How Big Business Is Winning

As government regulations are crafted to favor larger enterprises and labor unions decline in their ability to fight for better wages and working conditions, the lack of any countervailing power means that profits will rise and wages will fall and the economic situation of a large portion of the population will worsen.

Big Business

Paul Krugman--Thinking About a Trade War

The effects may not be overwhelmingly large, but big enough to notice and probably concentrated in specific sectors of the economy.

The Effects of a Trade War

Paul Krugman--The Effects of the Tax Cuts on Business Investment

There has been almost no economics underlying Trump's policies. His advisors are hacks and the best of them--Gary Cohn--resigned when Trump wouldn't listen to reason over tariffs. Navarro, Kudlow and the rest mark the march to Fox News talking heads as political and economic advisors. If Sarah Sanders does leave will Hannity be the new press secretary?

Tax Cuts and Leprechauns

A Truck Full of Money

Just finished reading “A Truck Full of Money” by Tracy Kidder. Great book. Kidder is an excellent writer about tech. One of my all time favorites is “Soul of a New Machine “ written in 1981. It was his first book and won numerous awards. I highly recommend both books.

Flogging Molly

The Best of Flogging Molly

A Better Electoral System

Ranked Choice Voting

Grownups Try in Vain to Reason with Petulant Trump

The Quest to Grow the First Great American Wine Grape

Growing the "Super Grape"

Krugman: Coal, Cash and Bad Faith

Ten years ago the big debate was whether we should adopt a comprehensive strategy to limit greenhouse gas emissions... [H]owever, technology has been coming to our rescue. The single biggest source of greenhouse emissions, the thing we really need to stop, is coal-fired electricity generation (which has lots of other public health costs too.) And a funny thing happened: coal-fired power became uneconomical. Instead of building new plants, we’re retiring old ones. Partly this was the result of cheap natural gas thanks to fracking. Increasingly, however, we’re looking at the effects of the technological revolution in renewables, which has produced spectacular declines in the cost of wind and solar power. Even if you believe in the sanctity of free markets — which you shouldn’t — you should recognize that markets are now driving a great transition to clean energy.

Coal, Cash and Bad Faith

Jerkish

Philip Roth:

"I found much that was alarming about being a citizen during the tenures of Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. But, whatever I may have seen as their limitations of character or intellect, neither was anything like as humanly impoverished as Trump is: ignorant of government, of history, of science, of philosophy, of art, incapable of expressing or recognizing subtlety or nuance, destitute of all decency, and wielding a vocabulary of seventy-seven words that is better called Jerkish than English.”

Republican Politicians: (a) Hate Americans (b) Are Stupid (c) Are Just Mean (d) All of the Above

Krugman on healthcare and the social safety net.

The Plot Against Healthcare

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

Krugman on trade and tariffs (this is what he won a Nobel Prize for).

Oh What a Stupid Trade War

Here’s what the GOP’s ossified tax policy ignores

How long do you think this can go on? As long as Trump and his enablers can successfully blame Democrats for the country's problems. That's why Democrats need to forget about what scum Trump is and concentrate on proposing policies that help those who have been left behind.

Jennifer Rubin writes the conservative view in the Washington Post:

Republican Tax Policies Hurt their Constituents

Are Democrats Running a Smart Campaign?

Democrats United?

Trump needs a Fact Checker—or Maybe He Just Needs Facts

Six Trump “Errors” in Speech at the Naval Academy

Did the F.B.I. Save Trump’s Presidency?

Trump Owes the FBI—Even if He Won’t Admit It

Crypto Currency

Robert Schiller on the history of crackpot money.

The Old Allure of New Money

Krugman: The Problem in the Market for Labor

This is part and parcel of the rise of money in politics, which has led to anti-labor policies by the Federal Government--yes even under Obama. Until we realize that when a large proportion of the workforce doesn't earn a living wage, we'll never understand why economic growth and inequality are sapping our nation's capacity.

Monopsony, Rigidity, and the Wage Puzzle

Obama's Legacy--Has It Been Destroyed?

A pessimistic view of Trump's impact on the US. There are really three essays--the one on Obama's legacy is the first. 

The second is a comparison of Trump and Shakespeare's Richard III. From that essay:

"And this is indeed the kernel of what I fear: that if Mueller at any point presents a real conflict between the rule of law and Trump’s ego, the ego will win. If Trump has to fire his attorney general, and anyone else, he will. If he has to initiate a catastrophic conflict to save face, he will. If he has to delegitimize the Department of Justice, empty the State Department, and turn law enforcement against itself, he will. If he has to unleash unspeakable racial demons to save himself from political oblivion, he will not hesitate to do so. If he has to separate children from parents, describe humans as animals, and turn Christians into pagans, he will not blink. This is what a tyrant does."

One should note that Richard III's reign lasted only two years. We should be so lucky.

The third is a movie review of what must be the most downer movie of all time.

Obama’s Legacy Has Already Been Destroyed

How Bad Can It Get? This is how Bad.

We now live in a kleptocracy. If there was ever a reason to purge the Republicans from power...

Did China Just Bribe Trump to Undermine National Security?

Guy Clark (1941-2016)

Another key Texas songwriter. Was it the drugs and alcohol? Would they been as good without their additions? This about as good as song writing gets.

He Ain't Going Nowhere

A song written after an ill-fated attempt to make it big in LA.

LA Freeway

Dublin Blues

Politics Out of NASA's Climate Science Work?

Is Jim Bridenstine telling the truth? Will Congress just fail to give him the money and he'll say, "Oh well, I tried?" If he's for real, can he last in this administration?

Politics Out of Climate Science!!?

Federal Crop Insurance Is a Sham

"Crop “insurance” is not true insurance. It is sham insurance that could not exist without government subsidies. Although the iconic small family-farm is often invoked in the program’s defense, its primary beneficiaries are, in practice, the largest and wealthiest farms — huge limited-liability corporations and other tax-advantaged pass-through entities that are “family farms” only in name." 

Crop Insurance Should Die--Yet It Lives

The Myth of Perfectly Rational Thought

Meanwhile, the closest thing to a cure may be for all of us to try to remember that natural selection has saddled us with these biases—and also to remember that, however hard we try, we’re probably not entirely escaping them. In this view, the biggest threat to America and to the world may be a simple lack of intellectual humility.

Tribalism and Rational Thought

Where will Iran Go?

No where that's good for the US. One more Trump mistake that emboldens China and Russia and takes Iran further away from the West. 

What Trump Doesn't Understand About the Iranian Deal

Krugman: Just Saying Yes to Drug Companies

Big Pharma Has America by the ...

We Don’t Know What Climate Change Will Cost — That Doesn’t Mean We Can Ignore It

"[W]e do not know what the costs of climate change will be, but that doesn’t mean we should pretend those costs are zero and take no action. Instead, we should take action now as insurance against what could be relatively low, or potentially very high, costs in the future."

Ignoring Climate Change Is No Option

Can People Afford American Infrastructure?

"If infrastructure is to function as a shared platform to promote economic prosperity, the price for these services should be readily affordable. In this case, that means every household can pay their water, energy, transportation, telephone, and internet bills—and still leave money left over to purchase other essential items like housing, food, clothing, and healthcare. In a country as wealthy as the United States, access to infrastructure is a necessity that should be available to everyone. Unfortunately, that’s far from the case."

The Relative Costs of the Basics of Living

Let's Talk About Net Present Value and Solar Panels

It's complicated.

The Net Present Value of Solar Panels in California

Counting the Costs of Trump’s Iran Policy

"The JCPOA was intended to have a similar effect, facilitating – indeed, demanding – efforts to address the myriad other disagreements between Iran and the rest of the international community. The US was an essential part of that process. Trump’s utter failure to understand this innovative approach is bad news for Iran, for the world, and for the future of global governance."

What Trump Doesn't Understand

Why Marx Was Wrong

The problem is one of extremes. Marx was wrong that only "by abolishing it [private property] could society’s class divisions be healed, and a harmonious future ensured." Conversely the same argument made by those who support unfettered capitalism is just as wrong. Either extreme leads to the same worst case outcome. We need free enterprise to support entrepreneurship and growth, but we also need action by the state to protect those who are left out through no fault of their own. Under both communism and capitalism, those in charge are loathe to give up their power and position and willing to go to any extreme to preserve them. President Xi is willing to tolerate limited private property and a few billionaires in order to keep power over the Chinese state. Republicans are willing to tolerate a modicum of social programs to maintain the control of America's donor class over the political process.

Marx Was Wrong

What’s Good for Pharma Isn’t Good for America

It's Good For Pharma--But Not For Us

Townes Van Zandt--Bob Dylan's Favorite Songwriter

Prepare for Sunday's "Song of the Day."

ACL's Tribute to Townes Van Zandt

The history of Pancho and Lefty

The iMac’s Lasting Legacy

If you wanted an indication of how Apple would be doing business in 2018, you could do worse than cast back two decades and look at the decisions that it made when it produced that first iMac. 

The iMac's Lasting Legacy

Krugman/Bullard: The Death of Acceleration

Time to rethink monetary policy? I expect the next couple of years will tell us. If we slip back into recession due to the Fed's tightening, we'll know.

The Death of Acceleration

St. Louis Fed President Bullard

The Time Is Right to Fix the Presidential Line of Succession

An interesting and worthy idea to consider.

The Order of Succession

Trump’s G.O.P. vs. the Rule of Law

"The Republican Party has celebrated itself for nearly 50 years as the “law and order” party. But in the past month, a disconnect has grown between the rule of law and the party."

The Republican Party's Assault on the Law

Gutting Food Stamps

"[T]his is about petty cruelty turned into a principle of government. It’s about privileged people who look at the less fortunate and don’t think, “There but for the grace of God go I”; they just see a bunch of losers. They don’t want to help the less fortunate; in fact, they get angry at the very idea of public aid that makes those losers a bit less miserable."

Let Them Eat Trump Steaks

Does Renewable Energy Increase Electricity Prices? See for Yourself.

Article and Interactive Map

Energy Sources and Costs by State

Bolton Pushing to Eliminate White House Cyber Job

Ah, hell--just give the Russians all our passwords.

Eliminate White House Cyber Job?

Alexa and Siri Can Hear This Hidden Command. You Can’t.

Look out all smart device users. Note this isn't a problem just for Echo, et al.

Hidden Commands

George Will: The Right Wing Gets Tough

"Donald Trump, with his feral cunning, knew. The oleaginous Mike Pence, with his talent for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness, could, Trump knew, become America’s most repulsive public figure. And Pence, who has reached this pinnacle by dethroning his benefactor, is augmenting the public stock of useful knowledge. Because his is the authentic voice of today’s lickspittle Republican Party, he clarifies this year’s elections: Vote Republican to ratify groveling as governing."

Trump is no longer the worst person in government

Wine: Economists Rule!

"The issue is that most buyers are influenced by the views of people they believe to be experts, which is why blind taste tests of wine often yield such different results than non-blind ones, even if the blind tests do suggest some degree of differentiation across types and qualities of wine." (Check out the embedded links)

How to Judge a Wine Without Tasting It.

After Dumping the Nuclear Deal, Trump Has No Strategy for Iran

"If the president truly believes that the JCPOA’s far-reaching inspections regime and its restrictions of 10, 15, and 25 years on various aspects of Iran’s nuclear activities are somehow insufficient to guard against Iran’s unshakeable yearning for a nuclear weapon, what risks then are posed by the evisceration of all constraints?"

After dumping the nuclear deal, Trump has no strategy for Iran

Trump’s Shadowy Money Trail

Questions About Donald Trump’s Finances

Wednesday's Music

Check it out on the left. One of my favorite Dylan songs. You'll never see a better lineup of musicians. Even if Eric messes up the lyrics.

Senate Report on Election Cyber Attacks by the Russian Government

Twenty-one states were targeted. Probably six attacks succeeded in some measure.

Senate Intel Releases New Findings On Russia’s 2016 Election Meddling

No Collusion

What's troubling is that this information appears to have come from Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed by banks, but no action was taken by any government agency to follow up. One wonders why this is so. Some of the transactions appear to have happened after the election, so they may have gotten lost in transition, but the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the OCC, the FDIC and the Fed are supposed to be independent.

Tonight’s Staggering Revelations

Americans Are Starting to Suffer from Trump’s Health-care Sabotage

It's not just Trump--the Republicans in Congress and Republican governors are complicit in this sabotage, too.

Sabotaging Health-care Insurance

How Costa Rica Gets It Right

"Like citizens of a few other countries, Costa Ricans have made clear that inequality is a choice, and that public policies can ensure a greater degree of economic equality and equality of opportunity than the market alone would provide. Even with limited resources, they boast about the quality of their free public health-care and education systems. Life expectancy is now higher than in the United States, and is increasing, while Americans, having chosen not to take the steps needed to improve the wellbeing of ordinary citizens, are dying sooner."

Costa Rica's Enlightenment Model

Why Did a Creepy Israeli Intel Firm Spy on Obama Alums?

"But at a minimum, it’s outrageous that Black Cube, a company of former Israeli intelligence agents, appears to have spied on Americans to undermine the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump seems poised to pull out of on Tuesday. It’s grotesque that Black Cube did so by targeting the spouses of former Obama administration officials. And if Trump’s team had any role at all in using foreign spies against American citizens, it should end his presidency, even if it probably won’t."

Given Trump's paranoia about his "enemies" it's not beyond belief that he or people close to him authorized this attempt.

Foreign Spies Surveilling Americans

You Can’t Separate Money From Culture

The author probably has a point, but fails to discuss the problem in a way that might suggest a solution. Reaching a society where the negative feedback between culture issues and economics is eliminated is a daunting prospect. Solving the culture problem is a long run task and importantly will require a lot of money--money for education, training, supporting displaced workers, healthcare, etc. Obtaining the funds means higher taxes and/or higher prices, which could exacerbate the economics side of the equation in the near run. The problem can be successfully addressed only by government action--the market is the problem here. The failure of the Federal government over the last two decades to address critical issues--the development of market power in key industries, the decline of labor unions and a fragile financial system--have put us in a difficult position. Until we throw off the notion that free markets can solve these issues (only a fool believes they can) we are unlikely to make any progress.

Economics, Culture and Negative Feedback

Gnawing Away at Healthcare

Obamacare works and Republicans don't like it, so they take every opportunity to sabotage it.

Republicans and Obamacare

Save Barnes and Noble

I buy all my books from Amazon. I used to buy from Nook as well, but their interface was poor and that made it hard for me to make myself use their site. Plus they use a different format than Amazon, so I had to keep two readers on my device. On the other hand, I enjoy bookstores. I can hardly pass one up without going in. I often spend time browsing in my local Barnes and Noble, but mainly to find books I might order from Amazon. I'm an ebook customer for two reasons: price and portability. It's also easier to read on my iPad than to hold open a regular book, especially at Starbucks or Panera. That said, I'm sensitive to the arguments Leonhardt makes in his editorial. Amazon, along with all the tech giants--possibly excepting Microsoft--have been treated with kid gloves by both Democratic and Republican administrations. I'm moved by the issue Leonhardt raises, but his editorial is short on fixes. Exactly how would antitrust power be applied to Amazon to make Barnes and Noble a viable competitor? Amazon doesn't use predatory pricing against Barnes and Noble--the prices for virtually all ebooks is the same on both sites. I would mourn the disappearance of Barnes and Noble, but I don't know how to stop it.

Save Barnes and Noble

It's Been Almost a Year Since Trump Fired Comey

I Did You a Great Favor

As Trump Pushes For Arming Teachers, Stories Of Dangerous Mishaps Emerge

You'd think everyone would realize how stupid a concept this is. How about we go for "competent guys with guns?" I think we call them police and the armed forces. Although some of the former appear to need more training.

Dangerous Mishaps by "Good Guys with Guns"

What Is Cinco de Mayo?

The Real Cinco de Mayo

Is the Great Recession Still Holding Down Wages?

Is the Great Recession Still Holding Down Wages?

Lost Souls

One might ask Why Congress has a chaplain anyway. It must be a brutal job, particularly if the chaplain tries to mention things suggested by the Bible.

Does Giuliani Have a Plan, or Is This Just a Freakout?

Is Giuliani Crazy Like a Fox or Just Crazy?

Giuliani’s other big admission may be even worse for Trump

What We Learned at the International Wine Awards in Dallas

What We Learned at the Texas Wine Awards

The Awards

Apple and the Fruits of Tax Cuts

[T]he great bulk of stock value is held by a small, wealthy minority — 10 percent of the population owns 84 percent of the market. So the perception that this is basically a tax cut for the rich is right.

The bottom line — which will remain true no matter how much the Kochs spend trying to convince you otherwise — is that what looks like a big giveaway to wealthy investors is, in fact, a big giveaway to wealthy investors.

Apple and the Fruits of Tax Cuts

Shock and Thaw—Alaskan Sea Ice Just Took a Steep, Unprecedented Dive

Shock and Thaw

Senes from Lisbon--the Alfama Quarter

Scenes from Lisbon

Monastery of St. Jerome 

Tower of Belem

Lisbon Tile Museum

The tile museum is in an old convent. The collection is fantastic. They collect tiles whenever a building is torn down or whenever they find tiles that need to be preserved. The building itself is beautiful on the inside. We were really glad we spent the time to visit.

Scenes from Toledo

Mail Drop