Mike Norman Economics

Buffett parroting Trump here... Highlight: “If you print bonds in your own currency, what happens to the currency will be the question.” Buffett says. “But you don’t default. The U.S. … has been smart… to issue its debt in its own currency.” #YFBuffett pic.twitter.com/7iy6pUkPQZ— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) May 3, 2020

Good thread examining the current Gain of Function issue:TIL of "Gain of Function" research (GOF).GOF is monkeying around with viruses to see if you can get them to "gain" some new "function"—e.g. infect new animals, increase virulence, create vaccines, whatever.And GOF research comes with major risks—including accidents.— Justin Owings (@justinowings) May 2, 2020

Some good news here:Well this is good news that so far there is no evidence of reinfection!...Tests in recovered patients found false positives, not reinfections, experts say https://t.co/a0eof1KuJG— Anne Eacker MD (@EackerAnne) April 30, 2020

Zinger.Information Transfer EconomicsWhat's in a name?Jason Smith

He sends out a tweet saying Tesla's stock is too high? That is illegal and egregiously detrimental to his investors. Idiot.

Perhaps, perhaps, this crisis marks an end of the “neoliberal era”.The word “neoliberal” immediately provokes contention, but let’s not get fancy or upset here. For our purposes, neoliberalism is just a set of social heuristics: 1) that markets are in general the most capable institution for organizing human affairs; 2) that therefore, absent strong reasons to the contrary, use of market or market-like institutions should be maximized, “completed”, expanded even into domains heretofore...

Paul Jay is back, and I'm listening to a Col. Lawrence Wilkerson interview right now. It's good.Analysis News: Paul Jay

I did say the Danny Dorling article was a bit old. Claim There were fewer deaths recorded in the first 15 weeks of 2020 than in the first 15 weeks of 2018. Conclusion Correct, although the number of deaths in recent weeks far exceeds the number at the same point in any recent year. Fullfacts.orgThese death figures are correct, but deaths from Covid-19 are still rising

Danny Dorling, a geographer, looks at the statistics. The article is from the 24th of March, so might be a little out of date now.However, the Oxford estimates also suggest that of those actually infected, as compared to those known to be infected following testing, the actual global mortality rate may be as low as 0.2% – or less. This is what we should hope for – while preparing for worse. The Conversation  Danny Dorling - Coronavirus: how the current number of people dying in the UK...

A satirical look at the way the US has dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic from a Chinese prospective. [embedded content]