Saturday, July 23, 2011
Exchanges
Krugman
Watched the Obama presser this morning. Really struck by his commitment to find common ground among the various organizations profiting from the dysfunctional US health care system.
The underpants gnomes are laughing.
Most of us were willing, however, to accept the Rube Goldberg scheme actually passed — in which community rating, a mandate, and subsidies are combined to more or less simulate the effects of single-payer — as much better than nothing. If political reality dictated that health care be directed through private insurance companies, even though this made no sense in policy terms, well, that was a price we were willing to pay.
But it’s quite something else to take people who are currently being covered by a rational single-payer system, and force them back into the inefficient, parasitic world of private insurance. That’s terrible. And it’s also politically stupid: if you think for a minute that Republicans wouldn’t turn right around and run ads about how Obama is taking away your Medicare, you’ve been living under a rock.
Oh, and of course, Republicans were also trying to undermine health reform; so seniors would find themselves thrown off Medicare but, in many cases, unable to get private insurance either.
Great work, White House.
Watched the Obama presser this morning. Really struck by his commitment to find common ground among the various organizations profiting from the dysfunctional US health care system.
The underpants gnomes are laughing.
Horrible
I wasn't paying too much attention yesterday due to the somewhat unreliable nature of news reports during breaking news events (not really criticism, just observation), but just awful.
OSLO — The Norwegian police on Saturday charged a 32-year-old man, whom they identified as a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing connections, over the bombing of a government center here and a shooting attack on a nearby island that together left at least 91 people dead.
Bums
Looking forward to 2012, with Romney in the White House, and the House and Senate with Democratic majorities. (Being a Republican Senate incumbent in 2012 doesn't look like much fun at the moment.)
Poblano.
Voters have been throwing them out since 2006. It's really all they can do. Hasn't worked yet.
Poblano.
Voters have been throwing them out since 2006. It's really all they can do. Hasn't worked yet.
Something New
Hooray for Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd!
... the first same-sex couple to wed in New York State. The grandmothers of 12 will tie the knot before a crowd of thousands, in front of the specially rainbow lit Niagara Falls.
Friday, July 22, 2011
They Hate Us For Our Peace Seeking Ways
Lord Saletan on the twitter machine.
(ht dave weigel)
Oslo Peace Process. Nobel Peace Prize. Today's attacks show how little terrorists respect countries that pursue peace.
(ht dave weigel)
There Is No Crisis
Just a reminder that there is no debt ceiling crisis. There's a fake crisis started by Republicans and then embraced by the White House so that everyone gets to use the fake crisis to try to do unpopular things in such a way that nobody, in theory, actually gets the blame.
A few people need to show up in Congress in the middle of the night, cast a voice vote, and we can move on to the next fake crisis.
A few people need to show up in Congress in the middle of the night, cast a voice vote, and we can move on to the next fake crisis.
How Are Weak US States Supposed To Experience Growth?
You could tell a pretty similar story about us. Our central bankers are setting policies that wealthy elites want. Michigan doesn't have any money improve its infrastructure or spend more on education. We have even greater labor mobility than Europe, at least in theory, so there will be outflows from high unemployment places to low unemployment places. This might make the unemployment numbers better in those states, but won't do much for state finances. With cutting all the rage in DC, odds are some of our much vaunted automatic stabilizers, such as federal Medicaid dollars, are going to shrink.
There's no plan for growth here either.
There's no plan for growth here either.
Running Water, Too
Had some movers bring a few things from the suburbs this morning. Nice guys. One commented something along the lines of "your house is nice, you don't expect a place like this in the city."
Bookstores
I'm another who never understood most of the hate directed at Borders. I never lived in a world where there were dozens of awesome independent bookstores. I lived in a world where there were a few crappy independent bookstores, but mostly there were really crappy chain mall bookstores. Borders, and to a lesser extent Barnes and Noble, replaced crappy chain bookstores with pretty damn good chain bookstores.
Insanity
I know nobody listens to me, but unemployment is at 9.2%. It wasn't that long ago that the mere projection of future 9.0% unemployment prompted the passage of a major stimulus package.
And now...nothing.
And now...nothing.
Historic
One can't know for sure what is theater and what is speculation and what is just bullshit, but this really is frightening.
I have not seen any proposal which would any way be "historic." Some would be horrible, some less horrible. All could be changed by a vote of the next Congress, or by the next vote of this Congress. No plans for 5 years from now can be expected to stick that long. Voters don't give a shit about the deficit.
The White House, by contrast, is pushing hard for a compromise. And Democrats are worried that in his zeal to accomplish something historic, Obama will agree to a debt plan that omits, or complicates, a key Democratic demand: new, concrete sources of tax revenue.
I have not seen any proposal which would any way be "historic." Some would be horrible, some less horrible. All could be changed by a vote of the next Congress, or by the next vote of this Congress. No plans for 5 years from now can be expected to stick that long. Voters don't give a shit about the deficit.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Maastricht
Too late to have deep thoughts, but, yes, Maastricht made some sense at the time of European integration, at a time when there was more generous re-distribution of funds across euro-land as part of the grand plan (whether good or bad) to bring everyone together, but in the middle of a major economic downturn...
Problem Should Have An Easy Solution
Not quite sure I get what's going on here.
The city used to be better about hauling away large items. They'd basically take anything if you called them and put it out. They've limited that somewhat now, but they'll still take things like sofas if they're by the curb.
ALLEY SPAT: Neighbors on Daggett Street near Dicks Avenue are confronted with a pile of discarded couches on the street and a festering pile of garbage in an alley behind their homes.
A whopping 21 calls to the city's 3-1-1 help line have left Bullock essentially in the same place she was in nine months ago, when the trash heap appeared behind the house at 2625 Daggett - adjacent to Bullock's.
Bullock said the 3-1-1 representative she spoke with about the trash was rude, and basically told her to mind her own business.
"She said, 'If it's not on your property, you shouldn't worry about it,' " Bullock said.
Right. The mice and roaches that Jones and Bullock have seen scurrying around the trash heap are enough to worry anyone.
Adding insult to injury, a few dirty, discarded couches popped up on a small yard at 2635 Daggett four months ago, they said.
The city used to be better about hauling away large items. They'd basically take anything if you called them and put it out. They've limited that somewhat now, but they'll still take things like sofas if they're by the curb.
Gentrification Leading To More Demand
I don't think it's quite this simple.
I think it is the case that more people moving into neighborhoods, especially relatively blighted ones, can lead to further price increases. The mechanism is fairly simple. More people equals more demand for local goods and services, which means greater variety of availability of local goods and services, which makes a neighborhood even more attractive, further boosting demand for housing units in that neighborhood.
As for the initial trigger of more people moving in, that could be increases in housing prices elsewhere, a change in consumer preference for type of housing, a reduction in the local crime rate, etc. The point is that more people can lead to a better neighborhood which can lead to more demand and higher prices. It isn't necessarily incorrect to perceive new development as the cause of higher prices.
When I speak to people in the city (which in fact does happen, since I do live here, reporting aside), they often see the fact that new development occurs in the same places at times when housing costs are spiking. Consequently, they often reach the conclusion that new development is causing price increases and that the best way to moderate price increases is to moderate the pace of new development. These charts indicate, I think, that this is a mistake. That both new construction and higher prices are caused by higher demand for housing, and that DC is experiencing an above-average rate of housing cost increases because we’re experiencing a below-average rate of issuing permits for new construction.
I think it is the case that more people moving into neighborhoods, especially relatively blighted ones, can lead to further price increases. The mechanism is fairly simple. More people equals more demand for local goods and services, which means greater variety of availability of local goods and services, which makes a neighborhood even more attractive, further boosting demand for housing units in that neighborhood.
As for the initial trigger of more people moving in, that could be increases in housing prices elsewhere, a change in consumer preference for type of housing, a reduction in the local crime rate, etc. The point is that more people can lead to a better neighborhood which can lead to more demand and higher prices. It isn't necessarily incorrect to perceive new development as the cause of higher prices.
11-Dimensional End Game
There you go.
You know what we have without the deal? The possibility of future revenue increases.
A Congressional aide briefed on ongoing negotiations between House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama says the two principals may be nearing a "grand bargain" on to raise the debt limit which would contain large, set-in-stone spending cuts but only the possibility of future revenue increases.
"All cuts," the aide said. "Maybe revenues some time in the future."
You know what we have without the deal? The possibility of future revenue increases.
The Establishment
Just a reminder that before conservatives began their decades long strategy of working the refs and accusing everybody working in "the liberal media" of having "liberal bias," what people call mainstream media today was commonly referred to as "establishment media."
No Drama Obama
The rather obvious solution is a clean debt ceiling hike, but none of the people involved in this ridiculous mess seem to want that.
Using crisis as an excuse to ram through massive "bipartisan" changes without public input is horribly undemocratic.
Shame on all of them.
Using crisis as an excuse to ram through massive "bipartisan" changes without public input is horribly undemocratic.
Shame on all of them.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Burn This Mother Down
I admit I'm cheering on the suicide squad. The more Dem votes you need, the more it has to be Dem-friendly.
Hellhole In The Hellhole
Article provides an excuse to make the obvious observation that Grand Central is great and Penn Station, where the Amtrak machine drops me, is a hellish nightmare.
Also, Too, Democrats
I imagine if there are two basic narratives out there that people have about the political parties it's that Republicans want to cut your taxes and Democrats want to give money to poor and old people. The giving money to poor people part isn't super popular, but the giving money to old people one mostly is. Yes it should be a no brainer for a Florida member of Congress to support Medicare, and it should also be a no brainer for the Dems to block cuts to Social Security.
Maps Are Small, Actual Places Are Large
I have to assume some degree of expertise among military planners whose job it is to achieve some sort of goal (??) with freedom bombs, but I imagine most of our policymakers know about as much about strategic aerial warfare as I do, which is not much. I've started to think that flawed spatial perception underlies the apparent belief that a few well-placed freedom bombs will solve our latest Hitler of the week problem. Unless - and probably even if - it's just a really expensive means of assassination, the idea that some aerial bombing is really going to do whatever it is we were meant to do in Libya (does anybody know?) is really dumb. It's a big place. I suppose we could level a city if we really wanted to, but supposedly we don't, so...?
So Trite
I suppose this is an obvious point that dirty hippies make and then get laughed at, but I'd believe that all of our freedom bombs had some genuine humanitarian purpose if we actually ever spent serious money on actual humanitarian purposes.
Either Development
Probably there are some other possibilities.
Consequently, argues Frederick Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute, Maliki and his government face a fateful choice. “If Maliki allows the United States to leave Iraq,” Kagan wrote in a recent report, “he is effectively declaring his intent to fall in line with Tehran’s wishes, to subordinate Iraq’s foreign policy to the Persians, and possibly, to consolidate his own power as a sort of modern Persian satrap in Baghdad.”
Alternatively, Iraq could use its burgeoning oil revenue to rush to construct an army and air force capable of countering Tehran. But either development would be regarded as a strategic threat by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Mysteries
The unknowable is whether they're really going to tank the economy and screw poor and old people.
We'll see!!
We'll see!!
Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah
Could someone please run the gang of six wankers summary through the senate gibberish translation device?
"Choice Ridership"
I dream of the day when transit planners stop trying to cater to the elusive rich suburban white person rider and instead think about how to make transit better in places where people actually use it.
I'm all for more and better transit everywhere, but I'd really like a bit more focus on core users.
...ah, my apologies, I realize I interpreted this incorrectly. I think he means "choice" as in making a choice, not choice as in preferred. My basic point still stands, but I reacted wrongly to the language.
Greg Krykewycz, the DVRPC senior transportation planner who authored the study, explained that a well-branded service could attract “latent demand” from riders along the corridor who currently take cars.
Specific branding could help it escape the stigma that suburban bus routes are long and circuitous, he said, adding that “there's kind of an undetermined amount of untapped ridership” for the route and that “it's the choice ridership that you're trying to attract with service like this.”
I'm all for more and better transit everywhere, but I'd really like a bit more focus on core users.
...ah, my apologies, I realize I interpreted this incorrectly. I think he means "choice" as in making a choice, not choice as in preferred. My basic point still stands, but I reacted wrongly to the language.
I Actually Wouldn't Mind Some Enforcement
I'm not a big fan of pedestrians behaving badly, and while I think a $120 fine for just about anything a pedestrian might do is ludicrous, I wouldn't weep if there was a very modest fine ($20) that could be given for egregious jay-walking of the dangerous variety. I don't mean crossing an empty street type behavior, I mean running out in front of traffic against a light behavior.
Bachmania
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. On the Dem side, elite Villagers always work hard to cull whoever they consider to be "crazy" candidates, though aside from Ron Paul I've never really seen the same activity for Republicans.
Leftover Electronics Are Free
I was donating some stuff to a thrift store the other day. They had lots of old TVs, and by old I mean "not flat screen," on sale for under $10. That poor people have access to some gadgets and gizmos that poor people didn't have access to 50 years ago doesn't change the fact that it sucks hard to be poor.
Unless you're a sociopath at the Heritage foundation.
Unless you're a sociopath at the Heritage foundation.
Thread
Nice catch from Bluegal, who found a bit of Fry & Laurie as Clarence the Angel and Rupert Murdoch in It's a Wonderful Life.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Jesus Tits Who Cares
Aside from "imminent death is likely" I really have never understood why people think random health issues matter.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Late Night
I pay attention to a lot of the various financial sites, and the degree to which our Galtian Hedge Fund Managers advocate for really fucking stupid policies - not just for me, but for them - tells me that they're really fucking stupid.
Doesn't Anybody Remember Anthrax?
Whole thing has been a crock.
Now, however, Justice Department lawyers have acknowledged in court papers that the sealed area in Ivins' lab — the so-called hot suite — didn't contain the equipment needed to turn liquid anthrax into the refined powder that floated through congressional buildings and post offices in the fall of 2001.
The government said it continued to believe that Ivins was "more likely than not" the killer. But the filing in a Florida court didn't explain where or how Ivins could have made the powder, saying only that his secure lab "did not have the specialized equipment . . . that would be required to prepare the dried spore preparations that were used in the letters."
Taking The People Out Of Politics
Leaving aside policy disagreements, and for sake of discussion assuming good intentions, I think the group being discussed are basically not fans of democracy. Voters and elections are problems, and the biggest problem for the Democratic party are actual Democrats. They'd prefer that government be run by some sort of committee headed by Robert Rubin. They dreamed of somehow ending politics, of just creating and implementing some sort of "consensus" (not of the people, but of the people who mattered) and then hitting the play button.
Is Erick Erickson Writing Their Material
My take on the WSJ defending MurdochLand was that it was just really stupid.
The Wage Is Too Damn Low
I don't think it's just a belief in the value of purging the system, I think it's a failure to understand what's going on in this economy. People don't have any jobs and they don't have any money. That's the fundamental fact that elites can't come to terms with. It's a bit similar to the way there was a tendency, early, to diagnose the financial crisis as a liquidity crisis instead of an insolvency one. All those foreclosures-in-waiting reduce liquidity in the housing market. Improve that and all will be well.
Except for the nobody has any money part.
Except for the nobody has any money part.
Chicken Becomes The Egg
I do think there were policy steps to "fix" the housing market which could have helped to spur an economic recovery. Those steps were not taken.
Or, to put it another way, there are two sets of problems with the housing market. One is that the economy sucks. Two is the bundle of issues related to the popped housing bubble (corrupt bankster practices, destruction of faith in our property title system, underwater borrowers). Fixing two to some degree might have been enough to have enough of a housing market rebound such that it would improve the economy. We didn't.
Or, to put it another way, there are two sets of problems with the housing market. One is that the economy sucks. Two is the bundle of issues related to the popped housing bubble (corrupt bankster practices, destruction of faith in our property title system, underwater borrowers). Fixing two to some degree might have been enough to have enough of a housing market rebound such that it would improve the economy. We didn't.
All Hail Latvia
Once countries implement policies that conservative assholes like, there isn't any need to go to the data anymore. They are Galtian paradises which we should emulate.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
It's Sunday, Sunday
And another week is about to begin. Don't suppose there's any chance we will shift to a Parliamentary system any time soon.
Bought
The whole country.
Metropolitan Police chief Sir Paul Stephenson has resigned.
Sir Paul announced his resignation at a press conference this evening in the wake of revelations that he received a £12k spa break where News of the World hacking suspect Neil Wallis was a PR consultant.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner was already under pressure after it emerged that he hired Mr Wallis as a PR consultant for the force.
Oh My
Unexpected.
LONDON — The British police on Sunday arrested Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch’s media operations in Britain, according to a former associate at News International, the newspaper group at the heart of a phone-hacking scandal convulsing the Murdoch empire, the British political elite and the police.
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