Take Heed Hilary

Advice from Bernie.

Forewarned is Forearmed

Simon Johnson on the winners and losers from Brexit.

The Two Political Parties Are not Equivalent

Jonathan Chait

The Supreme Court Needs New Blood Badly--Before the Constitution Becomes Meaningless

Alex Tabarrok on the Supreme Court's weakening of the 4th Amendment.

Some People Never Seem to Learn--or Have Political Reasons for Acting Ignorant

Noah Smith: The Austerity Myth

Rising Income Inequality--but not just the Rich

Stephen J. Rose of the Urban Institute:

I found that the upper middle class has grown substantially, from 12.9 percent of the population in 1979 to 29.4 percent in 2014. Further, with the exception of the bottom 6 percent, real growth occurred throughout the income ladder. However, that growth was unevenly distributed in that people with higher incomes had faster growth than those with lower incomes. Consequently, these findings expand the discussion of rising inequality to focus on more than just the top 1 percent. Indeed, a massive shift has occurred in the center of gravity of the economy. In 1979, the middle class controlled a bit more than 46 percent of all incomes, and the upper middle class and rich controlled 30 percent. In contrast, in 2014 the rich and upper middle class controlled 63 percent of all incomes (52 percent for the upper middle class and 11 percent for the rich); the middle class share had shrunk to 26 percent; and the shares of the lower middle class, poor, and near-poor had declined by half.

The Growing Size and Incomes of the Upper Middle Class

Teacher Pay in the US

We compare poorly to other developed countries with respect to the compensation our teachers receive. Link to Brookings study.

My letter to the USGA

Dear USGA:

You quote the text from the rule, but the question is: “who makes the decision?” Like the majority of golfers, I believe it is the player. Dustin Johnson said he didn’t cause the ball to move. That should have been the end of it. It’s unnecessary for the USGA to insert itself into the process. Golfers play the game based on the rules the USGA and the R&A set out. The USGA should stay out of the process unless the violation was due to a misunderstanding of the relevant rule. In this case Dustin Johnson understood the rule and had he felt he caused the ball to move would have called a penalty on himself. In this particular case the USGA was in no position to gainsay him. By your actions you inserted controversy where none should have existed. And in the end, given your own statement regarding the rule, the USGA was in no position to make the determination it made.

The USGA should follow a simple rule with respect to its tournaments: Be neither seen nor heard. Of late the USGA has tried to put itself out in front of the event and the players—appearing in the broadcast booth and inserting itself into situations like the one on Sunday. This is the area where the USGA should consider if it is acting properly.

The USGA Is Ridiculous and the Players Know It.

The USGA should be in the background making a great tournament for the players and fans. Instead, they seem to want to push themselves into the foreground. The USGA idiot invited to the broadcast booth to explain why they told Dustin Johnson that he might be penalized after the round tied himself in knots trying to explain why the USGA did what it did. It's sad that the ex-golfers in the broadcast booth didn't didn't go after the guy.

Players reaction.

Understanding Society: Capitalism 2.0

The key take-away is that capitalism by itself will not yield an outcome acceptable to most of us. There will be far fewer "winners" than "losers" absent efforts by the government to affect things like income distribution, educational opportunity and opportunity on the job.

In the US, the populace at large has never been willing to stand (for long) the way that unfettered capitalism skews the well being of citizens. However, the desire for government intervention waxes and wanes over time. The Pure Food and Drug Act, the rise of labor unions and the anti-trust movement were clear reactions to the negative impact of capitalism on the lives of Americans.

For many of us, the current willingness of fellow citizens to act against their clear interests by supporting politicians and policies that make their plight worse is astonishing.

The outlines of a solution Capitalism 2.0.

The sad fact is that this prescription is nothing new. The law and the courts have attempted every single aspect and every time we have fallen short of the result that was sought.

David Brooks--Right for the Second Time in His Life

Religion's Wicked Neighbor.

An Unfortunate Record

Antarctic CO2 hits 400ppm for the first time in 4 million years.

A Gun on Every Barstool

Gail Collins.


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End NRA Complicity in Mass Murders

Sensible gun laws now!


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America's Finest News Source

The Onion.

We Want Measurements Now!

Link to "Insecure Billionaires with Tiny Hands Pac."

Shame on Anyone Who Identifies as Republican.

It's time for the Republican Party to come to an end. By their own actions its leaders have created a presidential candidate wholly unsuited for the job. Until people who identify as Republican leaders end nonsense like what Sen. David Perdue spewed, there is no excuse for anyone being a Republican or voting for any Republican candidate. The kindest interpretation one can place on Perdue's statement is that he has read the Bible only cursorily and didn't get past verse 8 of Psalm 109. This Psalm is characterized as "containing some of the most frighteningly severe curses in the Bible."

Ezra Klein on David Perdue: Link

Change Is Hard

Understanding Society: Making Change Happen

The Budget Explained

The Federal Budget.


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The Peril of Trump Laid Bare

Larry Summers on the economic impact of a Trump Presidency. Link

The Greatest

Muhammad Ali.

Beware False Equivalence

Thomas Mann

Paul Krugman has also emphasized this point--views on the shape of the world differ. Link.

Abbott, Patrick and their Ilk Are Sick Puppies

They force the dark places in their own minds on everyone else. A solution looking for a problem.

Expand Social Security

Make it real.

How Can We Understand the Fed?

Uncertainty at the Fed?


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Will Tax Hikes on the Wealthy Hurt the Economy?

The evidence.


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Location:N Kings Hwy,Texarkana,United States