Robert Waldmann There seems to be a widespread view that the US experience with deregulation has been mixed. Financial deregulation was a disaster, but airline deregulation and telecoms deregulation were OK (except for how crowded airports are and irritating advertisements by competing phone companies). What is this “telecoms deregulation” of which you speak
I have been ‘doing’ the South Beach diet the last three weeks. It is quite amazing how sweet berries, and the occasional small slice of watermelon on this hoiliday week end, tastes.
by Bruce Webb I no longer try to follow Science-Fiction, but from 1964 to 1977 which is to say from the time I was seven until I turned twenty and joined the Navy I read pretty much everything and had built up a pretty massive library. Among them was a book called The_Shockwave_Rider by John Brunner
by Bruce Webb Something has been bugging me. Why is it that the same people that indignantly claim that a requirement for people to show proof of insurance is unconstitutional but that it is perfectly fine, nay imperative that people show proof of citizenship or legal residency
by Linda Beale crossposted with Ataxingmatter To extend or not to extend, Pew (do you) Trust The Pew Trust has published a study of the cost of extending the Bush tax cuts: Decision Time: The Fiscal Effects of Extending the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts . As surely all ataxingmatter (and Angry Bear) readers are aware, the Bush tax cuts were enacted with sunset dates. Some of those sunsets were 2008 but were extended to 2010
by Mike Kimel The Fundamental Difference Between Scott Sumner and Me So Scott Sumner responded to my latest post. There’s a lot I disagree with, and I was all set to start responding point by point when I had an epiphany: essentially this all comes down to a difference in how we look at a government’s interference in the economic affairs of its citizens. As an example, he views Singapore and Japan as states that interfere less with the economic affairs of its citizens than Argentina (a view shared with organizations like Heritage).
Martin Ford points us to an ongoing concern as our economy changes: Structural Unemployment and Technology Previously, I’ve argued here that job automation technology might someday advance to the point where most routine or repetitive jobs will be performed by machines or software, and that, as a result, we may end up with severe structural unemployment. The latest weekly report shows an increase of 25,000 in new unemployment claims –instead of the decrease expected by economists.
by Tom Bozzo Crossposted with Marginal Utility . Matt Welch at the Reason blog takes credit for airline deregulation on behalf of libertarianism: The “worldview” of libertarianism suggested, back in the early 1970s, that if you got the government out of the business of setting all airline ticket prices and composing all in-flight menus, then just maybe Americans who were not rich could soon enjoy air travel. At the time, people with much more imagination and pull than Gabriel Winant has now dismissed the idea as unrealistic, out-of-touch fantasia.
by Mike Kimel Sumner is Now More Wrong So there’s a a response from Sumner to my critique of his earlier post. And he clearly doesn’t get it.