Mike Norman Economics

Moody's goes all proactive. As various institutions continue to publish very detailed estimates of how Trump's tax plan will impact the federal budget, which is somewhat amazing since income brackets haven't even been assigned yet, Moody's published a note today threatening to finally strip the U.S. of its AAA credit rating if the tax plan is ultimately passed as currently contemplated.... The deficit would be too big. Gotta cut some welfare.Zero Hedge"Credit Negative For U.S. Government":...

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S administration is facing strong backlash from civil rights groups after voting against a U.N. resolution that condemns using death penalty to punish “consensual same-sex relations.” The U.N. Human Rights Council approved the measure on Friday with a 27-13 vote, with seven countries abstaining.... The InterceptThe U.S. Voted Against a U.N. Resolution Condemning Death Penalty for LGBTQ PeopleAlex Emmons

Could this be another Fight of the Century? Legendary boxer George Foreman, the two-time heavyweight world champion and an Olympic gold medalist, has just offered a faceoff to Hollywood star Steven Seagal from his Twitter account.... 10 rounds in Vegas. Foreman to use boxing and Seagal can use anything he chooses. (Sorta depends on who is still in shape.)Who wins?Sputnik InternationalPlace Your Bets! George Foreman (68) Wants to Fight Steven Seagal (65), Internet Goes Mad

State fascism rearing its ugly head again in Spain?SouthFront Thousands Protest In Barselona Over Police Violence During Catalan Independence Referendum lkb22 IndependentSpanish anti-separatists in Madrid protest with fascist arm salutes while singing far-right song Natasha Salmon ReutersSerbia accuses world of double standards over Catalonia and Kosovo More paradoxes of liberalism.

Censorship strikes again. Google, FaceBook, say it isn't so. Sure looks like it. (Google owns YouTube).Is the window closing and the blinds being drawn?SouthFrontYouTube Bans SYRIANGIRL’s Video About Her Facebook Ban – for ‘Hate Speech’lkb22

Ten years ago, John Mearsheimer and I published a controversial article and subsequent book examining the impact of the “Israel Lobby” — that is, a loose coalition of pro-Israel individuals and organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Christians United for Israel, just to name a few. We argued that decades of unconditional U.S. support for Israel — the so-called “special relationship” — is...

Moon of Alabama calls BS on the "Russian influence" ads on FaceBook. "Lunacy." Moon of Alabama"Russian Ads" On Facebook? A Click-Bait Campaign b

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has been in the news quite a bit in the last few weeks.¹ It’s refreshing to see this considering how bad the state of macroeconomics is. I say this as someone who has been very critical of MMT for many years. I think they overreach on some items, but as a general theory I think they provide a much clearer and more useful picture of the macroeconomy than most mainstream economic schools do. Among the important things they get right: Pragmatic CapitalismWhy MMT is...

Goldman has yet to speak. The billionaire banker tweeted on Tuesday that he wasn't completely sure about his stance on the red-hot cryptocurrency.Blankfein said he's "still thinking about bitcoin" and that he was not flat out endorsing or denouncing the digital currency.... Business InsiderLloyd Blankfein says he's still studying bitcoin, people were also 'skeptical when paper money displaced gold' Frank Chapparo

Summary: The end-in-view is doing good science and avoiding junk science, which is proliferating. Adjusting standards, etc. are only means to an end. There are no silver bullets or magic wands. Doing good science depends on good design, accurate measurement, and replication. Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social ScienceWhen considering proposals for redefining or abandoning statistical significance, remember that their effects on science will only be indirect! Andrew Gelman |...