsewhere. But it's nice to see a Very Serious Senator use the term.
(obviously not the term itself, but its use and meaning)
(obviously not the term itself, but its use and meaning)
Journamalism
Quite the accusation to level against your colleagues in the noble 4th estate.
And when the Washington Post hired me to continue working on McAuliffe stories, he continued to threaten my editors with veiled libel threats. He even came in for a meeting with Len Downie, then the paper’s executive editor. It was eerie how much he knew about what I was doing at the paper. It turned out that McAuliffe was a good source for some of my colleagues, and they were feeding him information that he was using to try to kill the investigation.
MOOOOARRRRRRRRRRRRRR SOCIAL SECURITY
Obviously I support it both on the merits and as a strategy for making sure people don't support making things worse.
Get enough politicians on the record for supporting increases, and at the very least it'll be much harder for them to support cuts.
But benefits really need to be expanded. The 401K experiment has been a disaster.
Get enough politicians on the record for supporting increases, and at the very least it'll be much harder for them to support cuts.
But benefits really need to be expanded. The 401K experiment has been a disaster.
The Culture War Is For Little People
The reason pundits ignore Christie's social conservatism is that they believe he doesn't actually give a shit. This might be true. It might not be true. But they always think this "culture war" stuff is a sideshow for the little people which messes up the purity of their politics which is about very important issues such as cutting taxes and gutting Social Security. Obvious true believers bother them, mere perceived pretenders don't as much. That Christie would support horrible policies doesn't bother them because it won't affect them.
Governor Macker
I met Terry McAuliffe once. I was having lunch with James Carville and Paul Begala at the Palm in DC and he wandered in.
True story.
True story.
Monday, November 04, 2013
I Believe That Childen Are Our Future
Regarding this unpleasantness, I don't know how as a culture we go from WeLoveOurChildrenYesWeDoSoMuchTheyAreSoPrecious to get off my lawn, 20somethings. I mean, the former eventually turn into the latter.
Cars Or People
Many car drivers become frustrated by buses. They're big, they stop a lot, seemingly slowing down traffic. Many drivers think the road is theirs. But the question is whether roads are for transporting cars or transporting people. If it's the latter, then it's the cars that are the problem, not the buses.
Kids Today Are Horrible
Because they're younger and probably having more sex.
More seriously, which part of "entering the workforce during an incredibly extended recession because the olds fucked up the world" do the olds not understand?
It's a mystery why the youngs don't read newspapers
More seriously, which part of "entering the workforce during an incredibly extended recession because the olds fucked up the world" do the olds not understand?
It's a mystery why the youngs don't read newspapers
Grifters Gonna Grfit
Pierce:
Are there liberal/Dem equivalents to all of the Ralph Reeds on the Right? I don't mean just grifters - I'm sure we have those - I mean grifters who have been enabled by the media for so long. Grifters treated as people with sage wisdom to deliver to the masses.
Let us be plain. Ralph Reed is a con-man who would sell his gray-haired granny to the Somali pirates for fifty cents worth of consulting fees. He has nothing worth contributing to the national dialogue. This should be plain by now to all but the deliberately dim. The people who put this mess together every morning are not as embarrassing as the allegedly important people who appear on it, and nowhere near as embarrassing as the people who take it seriously, some of whom rule us.
Are there liberal/Dem equivalents to all of the Ralph Reeds on the Right? I don't mean just grifters - I'm sure we have those - I mean grifters who have been enabled by the media for so long. Grifters treated as people with sage wisdom to deliver to the masses.
Incorporate
Well at least we have the rare criminal complaint against a corporation, but individuals aren't being charged. There's no immunity in the agreement, but I won't hold my breath.
Nonexistent Problems
When people die, a message is not actually automatically transmitted to every entity and agency in the world. It takes time to deal with estate issues, and plenty of people aren't exactly in a position to do so in a timely manner. Of course Social Security pays out some very tiny bit of money to dead people.
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Fear Them
Too often we see reporting about how administration decisions are driven by fear of Republicans saying mean things about them.
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Hypotheses
Earlier this week, Marcy offered some answers to Atrios' question.
I think we grab everything we can overseas out of hubris we got while we were the uncontested world power, and only accelerated now that we’re losing that uncontested position. If we’re going to sustain power through coercion — and we developed a nasty habit of doing so, especially under Bush — then we need to know enough to coerce successfully. So we collect. Everything. Even if doing so makes us stupider and more reliant on coercion.
Friday, November 01, 2013
People Is Broke
The unemployment rate has been high for a very long time. I really don't think the powers that be, even the ones who might care, really understand the impact of that. Food stamp benefits are so tiny. Anybody who actually needs them is pretty screwed. Cutting them is monstrous.
What The Hell Is A "Second Brooklyn"
I get (sort of) the New York-centric viewpoint from actual longtime New Yorkers, but I'm reasonably sure that, whatever its merits, Washington, DC, can be described without such references.
Doing It All Wrong
Kicking poors is bipartisan.
The Republican-controlled House version of the farm bill proposes cutting $39 billion from the program over the next decade; the Democratic-controlled Senate would cut $4 billion over the same period.
The food stamp cuts scheduled to go into effect on Nov. 1 will reduce spending by $5 billion in the 2014 fiscal year, and another $6 billion over the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. They are expected to shave 0.2 percentage point from annualized consumption growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 and trim an estimated 0.1 percentage point off the annual growth rate of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to estimates by Michael Feroli, the chief United States economist at JPMorgan Chase. Those drags may seem small, but right now projections for gains in fourth-quarter gross domestic product hover around an annual rate of just 2 percent.
Happy Food Stamp Cuts Day
We should all congratulate ourselves on our success in kicking the poors. Go team!
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