Mike Norman Economics

Pageviews all time history 10,000,525 Some time last night Mike Norman Economics hit 10,000,000 page views since it inception. A milestone.Thanks to all for participating.

Emerging cases of Covid-19 reinfection suggest herd immunity is wishful thinking. It seems like you can catch Covid-19 a second time, and it may be worst than the first.  “Wait. I can catch Covid twice?” my 50-year-old patient asked in disbelief. It was the beginning of July, and he had just tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, for a second time — three months after a previous infection. Vox My patient caught Covid-19 twice. So long to herd immunity...

(Reuters) - Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates called for COVID-19 drugs and an eventual vaccine to be made available to countries and people that need them most, not to the "highest bidder," saying relying on market forces would prolong the deadly pandemic. "If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder, instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, we'll have a longer, more unjust, deadlier pandemic," Gates, a founder of Microsoft, said in a video...

It sounds like a scary prospect, but if it's approached in the right way, it could open us up to a much more fulfilling way of life Can AI set us free and make us happier, or will we become bored without all the problems and hassles? Will machines outclass us in every way?  The monopolising of AI will lead to mass unemployment and mass welfare, reverberating globally. AI efficiency and efficacy will soon replace the error-prone human. It must be the case that AI is to be...

NBA personality and owner of the Dallas Mavericks franchise Mark Cuban shares Buffett’s sentiment. He believes the stock market’s breathless rally will end once the magnitude of the pandemic’s devastation is known. Day traders are making money thinking they are geniuses in a bull market. Howard Marks, another billionaire investor and CEO of Oaktree Capital in the U.S., said people are buying stocks for fun. Don’t look at it as a gambling game because reckless trading is not healthy. Many...

Knut Wicksell quote along with Lars's commentary on Chris Dillow's review.Lars P. Syll’s BlogThe Deficit Myth: a review Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

The issue Canada faces now is that it is unclear what the strategy is. In my view, the only clear option is eradication, as it presents an obvious endpoint. However, the situation south of the border is worrisome, and it cannot be sealed forever. We are stuck in the position of hoping for a vaccine, or medical treatments that can greatly reduce the effects of the disease. I am not a fan of relying on hope as a strategy. As for the economic strategy, it will be necessary to decide what to...

Do an internet search on China and most likely eight out of ten articles that come up will be from Western news agencies and be negative. YouTube demonetizes pro China video channels.  Tianxiang Tan says he felt as a child he was very unfortunate to grow up in China as it had no democracy and Western people were said to be better off and happier. Tianxiang Tan moved to the US when he was 19 but now he loves China realising that what he saw told about his country was Western propaganda....

Hey, the US bought the Louisiana Territory and Alaska. Why would someone be interested in buying Uncle out of PR? (snark) SalonTrump looked into selling off Puerto Rico: Ex-DHS chiefBob Brigham

Proclamations of a New Cold War between China and the US herald a clash between authoritarianism and liberal democracy. But what we’re seeing in the growing rivalry between the two countries isn’t based on ideological difference but on inter-capitalist competition.... No Marxism in the post. Straight up analysis that is US centric (aka biased). But an interesting take.Marxist SociologyDisintegrating US-China Economic Symbiosis and the New Inter-Imperial RivalryHo-Fung Hung | Henry M. and...