Tag Archives: Journalism

There is a lot going on with SCOTUS this year. The death of Chevron diverts decision making from agencies which have an expertise in particular situations to the courts who lack the technical expertise. So now we have Thomas looking back in his crystal ball to see what they were doing in the 18th Century. Roberts believes the justices know more than the scientists and engineers know. This was done in Chevron which agency experts criticized. And...

Struggling to sort out your feelings about the president? So am I. by Paul Waldman The Cross Section The purpose of this piece is not to convince you that Joe Biden should drop out of the race. In fact, I wrote it because I’m not sure if he should, and I think there are millions of people struggling with ambivalent and contradictory thoughts and emotions just as I am. So here are some things to keep in mind — some good, some not so good — as...

I put this in line for posting maybe today (Monday), asked Joel to look at it and offer an opinion on it, and was wondering if it had any consequence. By that I mean, the term fascism, fascist, etc. is becoming a popular term in people’s commentary, and is not a scary label when applied anymore. The not so supreme court decided today, our last president is immune from any prosecution for his criminal activities. For all intents and purposes, he...

AB: I am not sure how Republicans will sugar coat Trump’s economic plans for 2025. June 23, 2024 Prof. Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American On Thursday, Moody’s Analytics, which evaluates risk, performance, and financial modeling, compared the economic promises of President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Authors Mark Zandi, Brendan LaCerda, and Justin Begley concluded that while a second Biden...

Israel is on a dangerously self-destructive course.  The brutality of the Gaza campaign is antagonizing allies and making it difficult for regional players to continue normalizing relations.  The prospects for a durable peace are dimming at the same time that the policy of military supremacy that provided a modicum of security over the past two decades looks increasingly unsustainable.  Netanyahu clearly deserves much of the blame for what is...

It’s all about the words . . . by Steve Roth Originally Published at Wealth Economics This article was first published on Cameron Murray’s great Fresh Economic Thinking. It’s slightly revised here. Maybe I’m just dense, but when I started studying economics roughly twenty years ago, I immediately ran into a bunch of basic concepts that just didn’t make sense to me. It was mostly a problem with economists’ words. They have different,...

I have following the SWI for a period of time. When I get a newspaper, it makes for some interesting read. This particular article discusses a potential meeting of ninety countries. The peace process was initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asking the Swiss to initiate such a conference. I can not imagine what he thought the outcome would be. Maybe it was to create the impression he and Ukraine were hoping to gain additional political...

Tyler Cowen links to an article suggesting that Taylor Swift’s upcoming concerts in London may boost inflation and delay an interest rate cut by the Bank of England. I am not a macroeconomist, but color my skeptical.  For one thing, a short blip in the demand for hotel rooms in London will likely increase room rates, but this increase really will be temporary – it will reverse as soon as Swift leaves town.  More significantly, spending on...

Extract from Thomas Jefferson to “Henry Tompkinson” (Samuel Kercheval) “I am not among those who fear the people. they and not the rich, are our dependance for continued freedom. and to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt . . . if we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries & our comforts, in our labors & our amusements, for our callings...

by Fix the Court AB: April 2023 Propublica reported on the largesse of outsiders and their generous nature of their gift giving to SCOTUS. June 2024 and we are again hearing of the propensity of the gift givers to SCOTUS and in particular Justice Clarence Thomas. If only they acted in the same way with much of the population who could use $6 million in aid to exist. ~~~~~~~~ “Fix the Court” unveiled a list of the gifts the justices have...