Tag Archives: politics

Extreme Contempt Donald Trump has engaged in so many outrageous statements and conduct that it has become very difficult to remember which of  those were really the most outrageous, the most morally contemptible, the ones that should have led his supporters to have abandoned but they did not, the ones that merited above all others the most Extreme Contempt. The events of the last 24 hours have clarified for me what was the moment in 2016 when Trump crossed...

James Kwak writes Introductory economics can be more misleading than it is helpful  (originally in Atlantic magazine).   Tim Worstall responds with  James Kwak sure doesn’t understand the economics of the minimum wage. Peter Dorman explains   Why you should never use a supply and demand diagram for labor markets. Richard Wolff  notes he thinks the debate is a distraction    Beyond the minimum wage debate ...

Via Science magazine, Trump’s White House science office still small and waiting for leadership: …Trump has yet to nominate an OSTP director, who traditionally also serves as the president’s science adviser. Nor has he announced his choices for as many as four other senior OSTP officials who would need to be confirmed by the Senate.… Still pending is the status of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a body of eminent scientists and...

“The discussions came as the Senate rejected 45-55 a straight repeal of Obamacare with a two-year delay in implementation to allow Congress to work out a replacement. Seven Republicans opposed the measure.” I do not have much more than this. I will update once I know more about this vote. If I can find out who voted how, I will post it.

It has been a long time since I participated in Scouting events. Never been to a Jamboree; although, we did take a bunch into the Pubelos for a hike and rafting on the Arkansas. Hiking up the mountain in a cold rain certainly showed who was prepared to meet the elements of being outdoors with minimum shelter. Those of us who had fleece jackets, rain gear, and equipment stowed in water resistant packs were almost prepared for anything, which could happen...

The first vote in the Senate to amend the PPACA was rejected. “Senators voted 57-43 late Tuesday to reject the plan in the first vote on an amendment to the bill. Those voting “no” included nine defecting Republicans. The vote underscored problems Republicans will have in winning enough votes to recast Obama’s statute. The rejected proposal included language by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell erasing the Obama law’s tax penalties on people not buying...

Even though Angry Bear has as an audience of people who are more than beginners in economic thought,  I think it worthwhile to pursue basic stories about what we demand and value from our way of life, which includes the “economy”. I had a recent experience where an acquaintance came up to me and asked about Angry Bear and then proceeded to explain what formed the basics of his economic narrative. In rough form and I think my summation accurate enough for...

The first section of issues McConnell and Republicans must overcome requires 60 votes due to the Parliamentarian ruling the provisions of the BCHA violate the Byrd Rule; consequently, the Reconciliation procedure requiring only 51 votes can not be used to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or waive the Byrd rule. The second set of provisions ruled upon by the Parliamentarian only require 51 or a majority vote to pass these changes. There is little...

Of the two meanings of “Neoliberalism” The use of the term “neoliberal” has recently been criticized as a meaningless epithet, a tabula rasa used to disparage anyone deemed unsatisfactorily conservative. To the contrary, I think the term “neoliberal” is fairly precise, but much like the term “liberal” itself, it has two quite different meanings depending on whether the definition descends from its original European or American incarnation.  The first variety...

Could The US Default Due To A Complexity Catastrophe? Definitely. Front  page story in today’s Washington Post by Damien Paletta reports that “Treasury chief hurtles toward fiasco,” the fiasco being a failure to raise the US debt ceiling in time to avoid a default.  Trump has declared that Sec Mnuchin is responsible for this matter, which he should be, but somehow has not made a sufficiently definitive statement to keep his former Freedom Caucus big cheese...