Tuesday, September 07, 2010
I Endorse Blago
I'm actually not all that familiar with Chicago, but news that Richard "Mayor For Life" Daley isn't running again was quite surprising. Some things are just fixtures whether or not they should be.
It's Ours Because We Say So
So much awesomeness.
While AmTrust, a failed Ohio bank that is now a division of New York Community Bank, said it owned the note and could foreclose, Mr. Waters’s lawyer produced documents showing that Fannie Mae, the taxpayer-owned mortgage finance giant, was really the owner.
In spite of the conflicting evidence, Aaron Bowden, the retired judge overseeing the case, made a summary judgment on Aug. 3, ruling that the property should go back to AmTrust.
...
When contacted by a reporter on Thursday, a spokeswoman for Fannie Mae confirmed that it owned the note.
David Tong, the lawyer representing AmTrust in the case, declined to comment on the matter. But on Friday, he did an about-face, filing papers with the court acknowledging that Fannie Mae owns the note.
Fail
This is a righteous rant pointing out that what we have is a complete fucking fail. It's a failure of our political institutions, of our financial system, of our economy as structured, of the economics profession, of unelected elite GOP Daddies who are supposed to fix things, of the media, of the whole fucking thing. Extended 9.5%+ unemployment is not ok. It means something is seriously fucking wrong, and the people in charge are unwilling or for whatever reason (including being idiots) unable to fix the problem.
What Howie Reads
Or, why almost every day we talk about whatever conservatives want us to talk about.
Innovations In The Field Of Advanced Blogger Ethics
One of the weird things over the years has been the unwillingness of major media outlets to give credit to certain sources for their stories. You know, bloggers. The reasoning seemed to be something along the lines of "we're the AP so we don't have to." Personally I never cared much, but it seemed to be rather rude and not all that ethical.
Responding To Incentives
It's possible to observe critically the reality described below without criticizing individual parents for their behavior. While I think in most places people who are paranoid about "child abduction" are a bit off, I get that people respond to social pressure and attempt to conform to social norms. If no one else is walking to school, you're going to be less likely to let your kid walk, etc. If your neighborhood has no sidewalks, or if the "close" school is across a theoretically but not really traverseable 8 lane road it might not really be wise for kids to walk.
I guess there are two issues here. One is parental attitudes about appropriate levels of supervision and concerns about certain safety issues. The other is how we build our neighborhoods.
I guess there are two issues here. One is parental attitudes about appropriate levels of supervision and concerns about certain safety issues. The other is how we build our neighborhoods.
The Way We Live
Let me just point out that cars are dangerous and car accident injuries are the #1 cause of death for children in this country.
First, the "car kids" are herded into the gym. "The guards make sure all children sit still and do not move or speak during the process," reports a dad in Tennessee. Outside, "People get there 45 minutes early to get a spot. And the scary thing is, most of the kids live within biking distance," says Kim Meyer, a mom in Greensboro, N.C.
When the bell finally rings, the first car races into the pick-up spot, whereupon the car-line monitor barks into a walkie-talkie: "Devin's mom is here!"
Devin is grabbed from the gym, escorted to the sidewalk and hustled into the car as if under enemy fire. His mom peels out and the next car pulls up. "Sydney's mom is here!"
Kerry Buss, a curriculum developer in Fairfax County, Va., says her son's school does this, "And this is the same school that took out the bike racks to discourage kids from biking." It's also the school her husband attended as a child. Back then, "he and his sister walked to school like every other kid in the neighborhood. It was unheard of that there'd be a bus, much less a car line."
Monday, September 06, 2010
Monday Night
It probably doesn't matter much, but I do wish I could spend the next couple months worrying about electing Democrats instead of worrying that Democrats are planning to cut Social Security.
Truth
James Kwak:
It is the case that after starting this sucky blog and fairly quickly amassing an audience of HUNDREDS PER DAY, the lure of academic research was greatly diminished. It wasn't that I had no interest in it, but it was instead the realization that my new sucky blog would probably have more influence on the world than any academic work I was likely to do (there are actually a couple of heavily cited papers with my name on them floating around, and I don't just mean ones by that other Duncan Black). That was in 2002, 4 million blog years ago.
Though it is a demanding medium. To keep an audience you have to feed the beast. I think it was Dan Froomkin who said to me that if you're gone from the internet for the day you're gone forever. Exaggeration, of course, but there's truth to it.
It’s possible that after school I will go back to more serious blogging; I do think it’s a valuable and potentially powerful medium, and certainly a lot more gratifying than writing academic papers.
It is the case that after starting this sucky blog and fairly quickly amassing an audience of HUNDREDS PER DAY, the lure of academic research was greatly diminished. It wasn't that I had no interest in it, but it was instead the realization that my new sucky blog would probably have more influence on the world than any academic work I was likely to do (there are actually a couple of heavily cited papers with my name on them floating around, and I don't just mean ones by that other Duncan Black). That was in 2002, 4 million blog years ago.
Though it is a demanding medium. To keep an audience you have to feed the beast. I think it was Dan Froomkin who said to me that if you're gone from the internet for the day you're gone forever. Exaggeration, of course, but there's truth to it.
Winning The Politics
It isn't too crazy to imagine that "we want to fix your bridges and they don't" might actually sell well.
Not Enough
Obviously proposing and hopefully spending $50 billion on infrastructure is a lot more exciting to me than random small business tax cuts, but it's also the case that it isn't enough. One wishes he'd go long...
Hey That's More Like It
Drudgico:
Seeking to bolster the sluggish economy, President Barack Obama is using a Labor Day appearance in Milwaukee to announce he will ask Congress for $50 billion to kick off a new infrastructure plan designed to expand and renew the nation’s roads, railways and runways.
The goals, according to the White House: “Rebuild 150,000 miles of roads — renewing our commitment to the backbone of our transportation system … . Construct and maintain 4,000 miles of rail — enough to go coast-to-coast … . Rehabilitate or reconstruct 150 miles of runway — while putting in place a NextGen system that will reduce travel time and delays.”
The measures include the “establishment of an Infrastructure Bank to leverage federal dollars and focus on investments of national and regional significance that often fall through the cracks in the current siloed transportation programs," and “the integration of high-speed rail on an equal footing into the surface transportation program.”
Grumpy old Monday
I'm so old I can remember when lefties called conservatives names and made fun of them and won the public discourse.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Sunday, September 05, 2010
More Than That
In my time among the econ I thought there was asymmetric pressure in that it is ok to go forth and spew right wing horseshit with impunity but suggesting that maybe raising the minimum wage a tad isn't such a bad idea would be frowned upon.
...adding, in my experience, academic economists tended to be what you could call Slate Democrats. Not especially liberal, especially on economic issues, and a bit enamored with contrarianism, but they still tended to actually care about grappling seriously with policy issues, something Republicans just don't do.
...adding, in my experience, academic economists tended to be what you could call Slate Democrats. Not especially liberal, especially on economic issues, and a bit enamored with contrarianism, but they still tended to actually care about grappling seriously with policy issues, something Republicans just don't do.
Late Morning Thread
Another nice day in the urban hellhole. Fall's the season we can count on here. Gonna dodge the bullets and walk to the farmers market.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has The Poodle.
Meet the Press has Attorney General Graham and Plouffe.
Face the Nation has Laura Tyson and Mark Zandi.
Document the atrocities!
Meet the Press has Attorney General Graham and Plouffe.
Face the Nation has Laura Tyson and Mark Zandi.
Document the atrocities!
Congratulations
To Patrick Nielsen Hayden of Tor Books, but more importantly of Making Light, for winning a Hugo as Best Editor.
Huzzah!
Signed,
Not Atrios
Huzzah!
Signed,
Not Atrios
Table
Public works projects are off the table.
Social Security benefit cuts are on the table.
These are both obviously bad policy positions.
These are both obviously bad political positions.
Many of us have asked why Obama and the Democratic leadership are so deeply committed to these obviously bad policies, even to the point of risking the House majority, not to mention increasing rather than reducing American human misery.
Eventually you have to consider the possibility they are getting the policies they want to get.
(h/t Stuart Zechman)
Social Security benefit cuts are on the table.
These are both obviously bad policy positions.
These are both obviously bad political positions.
Many of us have asked why Obama and the Democratic leadership are so deeply committed to these obviously bad policies, even to the point of risking the House majority, not to mention increasing rather than reducing American human misery.
Eventually you have to consider the possibility they are getting the policies they want to get.
When Barack Obama made his famous remarks about Ronald Reagan being transformational, it was misinterpreted as being political, an attempt to reach out to the other side. It actually was, as some feared, philosophical. It really did mean, sincerely, that except around the edges, he thought that Reaganism-Thatcherism was irreversible. Just as Bill Clinton does, just as Tony Blair does.
The Third-Wayers are serious about this. Seriously deluded, perhaps, but dead serious. There was never an attempt to triangulate the "independent center", those who still believed in Reaganism but were distressed by the partisan cultural meanness. That was sincere.
(h/t Stuart Zechman)
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Your Liberal Media
People are kvetching about Jonathan Alter in comments. Since he plays a liberal on the teevee, I thought I'd bring this one back. From Nov. 2001.
In this autumn of anger, even a liberal can find his thoughts turning to... torture. OK, not cattle prods or rubber hoses, at least not here in the United States, but something to jump-start the stalled investigation of the greatest crime in American history. Right now, four key hijacking suspects aren't talking at all.
Couldn't we at least subject them to psychological torture, like tapes of dying rabbits or high-decibel rap? (The military has done that in Panama and elsewhere.) How about truth serum, administered with a mandatory IV? Or deportation to Saudi Arabia, land of beheadings? (As the frustrated FBI has been threatening.) Some people still argue that we needn't rethink any of our old assumptions about law enforcement, but they're hopelessly "Sept. 10"--living in a country that no longer exists.
Fail
They oppose everything, so maybe you could stand for something good?
Even the reporter gets it (linked to this earlier but missed this paragraph)
More money for Afghanistan, so it's all good.
...article now says no US money.
Even the reporter gets it (linked to this earlier but missed this paragraph)
Democrats say the list of stimulus ideas is mostly tax cuts because spending proposals would have no chance of Republican support. Yet Republicans have opposed Democrats’ tax cutting ideas as well, so some Democrats argue that the new ideas could further demoralize party liberals, who want new spending for job-creating public works.
More money for Afghanistan, so it's all good.
...article now says no US money.
Fail
I keep hoping for bad news in economic data, not because I want the reality to be worse than it is, but because only catastrophically bad news is seen as actually bad. Merely bad news is good news.
Here's An Idea
Maybe the message should be "we're going to do something about it" or "we'd do something about it if those bastards would let us."
And no more bank shot policies.
And no more bank shot policies.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Hire People To Do Stuff
When I look around my hilariously flawed urban hellhole, I see infinite things that could use some work, both public infrastructure and dealing with a lot of deteriorated housing stock. That's even before we get to sexy ideas like weatherization. The idea that we might have "structural unemployment" because there are a bunch of laid off construction workers is absurd. Those people have skills which can be put to good use on obvious productive activities. Someone just needs to write them a check and tell them what to do. The possibilities are, as I said, infinite.
9/11 Day Is Almost Here
Could someone get me an advance copy of the etiquette guide for 9/11 Day so I make sure I behave properly.
Yes They Can
Amazing what you can do for the "eye-popping" sum equivalent to about 3 months of Afghanistan.
Go Long
It's incredible to me that genius political strategists think that what voters really want are tepid and timid half measures.
Not Getting It
There's something about working in politics which starts making people think everything is about perception rather than reality. I think a full payroll tax holiday would be fine as long as it wasn't yet another excuse to try to destroy Social Security, but an employer only one would be truly awful on substance, impact, and message. More help for the overlords, no help for you!
But apparently the geniuses in charge think the problem is that "stimulus" and "bailout" have become scary bad words. The problem is that the economy sucks and people don't have any money.
But apparently the geniuses in charge think the problem is that "stimulus" and "bailout" have become scary bad words. The problem is that the economy sucks and people don't have any money.
Jobs
Unemployment at 9.6%, -54K total jobs, private sector +67K.
The private sector number will be seen as good news as it is better than expected but it still, you know, sucks.
The private sector number will be seen as good news as it is better than expected but it still, you know, sucks.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Here's Hoping
Krgthulu:
Sadly, all signs point to no.
So, as I said, here’s hoping that Mr. Obama goes big next week. If he does, he’ll have the facts on his side.
Sadly, all signs point to no.
OH
On my local transit system overheard convo between a couple of very young women (18+ but barely) about their job situations and that of their significant others and friends. Below minimum wage under the table wages are apparently common.
Virtually Speaking
Ian Welsh should be good on VS tonight - listen live now here or catch the archive stream later.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
What's It All About Then
I've never really received a satisfactory answer to the question of just why we went to war in Iraq. I'm somewhat partial to the Grand Iranian Conspiracy theory, but little Tommy Friedman's reason is probably closer to the truth.
If my sucky blog has accomplished anything, it's bringing this to the attention of the world, thanks to a reader tip.
If my sucky blog has accomplished anything, it's bringing this to the attention of the world, thanks to a reader tip.
The Unbearable Burden Of Walking
Like Amanda, I find the aversion to walking to be interesting. It's familiar to me as I once lived that way, but I'm still a bit shocked when occasionally visitors to the urban hellhole perceive a 3 walk block to be a terrible burden. Over time my own view of what is a trivial distance to walk has grown, probably up from a 5 minute walk to a 15 minute one.
Because Parking Is Actually Most Of The Problem
Maybe These Idiots Don't Know What They're Doing
Labor Day is almost here. Time for some new product? Maybe?
Neo-Isolationism
Most Very Serious People still think that unless we're hanging around blowing shit up we aren't involved and it therefore isn't real.
Jaw Jaw
Even if there was little the Fed could have done policy wise, they could have, you know, said something.
Actually Greenspan did say something. This.
Actually Greenspan did say something. This.
American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage. To the degree that households are driven by fears of payment shocks but are willing to manage their own interest rate risks, the traditional fixed-rate mortgage may be an expensive method of financing a home.
Sure I Don't Drive Much These Days
But I think my lifetime record is 1 reckless driving (in lieu of speeding) ticket and one pulled over and let go for speeding because cop was nice. 20 tickets?
Farewell
Via Ezra Klein's Wonkbook email, Christina Romer's departing words. (It's a pdf, not a big one).
It's hard not to wish there were people doing a Richard Clark imitation, hair on fire, running around, trying anything. Instead, she is measured, prudent, and sorta wistful:
I don't think FDR would have called this liberalism. Not even sure Teddy would have called it progressive.
It's hard not to wish there were people doing a Richard Clark imitation, hair on fire, running around, trying anything. Instead, she is measured, prudent, and sorta wistful:
The result of these powerful headwinds and recent developments is that the United States still faces a substantial shortfall of aggregate demand. GDP by most estimates is still about 6 percent below trend. This shortfall in demand, rather than structural changes in the composition of our output or a mismatch between worker skills and jobs, is the fundamental cause of our continued high unemployment. Firms aren’t producing and hiring at normal levels simply because there isn’t demand for a normal level of output.
In the long run, the transition to a higher-saving, higher-investment, higher-export economy can restore demand, and hence output and employment to normal. But at the moment, as the recent data emphasize, that process is operating painfully slowly.
The pressing question, then, is what can be done to increase demand and bring unemployment down more quickly. Failing to do so would cause millions of workers to suffer unnecessarily. It also runs the risk of making high unemployment permanent as workers’ skills deteriorate with lack of use and their labor force attachment weakens as hope of another job fades.
Policymakers should certainly try innovative, low-cost policies. The President’s National Export Initiative is an excellent example. Given the fixed costs associated with exporting to a new market, small investments in information provision and commercial diplomacy could bring about a substantial increase in our exports. Likewise, responsible new trade agreements can help to open markets and increase trade in both the short run and over time.
Policymakers should also take sensible actions to increase confidence. While some in the business community talk about regulatory uncertainty as one reason they are cautious about hiring and investing, I suspect that uncertainty about future sales is a much larger determinant of firms’ actions. We can, however, do more to highlight and codify our pragmatic approach to regulation. As OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein detailed in his recent Congressional testimony, the estimated net benefits (that is, the benefits minus the costs) of the Obama Administration’s regulatory actions during its first year far surpass those of the first year of the two previous administrations. For the health of the economy, we should continue and trumpet this prudent regulatory approach.
While we would all love to find the inexpensive magic bullet to our economic troubles, the truth is, it almost surely doesn’t exist. The only surefire ways for policymakers to substantially increase aggregate demand in the short run are for the government to spend more and tax less. In my view, we should be moving forward on both fronts.
I don't think FDR would have called this liberalism. Not even sure Teddy would have called it progressive.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Crazy People Mostly Motivated By The Crazy
I'm sure I've been guilty of it myself at some point in the past, but the now standard race to define every violent nutcase as a right wing nut or a left wing nut is a bit depressing. Mostly nutters are driven by the fact that they're nuts, whatever ideological motives they channel their nuttiness through.
That Time Already
Government jobs numbers come out Friday, private estimate says...-10K private sector jobs (estimate does not look at public sector jobs). Consensus forecast for all jobs is -120K, due in part to continued Census job losses. I'll take the under...
Getting It Right
As Krugman says, it isn't about "I told you so," it's about establishing the correct narrative about what happened which for bizarre reasons the administration isn't willing to do. The stimulus wasn't big enough. Had it been bigger things would at least be somewhat better.
Actually Michelle Plans To Put Crack Pipes On The Tree
Nice to see some things never change.
The most infamous of the Regnery titles is undoubtedly Gary Aldrich's Unlimited Access, which included such "revelations" as lesbian encounters in the White House's basement showers, Hillary Clinton ordering miniature crack pipes to hang on the White House Christmas tree, and the claim--backed by anonymous sources--that Clinton made frequent trips to the nearby Marriott to shack up with a mistress "who may be a celebrity." That last bit helped catapult Unlimited Access to the top of The New York Times's best-seller list, though Aldrich soon revealed to The New Yorker's Jane Mayer that the Marriott story was "not quite solid" and, indeed, was "hypothetical." But according to Aldrich, it was Regnery editor Richard Vigilante who had moved the Marriott bit out of the epilogue (where it had been presented as a "mock investigation") and into the middle of the book (where it was presented as an actual occurrence). Vigilante, Aldrich told Mayer, threatened not to publish the book if Aldrich didn't agree to the changes.
Let's Hope
The best part of Obama's speech was the suggestion that lighting trillions of dollars on fire in the service of killing random foreigners was perhaps not the best use of our limited resources.
But Roads Pay For Themselves!!
The most you can say (and this hasn't been true for some time either) is that the federal and some state highway systems are paid for by user fees (gas taxes, etc.), but basically the rest of the road system construction and repair costs are paid for with other tax money.
Standards
Oh What a Lovely War
It's easy to beat up on the prime movers, but sadly, in general, elites, including many liberal ones, in this country will never accept that they supported and advocated for a pointless war based on lies which led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and the upheaval of millions of lives. Heckuva job.
Also, Good Luck Getting Credit
Banks have long histories of avoiding certain neighborhoods, whether through explicit policy or just actual practice.
Echoes
Glenzilla reminds us that somebody certainly could have knowed what the US was getting itself into.
Even aside from dirty hippies, like ex-Marine weapons-inspector Scott Ritter, there was no shortage of voices of sanity.
But I guess that is just looking backwards, which the Village only does in order to say nobody could have known. Unfortunate, perhaps, but what can you do?
Anyway, the war is over now. The President said so.
Even aside from dirty hippies, like ex-Marine weapons-inspector Scott Ritter, there was no shortage of voices of sanity.
But I guess that is just looking backwards, which the Village only does in order to say nobody could have known. Unfortunate, perhaps, but what can you do?
Anyway, the war is over now. The President said so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)